Note 40 — Chapter XVIII

Inquiry has often been made what method was adopted in order to open a passage through obstacles such as I have described above. It may, therefore, be here remarked, that several modes were at different times resorted to, according to circumstances. Where the stakes were not driven in very firmly, it was easy, by fastening a hawser round the top of them, and making it fast to the steamer, to back her out, and pull them one by one away; but as this was a tedious process, a hawser was sometimes fastened round ten or a dozen of them in a line across the river, and carried from one to the other, but fastened to each of them in such a way as to leave about a few fathoms of slack rope between each pair. The end of the hawser was made fast to the steamer with a tolerable length of line out, and she was then backed at full speed. The momentum thus acquired was soon sufficient to drag the first pile away with a jerk; and this one being fastened already to the next, as before described, with a fathom or two of slack line between them, the force of the steamer, which still continued to back astern, was sufficient to jerk that one away also; and thus proceeding at full speed backwards, the steamer pulled them all away, one after the other, still remaining fastened together by the hawser; but the power of the jerk was only applied to one at a time.

In cases where the stakes were driven in to some depth, or where the bed of the river was tenacious, it was necessary to pull them fairly out perpendicularly, by luff-tackle led up to the mast-head. The piles were gradually loosened a little by being pulled to and fro; for which purpose chain-slings were passed round the head of the pile, and a hawser being then made fast, was led aft along the deck; thus by being pulled in various directions, sometimes one way and sometimes another, the pile was at length drawn fairly out, something like drawing a tooth. The bows of the steamer were run nearly close up to the piles during this operation, and she was steadied by a hawser run out from the quarter to the banks of the river.

A great point seems to lie in the management of the steamer itself, so as to be able to apply the power in the proper direction, and at the right moment. This is the more important, as the stream is generally pouring through or over the stakes with the greater impetuosity, owing to the obstruction it meets with from the obstacles in its way. This also constitutes the difficulty of getting through the opening, even after it is once made. It is often necessary to lay out a kedge on each bow to steady the vessel, as she works her way through, and to prevent her from falling broadside on to the stream.

Generally on these occasions the water was shallow, so that it was necessary to raise both keels of the vessel, and also the drop-rudder, and therefore it was sometimes extremely difficult to steer her under those circumstances, and the use of the kedges became the more necessary. In the present instance a space of twenty-two feet was opened, and the steamer was got through with considerable care and some difficulty.