378 



HELL-GATE, IMPROVEMENT OF. 



gerous to smaller ones. Its perils, however, 

 Lave not prevented it from being much used 

 as a thoroughfare between New York and the 

 Eastern ports, and numberless wrecks and mis- 

 haps have occurred. The removal of these de- 

 structive obstacles would not only shorten by 

 a great deal important commercial highways, 

 but would render New York twice as easy of 

 defense in case of a naval war and blockade. 

 The Government and the merchants of New 

 York, therefore, both turned their attention to 

 this object long before any sufficient method 

 of dealing with submarine obstructions of this 

 character was known. 



In 1848 Lieutenants-Commanding Charles 

 H. Davis and David Porter, of the Navy, made 

 a careful survey of Hell-Gate, and reported 

 upon the character of the dangers of the chan- 

 nel, the best manner of navigating it, and the 

 best plan for rendering it safer. The reports 

 of these officers pointed out the Gridiron as 

 the most dangerous reef, and the Pot and Fry- 

 ing-Pan Rocks, and Way's Reef, and the Bread- 

 and-Cheese Reef, by Blackwell's Island, as also 

 very dangerous. They proposed that Pot Rock, 

 the Frying-Pan, and Way's Reef, be destroyed 

 by blasting. Lieutenant Davis advised further 

 the clearing of the middle channel by blasting; 

 his associate questioned the feasibility of this, 

 and proposed the destruction of a part of Hal- 

 lett's Point Reef. The large reefs, Lieutenant 

 Davis proposed, should be faced with walls or 

 piers conforming to the shape which the wa- 

 ters had given the reefs, and provided with 

 spring-fenders, which would turn the vessels 

 striking against them into the channe^ways. 

 No sufficient method of submarine blasting 

 to carry out their projects was then known, 

 and these officers suggested no new device. 



The first efforts at opening the channel were 

 made in 1851, when $13,000 was raised by the 

 citizens of New York, and about $1,000 more 

 than that sum was expended on the different 

 rocks in Hell-Gate, including Pot Rock, the 

 Frying-Pan, Way's Reef, Shelldrake, Bald-head- 

 ed Billy, Hoyt's Reef, Diamond, and Hallett's 

 Point Reefs. The blasting done at that time 

 was on the plan of surface-blasting invented by 

 M. Maillefert, and was superintended by M. 

 Maillefert himself. It consisted simply in de- 

 positing charges of powder on the surface of 

 the rocks, and exploding them by an electric 

 current. This plan proved very successful at 

 the beginning ; but it was soon found that, 

 after knocking off the rough projections and 

 coming down to a smooth surface, it was very 

 difficult to go any deeper. Much of the labor 

 spent upon the portions of the rocks which 

 were cleared away might have been saved if 

 the services of the diver had been employed 

 in the selection of spots where the charges 

 might be so laid as to throw the dislodged 

 masses into deep water. The work accom- 

 plished by M. Maillefert was of high value, al- 

 though his method was entirely inefficient to 

 remove any considerable portion of the Hell- 



Gate rocks, or indeed to accomplish any more 

 than it did already. Nevertheless, Congress 

 was induced, during the following year, to ap- 

 propriate $20,000 for carrying on the work 

 which had already been begun by the private 

 subscriptions of citizens. Of this, $18,000 was 

 expended on Pot Rock, which was lowered 

 only about two feet. In 1856 the advisory 

 council to the "Commission relative to the En- 

 croachments and Preservation of the Harbor 

 of New York " made a report upon the subject 

 of improving Hell-Gate, recommending the re- 

 moval of Pot Rock, the Frying-Pan, Way's 

 Reef, a part of Hallett's Point Reef, and a 

 number of small rocks near shore, and the 

 construction of sea-walls quite similar to those 

 proposed by Lieutenant Davis. They advo- 

 cated the method of drilling, instead of the 

 Maillefert process. 



No improvements, however, were under- 

 taken until 1866, when the duty of examining 

 Hell-Gate was committed to Brevet Major-Gen- 

 eral Newton, of the U. S. Engineers. He sur- 

 veyed the different rocks, and made a report to 

 Congress the following year. In 1868 Congress 

 made the first appropriation ($85,000) for carry- 

 ing on the work according to the plan recom- 

 mended by General Newton. The history of 

 the operations for the first year or two is one 

 of accidents and vexatious failures. After the 

 appropriation of $85,000, proposals were is- 

 sued for the removal of the Pot and Frying- 

 Pan by contract. The contract was bid off by 

 Sidney F. Shelbourne, who worked upon these 

 rocks without success with a machine which 

 was driven at first by water and afterward by 

 steam power; this machine was finally wrecked 

 by a colliding scow. The Maillefert contract 

 expired at the close of the year 1869, after 

 "Way's Reef had been lowered to the depth of 

 17J feet, and Shelldrake to 18| feet. General 

 Newton finally took the work into his own 

 hands. 



The only method of drilling under water be- 

 fore in use, i. e., from diving-bells, would not do 

 here at all, on account of the powerful currents, 

 and also of the danger from colliding vessels. 

 It was after long reflection, and a close study 

 of the ground, that General Newton worked 

 out his idea of a cupola-scow. In his first re- 

 port he proposed a platform, which could be 

 floated on scows to the places of operation, 

 having sliding supports, which could be low- 

 ered to the bottom and then coupled together. 

 From this the drills could be worked by an 

 engine, and, to protect them from the cur- 

 rents, they could be made to pass through iron 

 tubes reaching to the bottom. Another ap- 

 paratus thought of was an iron caisson of oval 

 form, having its top above the water to sup- 

 port a platform for the operations, with self- 

 adjustable legs at its bottom. It should con- 

 tain chambers inside, which could be filled with 

 air when it was to float, and with water when 

 it was to sink. It became apparent, however, 

 that neither of these machines, if made of suf- 



