X X 14. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF KOOTENAI RIVER BETWEEN JENNINGS, MONTANA, AND THE INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY LINE, WITH A VIEW TO REMOVING OBSTRUCTIONS TO NAVIGATION. [Printed in House Doc. No. 98, Fifty-sixth Congress, second session.] OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith for transmission to Congress copy of report dated June 21, 1900, by Capt. Harry Taylor, Corps of Engineers, upon preliminary examination authorized by the emergency river and harbor act approved June 6, 1900, of Kootenai River, between Jennings, Mont., and the international boundary line, with a view to removing obstructions to navigation. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. ELIHU ROOT, JOHN M. WILSON, Brig. Gen., Chief of Engineers, REPORT OF CAPT. HARRY TAYLOR, CORPS OF ENGINEERS. GENERAL: I have the honor to submit the following report relative to the preliminary examination of the Kootenai River between Jennings, Mont., and the international boundary line, with a view to removing obstructions to navigation, in compliance with your letter of the 13th instant. The Kootenai River between Jennings and the international boundary line, a distance of 65 miles, is now fairly good for purposes of navigation. At extreme low water it is obstructed at several places by shoals over which there is not sufficient water for navigation. At the higher stages the only obstruction of any consequence is a canyon about 5 miles above Jennings, where the rock walls of the river approach each other to such an extent as to cause swift and dangerous currents. The act of July 19, 1897, appropriated $5,000 for the improvement of the river by the removal of the obstructions in the canyon above Jennings. Work was carried on under this appropriation until it was exhausted and the project under which it was made was completed. There is at the present time little, if any, settled country between Jennings and the boundary line. During former years the navigation of the river has been for the purpose of bringing out the ores in the country tributary to Fort Steel, British Columbia, and carrying supplies into the country. During the calendar year 1897 the value of the commerce on the river, as obtained from the collector of customs, was $268,266; for the year 1898, $129,562. There was no navigation on the river during the year 1899. The decline in the navigation of this river was brought about by the building into the country tributary to Fort Steel of a branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway known as the Crow's Nest Pass Branch. The Kootenai River between Jennings and the boundary line can never be navigated for more than part of the year. At extreme low water there is not sufficient water for boats of any size to navigate, and during the winter there are several months when it will always be closed by ice. In my opinion, there is no commerce on the river at present or immediately prospective which justifies any further expenditure of money. The above report is submitted from data available in this office. I have never made a personal examination of this stretch of river. In August, 1898, I examined the canyon above Jennings and attempted to make an examination of the river above that point, in order that I might be prepared for such a report as is called for at the present time, should one ever be called for. I left Jennings on a steamer which was bound for Fort Steel, British Columbia. In the 5 miles between Jennings and the canyon the steamer went aground several times on the shoals which occurred almost every mile. It took more than four hours to make the 5 miles to the canyon. The round trip to Fort Steel should have been made in three days, but the captain of the steamer was uncertain whether it would take him three days or three weeks, and as there was no way out of the country except by river, I did not feel under the circumstances like spending the necessary time to make the examination. Owing to the fact that there was at that time no other means of getting in and out of the country, the freight returns were enormously high, and if a few trips could be made by the steamer during high water in the summer the returns were sufficient to justify the running of the boat. But I believe that the competition of the railroad has so changed matters that a boat will never again run on this part of the river. Moreover, the river above the international boundary line, I understand, is of the same character as between Jennings and the boundary line, and any money expended in the improvement of the portion of the river in the United States would be practically wasted, if a like improvement of the river on the other side of the boundary line were not made. At some future day the country between Jennings and the boundary line may become so settled up as to demand the navigation of that section of the river alone, but, in my opinion, it is not demanded at the present time. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, HARRY TAYLOR, Captain, Corps of Engineers. Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. Brig. Gen. JOHN M. WILSON, (Through the Division Engineer.) [First indorsement.] U. S. ENGINEER OFFICE, PACIFIC DIVISION, Respectfully forwarded to the Chief of Engineers. The opinion of the district officer, that the navigation of this section of the river is not demanded at the present time, and that any money expended in its improvement would be practically wasted, is, for the reasons stated, concurred in. This section of the river is, in my opinion, unworthy of improvement by the General Government at the present time. S. M. MANSFIELD, [Second indorsement.] OFFICE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, U. S. ARMY, October 25, 1900. Respectfully submitted to the Secretary of War, concurring in the opinion of the local engineer and of the division engineer, that improvement of the locality by the General Government in the manner indicated by the act authorizing the examination is not advisable. JOHN M. WILSON, Brig. Gen., Chief of Engineers, [Third indorsement.] WAR DEPARTMENT, The views of the local officer and of the division engineer, as concurred in by the Chief of Engineers, are approved. ELIHU ROOT, APPENDIX Y Y. SUPERVISION OF THE HARBOR OF NEW YORK. REPORT OF LIEUT. COMMANDER H. M. HODGES, UNITED STATES NAVY, SUPERVISOR, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1901. WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE SUPERVISOR OF THE HARBOR Of New York, New York, July 12, 1901. GENERAL: I have the honor to submit herewith the following report of the duties and operations of this office for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901; also an estimate of the amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1903. The object of this office is to protect the channels of the harbor and tributary waters from injurious and obstructive deposits, and to keep them free from small craft engaged in fishing or dredging for shell fish, or in any way interfering with the safe navigation of those channels by ocean steamships and ships of deep draft; and in order to present a clear statement of the requirements of this office in enforcing the provisions of the acts of Congress under which it operates, it is necessary to present a brief summary of the method adopted for that purpose. The entire force, consisting of five steam tugs and three launches, is comparatively small when the large territory placed under the jurisdiction of the office is considered; this comprises the entire waters of Long Island Sound, the Hudson River as far as Troy, Staten Island Sound, Newark Bay, and New York Bay and Harbor, together with the tributary waters thereto. Of the force stated this office has been unable to utilize but five steam tugs and one naphtha launch, the other two launches being laid up, both being old and in need of a thorough overhauling and extensive repairs to make them fairly serviceable. The engines are old and of an obsolete type, the cost of repairs outweighing the cost of new engines; and as the sum available for the running of the entire force may be ample while all the vessels are comparatively new, it is inadequate when they become old and repairs increase. For this reason it was found impracticable to bring these launches out during the current appropriation. Although these little boats are useful in many ways, I do not think a sufficient service is rendered by them to compensate the expense of patching and running, and concur in the opinion as quoted by my predecessor in the annual report for 1899, viz: I doubt if their present condition would warrant an expenditure sufficient to put them in permanent efficient condition. |