The first successful attempt to form any artificial improvement on the navigable channels of this re gion of shallows, led to the completion of the Dis mal Swamp Canal. This canal of intercommunica tion between the basins of North Carolina and Vir ginia was navigated, and produced tolls as early as 1822. It commences on Deep creek, a branch of Elizabeth river, and extends through Dismal Swamp to Joyce's creek, a confluent of Pasquotank. It is in length 23 miles, and rises 161 feet above the At lantic level; 40 feet wide at top, with 61 feet water; it is connected with Lake Drummond by a feeder of five miles in length and 44 feet water.
Since the original plan of the Dismal Swamp Canal was partially carried into effect, it was sug gested to give it a depth of eight or ten feet water, to render its capacity adequate to receive any vessel which could pass the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal; but the shallowness of the southern sounds restricted their navigation to vessels drawing seven feet water at most, and therefore unless the Dismal Swamp Canal could have been followed by a line of equal depth, it was useless to give it a greater depth than requisite for the coasting trade of North Caro lina.
A line of canals and river navigation has, how ever, been proposed, which will, no doubt, with modifications to suit local circumstances, be in time effected. This great plan is to commence with, and both widen and deepen, the Dismal Swamp Canal, and, in place of debouching in Pas quotank river, carry it into Chowan river, at or near the mouth of Bennet's creek, and thence down the channel, or along the bank of Chowan, to its junction with the Roanoke, and on to Plymouth, and up the Roanoke to the port of Williamston. From the latter point it is 21 or 22 miles nearly due south to Washington on Tar or Pamtico river. From Washington, again, it is only 16 miles, also in a southern direction, to the navigable waters of Neuse river, in Swift creek, at Dawson's Bridge. From Dawson's Bridge, a natural channel of 35 miles down Neuse river, past Newbern, leads to the great bend of Neuse Bay, and to Adams creek. Thence up the latter, which affords 12 feet water, and, by an intermediate canal of three miles, to North river, down which, by good navigation, to Beaufort. The whole of this line of from 180 to 200 miles, of which at least 70 would be by natural channels, would receive the influx of Chowan, Roan oke, Tar, and Ncuse rivers, and, as may be seen by reference to Table VI., would be supported by the productive labour of the inhabitants of upwards of 56,000 square miles.
By a report made to the congress of the United States, 9th March, 1826, by the Engineer Depart ment, through the secretary of war, this, or very nearly a similar route from Norfolk to Beaufort, is strongly recommended; but, from the tenor of the report, it is evident the framers had Beaufort har bour constantly in view, as the southern termina tion, and such a line would, no doubt, be a work worthy of a nation, but is demonstratively only a part of what is necessary and practicable to unite the deep bay of Chesapeake with the basins of South Carolina and Georgia. Any canal carried, as pro posed, into Neuse river, by Swift creek, could be continued up that stream to its great bend, in Le noir county, and thence into the North branch of Cape Fear river; or could leave the Neuse at New bern, and follow the Trent into Duplin; and thence into the North branch of Cape Fear river; follow ing either of the latter routes, and down the North branch, would enter Cape Fear river at Wilming ton.
Cape Fear river itself, from the relative position of its basin, and the course of its channel, compara tively with those of the Neuse to the north-east ward, and Great Pedee to the west and south westward, is a region of great interest. In our de scription of the basin of Pedee, it may be seen how very near the main volume of Cape Fear river ap proaches the sources of Waccamaw and Little Pe dee, and with how little comparative expense a ca nal could be made from the basin of Cape Fear river into that of Pedee. The canal and river improve ments southward from Pedee basin inclusive, have been noticed under the heads summed in Table V. We now proceed to review the canal and road improvements in the North Carolina basin.
The rendering even partially navigable the sounds along the lower part of the basin of North Carolina, were such a work practicable, would do honour to a nation; but there is one alternative too often lost sight of in projects of every kind in the United States, and that is, " Is this work the most eligible to effect the purpose intended?" By an act of Con gress, the 20th of May 1826, it was required, that " a survey be made of Roanoke Inlet and Sound (Albemarle), with a view to ascertaining as to the practicability of making a permanent ship channel between Albemarle Sound and the Atlantic Ocean, at Roanoke Inlet." The prefatory remarks of a re port made in virtue of the required survey, as quoted in Armroyd's Internal Navigation of the United States, contains more than a doubt of at taining the object. " It is impossible," states the report, " to enter upon the discussion of the pro posed project, involving such important conse quences to the populous and productive portions of the country watered by the Roanoke river, without feeling deeply sensible of the difficulties in effecting so desirable an object, and the degree of uncertainty attending the result of any operations where the causes to be governed are so infinite and powerful. Wherever the course of nature, in her marine ope rations, is to be governed, there is probably no sub ject within the range of the science where so much is deduced from hypothesis, and where, necessarily, in the result, there is so little certainty." It demands no abstract reasoning to determine the preference, where the object in view is the same, between an intended work, where " Nature, in her marine operations, is to be governed," and another placed beyond the reach of so uncontrollable an agent as an ocean. There is, perhaps, no other con trast more striking than to see the volume of water in a canal so completely under the control of man; and yet performing operations beyond all human force, and the utterly ungovernable mass of water rolling to and from an ocean coast.