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employed. It is hoped that this boat will be completed in time to take the field before winter.

The officer in charge renews his recommendation that iron hulls be at once built for the machinery of two of the present wooden boats, which have so deteriorated that they can only be fitted for further effective service at a great cost, and are, moreover, of entirely too great draught for the service required of them; that, after this is done, the remaining wooden boat be fitted up for wrecking purposes, and that, after the iron boats have been fairly tested, two more of a smaller type be built. Operations during the coming season will be as extensive as the limited appropriation will admit of.

Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873
Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check.
Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874..

Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874.
Amount available July 1, 1874..

Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876..

(See Appendix M 1.)

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2. White and St. Francis Rivers.-Snag-boat operations in these rivers were commenced in January, 1874, and carried on for two months. They extended on White River from the mouth to Jacksonport, three hundred and forty miles, and on the St. Francis from the mouth to Wittsburgh, one hundred and thirty miles. Work was suspended sooner than intended, owing to the great floods which prevailed along the Southern rivers during the spring of the present year.

Much snagging-work is still required, especially during low stages of water. For this purpose a light, powerful iron-hulled snag-boat is required, which can also, if necessary, be used on other streams. estimate for such a boat is submitted by the officer in charge.

An

As the improvement of White River above Jacksonport has been appropriated for, it will be necessary to keep up the improvement of the lower river.

The officer in charge submits an estimate of $194,000 for continuing the work during the next fiscal year.

Balance in Treasury of United States July, 1873.

Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check

Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874.

Amount available July 1, 1874..

Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, (as revised in this
Office)...

(See Appendix M 2. }

$41,000 00

5,568 79

42,595 12

3,973 67

64,000 00

3. White River, above Jacksonport, Arkansas.-It is proposed to employ the sum appropriated in removing obstructions from the streams, such as snags, leaning trees, loose bowlders, &c. The amount available is deemed ample for the purpose, and no further appropriation is asked for unless it be decided to undertake the radical improvement of the river, with a view of obtaining an increased navigable depth. Should this be the case, at horough survey, which will cost about $13,000, will be necessary before any definite project can be matured. Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874. Amount available July 1, 1874

$50,000 00

50,000 00

EXAMINATIONS AND SURVEYS FOR IMPROVEMENT. Major Suter was charged with the survey of Forked Deer River, below Dyersburgh, Tennessee, provided for by act of Congress approved March 3,1873. The report thereon was transmitted to Congress at its last session, and printed in H. R. Ex. Doc. No. 192.

(See Appendix M 3.)

IMPROVEMENT OF THE OHIO RIVER.-IMPROVEMENT OF MONONGAHELA, GREAT KANAWHA, AND WABASH RIVERS.-WATER-GAUGES ON THE MISSISSIPPI AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.

Officer in charge, Maj. W. E. Merrill, Corps of Engineers, having under his immediate orders Lieut. F. A. Mahan, Corps of Engineers.

1. Improvement of the Ohio River.-Of the contracts outstanding at the commencement of the fiscal year, those for dams at Chartier's Creek, Wheeling, Marietta, Buffington Island, and Cumberland Island have been completed. The work on the dike at Evansville has progressed satisfactorily. It has not, however, been considered advisable to push the work, because it was thought best to give the river time to accommodate itself gradually to its new channel. The bar at the Evansville Landing has already been reduced several feet in height, and the engineer in charge is very confident that the current thrown upon it by the dike will eventually complete its removal. No trouble is now experienced here, except at very low stages of the river. The removal of the Bacon Rock, at the mouth of the river, was begun near the close of the year, and it will probably soon cease to be an obstruction.

During the year contracts have been made for the construction of a dam to close Duck Chute, at the head of Brunot's Island; for the repair of the old dikes at French and Henderson Islands; for the building of a new dredge and dump-scows, and for the construction of an iron hull for a new snag-boat. The Duck Chute dam was finished last season, but the water has since cut new outlets around its ends, which may require closing at some future time. The dike at French Island has been completed since the close of the fiscal year, and that at Henderson is progressing rapidly, and will be completed during the season. These are both substantial improvements. The dredge and scows were finished last season. The snag-boat is still in process of construction. The dredge Ohio, after completing work on the bar at Captina, where she was on the first of July, proceeded to Buffington Island and remained there until the end of the season. Work was resumed the present season by the Ohio, together with the new dredge Oswego, on the bar at the foot of Brunot's Island, and at the close of the fiscal year the removal of this bar had been nearly completed. The amount excavated during the year is as follows: By the Ohio, 260 cubic yards at Captina Island, and 40,336 cubic yards at Buffington; by both dredges, 38,038 cubic yards at Brunot's Island.

A great many obstructions have been removed from the channel this year by special contracts. Among these are the wreck of a dry-dock, near Cincinnati; the wreck of the steamer McCullough, near Madison, Ind.; the wrecks of several coal-barges at Vevay, Ind.; a large number of rocks near Mustapha Island and at the Parkersburgh Railroad bridge, and about half of the wreck of the steamer Missouri, near Evansville, Ind. Many snags and smaller wrecks have also been removed.

The officer in charge gives a description of the difficulty of improving the Lower Ohio on account of the great masses of sand and gravel that are constantly moving down in this part of the river, and concludes his report by presenting a plan for radically improving the Upper Ohio, between Pittsburgh and Wheeling. He recommends the construction of movable dams, similar to those in use in France on the Seine, the Yonne, the Marne, the Meuse, and the Moselle. Of the many systems in use in France he recommends the adoption of the "Chanoine," socalled after its inventor. By this system dams can be built which will

raise the water-surface to a height of from 12 to 14 feet above the bed of the river, but which can be thrown down in a few minutes when there is a sufficient natural supply, leaving the river entirely open to naviga tion. Connected with these movable dams are locks, for use when the dams are up. For the convenience of coal-fleets, he recommends locks 630 feet between gates and 75 feet wide. Extra gates in the middle will divide the lock into two shorter ones, for the benefit of packet-steamboats.

The approximate estimate of the cost of this improvement from Pittsburgh to Wheeling is $7,474,623. It is believed, however, that this estimate can be reduced when the detailed surveys, now in progress, are finished.

Estimate for the next fiscal year by the officer in charge.

For constructing 13 locks, between Pittsburgh and Wheeling, $200,000
each......

For engineering and contingencies of lock-construction, 5 per cent.
To complete iron snag-boat

Running expenses of two dredges

Running expenses of snag-boat

Building dikes on Lower Ohio......

Ofice expenses............

$2,300,000

130,000

35,000

27,000

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Total......

Estimate for the next fiscal year as revised in this Office.

For constructing one dam and lock and one weir and gate near Pittsburgh...

For wing-dams, dredging, and removing snags and bowlders.

Total....

Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873

Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check, (including $4,620.30

percentage due on contracts not yet completed).

Amonnt appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874.

Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874..
Amount available July 1, 1874, ($199,389.49—$4,525.65)..
Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876
(See Appendixes N 1 and N 2.)

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Hydraulic gates and movable dams.-The board of engineer officers constituted to examine and report upon the plan of Mr. F. R. Brunot for movable hydraulic gates for chutes and locks, its applicability to the improvement of the Ohio and other rivers, and to estimate the cost of its construction, to which duty was subsequently added the general consideration of the whole subject of movable hydraulic gates and of all other proposed plans for this object, submitted their final report, which was transmitted to Congress at its last session, and printed in H. R. Ex. Doc. No. 127.

(See Appendix N 3.)

2. Improvement of Monongahela River.--The progress thus far made in the construction of the lock at Hoard's Rocks has been slow, and it is not probable that it will be finished this season, although the first and most difficult courses of the walls will be laid.

Two additional locks and dams will be required to connect this improvement with the slack-water already established on the lower river. Of these the officer in charge recommends that the United States should build the upper one, leaving the other to be built by the Monongahela Navigation Company.

The estimate submitted by the officer in charge for the next fiscal year is $132,000 to complete the improvement in progress at Hoard's Rocks, and in addition to construct a lock at or near Cheat River Ripple.

Balance in Treasury of the United States July 1, 1873

Deduct amount expended in last fiscal year.

Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874

$90,000 00

409 14

Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874..
Amount available July 1, 1874, ($108,470.73-$403.84)..

Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, (as revised in this
Office).....

(See Appendix N 4.)

25,000 00

6,120 13

108,066 89

22,000 00

3. Improvement of Great Kanawha River.—The officer in charge reports the condition of this improvement up to August 15, at which date the work was transferred to the charge of Maj. W. P. Craighill, Corps of Engineers.

The contracts outstanding at the commencement of the fiscal year for works of improvement at Elk Shoal and at Two-mile Shoal have been satisfactorily fulfilled. The contractor has been released from his obligation to construct a dike at Cabin Creek Shoals; a careful examination of the river at this point having satisfied the engineer in charge that the proposed work would not auswer the purpose for which it was intended.

A crane-boat, fitted out with a large grapple and towed by a small steamboat, worked fourteen days last fall and thirty-one days the present season in removing rocks and snags from the channel of this river. work has given great satisfaction to the navigation interests.

This

As the navigation of this river will doubtless ultimately be improved by the use of locks and dams, the officer now in charge of its improvement, Major Craighill, suggests that to commence this system an appropriation of not less than $150,000 should be made for the year ending June 30, 1876.

Should Congress, however, decide to defer entering upon that method of improvement, but to continue the unsatisfactory and insufficient process now pursued of operating upon the shoals, the sum of $15,000 is all that will be required.

Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873..
Deduct amount expended in last fiscal year

Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874.

Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874.
Amount available July 1, 1874, ($35,324.81-$800.54.).
Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876.
(See Appendix N 5.)

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4. Improvement of Wabash River.-The contracts for snagging and dredging in the lower river, and for rock-excavation and wing-dam at Coffee Island Chute, have been completed.

A contract was entered into in August, 1873, for 23,000 cubic yards of rock-excavation at the Grand Chain, thirty-eight miles from the mouth of the river. This work has been prosecuted satisfactorily thus far, and will probably be completed by December 1, 1874, as contemplated by the terms of the contract.

The officer in charge deems it indispensable that the lock and dam at Grand Rapids should be reconstructed. A survey of the river in the vicinity of these rapids, completed since the close of the fiscal year, proves this point to be the best site for the rebuilding of the lock and dam, since the lowness of the banks of both the Wabash and White Rivers renders it inexpedient to place them at White River Shoals, a site which it was hoped would be found eligible, inasmuch as a dam here

would materially improve the navigation of the White River, and at the same time obviate the necessity of further improvement of those shoals. The estimate of the amount required for the next fiscal year includes the clearing out of the chute east of the Little Chain.

Negotiations have been commenced with the Wabash Navigation Company looking to the purchase of all their rights over the free navigation of this river, as contemplated by the proviso attached to the last appropriation for continuing this improvement. After the extinguishment of the rights of this company it is hoped that sufficient funds will be left of this latter appropriation to construct a dam to close the cutoff at New Harmony.

Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873...

Amonnt in hands of officer and subject to his check (including $2,772.83 percentage due on contracts not yet completed) July 1, 1873...

Amount appropriated by act approved June 23, 1874..

Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874..
Amount available July 1, 1874, ($47,984.05 — $2,647.80).
Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876..

(See Appendix N 6.)

$65,000 00

5,542 40

25,000 00

47,558 35

45, 336 25

130,000 00

5. Water-gauges on the Mississippi and its tributaries.-One new gauge, that on the Cumberland River at Nashville, has been added to the system during the year, and the gauges at St. Louis and Cairo have been thoroughly and permanently reconstructed. The lower Louisville gauge has also been recut upon the walls of the lower canal-lock, the original graduation of this gauge having been erroneous.

It is deemed advisable to reconstruct all these gauges in a permanent manner, as rapidly as the available funds will permit, whenever the banks are sufficiently stable to warrant such a construction.

The records of the flood of 1874, collected this year, will be of great importance in the discussion of the problem of reclaiming the alluvial lands of the Mississippi. These have been placed in the hands of the commission appointed for that purpose.

Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873.
Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check..

$5,000 00

813 37

Amount allotted from appropriation of June 23, 1874, for examinations and

surveys

5,000 00

Aount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874.
Amount available July 1, 1874

5,787 16

5,026 21

(See Appendix N 7.)

EXAMINATIONS AND SURVEYS FOR IMPROVEMENT.

The exploration of routes for the extension of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal to the Ohio River by the north and south branches of the Potomac, directed by the act of March 3, 1873, was completed under the direction of Major Merrill, and the report thereon transmitted to Congress at its last session, and printed in H. R. Ex. Docs. Nos. 208 and 265. (See Appendix N 8.)

The survey of the Youghiougheny River, Pennsylvania, also provided for by the same act, has likewise been completed under the direction of Major Merrill. For the report thereon see Appendix N 9.

MPROVEMENT OF THE NAVIGATION AT THE FALLS OF THE OHIO RIVER, AND ENLARGEMENT OF THE LOUISVILLE AND PORTLAND CANAL.

Officer in charge, Maj. G. Weitzel, Corps of Engineers, having Capt. . B. Adams, Corps of Engineers, under his immediate orders. The officer in charge reports that, as stated in his last annual report, the sum of $100,000 is still needed to complete this work as originally

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