duced cost and smaller element of contingencies. In the plan confined to earth removal, the slopes of the excavation upon the east and south bank of the creek would carry the slope of the banks from 5 to 25 feet further into the land than those naturally existing along about 500 linear feet of shore-line. The land at this point is of small value and not devoted to cultivation, and the local authorities at Vergennes have made an arrangement with the owners of the land along the south shore at Bull Brook Bend whereby permission is given to the United States to cut away such parts of the natural bank as may be necessary or desirable for the improvement of Otto Creek at Bull Brook Bend. Under the plan which is confined to earth excavation, the work would be done by dredging and deposition of dredged material in the deep water of Lake Champlain. Luther Whitney owns the only dredge available for work on Lake Champlain, and he has submitted an offer to do the work of dredging at Otter Creek for 25 cents per cubic yard, scow measurement. I would therefore respectfully recommend that the plan of all earth excavation be adopted for the improvement of Otto Creek at Bull Brook Bend, and that authority be given for the hire of a dredge to do the work at a price not exceeding 25 cents per cubic yard. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, The CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, U. S. A. HENRY M. ROBERT, Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers. N N 16. IMPROVEMENT OF TICONDEROGA RIVER, NEW YORK. During the past fiscal year 6,000 cubic yards of material were removed by dredging, under an agreement with Clayton H. De Lano, at the rate of 20 cents per cubic yard measured in situ. By this work a channel 1,600 feet in length, 30 feet in width, and 6 feet in deplh at low water was carried along the south bank of the river from Bishop's Dock to a point about 400 feet below the pulp mill. The owners of the land adjacent to the cut built docking, and the dredged material was cast over from the cut so as to form filling for the docks. A channel now exists about 1.8 miles in length, carrying 6 feet in depth at low water, extending from deep water in Lake Champlain to the head of navigation in Ticonderoga River. This channel has a width of about 60 feet, with the exception of the upper 2,000 feet, where the width is reduced to 30 feet. The principal industry subserved by this improvement is the manufacture of pulp and paper from wood fiber, which requires annually the transportation by water of about 2,000 tons of coal and about 10,000 cords of wood. The channel already formed requires widening to 60 feet in its upper reach and general deepening. Continuation of dredging is the work contemplated during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886. Money statement. July 1, 1883, amount available... July 1, 1884, amount expended during fiscal year, exclusive of outstanding liabilities July 1, 1883 $1,514 20 1,514 20 Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project..... 32,516 00 NN 17. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF HARBOR OF PORT MARSHALL ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN, NEW YORK. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, GENERAL: I have the honor to report as follows upon the preliminary examination of Port Marshall, Lake Champlain, New York, called for by act of Congress passed August 2, 1882. This name was formerly given to a fishing station where a few canalboats were occasionally built, on the narrow part of Lake Champlain, just below the mouth of the Ticonderoga River. It now contains perhaps thirty people, is the point at which summer tourists over Lake George take or leave the Lake Champlain steamer, and is the summer station of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company's Railroad, known as Fort Ticonderoga. Almost the only business done at the place is done by the Champlain Transportation Company's steamer Vermont, a handsome side-wheel steamer of 900 tons, drawing feet water when fully loaded, and its trade is almost restricted to tourist travel, its freight bills not being enough to pay running expenses. She has had no difficulty at this port during the past season. During southerly winds the level of the lake here may be lowered to 14 feet or more, which would interfere with her landings if she were fully loaded. To remedy this possible danger would require a large amount of dredging, but as no good would result from this to the community or to the neighboring country, or to any persons except the steamboat owners, and very likely not to them either, I am compelled to report in regard to this harbor that, in my judgment, it is not worthy of improvement, and its improvement is not a public necessity; and, furthermore, that no additional survey of it is needed. I respectfully refer you to the report of Assistant Engineer J. A. Gillespie, herewith, for further information concerning it. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, WALTER MCFARLAND, Major of Engineers. REPORT OF MR. J. A. GILLESPIE, ASSISTANT ENGINEER. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report on examination of Port Marshall Harbor, New York: This harbor is situated in Essex County, New York, to the south of entrance to Ticonderoga River, and distant about one-half mile. In relation to other better known points on Lake Champlain, it is 25 miles north of Whitehall and about 18 miles south of Port Henry Harbor. Old Port Marshall is now abandoned since the construction of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Railroad, a high embankment of this railroad having destroyed the natural slope upon which canal-boats were built up to 1875. The only remaining evidence that I find to substantiate the above description is a sign-board, “Port Marshall," nailed to the front of a fisherman's house. From the harbor to Ticonderoga Village is 14 miles. The examination called for certainly embraced what is known as Fort Ticonderoga, a summer station of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad, where connections with the 5908 EN-136 Lake George branch and the steamer Vermont is made, which, as you will observe from the sketch, lies a short distance south of old Port Marshall. The present condition of the section embraced in examination is as indicated on chart. The Coast Survey charts of 1873 and 1874 give depths corresponding to those obtained by myself November 24, 1882, and officers of the Lake Champlain Transportation Company-among others P. W. Barney, superintendent-agree in stating that no change in depth has taken place since the construction of a wharf at this harbor. The bottom is a stiff clay or mud; 1,000 feet long, approximately 300 feet wide, and from 5 to 5 feet deep; that is, a section of about these dimensions would have to be dredged to a depth of 7 feet in order to meet the requirements of the steamer Vermont with full load. The steamer Vermont is the only vessel that lands at Port Marshall, and her season is regulated entirely by the tourist travel, opening this year on the 29th of May and closing October 21, two months earlier than that of the Williams and six weeks before the lake froze over at Port Marshall. The Vermont's tonnage is 900 and draught 7 feet when loaded. During the past season no difficulty was encountered in making her regular daily landing. During heavy south winds the lake level at this harbor is lowered as much as 14 feet, while north winds cause a corresponding rise. I am informed by Mr. P. W. Barney that the receipts of the steamer Vermont during last season were about $100,000, three-fourths of which was from passengers, most of whom were summer tourists. No villages or localities would be benefited by an increase of supplies at reduced rates, nor would general good result from an improvement of this harbor. There are not more than thirty inhabitants of Port Marshall, most of whom are fishermen, who purchase their supplies at Ticonderoga Village, which place receives its supplies through the Delaware and Hudson Railroad at Addison Junction, and by canal-boats and lake schooners up Ticonderoga River. The freight business of the steamer Vermont is very light, and of itself insufficient to pay her running expenses. The lake is about two-thirds of one mile wide at this point, and the harbor is well protected by natural bends. Most of the freight received at this harbor is for reshipment by rail to points along the Delaware and Hudson Canal Railroad south of the transfer point. Shipments over this line are made more for convenience than necessity or economy. No revenues, either customs or internal, are collected at Port Marshall. As no towns or villages are now dependent upon this line for supplies, it is impossible to say whether it will ever become a necessity to any special locality. My conclusions regarding an improvement of Port Marshall Harbor are briefly stated as follows: The same negative condition, shallow water, now discernable, existed when private docks were constructed at this harbor. The same draught steamer has continued to run in connection with trains since the construction of these docks, though a steamer of one-third the capacity and less draught would meet the require ments. There is not the slightest possibility of any local or general good resulting from an improvement. It is thought that having located docks at this point with an undoubted knowledge of the existing shoal, the removal of this shoal becomes a private rather than a public necessity. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Maj. WALTER MCFARLAND, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A. J. A. GILLESPIE, N N 18. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF BOQUET RIVER, NEW YORK. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Oswego, N. Y., February 27, 1883. GENERAL: I have the honor to report as follows upon the preliminary examination of Boquet River, New York, ordered by act of Congress passed August 2, 1882. Boquet River is a small stream in Essex County, New York, rising in the Adirondacks, and flowing northeasterly until it empties into Lake Champlain, about 3 miles north of the village of Essex. From the Adirondacks to the village of Willsborough, at the falls, the river is simply a rapid winding mountain brook. From Willsborough to the lake, a distance of about 1 miles, the stream is less crooked, and has an average width of about 100 feet and a depth of 1 or 2 feet, with a narrow channel perhaps 15 feet wide and 2 or 3 feet deep running through it. There is a bar about 800 feet wide at the mouth, over which the depth of water is not more than 1 foot. During spring rises in the lake and river schooners and canal-boats pass in and up to the foot of Rock Island, just below Willsborough. The average tonnage of these vessels is about 100 or 125 tons. The population of the village of Willsborough is between 300 and 400, and it lies but 4 miles from the port of Essex, on Lake Champlain, with which it is connected by a good wagon-road. Its manufacturing industries are limited to a forge not now in operation, and to a pulp mill just beginning. If these were in full operation it is estimated that they would receive and distribute about 15,000 tons of material per year. The only thing that the improvement of this river would accomplish would be the reduction in the cost of handling this tonnage. To open a channel 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep through the bar and up to Willsborough, with the necessary dikes at the bar, would cost not less than $25,000, while dredging would have to be resorted to annually in order to keep it open. In view of the small interests involved, it is my judgment that Boquet River is not worthy of improvement, and its improvement is not a public necessity. No further survey is needed. I transmit herewith the report of Assistant Engineer J. A. Gillespie, who conducted the survey. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, WALTER MCFARLAND, Major of Engineers. Brig. Gen. H. G. WRIGHT, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. REPORT OF MR. J. A. GILLESPIE, CORPS OF ENGINEERS. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, SIR: I have the honor to make the following report on examination of Boquet River, New York, in compliance with your instructions of the 15th ultimo. Boquet River rises in the Adirondack Mountains and flows northeast through Essex County, emptying into Lake Champlain about 3 miles north of Essex Village, N. Y. Relative to better known points on the lake, the mouth of Boquet River is 24 miles south of Plattsburgh Harbor and 11 miles southwest of Burlington Harbor, Vermont. Two miles from the mouth is located Willsborough Village, on the site of the falls, marked Section I on accompanying sketch, above which the river is simply a narrow, rapid, and winding mountain stream. Examination was made of the section of the river between Willsborough and the lake. Ice to a thickness of 14 inches had formed, through which depths were measured and nature of bottom determined with great accuracy. The depths noted on sketch are the deepest observed and are along what is termed "the channel," a narrow rut, averaging about 15 feet in width, such as is found in most small streams. The average width of river bed is as follows: Section 1, falls, 115 feet wide. Section 2, A to B, 90 feet wide. Section 3, B to Lake Champlain, 100 feet wide. From foot of falls to lake the banks proper average 7 feet in height, though at places much higher ground slopes to the water's edge. From high-water marks along the shore it is estimated that an immense body of water finds its way to the lake through this source, and from the nature of the soil through which the river flows it is thought that large annual deposits occur. The falls at Willsborough are about 900 feet long, with a descent of fully 28 feet. The fall from point A to B at low stage is about 4 feet, over ledge rock and detached bowlders, the average depth of this section not exceeding 6 inches. During the spring rise occasional schooners ascend the river to the point B, where freight is discharged or taken ou. As before stated, no defined channel is discoverable in even this lower section, though it was claimed that vessels drawing not over four feet could ascend during moderate stages. Assuming that a channel for lake craft should not be less than 40 feet wide, then it can be positively asserted that none could have ascended of above draught since June 15, for the average depth now, over given width, from B to the lake, does not exceed 14 feet, while over the bar at mouth of river it is hardly 1 foot. An iron rod was used to ascertain the nature of the bottom, which was found to be sand and mud, with a liberal mixture of logs and decayed vegetable matter. Under a State appropriation of $5,000, some ten years since, a dike of rock and brush was built, as indicated on sketch, for protecting the entrance. Also a single crib was sunk just north of this dike, to be used in transferring freight from flat-bottom scows to craft of greater draught. The freight then handled was raw material for and product of a forge at Willsborough. This forge is still in existence, though not operating. Lake schooners and canal-boats navigate the river at high stages, their tonnage being between 100 and 125. The village of Willsborough, with a population between 300 and 400, would reap all the benefit to be derived from improving Boquet River. It is hard to estimate for increased supplies, though it is claimed that the forge, now idle, would resume operations. Also, it is claimed that the new fiber company will ship finished stock and receive nearly all their rough material by water. The tonnage of the forge and of the Champlain Fiber Company, as estimated by Edward W. Richardson, assistant superintendent of the latter, is as follows: The principal receipts and shipments would be pig-iron, cord-wood, soda ash, and pulp. At present two sources of supply exist, by water to Essex Village, and thence overland by wagon-road to Willsborough, a distance of 4 miles; also the Delaware and Hudson Canal Railroad, which lands freight at a point 1 mile distant from the falls. The only supplies received by water during the last season was material for constructing the new fiber mills. The only good that is claimed for the improvement is a reduction of freight on supplies for the two factories mentioned, to which might be added an occasional load of cord-wood for the Burlington market. The fiber company claim an investment of $150,000, to which might be added $200,000, for the remaining wealth of the entire village. The only revenue collected during the last fiscal year was $300, on whisky and tobacco, as furnished me by the deputy collector of internal revenue, no customs duties being collected. My conclusions regarding an improvement of Boquet River, from the meager data at my command, are as follows: I do not believe, with appropriations equal to those given even larger streams, that it would be possible to maintain a channel in this, especially over the bar at mouth, which is exposed to all heavy winds. The amount of sand, &c., brought down by annual freshets must be very great, for the bar has now made out to the 100-foot curve, sloping to that of 140 to 150 feet. The cost of a structure to prevent this shoaling would far exceed any probable appropriation for that purpose, and dredging would only afford temporary relief. I estimate that it would require a yearly appropriation or expenditure of not less than |