Block Island is likely to increase, especially in case the main breakwater is extended as above mentioned. If deemed desirable, however, when we come to the construction we can make the northern part of the inner breakwater on a line 100 or 200 feet further north with but little increase of expense. The Government wharf, which occupies the land side of the present inner harbor, is the only wharf at Block Island, except a private wharf which was built some years since outside the inner harbor and on the inside of the main breakwater, by permission of the Secretary of War. The latter wharf is used only in summer, and by steamers which carry visitors and excursionists from and to the mainland. The Government wharf is always overcrowded with the traffic of the island. All the freight carried to and from the island is brought here, and at it are landed the United States mails and the supplies for the four light-houses, which are on the island, and the steam fog signal. The enlargement of the inner harbor will allow additional private wharves to be built within it, and thus relieve the Government wharf, but the building of such wharves should only be by authority of the Secretary of War and under such conditions as may be prescribed by him. In the following estimate of the cost of the proposed enlargement I have not included any dredging of the area proposed to be included within the inner harbor. None will be necessary in the first instance, and when it becomes so it can be done gradually and as the wants of the harbor may require. As before suggested, any additional depth which may be gained by dredging in the enlarged inner harbor will be permanent. ESTIMATED COST OF THE PROPOSED ENLARGEMENT. 21,120 tons of riprap granite, at $1.65 per ton $34,848 Removing 4,000 tons of stone from the cribs which form the sides of the present inner harbor to the proposed inner breakwater, at 50 cents per ton.... Breaking up and removing the old cribs .... 2,000 200 Building new crib-work above the low-water line at the inner end of the western part of the proposed inner breakwater...... 520 334 cubic yards of dry stone masonry in the pier-heads at entrance to the 3,674 748 MY DEAR SIR: Yours of the 13th, in which you ask for the statistics of the use by vessels of the inner harbor or basin during the last few years, and especially during the last year, was received on Saturday. In reply would inform you that on its receipt I at once sought an interview with Mr. Uriah Dodge, who keeps the range-lights here, and also with my son, C. C. Ball, who keeps the store here, both of whom have more or less to do with the boats and vessels which frequent the harbor. There is no record kept by any one of the arrival and departure of vessels, hence I could gather nothing authentic, more than I have got together in a report which I inclose, which, in my opinion, is not far out of the way, and which I hope and trust will answer your purposes. The report may be considered as that of the past year; the three previous years on an average, say, 20 per cent. less. Mr. Dodge, the light-house keeper, says that thirty-five boats and small vessels fill the basin full enough, especially in bad weather. He further says: The general stock of swordfish here last season, at a rough estimate, is about. $12,000 Stock of mackerel Stock of codfish. Stock of flounders Stock of lobsters.. Fish caught in two "pounds" 10,000 18,000 8,000 800 5,000 11,500 65, 300 Total...... I think the estimate is too small by about 124 per cent. Should you want any information further please let me know and I will do the best I can for you. Yours, respectfully, Lieut. Col. GEO. H. ELLIOT, U. S. A. NICHOLAS BALL. P. S.-The mackerel fleet of 200 sail, which is spoken of in the report, I should say would average the past six years 100 sail that came into the outer bay for a harbor, the crews coming on shore in their boats to obtain water and supplies. Several years ago the fleet fished in these waters for two months and harbored around the island, one side or the other, nearly every night. N. B. STATISTICS OF THE USE BY VESSELS OF THE INNER HARBOR AT BLOCK ISLAND, RHODE ISLAND. Names of home vessels engaged in the fishing and freighting business.-Steamers: Geo. W. Danielson and Ocean View. Schooners: N. F. Dixon, Rose Brothers, Hattie Rebecca, Annie Godfrey, Laura Louise, Mystery, Laura E. Garnage, and about fifty others, including sloops, &c., Vessels from New London, Connecticut.-Schooners: Emma, Chapel Brothers, Maria, White Cloud, Hattie Douglass, Robert Gray, Nelson, Woolsey, Alnoma, C. M. Harris, Laurel, Conquest, Horizon, James Woolsey, Kate Church, Belle of the Bay, Scotia, Sloops Thorn, S. R. Packer, Favorite, Nettie Foote, Superior, Fashion, J. G. Freeman, Sharon, and about fifteen or twenty others whose names are not at hand. Vessels from Noank, Connecticut.-Schooners: Mary Hoxie, Emma, Jas. Potter, Mary Potter, Redwing, Phebe, Annie Fowler, Ada, Belle, Ira and Abby, Willey; steamer Eva. Sloops: S. B. Miller, Wildwood, Eagle, Millie, Isabella, Ella May, Tiny B., and about ten or fifteen others whose names are not at hand. Vessels from New Bedford, Massachusetts.-Schoouers : Quilip, Gracie Phillips, Bella, Emma Clifton, Wasp, J. W. Flanders, Maria, Black Swan, Spy, Yankee Bride, Village Belle, Penekese. Sloops: Transit, Frank Clarke, Carrie, Ida, Wm. Young, and about ten to fifteen others whose names are not at hand. In addition to the above there are about 225 mackerel and other fishing vessels from Cape Cod and the east; 50 menhaden steamers from different places, about 20 vessels from Newport, R. I., during the winter, quite a number from New York, and there are annually probably thirty cargoes from larger vessels, with coal wood lumber, bricks, &c., besides the numerous yachts and other craft which frequent here in the summer months, Government vessels with supplies, &c. The greater part of them are compelled to anchor in the outer harbor in consequence of the overcrowded basin. Vessels with cargoes are greatly inconvenienced, and often are compelled to wait for vacancies, and even then collisions are imminent, to the great disadvantage of all concerned. C 10. IMPROVEMENT OF LITTLE NARRAGANSETT BAY, RHODE ISLAND AND CONNECTICUT. Little Narragansett Bay lies on the north side of the eastern entrance from the ocean into Long Island Sound, and is inclosed on the southern and eastern sides by a long and narrow tongue of land, extending from the mainland at Watch Hill, first westerly and then northerly to the entrance to the bay, which is from the outer harbor of Stonington. Pawcatuck River, upon which is situated the flourishing commercial and manufacturing town of Westerly, R. I., empties into the eastern side of the bay, and has been improved by the United States. The mean rise and fall of the tide is 2.63 feet. ORIGINAL CONDITION. The navigable draught of water through the bay before improvement was about 4 feet at mean low water, and this depth limited the navigation of Pawcatuck River. PLAN OF IMPROVEMENT. The project of 1878 for the improvement of the bay provided for a channel 200 feet wide and 73 feet deep at mean low water, extending from the entrance to the bay to the mouth of the Pawcatuck, and the removal of the bowlders which then obstructed navigation, and any others which the excavation of the channel might develop. Subsequently it was determined to clear away some large bowlders which interfered with steamboat navigation between this channel and Watch Hill, an important place of summer resort. The estimated cost of the improvement was $51,000. A plat of Little Narragansett Bay, showing the improved channel, was published in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1879, page 314. AMOUNT EXPENDED AND RESULTS. The project was completed in the fiscal year 1883-84. The main channel as projected was excavated to its full width and depth, and the channel to Watch Hill was increased from 90 to 165 feet in width by the removal of bowlders. Vessels drawing 10 feet of water can now reach the mouth of the Pawcatuck River at high water, but the full benefit of the improvement cannot be utilized until further deepening of that river to enable vessels of the same draught to reach the important manufacturing town of Westerly. A report on this subject was submitted September 19, 1884, in compliance with the river and harbor act of Congress of July 5, 1884, which was printed as House Ex. Doc. No. 183, Forty-eighth Congress, second session, a copy of which will be found in Appendix C 13. The remainder of the last appropriation for this work is reserved for comparative surveys of Sandy Point, at the entrance to the bay, which seems to be affected by the construction of the breakwater in Stonington Harbor, and for rauge-marks on Pawcatuck Point to guide through the new channel. The total cost of the completed improvement was $35,856.96. Little Narragansett Bay is in the collection district of Providence and Stonington, the dividing line passing through the bay. Providence and Stonington are the near est ports of entry. The revenue collected in the last fiscal year was: Providence, $201,977.87; Stonington, $1,511.76. The nearest light-houses are the Stonington and Watch Hill lights. The nearest fortification is Fort Trumbull, New London, Conn. Money statement. July 1, 1884, amount available.. $143 04 143 04 C II. HARBOR OF REFUGE AT STONINGTON, CONNECTICUT. Stonington Harbor lies on the north side of the eastern entrance from the ocean into Long Island Sound. ORIGINAL CONDITIONS. Originally it was an open bay, unprotected from southerly storms and obstructed by a shoal, having at low water a depth of but 6 feet at the shoalest part. This shoal nearly filled the inner harbor, and left but a narrow channel on either side, of a depth insufficient to permit vessels of 12 feet draught to reach the upper wharves at low water. The mean rise and fall of the tide is about 23 feet. PLANS OF THE WORK. A short breakwater was constructed in 1828-1831, at a cost of $34,776.65, for the protection of the commerce of the town of Stonington. The original project of 1871 for the further improvement of this harbor, and its subsequent modification, under which the work is now carried on, embraced dredging in the upper harbor to secure an increased depth for the accommodation of the local shipping interests, and the construction of two breakwaters in the outer harbor, designed to inclose a large anchorage or harbor of refuge in southerly storms for general commerce, and also to protect the shipping in the upper harbor. One of these breakwaters, the western, was to be built out from Wamphassuck Point, the southwestern limit of the harbor, and extend out about 2,000 feet, and the other, the eastern, on which we are now working, was to extend from the vicinity of Bartlett's Reef to the Middle Ground. The western breakwater was completed in 1880, at a cost of $103,190. The amount expended in dredging was about $45,000. A plat of this harbor showing the positions of the breakwaters was published in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1884, page 632. AMOUNT EXPENDED AND RESULTS TO JUNE 30, 1884. The amount expended upon the eastern breakwater up to the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, including liabilities outstanding at that date, was $79,943.66, and its length at that date was 1,645 feet. OPERATIONS DURING THE LAST FISCAL YEAR. At the beginning of the last fiscal year, the former appropriation having been exhausted, no work was in progress. On the 28th of August, 1884, advertisements were issued for riprap stone for extending |