this office, the necessary information in regard to its practicability and proper location, &c., could only be ascertained from a survey of the locality, which was undertaken accordingly. As the construction of the lock and dam could not be commenced until the authority of Congress for the purchase of the land for their sites could be obtained (the usual item for purchase of land, &c., having been omitted from the act of August 2, 1882), and as the subject was involved in some difficulty, it was deemed advisable, with your sanction, to submit the whole question to a Board of Engineers constituted to consider and report upon it. The report of the Board is herewith submitted, and it will be observed that after a full and exhaustive consideration of the subject, the conclusion has been reached that a permanent dam with certain movable part or parts apparently satisfies all the conditions required, and comes within the intention of Congress. It is of opinion that a lock is at present unnecessary, and that by omitting it the work can be accomplished at much less cost, and the people interested benefited at a much earlier date. The conclusions of the Board are concurred in, and it is recommended that the report be sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the information of the Committee on Commerce, and with request that the requisite legislation be had. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, H. G. WRIGHT, Brig. and Bet. Maj. Gen. PRELIMINARY REPORT OF BOARD OF ENGINEERS. CINCINNATI, OHIO, November 19, 1883. GENERAL: The board of officers of the Corps of Engineers constituted by Special Order No. 146, dated Headquarters Corps of Engineers, Washington, D. C., October 30, 1883, "to take into consideration and report upon the application of the appropriation of August 2, 1882, for the erection of a lock and movable dam at the junction of the Three Forks of Kentucky River," has the honor to submit the following preliminary report: The Board met at Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 13th of November, upon the call of the senior member. As the project for the construction of the lock and dam at this point originated with Congress without previous report or collection of data, the Board, after full discussion of its instructions, concluded it best to proceed to the proposed site, in order to ascertain the wants of the commercial interests of the locality, and enable it to decide upon those questions which it was necessary to determine before the local engineer could present a suitable project. These were, 1st, whether a lock is necessary at the present time, and 2d, whether a dam, partly movable or one with chutes, would come within the intention of Congress in passing the appropriation. Accordingly it visited Beattyville, located at the junction of the Three Forks, and after making an examination, and freely discussing with the citizens at a public meeting called for that purpose as to the needs of commerce, ascertained the following facts: The interests to be benefited by this work are principally coal, iron, and timber, which abound in great quantities and of excellent qualities, 5908 EN -109 together with the productions of the salt-works located a short distance above Beattyville, on the South Fork. These cannot reach a market except by passing down the river, which is only navigable during the uncertain stages of high water. The rafts are formed and the coal is loaded in boats on sand-bars, or in the short natural pools, where they remain until the water is high enough to permit them to pass down the stream. In this exposed condition they are often subjected to destruction by sudden and violent rises, accompanied by ice in the winter season. These losses have been so great at times that, notwithstanding the immense deposits of coal and iron in this locality, and their accessibility, these interests still remain practically undeveloped. With the work proposed it is desired to form a pool which will extend several miles up the Three Forks, and into the streams emptying into them, where the boats may be loaded afloat directly from the mines, and allowed to remain in a safe harbor, together with the rafts that may be accumulated, until such a time as they may proceed down the river. After considering these conditions, together with the data obtained during a recent survey, the board approves of the selection of the site. It is also of the opinion, and this is accepted by the citizens of the neighborhood, that the construction of the lock may be deferred without injury to the wants of commerce until such a time as the slackwater navigation of the river is extended to this point. A permanent dam, with certain movable part or parts, apparently satisfies all the conditions and comes within the intention of Congress. By removing the removable part at such times as there is sufficient water the boats and rafts may pass freely through the dam and take full advantage of the freshet wave without the delays incident to a lock. A lock is principally necessary for ascending navigation, but as the testimony received by the Board shows this to be exceedingly small at the present time, owing to the construction of railroads which supply the needs of the country above this point, it seems to be unnecessary for the present. By omitting the lock the work can be accomplished at a much less cost, and the people interested benefited at a much earlier date, as its construction would cause a delay of two or three years' time, considering the average of the yearly appropriations for such works. The Board, therefore, recommends that the present appropriation be expended in the construction of a permanent timber dam, with one or more suitable chutes, and that the building of the lock be postponed until such a time as it is required. Plans for such a work will be submitted as soon as they can be prepared. Before closing this report, the Board wishes to call attention to the fact that this damn cannot be constructed until Congress authorizes the purchase of the land required for its site, and it respectfully urges prompt action in this matter if it is desired that the work should be commenced. during the coming season. Respectfully submitted. Brig. Gen. H. G. WRIGHT, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. WM. P. CRAIGHILL, Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers. Captain of Engineers. REPORT OF BOARD OF ENGINEERS. CINCINNATI, OHIO, February 21, 1884. GENERAL: The Board of Engineers constituted by Special Order No. 146, dated Headquarters Corps of Engineers, Washington, D. C., October 30, 1883, "to take into consideration and report upon the application of the appropriation of August 2, 1882, for the erection of a lock and movable dam at the junction of the Three Forks of Kentucky River," has the honor to submit the following as their final report: The Board first met at Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 13th of November, 1883, and after visiting Beattyville, Ky., they submitted a preliminary report dated November 19, 1883, which has been printed as House Ex. Doc. No. 36, Forty-eighth Congress, first session. On December 10 and 11, 1883, the Board met at Pittsburgh, Pa., and examined the workings of a very long bear-trap gate that had been added to Dam No. 1 of the Monongahela Navigation Company by Mr. John Du Bois, and on the 13th of December the Board, on the invitation of Mr. Du Bois, visited Summerson on Bennett's Branch of the Susquehanna River, and there examined another bear-trap gate of moderate width but high lift. The result of these examinations was that the Board decided that the bear trap gate would best comply with the necessities of the problem at Beattyville, and accordingly instructed Capt. J. C. Post, the engineer in charge of the improvemeut of the Kentucky River, to prepare plans for a fixed dam with one or more chutes, controlled by bear trap gates. At the final meeting of the Board, held this day in Cincinnati, Captain Post submitted plans for a fixed dam with two chutes, each_giving a clear opening of 60 feet, and controlled by bear-trap gates. For full explanation of the engineering details of the problem reference is made to his report, which is hereto attached. In recommending these plans for approval the Board think it essential that the local engineer should have full liberty to vary any of the details as experience and further study may suggest, as the construction of bear-trap gates of the size recommended is in some measure experimental, and the best result cannot be obtained unless a reasonable degree of freedom is guaranteed to the constructing engineer. Respectfully submitted. Brig. Gen. H. G. WRIGHT, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. WM. P. CRAIGHILL, Lieutenant Colonel of Engineers. WM. E. MERRILL, Lieutenant-Colonel Engineers. JAS. C. POST, Captain of Engineers. REPORT OF CAPTAIN JAMES C. POST, CORPS OF ENGINEERS. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, In compliance with the instructions contained in letter of the Chief of Engineers to the senior member of the Board, dated October 30, 1883, authorizing the Board to call upon me for any information that may be desired, I have to submit the following report and estimate for the construction of a dam at Beattyville, Three Forks of the Kentucky River. Before commencing the discussion of the structure it is proposed to erect, a brief résumé giving the origin and the successive steps that have been taken for the advancement of this project seems necessary, in order that it may be fully understood. HISTORY. The act of Congress dated August 2, 1882, directed that $75,000 of the amount appropriated for the improvement of the Kentucky River "shall be used for the erection of a lock and movable dam at Beattyville at junction of Three Forks." This lock and dam not having been embraced in any project submitted to Congress for the improvement of this river, it was necessary, in order to obtain the information required to ascertain its practicability, proper location, and the amount and kind of commerce to be benefited, to make a survey of the locality and collect such data as would aid in determining these questions intelligently. This was accordingly done and the following facts obtained: The reach of the river immediately adjoining the junction of the Three Forks is straight and of good width, with high banks, and is well adapted for the site of a dam. The locality and its vicinity abound in coal, iron, and timber of excellent qualities, which at present can only reach a market by passing down the river during such rises as give the boats conveying them sufficient water. As these rises are irregular, and frequently of short duration, the rafts are formed and the boats are loaded on the sand-bars or in the short natural pools, where they wait in readiness to be conveyed down stream by the first high water. In this exposed position they are often carried away, and wrecked by sudden and violent rises, especially when accompanied by ice. The losses that have been sustained from time to time in this uncertain navigation have been so great that notwithstanding the immense deposits of coal and iron and their accessibility to the river, these interests remain practically undeveloped. Two wide, though comparatively short, creeks called the upper and lower Stufflebeam, empty into the river at Beattyville. These can readily be formed into excellent ice-harbors for the protection of the accumulating commerce. It was also ascertained that the amount of river commerce passing above Beattyville was exceedingly small. From this summary of the information obtained it becomes apparent that for the protection and advancement of commerce at this point a dam should be constructed which would form a pool, where boats may be loaded afloat directly from the mines, and remain protected in a secure harbor, together with the rafts that accumulate, until such time as they can pass down the river. A lock is principally needed for ascending navigation, and as the upstream commerce above Beattyville has been shown to be inconsiderable, it was thought that the lock proposed could be omitted from the project without detriment, until the development of commerce required it. A fixed dam, supplied with certain movable parts, which could be removed at such times as there was an adequate depth of water for the boats and rafts to pass down the river, was considered sufficient to satisfy the conditions required, and give all the necessary aid to the present commerce. Congress having specifically mentioned a lock and movable dam, in the act, as the structure to be built, it was deemed best to request that the interpretation of this paragraph be referred to a Board of Engineers, before a project was prepared for the work. This received the approval of the Chief of Engineers, and a Board was appointed. The following questions were submitted to it: "First, whether a lock is necessary at the present time; and, second, whether a dam partly movable, or one with chutes, would come within the intention of Congress in passing the appropriation." In the preliminary report of the board, dated November 19, 1883, it was submitted that "a permanent dam, with certain movable part or parts, apparently satisfies all the conditions, and comes within the intention of Congress." It also recommended "that the present appropriation be expended in the construction of a permanent timber dam, with one or more suitable chutes, and that the building of the lock be postponed until such a time as it is required." The Board also approved the site selected for the dam by the engineer in charge. These conclusions were concurred in by the Chief of Engineers. At a meeting subsequent to submitting the report referred to, the Board, after considerable study and investigation, and witnessing some maneuvers upon the Monongahela and Bennet's Branch of the Susquehanna River, with what is known as the American bear-trap system, for opening and closing chutes or weirs, concluded that it was the best method for the construction of the movable part or parts of the dam to be built at the Three Forks. PROJECT. The project, therefore, for which a plan is to be presented is the construction of a fixed timber dam, provided with one or more navigable passes or chutes, which are opened or closed at will by what is known as the American bear-trap. This system consists of two gates or leaves, turning towards each other upon horizontal axes placed in the floor of the pass, and parallel to the axis of the dam. The axes are at a distance apart considerably less than the aggregate width of the leaves. This distance must be such that the angle between the leaves will be greater than 90 degrees when they have reached the full height of the required lift. The angle and the lift determine the width of the leaves. When the pass is open the leaves are in a horizontal position, the up stream one uppermost, and they together form a portion of the floor of the pass. They are raised by admitting water from the upper pool under them, and they continue to move upward by the increasing head, until they have reached the proper height. So long as the pressure is maintained, they will remain elevated. When this is removed by allowing the water to pass into the lower pool, they fall of their own weight and the pressure of the water. DISCUSSION. It is proposed to build the dam 12 or 14 feet high above low water, provided with one or more navigable passes, the total width of the opening or openings being determined by the amount of river discharge, slope, &c. The volume of the discharge of the river will first be de termined when the water is at a height of 10 feet above low water. A cross-section taken at E F (see drawing No. 1), about 1,000 feet below the site of the dam, gives, at a 10-foot stage, a sectional area of 4,390 square feet and a wetted perimeter of 411 feet. The slope of the river governing its regimen, at a 10-foot rise, will not vary materially from the ratio of fall to distance existing at low water, between the head of Beattyville Bar, and the mouth of Contrary Creek. This fall is 3.64 feet, in, approximately, 21,800 feet, or a little more than 4 miles, and the |