US73318A - Improved method of stopping crevasses - Google Patents

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mami-Ln' Yamcmgj mm "im SK www1 I 73318 PATENTED m1141868 @uitrit tutes getrapt @fitta LOUIS A. GOSS-IN,` OF LAFOURCHE PARISH, 'LOUIS-IANA.. Letters .Patent No. 73,31 8dated January 14, 1868.

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Tov ALL WHoM 1T MAY ooNcnRN: I v i Be it known that I, Il. A. GrossIN, of theparish of Lafourche, in the' State of Louisiana, have invented a certain new, useful, and improved Boat. or Floating Dock for Closing Crevasses; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, cleamandenact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawing, making a part of this specification, and which is a perspective view of my dock as-when covering a break in a levee, preliminary to the repairing or rebuilding of the same, a part of the piles, however, being removed on both sides ofthe boat, to show the peculiarities of its construction.

The dotted lines at the ends of the drawing vexhibit the conformation 'ofthe interior structure, or boat4 proper, at the two ends thereof. 1

But before proceeding to describe my invention, or the mode of applying it to use, it is proper to advert -to the fact that, owing to the want of suiiicient elevation, l?oth. banks of'the Mississippi river, excepting only at a very few points, are subject, whenever there is a freshet in the river, to inundation, and that, hence, earth embankments, called levees, have to be'thrownup, in' order that the rich alluvial lands that border upon the river may be secured to the uses of agriculture," When these embankments give way underthe action of shift. ing currents, from the greaty pressure of the-water, the imperfect construction of them, or any other cause, there is, of course, a general ov'erow of the lands proximate to and below the point that has yielded, and very great consequentrloss inevitably follows, not alone to the individuals directly concerned, but to the country. Occasionallya crevasse, for thatis the name technically given to a break in a levee, is stopped 'before the inundation assumes very extended or' damagingproportions. But this is never the case unless the necessary material for closing it is close at hand and agreat number of laborers can be immediately procured to apply that material. Heretofore n o certain meansy of stopping crevasses have ever been devised, and hence my invention, in that it presents such a means, supplies a want that hes-been a most urgent and pressing one ever since the settlement of the southwestern portion of our. country, but never more so than duringthe last three years, in consequence of the successive wide-spread and destructive overiiows resulting from crevasses.

. Having thus shown the importance of my invention, I proceed now to describe it by reference to the drawings. i i v A represents a let-bottom boat or floating dock, which may be of any suitable length, say from two hundred to six hundred feet, and having one of its sides in aright line, or straight, whilst the other is curved, so ns the better to resist the pressure of the current when the dock is blocking up a orevasse, The boat A is provided with water-valves, of suiilcient capacity to secure a. rapid depression or sinking, by the admission of water, to a. point that will bring the bottoni of the boat below the surface of the natural bank; and also Vwith pumps, to discharge this water, after the break in the levee has closed, from the boat.

Perpendiculsrly on both sides of the boat, inthe eternal surface of the hull, are formed the dove-tail v,grooves a, toreceive corresponding projections b, on `one of thek sides, of heavy planks or piles F. Suitable vdimensions for the piles F would-be four inches thick, exclusive of the dove-tail tongue b, twelve inches wide, and from twenty-tive to thirty feet long; and they are provided with dove-tail tongues and grooves c d on their edges. The location of the grooves a is calculated with reference tothe width of the piles F that is to say, they are cnt at such intervals apart as will secure the close juxtaposition or contact of the said piles when the latter are in position around the boat. `If the dimensions I have given for the piles F cannot be conveniently adopted, those dimensions may be diminished or expanded without changing the principles of my invention -The piles are to be shod at their lower ends with iron ferrules, with a sharp edge; and they may-be banded at the top ends, to prevent their splitting under the blows of the pile-driver.

Cranes are'placed in the boat A, in suchrpositions as to enable a pile-driver, connected with each of them, to force down the piles, ss'is shown at E on the drawings, and afterwards, by means of proper pulleys or other mechanical appliance, to draw them out of the earth when the levee has been rebuilt;

Preparatory to the operation of stopping'acrevssse, the piles F are all put into` position, as shown at D; that is to say, they are so placed that their lower ends shall bein the'same plane with the bottom of the boat A. This adjustment can be easily made by means of pins inserted into holes made at the proper pointon the inside ofthe said piles F. I must not omit to state that, secured at cach end of the boat, are strong iron rings or cleats, for holding the boat in positiomor for connecting two boats together lin case-the cr'evasse to be stopped is too wide to be covered 'by one.

In stopping a crevasse, the operation isasfollows: After vascertaining the precise depth of the water in the break, or over the natural surface of the bank, the boat, completely surrounded by the exterior coating-of piles F, is taken by a tow-boat just above the crevasse, the .convex or curved side being next the shore, and,

the lower end is securely fastened by strongl ropes or chains to the levee. lhe dock is then sunk ordepressed, y

by the opening of. the water-valves, and admitting water-into the hull, until the bottom thereof is lower than -the natural bank. llhe tow-boat is now disconnectedfrom the machine, which, under the influence of the current, will be swung around until the nnfastened end comes into contact with the levee below the orevasse, the straight sidev now being next the shore, as is clearly shown on the drawings. If the natural bank be straight and smooth, the flow ofwater will be stopped without further proceeding. vBut if the contrary obtain, and the bank be of irregular conformation, the pile-drivers are instantly put into operation to drive the piles into the earth, first, upon the straight side B of the boat, and if this do not stop the water, then upon the out or convex side of the boat. 'If allthis be not suilicient, as a last resort, a tarpaulin must be lowered on the outside of the boat, in such manner as to cover the Whole face of the piles, as well as a few feet of the'bottom beyond the point atwhich the piles have entered it: and this will be found in every case absolutely eiectual in 'stopping the water.

As soon 'as the iiow of water has'been stopped, the levee can be quickly re-established byl throwing it up anew; and the cranes being pnt to work, and the'piles drawn out of. the earth, the dock'may be at o'nce taken to another crevasse, and sov on, ad infinitum.

If the break in the levee should b e too wide to be covered by a singleboat, by securely fastening them together, two or more docks may be employed almost as eectively as one but with a boat four or vehundred feet in length, ready for action, it would scarcely ever happen that one would not lbe suiiicient. It requires many days, and sometimes many weeks, for a crevasse to attain a width of a hundred yards.- 4

The crane and pile-driver shown on the drawing are only illustrative. .In practice I sbouldoonstruct them diii'erently. Neither constitutes any part of my invention, nor do such appliances as I may use for pulling up the piles after a crevasse has been closed, and on that account I have not deemed it necessary to show any such appliance on the drawing. l l

Having thus described my invention, and shown the manner in which it is used, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters'Patent, is-

The construction and arrangement of the boat A and piles F, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as herein set forth.

L. A. G OSSIN.

Witness'es RUrUs R. RHODES, H. N. JENKINS.

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