The Big Sandy news., 1909-11-05
NOVEL DAM
Being Built Near the Breaks
Of Sandy.
Only One Of This Kind in the World Is
Under Construction, With John
MCDyST as Engineer.
cnmherlnnd CANYON Dam. Wal.

ed tnaJ OlneTh may eHteT lnS Si"p9
we here enroll Just where Cumber-
land Canon Dam is located may be
of interest and why the name.
Look on your maps and find the
mouth of Pound river. Pound river
is tributary OF the Russells fork,
and whips through the foot hills
for probably as miles on the south
side OF the Cumberland mountains.
Just opposite the mouth of Pound
empties stream twelve to fifteen
miles in length, known as "Barts
Lick" About 1900 feet below the
mouth OF these streams the Yellow
Poplar Lumber Company is having
a splash dam of concrete built.
This dam has full length of
36S feet. II has five 4O-foot gates;
with an elevation of 22 feet, and
will cost full-rigged about $4,000.
This dam is being built for the
sole purpose of driving logs through
the Cumberland canyon. Hence the
name. or more commonly, the
Breaks of Sandy"
This canyon is pass for the Rus
sell river through the Cumberland
mountains. The walls forming this
pass or channel are Of solid rock,
apparently perpendicular, and from
two to five hundred feet high. The
channel or bed OF the river is full
of powders ranging in size from
toll dish to a tobacco barn.
Besides building the dam this
company has expended about $4,000
in blowing these powders that OBJ
struct the passage of logs the most.
This canyon is about six miles in
length, and affords much pleasure
to the tourist hunting wild and
rugged scenery. The view from
Tower Gap, the chimney, blue head
or Halls knob, are splendid and
very Interesting and inspiring,
could not advise those who are not
prepared for sudden demise to
visit the chimney, as the trip is
a very dangerous one, and only
those who could walk the cornice
of church spire are free from
danger. Besides, some day this shaft
will tumble from It's moorings and
land at the bottom of the canyon
several hundred feet below. and
should there chance to be sight
seer on this rock, they would either
make hole in the sky or wake
up in torment.
At this canyon you find the east
ern end of the Cumberland range
East of the river the hills flatter
out and AT several hundred fee
above these is some beautiful land
level or rolling. This section i,
fairly well cultivated and is grea
fruit producing country.
The geological formation here il
peculiar and very interesting. Grass,
Creek, a stream of sufficient siz,
to drift timber, (about the size o
: Little Blainel runs for several mile
along ridge. 1t is said that thu
|" lower Mississippi runs along ridge
b This is doubted by many, but herr
visit is all that is needed.
That at some time in ages pas
there has been an upheavel non,
will dispute. The rock lodges stan,
: at most any angle. Volcanic asl
and lava are found in many places
i On the south side of the mountain
you find white granite and othe
powders with smooth surface
such as is found along the ohi
L river. In many places you find
: red sand stone as pronounced Il
: color as are the blue and gra
Il stones of your section.
Many places on the south side o
} the mountain the deposit of whit
pebbles is heavy and have from
Il distance the appearance of snow
and fool many stranger. Their
u is found here that quality OF ston
known as hail grit" and is use
. locally for mill stones. If am no
at error the late Judge John J
8 Jordan secured set of burrs of thi
grit" put them on an axle an
y rolled them by oxen to his mill a
q the old Mlllard Carter farm, nov
owned by Col. M. H, Johns. Tn
writer has eaten many a pone fror
meal made on these burrs. Abou
half way up the mountain you fin
20-foot ledge of very rich lime
stone. This rock burns a snow
II white lime of excellent quality.
y. Elkhorn Creek parallels the Gun
" berland for twenty-five miles on tn
9. north side. A very peculiar ge,
g. logical formation is here notice,
u On the north side Of this creek
~ the abutting hills you find splendi
ir coal seams. and just across the cree
lin the Cumberland you find no col