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The Lebmly Dredge. The contract for this drainage was let on or about the 6th of January last, and about the 10th of February I commenced building a dredge for the purpose of doing the work , and tak ing about seventy-five days to build and get dredge started to work. When starting, I had one mile to work the dredge up stream, and this being a difficult job, as the fall in the grade of the channel exceeds twelve inches to the mile. I worked the dredge up to stake sixty-four, leaving about four teen hundred feet of ditch unfinished, which has since been completed by hand. There is at present nearly four miles of this ditch completed; the por tion of the ditch from the lower end of Karney lake to Karney . Below this point there is considerable large timber standing in the line of the ditch, which is very hard for the dredge to remove. We very frequent ly break our lifting chain, which is one inch Sweeds iron. Some of these stumps are from twenty-two to twenty four inches through, and of green tim ber, which requires from 7 to 10 tons strain to pull them. This ditch, or canal, has about 28 inches fall to the mile, and when completed will carry a large amount of water at a rapid cur rent. With this fall, I should judge the current would be five miles per hour. In regard to the draining of of this marsh land, there are no doubts whatever, as the ditch is so well proportioned that it is impossible for it to be a failure. The ditch is al ready showing ita effect, and with heavy fall or winter rains, it will sur prise a great many to see the amount of water it will carry off and wash out the bottom to a short time. In re gards to this marsh land, my opinion is, it will be the most productive land in the county when properly drained. I have seen just anch land in the Sci oto marsh, in Ohio, which I have drained, which now yields 380 bushels of potatoes, 450 bushels onions, and from 80 to 95 bushels of corn to the acre. This land is equally as good, and all that is necessary now is to clear it up, and get this land ready for cultivation, and it will pay a high er per cent on the amount invented than your gas or oil lands, and will be Jay county’s bonanza. As regarde those who planned and surveyed this ditch, will say they have done a splen did job. Commencing with a 3 foot bottom, 14 to 1 foot slope, then 6 feet, then 10 feet, then 20 feet at the bot tom, is a well proportioned ditch— really the best I have ever seen—and to those gentlemen is due the thanks and good will of all concerned in the Loblolly marah, for their good man agement. This work at present is in such shape that those having land be tween the dredge and the head of the ditch, can commence clearing and draining into the large ditch, just as soon as they wish, all the large ditch will carry off all the water coming to it from above. W. E. Morris,
Newspaper Details
Portland Commercial
Portland, Indiana, US
Thu, Oct 03, 1889
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Terri G.
USA 30 Apr 2026
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