The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-06-22
BY THOMAS j. PENCE,


By THOMAS j. PENCE.
WASHINGTON. d. c., June 19.-In
Carteret county, North Carolina, not
many miles from Beaufort, Uncle
Sam S spending a pile of money to
give d southern outlet to a score Of
the thriving towns in the State.
Whereabouts two Of the most powerful
steam dredges in existence are at
work cutting d ten-fOOt channel for
a distance of sixteen miles, which
when completed will open up 1900
square miles of naVigable sounds and
$500 Linear miles of naViga.ble rivers.
There is no southern outlet to all this
vast area Of water, and its only navi-
gable outlet is through the canal
routes leading to Norfolk. When the
canal through Adarns' creek. which
the federal government is now digging
is completed there will be a c%ontinu-
Gus ten-fOot channel for navigation
inside of Hatteran and through the
sounds from Norfolk, Va, to Beau
fort, n. c..
Years ago there were several out
let's to the ocean along the fringe of
sane that circles the sounds of North
Carolina and forms a barrier to ocean
These inlets gave ocean
channels to such hustling towns as
Elizabeth City, Washington, Edenton,
N1N L'S1 l. AAooAlA olAN VI Nv
but they ave long since filled with
sand. Hatteras, Ocracoke and New
Jnlets were once traversed by coast
wise ships, but gradually the shifting
sands peculiar to the North Carolina
coast have crept into these outlets
and they no longer permit of ocean
navigation.
And now after years and years Of
patient waiting the federal govern
ment has gone ahead at an eXpendi-
ture Oe half q million dollars to give
a naVigable outlet to these magnii-
cent waters, consisting of Pamlico,
Albemarle, Currituck and Croatan
sounds and NeuSe, ChOWan, PamlicO
and Alligator rivers, On which are To-
Gated New Bern and other numerous
and important communities. The cut
ting of the canal through Adams
creek VIII afford an ocean outlet via
Beaufort. and will open up a back
country famous for it's truck, farms,
fishing and game. It is also one Of
the greatest pine timber sections in
the world. The digging of this canal
Will be a new day for all Of that i'm
mensely wealthy section of North
Carolina surrounding the most magni-
fCent bodies of inland waters in the
entire country with the exception of
The great lakes.
The Value of an Effort.
Ten years ago there came to Con-
Gress from North Carolina a man who
has lived near these inland waters
through a w~ell-spent life, and who
Was IMPRESSED with the fact that ma
lures handicap in the obstruction OF
thesc channel outlets could be over
come by the ingenuity OF man. He
Was thoroughly cognizant of this help
i'SsneSs of all that fertile section by
ION Of its almost landlocked water
I~"IIhteS, the greater part Of which
are within the confines of the DIS
tfIct ne represents, and he resolved
20 dedicate his work as a national leg
Sidt0F 10 their Improvement and the
W of a natural
,!"t was cOrked up, so to speak. 10
nm came the inspiration of an in
land waterway, first projected by
George Washington, but which had
never had a sufficiently ardent and az
STeSslVe champion to push it to a sue
CeSsful issue. That man was John III.
small, the Congressman from the
FlTSt North Carolina district. A less
courageous person would hav given
up IN disgust, for he not only en-
.(ountered scepticism on the part Of
friends, but he met with rebuffs and
many hard knocks in the halls Of
ness, ingenuity and patience is, how
ever, not without it's reward. The
nme that Mr.. small spent in advo-
cocy OF the project, the speeches that
ne delivered in it's beha1f, few appre-
cate, but he had the never die spirit
III ms make up and after six year Of
what many regarded as futile effort,
ne commanded the attention of Con-
sress and a survey of the proposed