APPENDIX V V. IMPROVEMENT OF CERTAIN RIVERS AND HARBORS IN WESTERN OREGON, OF UPPER COLUMBIA AND SNAKE RIVERS, OREGON AND WASHINGTON, AND OF CLEARWATER RIVER, IDAHO. REPORT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1901, WITH OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE WORKS. OFFICERS IN CHARGE, CAPT. WM. W. HARTS AND CAPT. W. C. LANGFITT, CORPS OF ENGINEERS. 16. Columbia River, Oregon and Wash- | 17. Snake River, Idaho and Washington. ington, between the foot of The Dalles Rapids and head of Celilo HARBOR LINES. 18. Coos Bay, Oregon. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, GENERAL: I have the honor to submit herewith annual report * * * for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901, for works of river and harbor improvement in my charge. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Brig. Gen. G. L. GILLESPIE, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. W. C. LANGFITT, Captain, Corps of Engineers. V V I. IMPROVEMENT OF COQUILLE RIVER, OREGON. GENERAL IMPROVEMENT. Information concerning the project for the construction of two hightide rubblestone jetties, so placed at the mouth of Coquille River as to cause the latter to empty into the Pacific Ocean by means of a new channel running straight out to sea and having the low-tide depth of 8 feet (equivalent to 13 or 14 feet at high tide), and information concerning the result of operations in former years, is cited in the summary of this report. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901, the south jetty was completed and the old incomplete north jetty tramway and north jetty (which had in former years been built for the distance of 510 feet, but afterwards practically destroyed by heavy seas) were rebuilt throughout for the distance of 510 feet. This work was done under contract with John Kiernan, of Portland, Oreg., dated August 15, 1899. (Operations under this contract were commenced in October, 1899, and for information concerning the general requirements of the contract and the result of operations under it from October, 1899, to June 30, 1900, attention is invited to the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1900, pp. 4267-4268.) The work required under this contract was completed on March 4, 1901. Between July 1, 1900, and March 4, 1901, the contractor furnished and placed the following-named quantities of materials in the portions of the work named: Gross amount earned by contractor... Less deductions for rent of Government plant, eight and four- $1,404. 33 12,934.88 17, 069. 72 $813.33 189.85 468.00 1, 471. 18 Net amount paid contractor for materials furnished and placed dur- 15, 598. 54 The placing of the above-named materials resulted in completing the south jetty, in rebuilding the incomplete north jetty tramway throughout the distance that it had been built in former years, and in rebuilding the old incomplete north jetty for the same distance. The south jetty as completed during the past year is about 2,700 feet long (the sea end being at tramway bent No. 68), and the incomplete north jetty tramway and north jetty as rebuilt being 510 feet long (the sea end of the tramway and jetty being at tramway bent No. 34). It is estimated that to accomplish the improvement contemplated by the existing project the north jetty should be about 1,500 feet long when completed. During the past year brush mattresses were placed by the contractor, as a foundation for the north jetty, throughout the 510 feet between the shore end and the present sea end of the jetty. These mattresses were 22 feet wide, 22 feet long, and averaged 24 feet thick after being compressed. The mattresses were constructed as follows: A grillage, composed of poles about 5 inches in diameter laid 4 feet apart and crossed at right angles with similar poles at 4-foot intervals, was first constructed, the poles in the grillage being lashed securely together at each crossing with No. 12 galvanized annealed iron wire. Upon this grillage the mattress was built, consisting of three layers of brush fascines, the layers being laid at right angles to each other. The three layers of fascines were then topped with another grillage of poles similar to the bottom grillage, described above. The entire mattress was then compressed as much as possible and the upper and lower grillages lashed together with manila rope. Except at the extreme shore end of the jetty, where they were built directly in place, the mattresses were built by suspension from the tramway, being lowered into position and sunk by weighting them with stone. Side mattresses, also, were placed on the channel or south side of the line of the north jetty in the 200 or more feet between tramway bents Nos. 20 and 34. These side mattresses were similar to the center mattresses, excepting that they were only about 18 feet wide. They were built on skids placed on the top of the tramway, from which they were launched and sunk in place. In a few instances they were built directly in place, the tide being very low and the sea smooth. The stone placed in the south jetty during the past year was taken by the contractor from Tupper Rock, a huge bowlder near the shore end of the south jetty, a portion of which bowlder is owned by the United States and the remainder by the contractor. As in former years, this stone was loaded on dump cars at the quarry, hauled out on the tramway by means of a small locomotive to the proper point over the jetty, and then dumped along the line of the jetty below. The south jetty was completed August 1, 1900. The contractor commenced the work of rebuilding the incomplete north jetty tramway July 8, 1900, and completed the 510-foot section December 30, 1900. This structure is similar to the south jetty tramway, the bents being placed 15 feet apart, each bent consisting of 4 piles driven to an average penetration of about 10 feet, capped by a 12 by 12 inch timber 22 feet long, and carrying a double track, the gauge of each track being 3 feet. The rails were spiked to 12 by 14 inch stringers 30 feet in length, driftbolted to the caps. The delivery of the rubblestone for rebuilding the 510-foot section of the north jetty was begun by the contractor September 11, 1900, and the enrockment was fully completed throughout the 510 feet on February 25, 1901. The stone placed in the north jetty was obtained by the contractor from a new quarry on the north bank of Coquille River, about 13 miles above the mouth of the latter, and on land owned by John Donaldson, from whom it was leased by the contractor. The quarry is a sandstone formation, and the rock weighs about 149 pounds per cubic foot. The stone was loaded on scows at the quarry by a derrick. The scows had a carrying capacity of 200 tons each. They were towed between the quarry and the wharf near the shore end of the north jetty by the contractor's tugboat. At this wharf a derrick transferred the stone from the scows to dump cars. The latter were then hauled by a small locomotive over an elevated track connecting the wharf with the shore end of the north jetty tramway, and the stone dumped from the tramway along the line of the jetty below. The cars loaded with stone for the jetties were weighed by means of track scales. In connection with the north jetty work, the contractor built, at his own expense, a receiving wharf and about 1,100 feet of elevated tramway leading from the wharf to the shore end of the north jetty tramway. Under the terms of the contract, this wharf and tramway became the property of the United States. The average number of men employed each day by the contractor on the work during the past year was about 25. The Government plant rented to the contractor for his use in carrying on the work under the contract, was returned to the United States on March 4, 1901, excepting a few articles, the value of which was deducted from the final payment made to the contractor. This plant has been in use for a number of years and is now in need of more or less repairs. Since the work of rebuilding the 510 feet of the old incomplete north jetty was completed, in February, 1901, the depth in the new bar channel has ranged from 7 to 13 feet at mean low tide, which is an increase of several feet over the depths which prevailed previously. It is not expected, however, that the increased depth will be maintained permanently until the north jetty is extended farther seaward, as provided for in the project for improvement. An attempt was made in November, 1900, to remove the channel. rock, referred to on page 4269 of the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1900, by surface blasting. Five charges, each of 400 pounds of nitrogelatin, were exploded on the highest portion of the rock, but soundings made afterwards showed no material increase in the depth of water over the rock. It is believed that it will be necessary to drill the rock before it can be successfully blasted. Mr. William G. Carroll, inspector, has been in immediate charge of the work in progress at the mouth of the river during the past fiscal year. During the past fiscal year the completed south jetty, which is about 2,700 feet in length, deteriorated slightly at its sea end, the crest of the 90 feet of the sea end having been beaten down by heavy seas, so that at present that portion of the crest of the jetty does not extend above mean low tide. This does not lessen the effectiveness of the jetty to any appreciable extent, however. With the small balance available July 1, 1901, together with the $75,000 named in the appended money statement as the amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30, 1903, for |