During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874, 320,547 cubic yards material have been excavated from this channel, and the following t sults obtained: The whole cut was widened to 120 feet with 13 feet wa ter at mean low-tide, 5,200 feet of it to a width of 150 feet, and 5,300 fe to its full width of 200 feet.

It is proposed to continue the widening of Dog River Bar Channel under the new appropriation of $100,000, approved June 23, 1874, durin: the next fiscal year.

In conformity with recommendations contained in my last annual r port, authority was granted in letter from the Secretary of War, date September 30, 1873, to advertise for proposals for reopening Chocta Bar Channel. Four bids were received and forwarded November 15 1873, and by letter from the Chief of Engineers, dated November 2 1873, the contract was awarded to J. E. Slaughter, at 45 cents per cub yard. December 22 the contract for this work was executed an signed. Dredging in this channel was commenced in January, 1874, an continued until April 2, when, owing to a heavy freshet in the river, the work had to be suspended.

Simultaneously with the commencement of dredging in Choctaw Ba Channel, 400 feet of the dike across Pinto Pass, and 200 feet of jetty & Pinto Point, as recommended by the Board of Engineers in their repor dated December 11, 1873, were removed.

During the months of April and May, when the freshet was at it height, frequent soundings in the cut through Choctaw Bar showed again, a gradual filling up, and the removal of about 300 feet more d the dike at Pinto Pass would have become necessary had not the the existing current through this pass been sufficient to carry away full that much of it before the necessary arrangements for its remova could be made, so that now we have an opening of 700 feet through the dike, which, in ordinary freshets, I deem ample. In extraordinar freshets, such as we had this spring, and which, perhaps, may not oce again for thirty or forty years, the problem of keeping the cut throug Choctaw Bar from filling up still remains to be solved. Current obser vations, taken at that time, show that the velocity of the current was 3.5 per second in the river, to and a short distance below its mouth, which was sufficient to carry the fine river-sand and mud from above; from there to the newly-formed bar in the cut the velocity of the current diminished to 1.7 per second, and the sand was deposited, the curren only being sufficiently strong to carry the lighter particles of mud far ther down the bay. Before, however, I shall be able to make any furthe recommendations for works at this point, more careful and extensiv velocity and current observations and soundings must be taken, asupor their result future plans must be based. Early in June the dredge o the contractor, J. E. Slaughter, was ordered back in this channel, and as soon as a width of 120 feet, with 13 feet depth at mean low-tide through the newly-formed bar, is obtained, dredging under this contrac will be suspended on account of the exceedingly high price, and the work will be completed under the new contract, with the approval o the Chief of Engineers.

During the past fiscal year 52,842 cubic yards have been excavated in this channel.

It is proposed to incorporate the completion of this cut into the com tract for Dog River Bar, under the new appropriation, as only 18,900 cubic yards remain to be excavated in this channel.

In the month of March, 1874, the removal of the wrecks in Dog River Bar, recommended in my last report, was commenced, and the remains

of the sunken torpedo-boat were entirely removed before the river-freshet compelled me to stop the work, which was, however, resumed again in June last, and will be completed during the month of July, 1874, at a cost not exceeding $3,500.

Estimate of work remaining to be executed June 30, 1874.

467,700 cubic yards of dredging in Dog River Bar; 18,900 cubic yards of dredging in Choctaw Bar; total, 486,600 cubic yards, at 26 cents.. Removal of wreck in lower gap...

Contingencies and engineering expenses, 15 per cent

Total......

Amount available July 1, 1874....

Estimated amount required for completion of work............

$126,516 00

3,000 00 19, 427 40

148, 943 40

123, 185 12

25,758 28

The improvement of this harbor was commenced in August, 1870, under the late Maj. C. B. Reese, but the original plans and estimates submitted by him were modified, first, by his successor, Col. J. H. Simpson, and, finally, by a Board of Engineers which convened in this city February 3, 1872, and whose recommendations, approved by the Chief of Engineers, have since been carried out. The original estimate of the cost of this improvement, in accordance with plans recommended by the Board of Engineers, is as follows:

Amounts appropriated for improving harbor of Mobile, Ala., since the adoption of the present project:

From this statement it will be seen that the probable actual cost of this work is less by over $150,000 than the original estimate, which is due to the gradual decrease in the prices paid for dredging from 50 cents per cubic yard in 1870 to 23 cents per cubic yard in 1873.

This work is situated in the collection-district of Mobile, and Mobile is the port of entry.

The amount of revenue collected for the last fiscal year is reported by the collector to be $96,764.94.

No. for reference.

Number for reference.

The following statement of the commerce of this port for the last f cal year has been furnished me by the collector :

The number of vessels that arrived during the year is 188, with a tonnage of 2.0 the number cleared is 164, with a tonnage of 77,624. The total value of export domestic produce during the same year, $10,235,293; value of imports, $833,644. Abstracts of hids received for this work during the year, and fina cial statement, are forwarded with this report.

Financial statement.

Balance in Treasury of United States July 1, 1873

Amount in hands of officer, and subject to his check, (including $7,823.94

Amount available July 1, 1874...

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

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

$110, 287

24,186 2 100, 000 96, 945 ! 123, 185

26, 000

Abstract of bids received and opened July 1, 1873, for dredging Dog River Bar Chann

Mobile Bay, Ala.

Nature of work. Names of bidders.

Amount bid
for.

Price per cubic yard.

Time of commenc- Time of completi ing work. work.

Nature of work.

On 1st day of September, 1873, or within sixty days after contract is signed.

Abstract of bids received and opened October 15, 1873, relating to re-opening of the chann through Choctaw Pass, Mobile Bay, Ala.

* Within twenty days after notification of award of contract.

Time of completing work.

S 2.

IMPROVEMENT OF MOBILE HARBOR, ALABAMA.

Report of Board of Engineers.

ARMY BUILDING,

New York, December 11, 1873.

GENERAL: The Board of Engineers constituted by special orders No. 4, paragraph 1, Headquarters Corps of Engineers, January 6, 1872, and reconvened by the following order:

[Special Orders No. 160.]

HEADQUARTERS CORPS OF ENGINEERS,
Washington, D. C., December 3, 1873.

The following-named officers of the Corps of Engineers, Col. J. H. Simpson, Lt. Col. Z. B. Tower, Lt. Col. H. G. Wright, comprising the board, constituted by special order No. 4, paragraph 1, Headquarters Corps of Engineers, January 6, 1872, will assemble in New York City on the 10th instant, or as soon thereafter as practicable, to consider and report upon questions relating to the improvement of the harbor of Mobile, Ala., which will be presented by letter of instructions from this Office. By command of Brigadier-General Humphreys.

THOS. LINCOLN CASEY,
Major of Engineers.

Met in New York December 10, 1873, all the members present. The following are the instructions of the Chief of Engineers contained in his letter of December 3, 1873, to the senior member of the board:

The attention of the board is particularly requested to that portion of the report of Captain Damrell having reference to the jetties at Pinto Pass and Pinto Point, and to his recommendation that an opening of from 400 feet to 500 feet be made in the former, and that 200 feet be removed from the latter. The attention of the board is also invited to the report of the Board of Engineers on the improvement of the harbor of Mobile, printed in the Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1872, pages 589 to 597. The board will investigate the questions and recommendations submitted by Captain Damrell, and report its views thereon, together with such recommendations in regard to the improvement of the harbor of Mobile as in its judgment may be necessary.

After an examination of the report dated September 16, 1873, of the officer in charge of the work, Capt. A. M. Damrell, Corps of Engineers, and a study of the drawings accompanying it, showing changes that have taken place in the Choctaw Channel at the entrance to Mobile Inner Harbor, and a review of their own report, made February 14, 1872, on the improvement of this channel, this board have the honor to pre sent the following views and conclusions in reference to the questions submitted for their consideration:

The board in February, 1872, investigated the subject of the improvement of the channel of entrance to Mobile Harbor, approving the method, then in progress, that had been proposed by the officer in charge, Colonel Simpson, Corps of Engineers, and by previous boards. They also examined the method for effecting the same end, as proposed by the engineer of the State Board, and gave it as their opinion that the more important of these works would certainly effect a change of the regimen of the river, and would be detrimental; in fact, that any of their dikes or jetties that should result in scour to the river banks or bottom would probably fill up the channel of entrance, which at that time was being dredged by the United States engineers. They therefore objected posi

tively to the partial closing of the Tensaw and Spanish Rivers, and thos works were not prosecuted.

With regard to the closing of Pinto Pass, which was at that tim approaching completion, they remarked as follows:

There will be some increase to the volume of water flowing out of the mouth of M bile River by shutting up this pass, producing, probably, some scouring effects beler on the river banks or bottom, the heavier or sandy portions of which, if this increase flow of water be rapid enough to move sand, will be re-deposited as soon as the slackwater will permit, while the finer portions will be carried farther out into the bay, at mostly dispersed in its shallow waters on Dog River Bar, and beyond. And here : may be well to observe that any scouring process that moves materials from the bank or bottom of a river near its mouth, only transfers it into the bay or sea beyond, t form a bar there, if the water be shoal. Any large increase in the flow of Mobile River will probably move Choctaw Bar farther toward the bay, and result in injury to th works now in progress. This bar is nearly all sand, and no current in the upper par of the bay is rapid enough to disperse it. The aim of all works of improvement s this locality should be to avoid such operations as lead to the movement of sand to the mouth of the river. In fact, the deepening of Mobile River by the scouring proces seems incompatible with the preservation of the channel through Choctaw Bar, as nov in progress of execution. It is questionable, however, if this dike will create any suc serious disturbance in the river, and this board do not, therefore, make a point of ob jecting to its construction, any further than noticing its possible detriment to the exc vations on the bar below. If these excavations had not been commenced the boan would not have thought it necessary to have presented any remarks as to the closing of Pinto Pass.

As will be seen from the foregoing extract, the board, while appre hensive that the closing of Pinto Pass might be injurious to the Gov ernment works in progress on the bar below, did not make the same objection to it as to the closing, with the exception of a passage for ves sels, of the much larger outlets of Spanish and Tensaw Rivers. The extent of the injury apprehended could not be foreseen, and it was quite possible it might be so slight as to be disregarded; and as the work had not only been commenced but had been carried far toward completion. it was thought well to permit of its being finished. Had it not bee commenced the board would certainly have objected to its construction From the data presented by the officer in charge of the works of in provement at Mobile harbor it appears that the closing of Pinto Pas has resulted in a scour of the river below, carrying a portion of the sand thus moved into the channel excavated by the United States Govern ment, and it is therefore recommended that a part of the dike shutting up this pass be removed, as suggested by Captain Damrell, to be fol lowed by further removals if found necessary.

As to the Pinto Point Jetty, it is very questionable if this work alone would have been detrimental, but it has probably proved somewhat so in connection with the closing of the pass above. Whether it will con tinue to exercise an injurious influence after the re-opening of the pass seems doubtful; but in view of this uncertainty the board is inclined to recommend the removal of 200 feet of the lower extremity, as sug gested by Captain Damrell, to be followed by a further removal if ther judged necessary.

The board further recommend that close and continued observation by soundings, examinations of the bottom, determination of current. velocity, and otherwise, be made to ascertain if either of the obstruetions, upper or lower, produce any injurious effect upon the artificial channels, or upon the natural passage-way connecting them. It is pos sible that these obstacles may check the outward current-velocity so as to cause the deposit of sediment in these channels.

In their previous report this board thought from an examination of the sands of the bottom that the yearly process of shoaling on Chocta Pass and Bar might be due in part to the wash along Garrow's Bend [