feet high, and will, therefore, be entirely submerged during the extreme high water, but their construction can be such as to prevent injury. Under the first case, the following would be the location of the locks and dams, shown on profile in red; locks 70 feet in width by 300 feet between gates, 10-foot lift: No. 1. Station 9,361, Louisiana, about two miles above Trinity, dam. No. 4. Station 2,300, Louisiana, about one mile below Egg Point, dam.. Feet. 700 600 550 500(?) 350(?) 350(?) 350(7) Dams Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7 will have to be prolonged from 100 to 300 feet beyond the banks, and the pools created by them would partially flood the lands adjacent to the river. The estimated cost of these seven locks and dams is: Masonry locks, $4,952,976; timber, $2,644,768. Second case, dams Nos. 1, 2, and 3 would be located as above, the remainder as follows, with lifts of 8 feet, size 49 by 250 feet: No. 4. Station 2,215, Louisiana, about foot of Egg Point Shoals, dam. No. 5. Station 264, Louisiana, about foot of Mallard Shoals, dam.. No. 6. Station 3,921, Arkansas, near Jack's Island, dam... No. 7. Station 2,070, Arkansas, near Smackover Creek, dam No. 8. Station 1,168, on Buffalo Flats, dam... Feet. 450 400 800 600 500 Estimated cost of these eight locks and dams: Masonry locks, $5,162,319; timber, $2,626,252. Third case, locks 49 by 250; lift, 7 feet: No. 1. Station 8,693, Louisiana, near Harrisonburgh, dam No. 2. Station 5,893, Louisiana, about one mile above Columbia, dam. Feet. 800 600 500 600 500 400 500 400 300 400 Estimated cost of ten locks and dams: Masonry locks, $6,079,233; timber, $2,995,566. It must be remembered that, in making these estimates, the cost is greatly increased on account of the character of the country in which the improvement is contemplated, as it offers no facilities for securing skilled labor, or material of any kind except timber, and requiring every other material that would be used in the construction of the works to be brought from a distance, and before navigation closed, thus greatly enhancing the cost, in addition to which any number of claims would be brought against the Government for damages supposed to be done to the lands on account of the pools created by the dams. In each of the plans of improvement mentioned above, one of the locks will be located between Moro Bay and the mouth of Saline River, a distance of 32 miles. At moderate stages of water the Ouachita connects with the Saline through the old bed of Moro River, and in order to prevent the drainage of the upper pool, a dam will have to be built across the head of the old bed of Moro River. In considering the above plans of improvement we must, from the beginning, take into account the floods of the river, and the damage to which the works will be subjected by placing them in a channel so contracted as that of the Upper Ouachita, and upon soil so unstable as the riverbed. So far as the permanent improvement of the river is concerned, that by locks and dams is the only one that will give continuous and uninterrupted navigation throughout the entire year to Camden, Ark.; and of the three plans mentioned above, the third, though it shuts out the larger class of boats, is the best, considering the nature of the river, the commerce, and the wants of the country, which the contemplated improvement will benefit. In speaking of the improvement, and considering it, I have only introduced the Ouachita River. There is another element to be considered in the solution of the question, and that is the condition of the bar at the mouth of Red River. Mr. Durham refers to it in his report. The mouths of this river have been filling up for years, and though the lower one opened last fall, (the first time for twenty years,) it is supposed to be only temporary. At low water boats drawing over two feet find it almost impossible to get over the obstruction and enter the river. So long as it exists it is useless to attempt the permanent improvement of the Ouachita. If the latter be undertaken, so must the improvement of the mouths of Red River. Whether the object to be accomplished, viz, the permanent improvement of the Ouachita to Camden, Ark., is commensurable with the expense, is a question which must be considered. The improvement will be of advantage to the country in partly facili tating the shipment of the cotton-crop and the return of plantation and other supplies, the cost of the latter being greatly increased by reason of the planter and merchant being under the necessity of laying in a stock, during the boating season, sufficient to last until the next return of navigation. Camden has always been the principal shipping and receiving point on the Upper Ouachita, and particularly for the counties of Ouachita, Bradley, Calhoun, Dallas, Hot Springs, Hempstead, Nevada, Clark, Pike, Saline, and Montgomery. To render navigation permanent to Camden was the principal consideration in the proposed improvement. It was the trade and commerce of the above counties that built up Camden, and made it so much of a commercial point for the country of which it is the center. Since the improvement of the river has been agitated, another element has been introduced into the country, which to a great extent reverses the channel of trade; I refer to the completion of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad. This road connects at Little Rock with roads running to Saint Louis and Memphis, and passes through the middle of the belt of counties above mentioned. The plautation and other supplies heretofore finding their way from the north and west to New Orleans, and thence up the Ouachita, the cost increased by reshipment and commission, now find their way directly to the above places, at rates sufficiently cheap, compared with river-rates, as to cause large consignments from the North and West, and in such quantities as may be required, thus avoiding the additional expense attendant upon laying in an entire season's stock. So much has the road affected Camden, that every effort is being made to have a connecting line with the above road, tapping it at Arkadelphia. That the fears of the decline of trade with New Orleans are not only felt on the Upper Ouachita, but also by the people, of Upper Red River, (the interest being about the same in both cases,) is shown by the address of the merchants of Shreveport to the New Orleans Cotton Exchange. They say: We are connected with a system of railroads leading to the Gulf ports in Texas, and we fear a successful competition will be waged to divert the produce and trade tributary to Red River to other markets than New Orleans; besides, the Cairo and Fulton Road will be completed in October,* tapping the heart of the Upper Red River trade, and threatening to carry to Saint Louis and Memphis the cotton of that rich valley. The following table gives the number of steamers and the trips made by them during the season of 1872 and 1873 to Camden, Ark.; more frequent trips were made to Monroe and Trenton. It gives some idea of the trade of the river: Representing a total tonnage of about 8,500 tons. The trade of the river during the present season, which is not yet closed, will show a great decrease in the number of boats, mainly due to the receipt of supplies, &c., via Cairo and Fulton Railroad. The above also includes the shipments from Black River. It will be seen from the above that the greatest amount is shipped during the last months of winter and the first of spring. This always accords with the best stage of water, though there is generally in December a stage sufficient for navigation, but the main bulk of the cotton is not brought out to be shipped until later. Any system of locks and dams during this season would be superfluous; in fact, such an improvement as contemplated would be more of an obstruction in a river like the Ouachita at that time. It would only be during the late summer and early fall months that the improvement would be of particular service. During these months no crops are being moved, and no particular trade is being carried on that would induce boats to run, even if there was sufficient water naturally at these seasons. One, or at the furthest two. of the small Ouachita River packets would be sufficient for the trade. The improvement, if made, will cost, according to the lowest estimate above presented, $2,626,252, and this involves also the improvement of the mouth of Red River, for which no estimate can be presented; without the latter improvement the locks would remain idle at the time they are intended for use. The same might be said of the temporary means of improvement by dredging, for though some of the bars and shoal places below Monroe are composed of gravel of sufficient size to resist the force of the current, and reasonably good results might be obtained by dredging, yet, if we attempted to maintain a channel deep enough for the large boats, the same obstruction would deter such boats from taking advantage of the improvement. No doubt such an improvement will tend to develop the resources of the country and encourage and increase the cultivation of land now lying idle, by cheapening transportation in competition. with the railroad line that will soon be built in that country; still, I fail to see the necessity, at the present time, of so costly an improvement of the river by locks and dams, and in view of all the circumstances I would respectfully recommend for the present the abandonment of the project for lock-and-dam navigation of the Ouachita. By reference to Mr. Durham's report it will be seen that there are a large number of logs, snags, and other obstructions in the river, which are dangerous at all stages of water. I would respectfully recommend that a boat be built for the purpose of operating on the river and its tributaries. Such a boat can be used also during high water in removing great quantities of drift-wood, which, coming down the river with every flood, lodge in the sharp bends, and, remaining there after the river falis, form serious obstructions. By operating at high water upon these it would greatly lighten the work during the low-water stage. The need of such a boat is very much felt, and it would be of invaluable service. The estimated cost of a steamer for the purpose is $30,000, and the estimated running expenses per mouth about $2,200. The balance of appropriations available May 1, 1874, was $82,496.09; of which, for Louisiana, $62,937.13; and for Arkansas, $19,558.96. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Brig. Gen. A. A. HUMPHREYS, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. W. H. H. BENYAURD, Captain of Engineers. Report of Mr. C. W. Durham, Assistant Engineer. U. S. ENGINEER OFFICE, CAPTAIN: I have the honor to present my report on the survey of Ouachita River from Camden, Ark., to Trinity, La., made under your directions during the summer and fall of 1873. Accompanying this report are 1. A profile of the river, plotted on continuous profile-paper, the horizontal sides of The squares into which the paper is divided representing 300 feet each and the vertical ides one foot. Lines are given representing the high and low water slopes of the river, and the bed of the channel. This latter line, which was obtained from the reduced soundings, shows the highest points in a selected channel of 100 feet in width, (in some few cases in the upper river 60 to 80 feet,) which points indicate the maximum of obstruction. Also lines representing various systems of locks and dams. 2. A tracing of the map divided into 11 sheets. The map is plotted on a scale of 200 feet to 1 inch. The entire line of traverse and the transit points, as well as the soundings taken during the survey, are shown, together with the names of towns, landings, plantations, bayous, shoals, and bars, and as much general and topographical information as time and space permitted. 3. A sheet showing the curves of oscillation of water-surface at the different gauges during a portion of the years 1873 and 1874. The party was organized at Camden, in June, and the survey was commenced at that point and carried on almost uninterruptedly until the 31st of December, at which time we had reached Trinity. A traverse-line was run throughout the entire distance, crossing from one bank to the other when found expedient for the purpose of avoiding natural obstructions, the opposite side being located by triangulation. The stations begin at Camden with zero, were numbered from thence to the Arkansas and Louisiana State line, from whence, beginning again with zero, they were numbered to the terminus of the survey, thus affording an independent nomenclature for that portion of the survey in either State. The heights of both banks were taken at frequent intervals, and the general topographical features of the country noted. A line of levels was run, the elevation of the water-surface being taken as often as necessary; bench-marks were established, and frequent connections made with the levels of the survey of Mr. Clement Smith, (1871.) Numerous soundings were made, particular attention being paid to the shoal parts of the river-channel where future improvement may be found necessary. A water-gauge was kept at the quarter-boats, the records of which, together with those of the permanent gauges established at Camden, Buffalo Flats, Eldorado Landing, Monroe, Columbia, and Trinity, have been made use of in correcting the slopes of water-surface as obtained from the levels, as well as in establishing the line of low water. The distance by river from Camden to Trinity, as found by our measurement, is 294.07 miles, and the total fall at low water is 65.4 foot, or .22 foot to the mile. The distance from Camden to the Arkansas and Louisiana State line is 114 miles. The extreme range of water-surface at Camden is 39.25 feet, while at Trinity it is 53.4 feet. The high-water slope is less than that at low water; a result mainly due to the backwater of the Mississippi in its high stages, which has at times, as I am informed, extended as far up the Ouachita as the State line. The extreme high water of the present season in the Lower Ouachita and Black, and the consequent disastrous overflow, are in great measure owing to the influence of the Mississippi. The fall is distributed over a succession of pools and shoals, the former being almost invariably sufficiently deep for navigation, while some of the latter afford an available depth at low water of less than a foot. A list of the shoals which form the chief obstructions, and which are very numerous the upper river, between Camden and Monroe, is given below. In estimating the available depth at low water, allowance in width of selected channel has been made for the swing of boats in rounding the sharp bends and in crooked portions of the channel. The indicated depth on any given shoal is the least a steamer would be likely to meet with in passing at extreme low water. |