Page images
PDF
EPUB

fall of 1865, and is therefore five years old instead of four, as assumed in the present report; and this error runs through all subsequent averages, which are all too large by one-fifth.-W. McF.)

Average encroachments for next 1,100 feet on lake side is 35 feet = annual encroachments of 4 feet, with bay-shore line and 3-foot land-curves corresponding to the above changes; but we have in compensation for this driving-in of the lake-shore line, the clear establishment of a 6-foot land-curve along the whole length of this base, which is not shown on the map of the survey of 1866. This is an important and encouraging fact in the record of the present survey.

Base-line No. 2.-Total length, 4,025 feet. There is shown on this line an average encroachment on the lake-shore line of 64 feet for its entire length annual encroachment of 16 feet. But we find in compensation about an equal accretion on the bayshore line, with the addition of the establishment of a 6-foot land-curve not shown on the map of 1866.

Base-line No. 3.-Total length, 5,0544 feet. This line is the main base-line of John De la Camp's (civil engineer) survey of 1866, secured by a stone monument at each end marked E. H. S.

On this line we find an average accretion about equal to the encroachment shown on base-line No. 2, with the exception of 700 feet of encroachment a little east of the center, with an average width of 35 feet, which is compensated by a large accretion just east of it, and by the establishment and continuation along this base of the 6-foot land-curve, (noted along base-lines Nos. 1 and 2,) not shown in map of 1866.

The variation shown in the bay-shore line may be mostly due to the difference between the water-levels of 1866 and 1870, which (in places of very shallow water with very gentle slopes under it) might not be eliminated by an average allowance of 6 feet in distance on the bay offset-lines to bring the present shore-lines to the level of the water of 1866, which, per water-gange at beacon-light pier, was 5,325, water of 1870 being 4,700 feet=0.625 feet higher than water of 1866.

Base-line No. 4.-Length, 100 feet, is more properly a rectangular offset from the east end of base-line No. 3, connecting with the west end of base-line No. 5. We find on this line the 15-foot, 12-foot, 9-foot, and 6-foot land-curves shown on the map of 1866, but we find the area embraced within these lines at this place, as well as at the ridges shown on base-lines Nos. 10 and 11, to be much less than indicated on that map. I can only account for this fact by supposing that the curves were not instrumentally traced at these points, or that smallness of scale required additional breadth for clear delineation of the lines on the lithographed map.

Base-line No. 5.-Total length, 1,277 feet. There is an average accretion on the lakeshore side of this line of about 25 feet in width with but slight corresponding changes in the land-curves, the bay-shore line remaining about the same as in 1866, except as modified, probably, by difference of water-levels of 1866 and 1870, as explained in description of base-line No. 3.

Base-line No. 6.-Total length, 1,576 feet. The survey shows a very startling encroachment along the whole length of this line. The lake-shore line has been driven inland about 100 feet for 700 feet in length, and an average of 50 feet on the next 600 feet. The present shore-line for 800 feet in length being about 50 feet inside of the 3-foot land-curve, as shown on the map of 1866, with no barrier but a slight 3-foot landcurve along the eastern one-third portion of its length, the 6-foot curve terminating abruptly at about two-thirds distance of its length.

Near the eastern end of this base the beach is now but 200 feet wide, where the map of 1866 shows a width of 500 feet, and the present distance between the lake and bay 3-foot land-curves is only about 80 feet where the map of 1866 shows about 400 feet. In reference to this last-mentioned change, it is evident from an inspection of the interior lines of the two surveys that a large portion of this change is due to the action of the bay waters.

We find the present bay-shore line has passed with a sharp sinus, not only across the 3-foot land-curve, but has pushed through the point of the 6-foot ridge, as shown on the map of 1866. This point may have been, and probably was, swept off by water from the lake, sweeping during some long and heavy gale over the crest of the 3-foot exterior land-curve, but the bay-shore line could never be found where it now is, withont some violent action from an entirely different direction, viz, from the bay. I, therefore, conclude that this deep sinus has been made by the action of waves in the bay during strong southerly and eastern winds.

This portion of the "head of the peninsula" demands immediate attention, as there is now but a very slight barrier between the lake and bay water.

Base-line No. 7.-Length, 1,250 feet. On this line we find some little compensation for the great waste on base-line No. 6 in a slight increment to the lake-shore line, averaging 40 feet in width for about 600 feet in length, and in the establishment of a nearly continuous 6-foot land-curve not shown on the map of 1866.

Base-line No. 8.-Length, 872 feet. At a point about 250 feet west of the west end of this line commences another very serious encroachment of the lake, upon the outer

shore of the peninsula, extending thence along the whole front of base-lines Nos. 8, 9, 10, and 11 for about 3,800 feet in length.

The 6-foot land-curve described as nearly established along base-line No. 7 terminates abruptly near the middle of this line, and at its eastern end there is a width of only 70 feet, and a slight 3-foot land-curve between the waters of the lake and of a bushy pond which reaches inland almost through to the bay, with only a sand beach 30 feet wide scarcely 3 feet above its waters. At station 500+ 15 on this base we come to the line of the tall, thick, and full grown timber, which distinguishes all of the peninsula east of this line from the lightly timbered and barren portions of the head west of it. Base-line No. 9.-Length, 600 feet. Average encroachment of lake on this line about 50 feet in width, with corresponding change of 3-foot land-curve. There is no 6-foot land-curve behind this base-line, and its western end overlaps the head of the bushy pond, as noticed on the eastern end of base-line No. 8.

Base-line No. 10.-Length, 1,490 feet. On this base we encounter the greatest encroachment on the exterior line of the peninsula. Near its eastern end the shore-line has been driven in 110 feet, making the present shore-line between the 6 and 9 foot land-curve lines as delineated on the map of 1866. There are no 6-foot land-curves behind this base, except those of the ridge running directly inland from the shore.

Base-line No. 11.-Length, 710 feet. Greatest encroachment on this line is 110 feet; same as on base-line No. 10. Average encroachment since 1866 is 72 feet.

Base-line No. 12.-Length, 300 feet. This line closes the survey, with a slight accretion since 1866, making the total length of the exterior shore-line surveyed 19,3544 feet three and two-thirds miles.

The following summary statement in figures shows up the length and breadth of the frightful waste which is now and for years past (even anterior to 1866) has been going on along the outer shore of the peninsula, covering the whole length of base-lines Nos. 6 to 11, both inclusive, with a frontage of 4,830 feet, leaving out base-line No. 7, on which there is a slight accretion as above noted.

[blocks in formation]

290,550 4,830 = 60 ÷ 4 = 15, showing total average waste since 1866 along 4,830 feet of shore to be 60 feet in width, equal to a waste of 15 feet in width for each year since that date. As to what it was prior to that date, a comparison between the map of 1866 and those of an older date (now in your hands or of the War Department) will have to be made.

On July 30 I made a reconnaissance at the head of Long Pond in company with Messrs. M. R. Barr and Wilson King, members of a committee of the Marine Hospital of Pennsylvania, a corporation having a quasi ownership of the peninsula under a grant and charter from the State of Pennsylvania. In pursuance of your request I herewith give you the results thereof:

By row-boat, under the pilotage of J. D. Paasch, we gained access to this long and secluded stretch of water by working our way through two narrow, winding, and bushy passages from the waters of Big Pond, which last pond we entered from the bay through a short, narrow channel close to and east of Chrystal Point. We rowed our boat to near the head of Long Pond, and landing on the eastern shore, we skirted along the edge of a bushy marsh at the head of this pond for about a quarter of a mile to the lake shore opposite the head of this pond and marsh.

We found here, in uprooted timber of recent and former dates, and in a ragged and

indented shore-line, all the evidences of the same rapid waste on the shore-line as that noted in our survey, (along base-lines Nos. 6 to 11.) which, per scale of map of 1866, closed some 4,000 feet west of where we then stood, and in looking east it appeared to extend about 1,000 feet farther on, ending in a curved indentation fronting the west, thus: On a more careful and extended survey around the marsh at the head of the pond, I found the shore driven in beyond the 6-foot land-curve line of the map of 1866, and found only a remnant of the inside slope thereof remaining, with a height in no place exceeding 3 to 44 feet, and with only a width of from 30 to 60 feet, between the waters of the lake and marsh; into which last there were fresh traces of sand and some light drift-wood having been lately driven.

The importance of protecting this point soon is made evident by an inspection of the map of 1866, which shows only a feeble barrier between the south end of Long Pond and Presqu' Isle Bay.

It is a noticeable fact that, with the large abrasion which has been going on for so long a period along the exterior lines of this and adjacent portions of the peninsula, that there should be found hardly any compensating inland accretions, in the shape of new land-curves forming, or the heads of ponds and marshes filling up, and it suggests forcibly the inquiry, where has this vast quantity of material found a lodgement? The answer to this inquiry is readily found by an inspection of the map of 1866, which shows that the material has been swept along the shore eastwardly by the force of the prevailing westwardly winds till it passed the eastern and northern vertex of exterior curve of the peninsula, and there settled in the comparatively quiet waters lying under the lee thereof, and thus and there formed, the long and wide barren sand-beach so distinctly shown on that map.

The points of interest and of danger within the lines of this survey are found as stated below, with suggestions for the repair of each locality added.

First. At east end of base-line No. 6. Here, as before described, the distance between bay and lake-shore lines is now only 200 feet, and the distance between lake and bay 3 feet, land-curve lines has been recently reduced to 80 feet.

There is also shown on our map a break in the continuity of the 6-foot land-curve for about 1,000 feet in length, between about the centers of base-lines Nos. 6 and 7. I would fill this breach upon the general line of this curve with alternate layers of brush and logs, about 3 or 4 feet high for, say, 15 or 20 feet in width, and cover the same with a light covering of the adjacent sand for temporary protection against fire. The sand taken for this purpose on the lake side would be soon replaced by sand occasionally thrown over the 3-foot land-curve, and the sand taken on the bay side would be soon replaced by the drifting sand settling down behind and under the lee of the barrier thus erected, and the accretions by wind and waves would soon establish a full and broad 6-foot land-curve, now wanting on this portion of the head of the peninsula. On this base-line we also find a dangerous sinus in the bay shore-line. For this I would suggest the construction of a barrier about 750 feet in length, about 12 feet in width, constructed of brush and stone, on the line indicated on the map in pencil, to a height of one foot above the present stage of water. This would be a sufficient protection against any further deepening of the sinus, and the sand thrown over this barrier would be retained behind it and soon fill up the sinus, and thus the former shore-lines at this locality would be cheaply restored."

Second. At junction of base-lines 8 and 9 at this point, as described in place, there is only 70 feet in distance, and a light 3-foot land curve between the waters of the lake and a brushy pond, extending through very nearly to the bay. In front of this pond, along the lake-shore, there is a belt of fallen trees, 20 to 30 feet in width, with the roots to some of them yet attached, which have been undermined by the waves, lying at all conceivable angles with and upon each other. If the spaces between the trunks of the trees were first well filled with brush, properly disposed, and then well loaded with stone, I think this present imperfect barrier of fallen trees might thus be turned into a lasting and effective protection, not only at this point and the head of the Long Pond Marsh, but for the whole exterior line of the timbered portion of the peninsula. Piling and cribbing were both unavailingly tried for closing a breach at the head of the peninsula about the year 1844, as I am informed, and the methods above suggested conform as near as practicable to the methods at that time successfully employed.

For the further strengthening of all that portion of the head which is west of station 500+15 of base-line No. 8, I would suggest the planting between the bay shore-line and the line of the 6-foot land curve, two rows of silver-poplar slips, 100 feet apart, with the slips 100 feet apart in each row, alternating them so that the slips of one row would stand mid-way of the spaces of the other row, thus:

These slips in a few years would become trees, and throw up shoots almost as thick as a clover field, and with their roots interlacing each other would cover and bind the whole area of the head together, and grow up there a splendid forest, where there is now (especially on the western half of it) only an arid and unsightly waste of driftwood and sand.

Major WALTER MCFARLAND,

United States Engineer Corps.

A true copy.

IRVIN CAMP, Civil Engineer.

WALTER MCFARLAND,

Major of Engineers.

D 14.

Proceedings of a board of engineers convened at Erie, Pennsylvania, by virtue of the following order, viz :

[Special Orders No. 111.-Extract.]

HEADQUARTERS CORPS OF ENGINEERS,

Washington, D. C., October 10, 1870. 1. A board, to consist of the following officers of the Corps of Engineers, viz: Lieutenant Colonel I. C. Woodruff, Lieutenant Colonel J. G. Foster, Major Walter McFarland, will assemble at Erie, Pennsylvania, on the 17th instant, or as soon thereafter as practicable, to examine and report upon the condition of the peninsula of Erie Harbor, especially the western portion of the same, and prepare such plans for its protection, with estimates of cost, as the preservation of the same may seem to require.

[ocr errors]

*

By command of Brigadier General Humphreys.

*

*

THOS. LINCOLN CASEY,

Major of Engineers.

ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, October 18, 1870. The board met at 10 a. m.-present, all the members-and organized for business by the reading of the following letter of instructions:

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS,
Washington, D. C., October 8, 1870.

COLONEL: In pursuance of Special Orders No. 111, headquarters Corps of Engineers, dated October 8, 1:70, a board of engineers, of which you are the presiding officer, is to meet at Erie, Pennsylvania, on the 17th instant, to examine into the condition of the peninsula of Erie Harbor, (especially the western portion of it,) and report whether it needs any protection. If, in the judgment of the board, such protection is required, a plan, with estimate of cost, will be submitted.

Major McFarland has been instructed to lay before the board all maps, plans, and other information in his possession bearing upon the subject, comprising a report and map of a recent survey of the harbor, made under instructions from this office. Should the board require any further information than he is able to afford, application should be made to this office.

By command of Brigadier General Humphreys.

Very respectfully,

Lieutenant I. C. WOODRUFF,

Corps of Engineers, No. 16 Broadway, New York City.

JNO. G. PARKE,
Major of Engineers.

Major McFarland then laid before the board the following maps and reports, viz:

1st. Anderson's map of Erie Harbor, Pennsylvania, 1819.

2d. Williams's sketch of United States works at head of Presqu' Isle Bay, accompanying annual report of 1838.

3d, De la Camp's map of Erie Harbor, Pennsylvania, made under direction of Brevet Colonel W. F. Raynolds, Major of Engineers, in

1865.

4th. Map of the survey of the head of the peninsula, Erie Harbor, Pennsylvania, made under direction of Major Walter McFarland, Corps of Engineers, in 1870.

5th. Report of Major Walter McFarland, Corps of Engineers, upon the survey of the head of the peninsula, Erie Harbor, Pennsylvania, made under his direction in 1870.

6th. Report of Colonel Irvin Camp, Corps of Engineers, who made the last-mentioned survey.

After discussion of the reports and comparison of the maps presented, the board proceeded, at 24 p. m., to the head of the bay, and made a personal examination of the peninsula, from the oil-well to the end of base-line No. 5, a distance of about two miles and a quarter, returning by the same route and reaching the city at 6 p. m., when they adjourned to meet the next day at 9 a. m.

WEDNESDAY, October 19, 1870. The board met at the time appointed, and resumed the consideration of the subject before them.

Commander George Brown, United States Navy, having kindly offered the use of his gig, the board at 10 a. m. started in it to resume their personal examination of the peninsula, landing on its bay side and examining every part of it from the point where the preceding day's examination terminated to the end of the base-line No. 12, the eastern limit of Major McFarland's survey.

At 24 p. m. they proceeded in a steam-tug out of the harbor and along the lake side of the peninsula to a point opposite the eastern extremity of base-line No. 12, landed, and made a personal examination of the shore-line from that point to a point on the outer shore opposite the head of Long Pond, after which they returned to the city, and at 6 p. m. adjourned to meet the following day.

THURSDAY, October 20, 1870.

The board met at half past 9 a. m., and after consulting with Messrs. Noble, mayor of the city, Dobbins, King, and Arbuckle, old residents, as to their recollection of the condition of the peninsula in the past, the injuries which it had sustained from the waters of the lake, and the means taken to repair those injuries, proceeded at 2 o'clock p. m. again to the peninsula, and passing in small boats through Big Pond and Long Pond, landed and carefully examined the stretch of swamp and woodland which lies between the head of Long Pond and the lake, and after examining also the condition of the beach near the light-keeper's dwelling, at the north pier of the harbor, and the growth of the slips of silver-poplar which were set out here in April last, returned to the city, and at 6 p. m. adjourned to meet the next day.

FRIDAY, October 21, 1870. The board met at 9 o'clock a. m., and agreed upon the following

REPORT.

From the investigations made by the board, and the information. obtained from official records and other sources, it appears that systematic operations have been in progress under the direction of the Engineer Department, and large appropriations have from time to time, since the year 1834, been made by Congress, to the end of protecting the western extremity of the peninsula, and restoring the connection of the peninsula with the main land by what has been known as the "Neck." These operations of the United States have been successful, and the western extremity is now stronger than it has been since the break or crevasse through the Neck, which occurred somewhere about the year 1830, and remained open for the space of about twenty years, having been closed about the year 1854.

The expedient finally adopted for closing this crevasse was suggested by General Hartman Bache, of the engineers, and consisted in laying brush and loading it with stones, a process which has been applied in the course of the last few years, and has been successful in the protection of Provincetown Harbor, Massachusetts, under the direction of General J. G. Foster, lieutenant colonel of engineers.

The expedient for maintaining the continuity of the shore-line along the Neck and the peninsula is thus clearly indicated, and should not be lost sight of in any future operations that may be undertaken.

« PreviousContinue »