Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project.... $51 015.00 51,015 00 STATEMENT OF COMMERCIAL STATISTICS, SAINT JOSEPH AND BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN, FROM JULY 1, 1883, TO JUNE 30, 1884. Vessels entered and cleared.. 560 $1,096 14 JJ 15. REMOVAL OF WRECKED SCHOONER FROM CHARLEVOIX HARBOR, MICHIGAN. On the 17th of July, 1883, the schooner B. Parsons came in collision with the north pier at Charlevoix Harbor, while trying to effect an entrance, and sank. As near as can be determined she was sold while lying across the head of the north pier in 16 feet of water, and on August 1, after having been partially raised, she was, in a gale of wind, blown across the channel, and parting the suspending rigging by which she was sustained, again went down directly across the channel, in which condition she was abandoned by her new owners. Due notice to owners was given, and on October 27, 1883, advertisements, under authority from the War Department, were published, asking bids for her removal. The bid of Peter I. Crawley, of Milwaukee, Wis., was accepted and a contract was entered into, under date of November 16, 1883, to effect the complete removal of the wreck, for $1,200. The work was completed in accordance with specifications and articles of agreement on December 31, 1883. JJ 16. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF HARBOR AT CROSS VILLAGE, MICHIGAN. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Grand Rapids, Mich., November 14, 1882. GENERAL: I have the honor to state that in obedience to your printed letter of September 27, 1882, I made a personal examination of Cross Village, Mich., on October 9-11. Since then I have been in correspondence with persons acquainted with the locality and its needs, and now respectfully submit the following REPORT. Cross Village is in the northern part of Michigan, on its west shore, directly opposite Beaver Island; until recently the county in which it is situated was an Indian reservation; six years ago the homestead act opened it to settlement by the whites; there was also an act which gave the Indians the right to homestead; this last act only covered a year's time and was not generally improved. Immediately after the expiration of this latter act, the county was rapidly settled, as the soil is probably the richest in the State, and the land is covered with valuable timber. Four or five years ago the village was only known as an Indian town. It could not be approached by vessels of any size, there being no pier, and it had no commerce. The settlers back of the town at that time were quite numerous, but they were all commencing life; the land had to be cleared and improvements made, and the only capital of most of the settlers was their labor. Settlers have since rapidly increased in number; every quarter section is now occupied. Four years ago the inhabitants of the village numbered about 500; there were but three white families. Now there are 800 inhabitants, the "increase" being entirely whites. There are four general stores, a drug store, two blacksmith shops, and a steam saw-mill that has a capacity of 15,000,000 feet of timber a year. Four new saw-mills, of a capacity of 5,000,000 feet each, have recently been built in the vicinity, and a substantial pier has been constructed by private enterprise. The Traverse City and Saint Ignace and Mackinac lines of steamboats stop at the village daily; the Northern Michigan line, from Chicago to Cheboygan, Mich., stops semi-weekly. The principal manufacture is that of lumber, which is shipped by sailing vessels. The freights would be much lower if a good harbor could be secured. Thousands of bushels of potatoes are also shipped, often at disadvantage and loss, owing to the detention of vessels. The fishing interest is also important, 500 packages being shipped weekly. This would be increased if fishing-tugs could have a harbor here. Other products are cedar posts and ties, telegraph poles, tan-bark, and cordwood. Cross Village is so situated that its harbor is already well protected, except from the northwest and southwest. The needed protection could be secured by a breakwater, at a moderate expense, and as the bottom of the lake at this point is rocky and stony, the foundation is good, and the break water once built would be reasonably permanent. A harbor of refuge here would be convenient, but is not a necessity. My judgment, in view of the above facts, is that the harbor is worthy of improvement, and that the work is a public necessity, and I respectfully submit the following estimate of the amount required to make a further survey to enable me to make a project and estimate for the improvement: ESTIMATE FOR SURVEY. Assistant engineer, 14 months making survey and plotting same. Five men to assist in survey, 10 days, at $2 per day each.... Total $240 00 75.00 100 00 415 00 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, D. P. HEAP, Major of Engineers. The CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, U. S. A. SURVEY OF HARBOR AT CROSS VILLAGE, MICHIGAN. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Grand Rapids, Mich., November 7, 1883. GENERAL: I have the honor to submit herewith the report of Assistant Engineer John A. Mitchell, of a survey for a harbor at Cross Village, Mich., provided for by act of Congress passed August 2, 1882. A tracing of chart,* drawn to a scale of, is forwarded by this mail in a separate package. The report gives all the commercial statistics available, or that can be obtained. As stated in the report, the commerce to be benefited is purely local and practically in the hands of one firm, which owns the only wharf along this part of the coast. The plan projected provides for a sheltered area of about 20 acres, at an estimated cost of $300,000; any increase beyond this can only be obtained at great expense, and as the harbor will, if constructed, be rarely visited by any vessels except those directly engaged in the local trade, an area of 20 acres is deemed sufficient. In case the plan and estimate submitted herewith are approved, I would respectfully recommend that $200,000 be appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Brig. Gen. H. G. WRIGHT, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. D. W. LOCKWOOD, Captain of Engineers. REPORT OF MR. JOHN A. MITCHELL, ASSISTANT ENGINEER. LUDINGTON, MICH., October 30, 1883. SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of a survey for a harbor at Cross Village, Mich., made under your direction, during the month of September, 1883; also to inclose a map or plat of the same, with a sketch showing the locality of the proposed harbor, with reference to its railroad connections and the general course of through lake traffic. The map proper, drawn to a scale of 200 feet to an inch, shows the lake front at the point of survey, and characteristic soundings to a depth of 24 feet, beyond which the water deepens very rapidly. The site of the proposed harbor is located just below the point where the lake coast, after curving gradually around to the north, from Little Traverse Bay, trends rapidly to the east, making, with Waugoshance Point on the north, a large bight or bay, locally known as Sturgeon Bay. It is well protected from the south by the coast line above the village. From the north and northeast it is partially protected by Waugoshance Point and Reef. It is entirely without shelter from the northwest and southwest, and the seas, having a long clear sweep, beat directly upon the beach in front of the village. Under such circumstances vessels do not attempt to land, neither do they when the gale is severe from the north or west, as the reef to the north and the Beaver Islands to the west serve only partially to shelter the wharf. Vessels loading in this locality, if overtaken by severe weather, are obliged to seek shelter in the lee of the neighboring islands. In front and to the right of the village the water deepens very rapidly; to the left the water remains shoal for a long distance out, the shoal water commencing just in front of the village and extending westward 14 miles, or until well past the general coast line of the reach above the village. Vessels in making a landing keep well to the north, and approach the pier or wharf from the northwest. The usual course of vessels passing up or down the lakes is about 8 miles offshore when abreast the village. In passing up Lake Michigan vessels leaving the straits of Mackinac take either a westerly course for the west shore, or after psssing Waugoshance Point, run to the south, passing between the Beaver Islands and the mainland of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The latter is the usual course. The former, affording more sea room, is sometimes taken. Vessels in beating against a head wind may at times be obliged to approach, or enter the bay. In such cases should the wind suddenly veer to the west, the vessels find it difficult to clear the points to the north or south, and are in great danger of stranding. The lake bed to the north of the wharf is composed of coarse gravel and bowlders, South of the wharf the bed is a mixture of sand and gravel. out just south of the wharf is composed of sand, gravel, The general appearance of the beach in the vicinity would with a mixture of clay. The small reef extending and small cobble-stones. * Tracing omitted. indicate that the gravel and bowlder deposit is of sufficient depth to afford an excellent foundation for the projected breakwater. The location of the village is well shown on the accompanying sketch. The village contains about 700 inhabitants, the majority of whom are Indians, or of Indian descent. It was formerly called La Croix, and next to old Mackinac is the oldest settlement on the west shore of Michigan. Its nearest railroad communication is the Grand Rapids and Indiana, distant 12 miles on the east and 16 miles on the south. The country back of the village, although but lately thrown open to general settlement (having been a part of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indian Reservation), is being rapidly occupied by a thrifty class of farmers. It is an immense forest of beach, maple, hemlock, elm, cedar and pine. It is said that the soil is well adapted for agricultural purposes and wonderfully productive. On the long stretch of coast between Harbor Springs on the south, and the straits of Mackinac on the north, Cross Village affords the only pier or wharf, and from this point must be shipped all the timber and produce from a large section of country. The shipping business is principally done by one firm, who own the wharf and control its approaches. At present but a limited amount of business is done, owing to the extra freight demanded for loading at an unprotected pier. During the year ending June 30, 1883, there were shipped 3,000,000 feet of hardwood lumber, fifteen cargoes of hemlock bark, twelve cargoes of cord-wood, 3,000 halfbarrels of whitefish, besides a large amount of cedar poles and fence posts, the imports consisting chiefly of lumbermen's supplies, of which no accurate account has been reported. The steamer City of Grand Rapids, which runs from Traverse City to Saint Ignace, makes regular stops at the village every other day, and the Champlain and Lawrence, of the Northern Michigan line, stop when they have freight, if the weather is favorable. The village contains one saw mill and a small grist mill. Four other saw mills have lately been located a short distance back in the interior. The five saw-mills have a combined capacity of about 16,000,000 per year. No natural inlet or stream exists in this vicinity suitable for harbor purposes, and any work for the protection of shipping must be exterior to the coast line. The construction of a breakwater for the protection of the wharf or lake-front at this point presents no engineering difficulties not easily surmounted. By taking advantage of the small point and reef, just south of the wharf, a breakwater for the protection of the landing, and a small amount of shipping, could be constructed at no great expense. Owing to the rapidity with which the water deepens, the harbor would necessarily be small. Such a harbor would greatly facilitate the shipment of a large amount of lumber, cord-wood, and other timber products. A harbor of refuge at this point, for the general lake commerce, is not needed and would seldom be used, owing to the numerous natural harbors nearer the general line of lake navigation. At the same time, the lake-front covered by my survey presents no features suitable for a harbor of refuge, owing to its exposed position and limited anchorage area. In the plan projected by you, and sketched on my map of survey, consideration is only given to the local commerce of the place, and it is only sought to afford protection to vessels receiving or discharging cargoes at the private docks or wharves situated within the area of the breakwater, at the same time incidentally to afford a harbor of refuge to which a limited number of vessels may run for shelter. The project contemplates the construction of a breakwater upon the reef just south of the wharf, extending from the shore in a northerly direction 1,000 feet, to the 15foot curve, thence extending 1,200 feet northeast, nearly parallel to the shore-line, and terminating in 22 feet soundings. The remaining portion of the work to consist of a detached breakwater 1,200 feet in length, covering the outer end of the main breakwater, and extending east and west toward the shore, an interval of 340 feet being left between the two works for an entrance. The above arrangement will give an anchorage area of about 20 acres between the main breakwater and the 12-foot curve. Following is my estimate of the cost of the above work: 1,000 feet piering, 20 feet wide, with 6 feet of superstructure in an average of 7-foot soundings, at $41 per linear foot 2,400 feet piering, 30 feet wide, with 8 feet superstructure, in an average of $41,000 232, 800 27,380 Making total cost 301, 180 Cross Village is located in the Michigan collection district, Michigan. The nearest port of entry is Grand Haven, Mich. The nearest light-house is Ile aux Galets. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN A. MITCHELL, JJ 17. REPORT WITH PLAN AND ESTIMATE FOR A HARBOR OF REFUGE AT LUDINGTON, MICHIGAN. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Grand Rapids, Mich.; October 27, 1883. GENERAL: The duty of carrying out the provision in the river and harbor act of August 2, 1882, for a survey of the "harbor at Ludington, Mich., with a view to examination by a Board of Engineers, and report of a plan and expense of same for making a harbor of refuge," having been assigned me in letter from the office of the Chief of Engineers, under date of April 24, 1883, I have the honor to submit the following in compliance therewith: Under date of March 7, 1882, the late Major Harwood, Corps of Engineers, submitted a report with reference to the necessity for a harbor of refuge at this point, together with plan and estimates for an exterior breakwater, which, in connection with the extension of the present south pier, was to afford the necessary shelter. This report was published in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1882, page 2293. There are in my opinion two methods by which the requisite shelter from storms may be obtained at this point: I. By the construction of an exterior breakwater, as proposed by Major Harwood. II. By widening the present entrance to Pere Marquette Lake, so as to secure comparatively easy access to the large anchorage area that the inner lake affords. By referring to the accompanying map* it will be seen that the water in Lake Michigan deepens quite rapidly in advance of the present piers. This condition of affairs, while it is unfavorable to the first plan mentioned, necessitating as it does the establishment of the outer breakwater in deep water in order to secure the requisite area for anchorage and shelter, is quite the reverse so far as it affects the second plan, as it shortens the piers required to obtain an entrance in water sufficiently deep. At the various harbors on the lakes, where exterior breakwaters have been constructed for purposes of refuge and snelter, this course has been rendered necessary by reason of the fact that in no other way could the requisite area for anchorage be secured. This is the case at Oswego, Buffalo, Cleveland, Michigan City, and Chicago, while at Cleveland and Chicago the need for increased wharfage facilities also rendered an exterior breakwater necessary. At Ludington, Pere Marquette Lake will furnish all the anchorage |