US60864A - Improved method op removing bars from rivers and harbors - Google Patents

Description

SYDNEY S. DURFEE, OF "CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN OR TO HIMSELF AND CHARLES A. GREGORY, OF SAME ILAOE.

Letters Patent No. 60,864, dated January 1, 1867.

IMPROVED METHOD 0I' REMVING .BARS FROM RIVERSAND HARBORS.

Be it known that I, SYDNEY S. DURFEE, of Chicago, county oi' Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented a 'newand'improvd Mode of Removing Sand Bais from the beds oi' Rivers, the mouths of Ports and Harbors, and other similar places; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full andexactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

The nature of'my invention consists in placing obstructions or agitators at the bottoms of rivers, or in the entrances of ports-and harbors, and other places of like character, where there'are bars of sand or gravel to be removed-,whereby the action of the current orv uiidertow is made to wear and wash away the bar, and thus deepen the channel. l

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I proceed to describe its construction and operation.

I take a chain of the proper size-and strength, that is to say,vfro'rn one-half tofthree-quarters of an inch, and long enough to extend quite across the bar I desire to remove, and attach to this chain at proper intervals, or at about twenty feet apart, which I think near enough to effect the purpose, a number of wooden blocks, from ifteen to twenty-four inches in height, and from ten to fifteen inches in width, and of the form represented in the drawing, Figure A, lor nearly resembling a tunnel, suchas is in common use for pouring liquids into a bottle, or of the form shown'in Figures C yD. This attachment may be made by means of rings set at proper intervals in said chain, and inserting the necks of the blocks into the rings, where they can be then secured by bolts or Screws, or may be made in any other suitable way. At each end .of the chain I attach, by way oi' anchor, a piece of iron, shaped as in the drawings, Figure Bkor very lmuch like the upper shell of a tortoise, convex above and concave below, and with a hole or hook,- or any other convenient attachment for the chain, about halt way between the apex of the anchor and the edge thereof. Or the anchor may be of any other suitable shape, so as not to be easily moved by the current, and of a sizeV and weight suihcient to keep the chain xed in one place, Onnearly so, and varying somewhat according to the length of the chain, the force of the current, and other attendantcircumstances. No exact rule as to weight can be given, but for all ordinary use I think four or iv'e hundred pounds would be sutlicient. If the chain is very long, one or more additional anchors may be employed, if required, in the middle of the chain or at convenient intervals. For all ordinary bars, however, an anchor at each end' will'suiciently answer the purpose. The chain thus prepared, with its blocks and anchors attached, is then to be sunk across the bar in the direction of the current at the place where ,itY is required to create a channel or 'to deepen one already existing. Other chains of equal length and prepared in the same manner are next placed across the bar parallel to the rst, and at a distance from each other varying, according to circumstances, from twenty to fifty feet. The distance is not important provided the chains are near enough to each other thoroughly to do the work. For all ordinary bars I think fifty eetto be the proper distance; if the bar is of a heavier and more compact character the chains may require to bc placed alittle ncarcr.- The number of chains will, ofcourse, depend upon the width of channel required, but partly, also, on the height oithe bar, the force of the current, and other circumstances. Iii-ordinary cases a single chain will open a channel of about fifty feet in width at the top, and considerably less than that at 'the bottom. Five chains, then, would open` a channel about two hundred and lii'tyfeet at the top, which would be as wide as is usually required. Ii' tire bar is very compact and heavy, or if the current or undertow is feeble, the chains would need to be nearer together than where the bar is ylight orvthe current strong.' No particular rule can be given here, and none needed, since whether the chains are placed at thirty, forty, or iifty feet apart, the cl'ect will be very much the same, only wherethey are nearer tbgether the work may be done somewhat sooner. y

The manner in which this invention operates is as follows: Wherever a bar is formed in thc bed oi'ar1.ve1, it will be found that the current, though rapid, is smooth and unbroken; hence it glides smoothly over the bar without impinging against itor cutting into it. But if, now, any obstruction is placed in the'bed of the river, the current is at. once broken and deflected from its straight course. If the obstruction is of the right shape, and, to acci-tain extent, if oi' almost any shape, the current is made to in'ipinge against the bottom, to cut into it, and necessarily, therefore, to cut it away and wash it away. Ii'these obstructions are placed near enough together, `and in a right line, the ei'ect will be to cut a channel more or less deep as far as the obstructions extend. Thus, in the particurf lar method `described above, a channel will be cut for the whole lengthof thc chain; the sand or mud will be cut casa: 2

into, loosened, and washed away. The chain, with its blocks attached, will contlnuallysettle lower and lower,

sandAwill be washed in towards the chain from lbeth sides and then washed away, until at last a suicient depth of water is obtained, when the chain may be taken up and'used elsewhere. In this way the current oi' the river is made to perform the whole work of cuttingaway the bar; no dredging is required, land no other expense except the comparatively triing cost of the chains, blocks, and anchors'. In' the mouths of harbors the same effect is produced, but in a somewhat di'ierent way. Here, as a general rule, there is little or no current at the bottom of the channel. But during every storm there is a heavy undertow, which will perform the same service .aslthe current in the river. This undertow only needs to be broken up into eddics and cross-currents to eut into and washI away the bar; which it will do with a rapidity hardly. to be believed by one who has never witnessed the operation. The same result may be produced on bars Where no channel previously existed; .and thus new harbors may be opened Whenever there is an inner body of water deepI enough for shipping, with a bar across the entrance.

Theadvantages of this invention are greatand manifest. In nearly all our harbors, both on the lakes and on the seaboard, the formation of bars in the channel is a great, a constantly renewed, and constantly increasing evil. The expense-of removing these bars in the ordinary way, by dredging, is immense; and yet they must'be 'removed or the trade and commerce of our lake and seaboard towns and cities will be seriously injured, or even wholly lost. The same is true, though to a less extent, with many of our rivers. Any'eheap and effectual way of removing the bars by which their navigation is impeded would be a national blessing, and this way I think I have invented.

In describing my invention above it will be seen that I have confined myself to. one particular contrivance, viz, a chain or series of chains, with wooden blocks of a certain shape attached. I have done this, not with any view of limiting my claim to this particular device, but simply because that is the form and arrangement which I deem, yon the whole, best tted to answer the intended purpose. It is obvious, however, that many `modifications of this plan may be adopted Without departing from the principle of my invention. Thus, instead of a chain,oa timber or timbers, or even a stout rope, may be used to' support the blocks; or each block may be kept in place by being attached to an anchor, made as above explained; or, instead of vusing blocks of wood, and of the particular shape shown in the drawings, other blocks, made of iron and hollow, or of any other suitable material, and of a .great variety of shapes, may be substituted.' None of these details of construction are deemed material. All that is essential is, ythat there should be a series 'of obstructions or agitators fixed in the bottom of the channel, to break the current and turn it against the bar, as above explained.

What I claim, then, as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The method of removing bars of sand, or mud, or gravel, in the beds of rivers, or at the mouths of ports and harbors, or similar places, by placing obstructions or agitators upon said bars, for the purpose of'breaking up the current, and thereby causing it to cut intoV and wash away the bar, all substantially as above shown.

In witness whereof I have hereto set my hand this 15th day of December, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.

SYDNEY S. DURFEE.

Witnesses Gnonen PAYsoN, OBADIAH Jackson.

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