The Western Georgian. (Rome, Floyd County, Georgia) 1838-18??, January 19, 1838, Image 1
'l'
■
, JAIIE.-* A- WRIGHT, Editor.
PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY MOHNING
f '
t 4&• <' ■ MV
SAMUEL S- JACK.
ft " nr
■ Terms.
• Three Dollars per annum,io six months or four Dol
lars at the expiration of tho year Subscribers living
out of the Slate, will be expected in all cases to pay in
advance.
No subscription received for less than one year,
rnless the money is paid in advance ; unci no paper
will be discontinued until all atrearg.'s are paid, ex
re.pt at the option of the Publisher. Perspns request
ing a (jiscon'iiiuattco of their Papers, are requested to
bear in mind a settlement ot llteir accounts.
Advertisements will be inserted nt the n«ual rates;
when the itumbor of insertions is not specified, they
>• will be e utinued until ordered out.
* ILT At.n Letters to the Editor or Publisher, on
mutters connected with the establishment, must be
I’c.st Paid in order to secure attention.
117?* Notice of the sale of Laud and Negroes, by ,
Administrators, Executors or Guardians, must be pub ,
■ifahed sixty days previous to the day ol rale.
O’ The bale of Personal Property, tn like manner,
must be published forty days previous to the day of
tale.
SIT Notice to Debtors and Creditors of an Estate,
i lust be published forty days.
O’ Notice that Application will bo made to the
Court oi Ordinary for Leave to sell Land and Negtoes,
must be published four months.
»• d'j" Notice that Application will be made f r Lei
ters of Adrjtin'st ration, niti-t G published thirty ifetY*
♦Hid Letters of Dismission, six months.
tfF For A I vert i sin a —Letters of Citation, At 2 7:>
Notice to Debtors ami Creditors, ' ll) days,) -I -•>
Four Month Notice*, 4 G<)
Sales of Personal Property by Executors* Adminis
frators or Guardiens, •’ 2<>
Sales of Land or Negroes by do. 4 '<■>
Application for Letters ol Dismission. _ 4 50'
Oilier Advertisements will be charge! 7 > <•> nts |
fir every thirteen lines of email type, (or st <«pn. j
vilrnt,) first insertion, ami 50 cents I >r < m.h v, < i kly '
♦ 4ntintJt»nee. If published every other w< < It. G2A cis. .
!.«r ench commit met’. If publish'd once a tn mill n
will Lu charged each time ns a new advertisement.
For a Single insertion one Dollar per rq mro.
iiMwamt mxrwmi rr.nwwfi-rr 1
13 T ILIt» A3. S 511»It <> Vi'sl 21 XT.
AR9RIW OF I>. Cl. KHGIIVU.
< bid FMSiacer to the Wetumpka
and Coosa Itnil Rond Company,
to tins Ccsfislatice oT AlaTraitia.
Gentlemen. —sin pursuance olThcj
request ol the President and Dircc- '
tors of the Wetumpka and Coosa;
Rail Road Company, I proceeded.!
in the month of August last, to make ;
an examination ou the Coosa riser
between Fort Williams am! the 'fen ;
». Islands, with a view of as’sertaining !
f the extent and character ol the ob
structions: as, between these points,
the main difficulties are found to ex
ist, to its navigation, from Fort W ill
iams to Ronje in the State of Geor
gia. The object of this exaffiihn-'
tion was, to ascertain of the Coosa |
river could be rendered an auxiliary :
channel of communication to the;
Wetumpka and Coosa Railroad; a |
work designed by its friends and .
projectors t> constitute an easy and 1
adequate channel of communication
for the productions of North Eastern
Alabama, North W estern Georgia,
and Eastern Tennessee, with the!
navigable waters of the Gulf of Mex
ico. It has resulted in demonstra-j
ting the entire practicability » f ac
complishing the object in view, at an
expense greatly disproportioned to
the true magnitude of the undertak
ing, and the numerous and perma
nent advantages which would be
derived from its accomplishment. |
I have been requested to commu
nicate to your Honorable bodies, a
detailed statement of the character
oft' is river, and a description of the
obstructions it presents to a penna-;
nent steam boat navigation between
the points above designated, under
the hope, that your Honorable bo-;
dies will make an appropriation, at
vour present session, to cilect the
object contemplated.
lief re proceeding further, how
o.ver, 1 wou.d remark, that 1 should
regard any attempt to render the
river permanently navigable from
Fort williams down to Wetumpka,
ns attended with a heavy expendi
ture ot money, and productive of
Comparatively small benefits; except,
perhaps as relating to the limited
; facilities of a downward transporta
tion.
In this opinion, I am not only sus
tained by my own observations,
made during the past summer, but
! by the report of a survey from Fort
Williams to Wetumpka, made in
1831, by William .Nichols, Esq.,
who, in a detailed statement ol the
I character cf the obstructions, in this
; part of the river, and the plan, and
i kind of improvements necessary to
* overcome them, estimates the cost
lof improving it, at 415,280. The
! distance from Fort Williams to We
jtumpka is about forty-five miles by
I water, and the descent is 247 feet.
With few excepiions, the river is al
most a continual shoal; its current
is very rapid—and the obstructions
generally of a formidable character.
Under these considerations and
circumstances, then, the most advis
able policy would secuUo suggest
the abandonment of all plans and
propositions to improve the river be
tween these points, under the ex
pectation of opening a permanent
channe l of communication adapted
to the wants of the country both a
bove and below: and substitute, in
its stead, a substantial and well
constructed Railroad. From Fort
Williams to the head of tiie Ten Is
lands, a distance of one hundred (
miles, there are only two very con-I
siderable shoals. These are the'
Ten Island shoals, and Clan-he's;
shoals—from which to Rome, in the ;
State of Georgia, no obstruction in ,
the navigation exists, except an in
considerable shoal near the mouth
of Canoe creek, in St. Clair county.
'The Ten Island shoal present the
greatest difficulty: although they are
by no means formidable. The ob-1
strUclions at these islands are pre-;
seated at several intervals, for adis-!
tance of four mile’*': and are formed .
by the passage of the river through i
the mountains-, which present the
appearance of having been rent a
sunderat some former period, to af
ford a passage lor its waters. They
however, from their nature and cha
racter of their formation may be
easily renyoved, consisting, as they
do, of alternate schutes and eddies.
The several schutcs w ich occur in I
this distance arc foimed by the de
positc of irregular masses and frag
ments of rock, (most of which are !
of a small size,) and the sand and J
gravel, which, for years past, have |
accumulated against them. The
river, here has a strong current, and j
the removal of the rock would admit
of its more direct action upon the;
sand-bars, which, by its constant,
operation, would be soon washed a
way into the deep eddies below.— '
Clatiche's shoals are the next most
considerable. These are formed J
by the passage of two straits, or,
ledges, ofrock across the bed of the
river, each of about one hundred
yards in width, and at the distance
jof about a mile from each other.— j
Upon these ledges, or strata, are!
protuberant or excrescent masses
which rise near to, and above, the
surface of the w ater, at a low stage.
These protubcrancics are the prin
cipal obstructions to the passage of
ibdats. They may be easily remov
ed by the process of blasting: and
as many of them are in a depth of
water, or from five to ten feet, at a
low stage, little labor will be requir
t'd upon the main strata to open a
channel. Besides these two shoals,
these are some five or six other ob-;
structions of inconsiderable impor
tance. They are to be found at the
different Islands, and consist, chief-
Wi s d o es 3, J m s 1 £c e, and od crat j o in.,
ROME, FKOYD COUNTV, GIIOIWiA, JANUARY 10, 1
ly, on loose rock and sand bars.
At the three Islands, where, from
the expansive width of the river, a
dam will probably be required, for
the purpose of directing the passage
of the current between the cast bank
of the river, and the nearest Island
of the three, which lie nearly a
breast across the stream. The oth
er shoals w ill require but little labor
to effect tiieir removal; inasmuch as
they are mostly sand bars, and pre
sent scarcely greater obstacles than
many of the sand bars in the Ala
bama river, during the summer
months.
The river is generally from three
to four hundred yards wide; and
with the exception of the shoals,
has a great depth of water. Its cur
rent is remarkably sluggish, having
a descent omy 125 feet from the
head of the ten Islands to Fort Will
iams, a distance, as before stated, of
100 miles by the course of the river.
Os the probable cost of removing
the obstructions above enumerated,
any opinion that may be expressed
must be regarded as measurably
conjectural. The character of the
i obstructions is such, that it is diffi
cult to estimate the amount of labor
that would be required to effect their
removal. I am, however, of the
j opinion, that the sum of fifty thous
and dollars would be amply suffi
cient to remove all obstructions in
the river from Fort Williams to
Rome, in the State of Georgia, a
distance of 250 miles by the course:
of the river, so as to afford a perma-l
nent steamboat navigation for ves- ’
seis drawing four feet water. This
opinion is predicated upon an actu
al examination of the principal i
shoals, and from a comparison of,
the difficulties they present with o
thersofa similar character. The
labor that will be necessary to re
move them, may be advantageously 1 ;
applied; as much so, at least, as la
bor could be applied where the op
erations arc under water. During:-
the summer and fall months of the
year, the river is remarkably clear
and transparent; and as the opera
tions will consist chiefly of blasting,!
they may be conducted with almost
the same facility as if out of w ater. |
From these remarks, it will be
perceived, that the Coosa river, as
far down as Fort Williams, may cast- i
ly, and at an expense quite inconsid-!
erable, compared with the advanta
ges its disbursements would confer,
be converted into a subsiding chan
nel of communication to the We
tumpka and Coosa Rail Road, there
by affording immense advantages
and facilities to a very large and
fertile extent of country now occu
pying a most isolated position, as
regards a market for its productions.,
This road was chartered in the ses
sion of 1835, —36, and was origin
ally designated to connect Wetump-I
ka with the Coosa river above the
ten Islands. At the last session of
the Legislature an amendment to the
charter was obtained giving the
company the right to cross the river
at any point between the ten Islands
and Wetumpka, and to extend their
road through the counties of Talla.- 1
dega and Benton to the line between
the States of Georgia and Alabama.
In the early part of last Spring, the
first five miles of the road were lo
cated; and prepared for contract, —
and since August last the graduation
upon this division has been steadily
and earnestly progressing. During
the past summer, experimental sur-
I veys i ave been prosecuted to the
[town of Talladega, where, owing to
the advance of the season, and the
necessity of employing the Corps of
Assistant Engineers upon the lower
part of the line, they have been sus
pended for .the present year. The
character of the route surveyed has
been found highly favorable.
I n the distance of forty-four miles,;
bj r the line of survey, the route cross-,
es the Coosa river, where it enters
the valley region of country, and in
the distance of twelve miles further,
may communicate with the river
near Fort Williams, which is situa
ted above the principal and most
difficult shoals. The estimated cost
of constructing the road this dis
tance, (56 miles) in round numbers,
may be stated at Four hundred
and fifty thousand dollars.
With the construction o this road
and the removal of the obstructions
in the river before described, a cer
tain and permanent channel fcom
munication would be opened to
Rome, in the State of Georgia, a
distance of upwards of three hun
dred miles from Wetumpka. Em
braced with the range in the Coosa
and its tributaries, comprising the
counties of Talladega, Benton, Che
rokee, parts of Randolph, Blount,
St. Clair, Coosa, Shelby, ami Au
tauga, in Alabama, and the counties
of Walker, Murray, Cherokee, Cass.
Floyd and P auldmg, i/t Georgia, is
the estimated number of fourteen
thousand five hundred square miles,!
or nine millions two hundred and j
eighty thousand acres, the produc- j
tioris of w hich w ould all How through I
this channel to market. 7’his ter-1
ritory of country is not surpassed in
fertility of soil by the same extent of
country in any quarter of the Union.'
It consists of numerous broad and
fertile valleys, well watered by bold
streams, many of which might be
navigated with flat boats almost to
the base of the mountains:—thus ex
tending tho advantages of water
transportation throughout its whole
extent: provided an outlet should be
made for its productions after de
scending to the main obstructions
in the Coosa. This outlet is pro
posed to bo made by the construction
of the Wetumpka ami Coosa Rail
road to Fort Williams, and the re
moval of the obstructions to the nav- <
igation of the river from this point
to the head of the ten Islands. As a
channel of communication designed
to connect East 7’ennessec with the
navigable waters of the Gulf of .Mex
ico, it presents more important con-j
siderations than any other work i
now projected, or that may be here
after projected in the State. From
Rome, in Georgia, which is situated
at the junction of the Hightower and
Oostonnaulec, the latter river is said
to be navigable as high up as Echo
tag distance of about sixty miles
above Rome. From this point to
M'Nair’s, the contemplated termin
ation of the Highwassee Rail road,
forty-one and one fourth miles of
which arc now under contract, and
w hich is destined to be a bran h of
the Cincinnatti, Louisville & Charle
ston Rail road, diverging from Knox
ville in the direction of Wetumpka,
the distance cannot exceed forty
miles. Surveys over a portion of
this route have been made, ami the
results as detailed in the reports ap
pear highly favorable. The charac
ter of country that exists here is ve
ry similar to the valleys of our own
state, as Jones’valley, the Caliawba
valley, the Coosa and 7alladega val
leys, all of which bear a close resem
blance to each other in their topo-|
graphical formation, /o connect,,
then, Echota w ith the Hiwassee Rail
road, would not only be found high-
Vol. NO L
ly practicable but might be effected
! at a small expense, probably not to
j exceed the sum of two hundred thou
sand dollars. An estimate now be
fore me, of the cost of a Rail road
I over eleven and three fourths miles
jof the route here proposed, states
i the .cost over this distance at $50,-
; 939,25 cts. 'The subject of acon
'ncxion of East Tennessee with the
navagablc waters of the Gulf of Mex
ico, is one of great interest to that
section of the country. 7’here are
twenty-six counties in East 7 ennes
sec, the productions of which to a
very considerable extent would pass
through this channel in pursed of a
market, llicir natural mark -t is
South Alabama:—because their pro
ductions arc of the character and
kind consumed by the planting in
terest of our own State, and are now
procured through the channel of the
Mississippi from the New Orleans
and Mobile markets. Aware that
this is the case, the citizens of East
Tennessee have boldly stepped for
ward, and earnestly engaged in tho
construction of the Hiwassee Rail
road, extending from Knoxvide in
the direction before stated, under
the expectation of uniting w ith oth
er works forming a connexion with
the navigable waters of the Gulf of
Mexico, thereby affording mutual
advantages to each section of coun
try.
A communication from the Pres
ident of the Hiwassee Kail road
company, Gen. Jacobs, addressed to
the Wetumpka and Coosa Rai'road
Company, proposing a connexion of
the two roads, was received during
the last spring, to which a reply was
immediately returned accepting the'
proposition, —I quote an extract from
Gen. Jacobs’ quarterly report, to
show die estimation in which the
company over which he presides,
view this road as opening to (hem a
direct communication with South
Alabama, He says: ‘Tiesirous to
learn the disposition of the Wetump
ka and Coosa Railroad Company in
relation to an extension of their im
provement so as to form a effhnex
ion with the Hiwassee Rail road by
order of the Board, I addressed a
letter to that company, to which an
answer has been received from Mr.
Alwin A. M’Whorter, President of
that Company; from which it is evi
dent they look forward to this union
with that interest which cannot fail
to accomplish this desirable result.
That such Railroad connexion will
be greatly conducive to the interests
ofbofh Alabama & Tennessee none
can doubt; and that it will be effected,
is equally certain. We may, there
fore, look forward to the time as not
far distant when the market of the
whole South will be full and fair be
fore us, presenting its rich rewards
to the industry and enterprize of
East Tennessee.” Bith these re
marks I submit the subject to tho
consideration ofyour Honorable bo
dies, observing, .in connections that
nature lias designed the union of the
waters of East Tennessee and those
of the Gulf of Mexico through the
valleys of the Coosa and its tributa
ries; —and it only requires (be aid of
art employed to a small extent to ef
fect an object so desirable, and so
important to the interests of a very
nu uefbus and respectable portion of
the population of our state.
Respectfully submitted by your
most obt. servant
D.. 11. BINGHAM.
Chief Engineer of the IFctumpka
and Coosa R. R.
Wetumpka. Nov,