Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1925-04-23
+ FROM A FITZGERALD BOY
= ON THE DREDGE BOAT

Tampa, Fla, March 81, 1872,

Tampa, Fla, March 81, 1873.
Dearest Mother:
81 have just finished reading the
dear old Leader Enterprise you sent
me, one of the finest little papers in
the South, almost feel like I am back
in old "Fitz" again after reading it.
So please send it again soon.
Well mother, you know we are
quite out from Tampa in the bay and
we don't have much news so l will try
and describe our Dredge and the work
we are doing.
We are deepening the channel that
leads into Tampa so that ships draw
ing 30 feet of water can now enter
Tampa. Before this work one drawing
over Is feet could not enter the har-
Dor. Our dredge is one of the largest
of this type the government has. 1t
is 210 feet long, with Accommodations
for every man from captain down to
cook. She is rated as one of the clean
est dredges in service. At the bow
there is large framework of steel
fastened in a split of the boat, the lad
der alone weighs over 100 tons without
its equipment, one end of it is lowered
to the bottom of the bay, on this end
is large cutter that is turned by a
+ large steel shaft that extends to the
other end of the ladder. There is a
powerful little engine that turns this
shaft, the whole is equipped so as to
cut solid rock if necessary. On each
side of the Dredge large anchor
is placed with a steel cable fastened
to it and the other end of the cable
fastened to the drum of the boat.
These wires are used to swing from
one point to another. There is small
engine that winds in on one cable and
Stacks on the other, thus pulling us
from one point to another and back
again. On the inside of the boat is a
large pump making from one to two
hundred revolutions a minute. A pipe
is connected to the pump which sucks
thru the pipe the sand, shell, mud or
whatever substance happens to be as
fast as the cutter cuts it loose. At the
pump this pipe is cut to p inches so
as to give more pressure. The pipe
line is fastened to floating pontoons
and is pulled ahead with anchors and
little winches. Sometimes there is just
water enough passing through the pipe
to keep it from choking up. At the
stem there are two poles set upright
that walks us ahead they being called
edspuds. There is steel cable fasten-
ed to these that raise and lower them,
the spuds acting as pivots on which
we swing. When the Dredge is pulled
as far to one side as it will go, one OF
these spuds is dropped then the boat
is swung as far the other way as it
will go. Then the other spud is drop
ped and the other raised. Every time
this is done we are four or five feet
further ahead. Thus the expression
1--WE are Wa1kin Ahead. We can
swing $50 feet.
We run "a hours and work in eight
hour shifts for six days in the week,
shutting down Saturday at noon and
start up Sunday night at Il o'clock.
On Saturday we do all repairs on the
boat. But the worst part of it all is
to have the fellow that You relieve to
come around about II o'clock at night
and tell you to roll out
7 must close, will tell you more
next time. Write real soon and don't
forget to send me the dear old Leader
Enterprise again.
Your devoted son,
Mallory Pcavy.
a-f