APPENDIX X X.

ANNUAL REport of tHE MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1899.

OFFICE MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION,

St. Louis, Mo., July 12, 1899.

SIR: The Missouri River Commission beg leave to submit herewith their annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899.

ORGANIZATION AND MEETINGS OF THE COMMISSION.

No change occurred in the personnel of the Commission, which remained throughout the year as follows:

Lieut. Col. Amos Stickney, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., president. Mr. Garland C. Broadhead.

Maj. Thomas H. Handbury, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A.

Mr. C. L. Chaffee.

Maj. William L. Marshall, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A.

The duties of secretary were performed by the president of the Commission under Special Orders, No. 126, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, D. C., dated May 30, 1898, until December 31, when they were assumed by Capt. Graham D. Fitch, Corps of Engineers, in accordance with Special Orders, No. 232, Adjutant-General's Office, Washington, D. C., dated October 1, 1898. On the 15th of February, 1899, Captain Fitch was relieved by Capt. H. M. Chittenden, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., pursuant to Special Orders, No. 32, AdjutantGeneral's Office, Washington, D. C., dated February 8, 1899.

The Commission held three meetings during the year, viz, July 11-12, and October 27-29, 1898, and March 14, 1899. The Commission made two tours of inspection on the river during the year, one between August 25 and September 2, and the other between October 25 and 29.

APPROPRIATIONS AND ALLOTMENTS.

In the approved allotments from the appropriations of July 1, 1898, there have been no changes.

The urgent deficiency act, approved January 5, 1899, contained the following item:

For continuing and completing the work of protecting the bank in Pelican Bend, Missouri River, one hundred thousand dollars. And this sum shall be deducted from the sum of three hundred thousand dollars authorized to be appropriated and expended for continuing improvement of the Missouri River from its mouth to Sioux City, Iowa, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred, by the "Act making appropriations for the construction, repair, and preservation of certain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes," which became a law on June third, eighteen hundred and ninety-six.

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The river and harbor act, approved March 3, 1899, contained the following items:

For improving the Missouri River from its mouth to Sioux City, Iowa, according to plans and specifications of the Missouri River Commission, one hundred thousand dollars: Provided, That of this amount the following sums, or so much thereof as may be necessary, in the discretion of the Secretary of War, shall be expended for continuing improvements at the following places, namely: For work at the mouth of the Kaw River, in Missouri, five thousand dollars; for work on the right bank above the mouth of Little Blue River, in Missouri, five thousand dollars; for work above Glasgow, Missouri, ten thousand dollars; for work near Huntsdale, Missouri, ten thousand dollars; for local work above Kansas City, Missouri, not yet completed, twenty thousand dollars; for repairs on works and contingencies, fifteen thousand dollars: Provided also, That of the said amount of one hundred thousand dollars the sum of thirty-five thousand may be expended in operating snag boats on the Missouri River between Sioux City and its mouth, in removing snags, wrecks, and other obstructions.

Improving Gasconade River, Missouri: Continuing improvement, fifteen thousand dollars.

Improving Osage River, Missouri, by the construction of a lock and dam, in accordance with the plan and estimate submitted by the Missouri River Commission in their report of July twelfth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and printed in Volume Six of the Report of the Chief of Engineers for the year eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, twenty-five thousand dollars: Provided, That the Secretary of War may enter into a contract or contracts for such work and materials as may be necessary for the completion of such lock and dam, or the materials may be purchased and the work done otherwise than by contract, to be paid for as appropriations may from time to time be made by law, not to exceed in the aggregate one hundred and forty-six thousand dollars, exclusive of the amount herein and heretofore appropriated.

The sundry civil act, approved March 3, 1899, contained the following item:

Improving Missouri River from mouth to Sioux City, Iowa: For continuing im provement of Missouri River from its mouth to Sioux City, Iowa, including salaries, clerical, office, traveling, and miscellaneous expenses of the Missouri River Commission, surveys, permanent bench marks, and gauges, two hundred thousand dollars: Provided, That of this amount the following sums, or so much thereof as may be necessary, in the discretion of the Secretary of War, shall be expended in works of improvement at the following places, namely: Saint Joseph, Missouri, thirty thousand dollars; Omaha, Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, fifty thousand dollars; opposite Leavenworth, Kansas, five thousand dollars; Jefferson City, Missouri, twenty thousand dollars to improve the harbor at Jefferson City by compelling the current and channel of the river to the southside thereof; Nigger Bend, Missouri, ten thousand dollars; Randolph Bend, Missouri, fifteen thousand dollars; Lexing ton, Missouri, ten thousand dollars.

At its meeting of the 14th of March, 1899, the Commission recommended the following allotments from the above appropriations, which were approved by the Chief of Engineers and Secretary of War:

From river and harbor act:

For work at the month of the Kaw River..

For work above Glasgow, Mo

For work on the right bank above the mouth of Little Blue River

$1,000

5,000

For work near Huntsdale, Mo

10,000

For work, local works above Kansas City, Mo.

1,000

16,000

For work in first reach...

For work, repairs and contingencies.

13,500

For work, operating snag boat

15,000

For new plant

25,000

For general office expenses.

4,500

9,000

100,000

For new plant

For repair and contingencies.

For surveys, gauges, physical data, etc...

For salaries of the commission, travel and general office expenses.

The sum appropriated in the urgent deficiency act was specifically appropriated for the work at Pelican Bend, and no allotment by the commission was necessary.

SURVEYS AND EXAMINATIONS.

Under the project for a topographical survey of the Missouri River Valley between bluff lines from the mouth to Sioux City, Iowa, adopted by the commission September 6, 1894, no field work was done during the year, and the only work performed was the completion of the charts of the surveys of previous years.

These charts are fourteen in number, drawn to a scale of 1,000 feet to 1 inch, and embrace surveys made from 1894 to 1897, inclusive, covering the river from its mouth to 10 miles above Kansas City, Mo., a river distance of 400 miles.

The charts cover thoroughly all of the valley within 1 to 2 miles of the river, except where the bluffs lie nearer than those distances, and where the bluffs are farther away they have been separately located and platted; contour lines on the low ground are shown at 5-foot intervals, and on the bluffs at 20-foot intervals. For further details, see report of Asst. Engineer A. H. Blaisdell, Appendix A.

GAUGES AND PHYSICAL DATA.

On the Missouri River 22 permanent water gauges were maintained throughout the year independently of those maintained in connection with works of improvement, their records being reported weekly to this office.

Through the courtesy of the engineer officer in charge of the river above Sioux City, the weekly records of the gauges at Bismarck, N. Dak., Townsend, Mont., and Fort Benton, Mont., were also furnished during portions of the year.

Hydrographs of all the gauges were kept platted to date and any errors made manifest were at once traced and corrected.

There were but few inexpensive repairs needed on any of the gauges during the period of their maintenance.

During the fall one inspection trip was made.

The assistant making this trip, in addition to the inspection of gauges, was charged with other duties, such as the collection of commercial statistics, the inspection and measurement of bridges, and other work requiring the services of an engineer.

Of the 12 pilot bulletins maintained between the mouth and Kansas City, the one at Kansas City was continued throughout the entire year at the written request of local steamboat interests, but the others were discontinued during the months of December, January, February, and

March.

All the bulletins read from a stage 5 feet below standard low water, and dating from January 1, 1898, when the United States Weather Bureau lowered the zero elevation of their Hermann gauge to 68.2 feet above the St. Louis directrix, the bulletin readings practically correspond with the published records of the Weather Bureau.

The four permanent gauges on the Osage and the one on the Gasconade were continued without interruption. For further details regarding the gauges see report of Asst. Engineer A. H. Blaisdell, Appendix B.

REMOVAL OF OBSTRUCTIONS.

The snag boat Charles R. Suter was in commission from August 15 to November 19, and from March 18 to April 25, during which time she was engaged in removing snags and other obstructions from the river, and on inspection trips by the Commission.

During the year 430 snags were removed and 80 trees cut from the banks. The distance run on this work and on the inspection trips was 2,298 miles..

COMMERCE.

The statistics of commerce were collected as usual during the fiscal year. They show the following comparison with the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898:

For tables of statistics see report of Asst. Engineer A. H. Blaisdell, Appendix C.

CONSTRUCTION.

NEBRASKA CITY, NEBR.

The only work done at this point during the year consisted in the revetment of the bank for 210 feet above Dike No. 1 to prevent the action of a strong eddy which had developed at that point and which threatened the flanking of the dike. About the 24th of June the outer end of Dike No. 5 was carried away by the flood, including all the curved portion except four bents at the lower end.

ST. JOSEPH REVETMENT REPAIRS.

These include the revetments in Bon Ton, Belmont, and Elwood bends.

The original work in Bon Ton Bend was begun in 1881, and it was finally completed, with a total length of 19,331 feet, in 1889. Repairs have been made at various times in previous years, covering 7,866 feet of the revetment. During the past year repairs were made at five points, making an aggregate length of 1,955 feet.

The Belmont Bend revetment, 14,992 feet long, was constructed in 1891. Previous to the last fiscal year repairs to the revetment were made on about 4,361 feet of its length. During the past year a length of 2,270 feet was repaired.