winds from the south, southeast, and east, force the waters of the lake up into this bay around the north and south ends of the breakwater. This body of water is in time thrown back by the north beach, losing its velocity, and resulting in a deposit. The Saranac river brings down in its course a considerable amount of earth, and large quantities of saw-dust from the various saw-mills situated upon its banks and worked by the power of the stream. The current of the river, meeting that of the lake, forms eddies and counter currents, and causes the mud and saw-dust deposits in the immediate vicinity of the railroad wharf. The waters of the lake, forced up by the wind, impinge against the breakwater on the sea-side, and seem to separate into two bodies; one passing around the north end of the structure into the harbor formed by the breakwater and the wharves, and the other passing around the south end and into the harbor. These bodies of water encounter each other in the immediate vicinity of the docks, and also impinge against the wharves, losing their velocities and allowing the earth brought up by them to fall to the bottom. Much of the sediment is, I think, carried up from the various islands situated south of Plattsburg, but I think that the greater part is washed from the banks of the government reservation situated south of the entrance to the harbor. Under heavy south and southeast winds the water is forced up against this shore, and, following the course of the shore line, is carried into the harbor. The gravel occasionally met with on the bars around the wharves is, I think, brought up by the in-shore ice, as it moves up in the spring, and which, upon the melting of the ice, falls to the bottom. The present breakwater, from its position, not only greatly contracts the harbor, but is, I think, one cause of the shoal having formed so rapidly. A location further seaward, parallel to its present position, and an extension north and south, would seem to be the more desirable. The remedies, in the order of their importance, are, I think, first, dredging out the shoals; second, protecting a portion, at least, of the shore to the south, by a slight revetment of crib-work. In regard to the depth of water necessary, merchants and vessel owners are of opinion that from seven to eight feet, at most, of water will be ample for the largest vessels that now enter the harbor. This depth can be attained by a small outlay of money. I quote a portion of your letter of December 18, ordering an examination of the harbor: "To carry out the wishes of the department, I desire you to make such examination as you can of the harbor, and indicate on the tracing sent herewith the depth of water on the shoal and its extent, and estimate the number of cubic yards that will have to be excavated to give a depth of thirteen feet water." I was obliged to reject the map of 1844 sent me, as the harbor has undergone such changes, both natural and artificial, that an entirely new survey was needed. Thirteen feet being stated in your letter to be the requisite depth of water, all that portion under the necessary course of vessels not having this depth must be considered shoal. The red lines on the tracing bound the portion to be excavated; the outer line showing the present thirteen-foot line. The southerly portion of this shoal is narrower than that to the north, but a greater depth of excavation is requisite. Immediately in front of the wharves are shoals of considerable magnitude. Were a depth of water required here simply to facilitate navigation, as it now is, the cost of excavation would be trifling in comparison with the amount required to give a depth of thirteen feet. To give a depth of thirteen feet then, requires the removal of 168,653 cubic yards, at fifty cents = = $84,326 50. This examination was attended with many difficulties. A great portion of the time the thermometer ranged from 8 to 20° below zero, with heavy wind and snow. The severe cold rendered it impossible, in many cases, to use the instrument when it was important to do so. Knowing your anxiety to get your report in immediately, I did not delay further, but made up my map from what I had taken thus far. The soundings were all obtained by cutting through the ice and dropping the lead. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, CHAS. J. ALLEN, Brevet Major U. S. A., First Lieutenant Corps of Engineers. Brevet Brigadier General C. B. REESE, Captain Corps of Engineers. C 3. BURLINGTON, VERMONT, SIR: By direction of General Bache, I respectfully transmit herewith the record of proceedings of the special board of engineers, which met here to-day in obedience to Engineer Order No. 43, to consider the subject of Burlington breakwater. The map or tracing mentioned therein, and which I received from the engineer department, is also enclosed. The red line marked upon it "B B," indicates nearly the direction spoken of in the record. Very respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, C. E. BLUNT, Lieut. Col. Engineers, Brevet Colonel, junior member of board. General A. A. HUMPHREYS, Chief of Engineers, Washington City. In pursuance of Engineer Order No. 43, dated June 6, 1867, convening a board of engineers composed of Brevet Brigadier General Hartman Bache, colonel of engineers; Brevet Brigadier General George Thom, lieutenant colonel of engineers; Brevet Colonel C. E. Blunt, lieutenant colonel of engineers, the board assembled at Burlington, Vermont, on Saturday, June 15, 1867, upon the call of its president, for the determination of the position of the breakwater for the protection of the harbor of Burlington, Vermont, and the mode of its con struction. Present, all the members. All the information in the possession of Brevet Colonel Blunt was laid before the board, including the following papers, viz: 1. Copy of a survey made by Brevet Brigadier General C. B. Reese, captain of engineers, dated 1866, showing the position of the breakwater proposed by him. 2. A study of proposed crib for Burlington breakwater, with plans, elevation and section, made by Brevet Colonel C. E. Blunt, lieutenant colonel of engineers. After a full discussion of the subjects before the board, it was Resolved, That the position of the breakwater shall be from the north end of the old breakwater, on a line, in about 29 feet of water, parallel with the general direction of the shore, until it meets a line drawn from about the middle of the wharfage to Rock Point. That the mode of construction of the breakwater shall be by crib-work, loaded with stone, the cross-section of which shall be rectangular, with a base of thirty feet and a height of forty feet. There being no further business before the board, it adjourned sine die. Col. Engineers, Brevet Brigadier General. Lieut. Col. Engineers, Brevet Brigadier General. Lieut. Col. Engineers, Brevet Colonel U. S. A. C 4. ENGINEER DEPARTMENT, Washington, February 19, 1867. SIR: I respectfully return herewith the letter of Hon. Z. Chandler, chairman Committee on Commerce United States Senate, enclosing form of a joint resolution in relation to increasing depth of harbors on the lakes to fourteen feet, &c., referred to this department for report, and have the honor to submit the following: As no communications had been made to this department from the officers in charge of the lake harbor improvements, nor from other sources, showing an imperative necessity for increasing the depth of the harbors so as to admit of fourteen feet draught, the attention of those officers was directed to the subject upon the receipt of the resolution, and an immediate report was called for. These reports have been received. The harbors are planned for vessels drawing twelve feet, although some now admit vessels of a greater draught. The economy and security of lake navigation would be materially enhanced by increasing the size and draught of vessels engaged therein; and it has always been foreseen that increased depths would be demanded from time to time by the growing wants of lake commerce. It is not necessary that all the harbors should be equally deep; it will be sufficient for the present that an increased depth should be secured for those where the greatest amount of shipping enters, either for cargo or for safety, and that the channels of the rivers connecting the lakes should be of corresponding depth. The wants of commerce would be met by deepening the following harbors and channels so as to give a depth of fifteen feet at the lowest stage known. This would secure a depth of sixteen feet at average low water, and admit at all times vessels of fourteen feet draught. The estimates of cost are in addition to the estimates for completion, submitted in previous reports: Lake Michigan.-1. For Chicago, $25,000; 2. For Milwaukee, $47,000; 3. For Manitowoc, $50,000; 4. Aux Becs Scies, $65,000; 5. Grand Haven, already asked for; 6. St. Joseph, already asked for. Lake Superior.-1. For Superior City, $50,000; 2. For Marquette, already asked for; 3. For Sault St. Marie canal, a new canal and locks must be built, and when completed the present canal and locks must be enlarged. Not estimated for. Connection of Lake Huron and Lake Superior.-1. For St. Mary's river, $100,000. Connection of Lake Huron and Lake Erie.-1. For St. Clair Flats, $40,000. Lake Erie.-1. For Toledo, $550,000; 2. For Cleveland, $130,000; 3. For Erie, $92.000; 4. For Buffalo, already estimated for. Lake Ontario.-1. For Genesee river, $25,000; For Oswego, $25,000. with the increased depth, are built, it will be unnecessary to deepen the St. Mary's river and the harbors on Lake Superior. Omitting Lake Superior and St. Mary's river, the estimated cost is $1,050,000. The reports of Brevet Brigadier General T. J. Cram, Lieutenant Colonel C. E. Blunt, and Major J. B. Wheeler, are transmitted herewith. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War. A. A. HUMPHREYS, Brigadier General and Chief Engineer. Report upon the question of increasing the depth of lake harbors so as to admit vessels of fourteen feet draught, by T. J. Cram, colonel corps engineers, Brevet Brigadier General United States Army; made in accordance with instructions from the engineer department, of February 1, 1867. FEBRUARY 14, 1867. I. Taking the harbors of Chicago and Buffalo for the terminal points of lake navigation, as the commerce of the lakes now stands, the depth of water which it is practicable to give and maintain at these two harbors should, in my judgment, rule for the important intermediate harbors and channels in the chain of navigable water, including the St. Clair flats, as also rule the improvements of St. Mary's river, its ship canal into Lake Superior, and the depth that is in contemplation to give on the mitre-sill of a ship canal, intended by the people of the great northwest, to be made on the American side around the Falls of Niagara. To dig out the intermediate harbors between Chicago and Buffalo, and extend their piers so as to gain depth to fourteen feet, without first carefully considering the foregoing named improvements, would, in my opinion, be a wrong beginning. The question arises as to which are the important intermediate harbors, or works, between Chicago and Buffalo. Their importance rests upon consideration of the magnitude, present and prospective, of the commerce and of the wants of the general navigation for refuge where the harbors are. Upon these considerations, as a stand-point, I have no difficulty in determining, in my own mind, the works within my superintendency which are entitled to receive the increased depth. They are: Erie, Pennsylvania, Cleveland, Ohio, Toledo, Ohio, St. Clair flats, St. Mary's river (in certain places) and St. Mary's canal. Although the St. Mary's river and its canal are not located exactly intermediate, they nevertheless are of too much importance, in view of the future immense magnitude of the Lake Superior commerce in its relation to the general lake trade, to be overlooked in the project now under consideration. The other harbors within my superintendency I would leave with twelve feet water wherever it is practicable to obtain and maintain that depth, the estimates for which are already in the engineer department. The phrase" to admit vessels of fourteen feet draught" is indefinite, and this very indefiniteness will probably lead to discrepancies in the estimates of the several officers charged with estimating the cost of deepening the channels at the harbors in the various lakes. Shall the estimate be based upon a depth of fourteen feet below high stage during the season of navigation? or medium stage? or average low stage? The lowest stage of water occurring in the season of navigation is the one whose surface should be taken as the plane of reference in assigning the depth for the improvement. Now, it is of the highest importance that the terminal points, Chicago and Buffalo, should have water of sufficient depth at all times of blows, so prevalent here, that vessels can enter and depart with their cargoes without detention, or risk for want of depth or width of water way. For this purpose, were it left to my judgment, I should make the phrase to mean fourteen feet below the lowest known stage. This would insure fifteen feet at average low water, and I would assign thirteen feet below the lowest known stage in the season of navigation, for the depth at Erie, Cleveland, Toledo, St. Clair flats, and the places in the St. Mary's river and on the mitre-sill of its ship canal, which with the upper part of that river connects the navigation with Lake Superior. This would insure fourteen feet, at average low water. In regard to the estimates for improving the Chicago and Buffalo harbors to the required depth, these not being within my superintendency, I doubt not will be made by the officers respectively in charge of them. Now, it must not be inferred that I advance the opinion that when the Chicago harbor is completed and completely dredged out by artificial means, the force of the outflow of its river, alone, will keep it clear to the depth proposed, especially as the city is striving to turn the course of that river into the Illinois river and to draw the waters of the lake through in the same direction. Nor do I know that the outflow at Buffalo will alone be sufficient to keep that harbor clear to the depth proposed. The commerce, however, has already attained to such a magnitude at these points, as to justify artificial aids to the force of the outflow in successive dredgings to maintain depths in all ordinary times of fourteen feet below the lowest stage that occurs in the season of navigation. II. ESTIMATES OF COSTS OF THE PROPOSED DEEPENING AND MODIFICATIONS OF ERIE HARBOR, PENNSYLVANIA. The estimate for dredging the outer bar to obtain twelve feet, and for extending the north pier, has already been made in my annual report of 1865, and the sum appropriated to the amount of $36,961. I make the estimate of the cost of the additional items, viz., outer dredging, inner dredging, further extension of pier, and the restoration of the old interior north breakwater, to amount to $54,666; therefore, the cost of deepening, &c., to the standard proposed, is $91,627. 1. Cleveland harbor, Ohio.-In my annual report of 1865 I estimated for extending both piers of this harbor, and thereby increasing its capacity, at a cost of $59,806. I estimate the additional work, viz., dredging in order to deepen it, and a further extension of each pier by about 110 feet to preserve the channel, to cost 38,622. This added to the foregoing will bring the total cost, in order to bring this important work to the standard proposed, at $98,428. 2. Toledo harbor, mouth of Maumee river, in the Maumee bay, Ohio.— The amount appropriated by Congress last session was $20,000, I make the amount required to pay for dredging the channel, in addition to that contemplated with the above sum, to a greater width and depth, straight out, in a northeasterly direction from fifteen feet water in the river, with a channel width of 300 feet to sufficiently deep water in the lake, dumping in the north channel so as to dam that, and force all the water through the new channel, to be $449,664; this added to the $20,000, will bring the improvement to the standard proposed, and to cost $469,664. 3. St. Clair flats, Michigan.-At its last session Congress appropriated for this $80,000. In my "revised report" of December 10, 1866, I estimated the cost of improving the existing crooked channel to as high a degree as the case admitted, at $383,293, and no modification of the plan can be made if we follow this old channel; and as it contemplates thirteen and a half feet of water, it will be seen that the above sum is the estimated cost of bringing the work to the contemplated standard. But, in the same report I presented reasons for making the improvement by a direct short ship canal across the flat, in preference to expending any more money for dredging the existing channel; and I estimated the cost of the canal at thirteen feet deep at lowest stage, 300 feet wide between banks, and the banks to be revetted and raised vertically five feet above the water, and to be fifty-eight feet wide on top, and to bear trees, at the total sum |