Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-20
BY HARRY HAYDEN.
| Eastern North Carolina hydraulic

II QTOukGS dlC Cdtutk b1HCh Woy
through swamps, woods and marsh
i lands, and by the Fall of 1881 an
inland waterway 291 miles IN
length. extending from Norfolk, Va, to
Cape Fear River. Is miles below VIII
mington, N. c., will be opened to navi-
cation.
The completion Of this Norfolk-Wil-
mington link, begun in 1907 and costing
the Federal Government $12.675,O 900,
means that merchants and manufactur-
ers in Boston New York, Philadelphia.
Baltimore, Wilmington, Del; Washing
ton, Richmond and Norfolk will be able
to ship their products by barge lines as
far South as Wilmington, N. c., for re-
shipment by rail and boat lines to IN.
terror points. These barge lines will
eventually reach interior North Caro-
| lima points as far westward as Fayette-
vile.
The Inauguration of water transporta-
| ton by the inland canal route to VIII
n:ington and other North Carolina ports
is expected to revolutionize the freight
rate structure of North Carolina, as
water transportation is usually less ex-
pcnsive than rail. When other links
| in the great waterway are completed
many tourists, who have been travelling
| by rail from Northern points to resorts
| along the Atlantic Coast as far South
| as Florida are expected to cruise aboard
| their boats on these Journeys without
| encountering the dangers from storms
at sea and from the treacherous shoals
| of Frying Pan and Capes Lookout and
Hatteras. the latter referred to for ages
as the Graveyard of the Atlantic"
Country Rich In Lore.
This inland waterway will pass
| through North Carolina section rich
in historical and piratical lore. It will
pass near the bay where the notorious
| BLACK Beard" Edward Teach, finally
was overpowered after he and his pirates
had instilled fear into the hearts of
| mariners and settlers along the South
| Atlantic seaboard.
Many interesting finds have been
turned UP by the diggers of the canal.
During the first two weeks of June bones
and teeth of prehistoric animals we're
| dug up by a dredge near Wrightsville
| Sound. DR.. E. w. Berry of Johns Hop
kins University, and DR.. Ben L. Miller
| of Pittsburgh. biologists, after examin-
ing these fossils on display in the ONCE
of Maj. w. A. Snow, United States Army
district engineer at Wilmington reported
the bones to be parts of a mastodon.
| The scientists said the short jointed
bones are from the front foot of a mas
todon and that the giant molar also
came from the same prehistoric animal.
| That the North Carolina coast line
centuries ago extended far beyond its
present location is evidenced by the fact
| that huge StumpS have been dug I'D in
the marsh lands by the dredges.
Waterway Ready in August.
| Four powerful pipe dredges are at
present working at various points on
the waterway between Beaufort. N. c.,
and Cape Fear River, distance of 90
miles. 1t is estimated by Mai Snow
and Robert G. Merritt, his assistant,
that the waterway between Cape Fear
River and Wrightsville Sound will be
navigable about August l and between
Beaufort and New River about Septem-
Der /. This will leave uncompleted the
portion between New River and Wrights-
vile Sound, distance of IS miles, and
plans are now being made by the en-
gineers to assign two dredges very soon
to this part of the project.
The combined output Of the four
dredgeS now at work Is approximately
100000 cubic yards a month. The
machines are cutting canal 90 feet
wide and IL feet deep. The material
is carried away by pipe lines to points,
at some places a mile distant, so that
the silt and sand may not return to
block the channel.
Barges May Garry 900 Tons.
The typical barge expected to be
used on the Virginia Carolina water
way will have the following measure
mentS: Length, ITS to 210 feet: depth,
IL to IA feet; width, 20 to % feet 10
inches. A barge of these measurements
would be capable of transporting 457,-
600 feet of lumber, or about 900 tons of
other cargo Small tugs, propelled by
steam or gasoline engine. would tow a
string Of these barges, and some barges
would he Self-nronelIed
Vessels drawing 20 feet can now pro-
coed from Boston to New York by way
Of Cape Cod Canal. Craft drawing Ave
feet are already navigating between
New York and Delaware River via the
Raritan River Canal. It is considered
probable that the United States Gov
eminent In the near future will acquire
the Raritan Canal from the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Co., probably increasing
the depth to IL feet and thereby linking
New York with a 12-foot canal all the
way to Wilmington, N. G.
Hazards Of Shoals Eliminated.
The dangers incurred by small vessels
navigating over the shoals of Capes
Lookout and Hatteras have been made
avoidable by the Norfolk-Beaufort, N.
c., link and the completion of the
Beaufort Inlet-Cape Fear River link
will eliminate the hazards of Frying
Pan Shoals.
Work is expected to start within a
year on an inland waterway rs feet
wide and 8 feet deep at mean low
water between Cape Fear River and
Winyah Bay, near Charleston, S. c.. at
an estimated cost of $5,907,000. The
completion of this waterway will afford
navigation for boats drawing 8 feet
from Philadelphia to Jacksonville, Fla,
via Norfolk and Cape Fear River.
The Florida East Coast Canal con-
meets st. Johns River with Miami. The
contemplated inland waterway from
Foston and New York to Florida eventu-
ally would be a popular route for
launches and yachts carrying vacation
lists and tourists to and from Florida,
Georgia, Virginia and North and South
Carolina resorts. without encountering
the dangers of the open seas. Numer-
Gus inlets up and down the coast would
permit small craft at sea to reach
Ravens of safety in the inland water
way in event of storms. The Florida
East Coast Canal has recently been
taken over by the United States Gov
eminent and will be improved soon TO
Waterway Planned in 1897.
The question of the waterway through
Eastern North Carolina has been under
consideration since 1887, when Congress
ordered a survey to be made from the
southern end of Dismal Swamp to Win
yah Bay, S. c., with a view to deter
mining the feasibility of opening an IN
land route for steam navigation from
the Chesapeake Bay to Charleston, S.
c. George Washington once made a
survey for canal through the Dismal
Swamp section. No further action was
taken until 1875, when Congress pro-