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was transferred to work under the Mississippi River Commission, where I remained till May 16, 1899, when I resumed my position in charge of the work here.

The river and harbor bill of March 3, 1899, contains an item appropriating $25,000 for continuing the improvement of the Osage River; also authorizing the Secretary of War to enter into a contract for the completion of Lock and Dam No. 1, the amount of the contract not to exceed $146,000.

In accordance with the above provision, bids for the work were called for, and opened May 6, 1899. A contract was entered into May 16, 1899, with the lowest bidders, James S. Pollard and Joseph D. Wallace, of Champaign, Ill.

The contractors started a small force at work at the lock about June 1, and the force has gradually increased till at the end of the year a force of 25 to 30 men are employed.

The temporary buildings have been repaired and extended, machinery overhauled, and a considerable amount of excavation done for the abutment at the south end of the dam. I am informed that subcontracts for the iron, cement, piles, and a portion of the lumber required have been let, and the delivery of the material will begin very soon. The subcontract for the ironwork has been entered into with the Kenwood Bridge Company of Chicago. An inspection was made of their facilities for doing the work on June 9, and a number of samples of steel of sizes to be used were procured from their stock yard. Tests were made of these samples and the material found to be of a superior quality and entirely satisfactory,

Detail plans for the lock gates, emptying and filling valves, maneuvering gear for the gates, and plans for the dam, with all controlling mechanism, have been made and checked over, and requisitions made for such material as is to be furnished by the Government.

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ANNUAL REPORT ON THE GASCONADE RIVER, BY MR. F. B. MALTBY, ASSISTANT

ENGINEER.

MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION,

Osage City, Mo., June 22, 1899. CAPTAIN: I have the honor to submit the following report of operations on the Gasconade River for the year ending June 30, 1899:

Owing to a lack of appropriation no work of improvement has been done by the Government on the river since the summer of 1896. (See Report of 1897.) The river and harbor act of March 3, 1899, contained the item, "Improving Gasconade River, Missouri: Continuing improvement, $15,000."

Supervision of the improvement contemplated was placed under my direction by you on May 17, 1899.

Mr. S. F. Crecelius, assistant engineer, was placed in direct charge on May 22, 1899, on his resuming his position with the Missouri River Commission after being mustered out of the United States Army as captain of the Third Regiment of Volunteer Engineers. Since assuming charge of the work several interviews have been had with the steamboat men interested in the navigation of the river, to ascertain their wishes as to the work to be done. An examination has been made of the river from its mouth to the head of Priors Bend. A project for the season's work, with an estimate of cost, has been prepared, and it is hoped that it will be possible to begin operations early in the coming month.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Capt. H. M. CHITTENDEN,

Corps of Engineers, U. S. A.,

F. B. MALTBY, Assistant Engineer.

Secretary Missouri River Commission.

ENG 99-235

APPENDIX Y Y.

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA DEBRIS COMMISSION FOR THE. FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1899.

CALIFORNIA DEBRIS COMMISSION,

San Francisco, Cal., July 1, 1899.

GENERAL: The California Débris Commission has the honor to submit the following annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899. Previous reports of the Commission may be found as follows:

1894, Report of Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., pp. 3169 to 3177. 1895, Report of Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., pp. 4049 to 4075. 1896, Report of Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., pp. 3861 to 3874. 1897, Report of Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., pp. 3961 to 3980. 1898, Report of Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., pp. 3549 to 3569.

The Commission was created by act of Congress approved March 1, 1893. During the past year its members have been the following officers. of the Corps of Engineers, viz: Col. Chas. R. Suter, from July 1 to November 1, 1898; Col. S. M. Mansfield, from November 1, 1898, to June 30, 1899; Maj. W. H. Hener and Lieut. Herbert Deakyne for the entire year. Col. Suter was president of the Commission to November 1, 1898, and Col. Mansfield was president from November 14, 1898. Lieut. Deakyne was secretary for the entire year.

The State Débris Commissioner, the Hon. John F. Kidder, has been present at most of the sessions of the commission held during the year. Mr. Hubert Vischer, civil engineer, has been in the employ of the commission throughout the year, inspecting the operations of mines working under permits from the commission, looking after illegal mining in the district under the commission's jurisdiction, and conducting the investigation of a site for a restraining dam in the Yuba River.

The jurisdiction of the commission extends to hydraulic mining in that portion of the State of California drained by the Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems

The duties of the commission may be briefly stated to be: First, the prevention of such hydraulic mining as may be deemed injurious to the navigable waters within the commission's jurisdiction, permitting, under proper regulation, such mining in cases where it can be carried on without such injury; second, to mature general plans for the improvement of the rivers whose navigability has been injured by hydraulic mining, and, if practicable, to devise general methods whereby such mining may be carried on without damage to the navigable waters.

PREVENTION OF ILLEGAL MINING.

In accordance with the opinion of the Attorney-General of the United States (Appendix A, House Ex. Doc. No. 11, Fifty-third Congress, third session), the commission has, since the date of its last annual report (July 1, 1898), called the attention of the owners and operators of six

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