ing on the sand. The bed of this stream is entirely quicksand, and the contractor found great difficulty in the erection owing to the settling of the false work into the quicksand during the progress of the work. Any flooding of the stream during the course of erection would have endangered the structure.

In rebuilding the bridge I believe it will be found necessary to use a pile false work for greater security.

With the present price upon metal, I estimate a close cost upon the bridge, as shown by these plans, to be $16,000. This estimate is based upon the use of mill material for the span and upon the work being erected at a favorable season of the year. At the present time the mills are very much behind in shipments and it might take eight or nine months to secure the span from mill material. Possibly the situation in this respect may be better in the near future, but I would suggest that due consideration be given to the condition of the steel mills at the time when the contract is to be let, and so that the contractor be allowed to erect the work at a favorable season, otherwise the cost of the work may very readily be from $1,000 to $2,000 more than the above estimate. Above estimate does not include earth fill. Very truly,

Mr. JOHN CHARLES,

A. F. SMITH, Consulting Engineer.

SAN JUAN SCHOOL,

Shiprock, N. Mex., October 28, 1912.

Superintendent of Construction, Kittridge Building, Denver, Colo. DEAR SIR: I have received your telegram of the 25th instant, in which you request data justifying the need of a new bridge to replace the one destroyed by the flood of a year ago. In reply I submit the following: The matter of building a bridge across the San Juan River at this place was first brought to the attention of the Indian Office during the summer of 1908. At that time Col. Hugh Scott, United States Army, who was on a visit to the Indian Office, spoke of the great necessity for a bridge or a wire ferry across the river for the benefit of the Indians of this agency, and it was suggested to me in office letter of July 10, 1908, Land 34920-1908 J. F., jr., that I transmit a report on the subject.

In my reply of August 29, 1908, I stated that a ferry across the river would be impracticable for the reason that it could not be held and would be extremely dangerous to life; that many attempts had been made to use ferries on this river, but at the time of my report not one was running, and that many people had lost their lives by ferries getting loose and capsizing. I cited in this connection a circumstance occurring three years before at Bloomfield, 50 miles above the agency and beyond the outlets of the Animas and La Plata Rivers. At that point where the volume of water is much smaller than it is here three persons were drowned while trying to cross the river on a ferryboat. Later on, a new boat was put in at the same crossing, but afterwards was washed out. As I stated then, the San Juan River is a very swift stream, carrying a great deal of sand with it when flush. In places where the stream is narrow it would be impossible to maintain a ferry on account of the current and sand waves which frequently reach to the height of 15 feet. On such waves no kind of boat can be used without danger. There is nothing of greater importance to this agency and reservation than a safe means of crossing the river. The school and agency are on the north side while practically all the reservation is on the other side. The river is always high and is past fording three or four months each spring with no means of crossing, except in small boats, which are extremely dangerous at any time and especially so when there is floating ice in the stream. Aside from danger to life, our work is hindered to a great extent by not being able to cross in the spring of the year when the most important work is being done, which is sheep dipping, farming, logging, sawing and hauling lumber, etc.

During the period embraced in the four years from 1905 to 1908 a large amount of work was done with a view of throwing all the current into one channel, where a bridge could be built. This work was accomplished and notwithstanding the flood of a year ago the river is still flowing through the channel provided for it; in fact, it has been confined there for more than five years. It is true that once in a while, when the river gets extremely high, part of it overflows and runs around through the old channels, but no damage has ever come from this, except during the flood last fall.

During the winter and spring of 1910 there was erected over the river about one-eighth of a mile from the agency, at the most favorable point, a steel suspension bridge 250 feet in length. The south end of this bridge was placed on the solid shale forming the cliff on the south side of the river. To support the bridge on the north side it was necessary to erect a concrete pier. This was built on a bed of bowlders and protected with a system of riprapping. This pier withstood the terrible assaults made upon it by the floor last fall from 9 in the morning until about 3 in the afternoon, when it was undermined, letting the bridge fall into the river, where it was carried a quarter of a mile by the current.

When it is taken into consideration that there was a volume of water twenty times greater than in ordinary high water and strong enough to carry a 250foot steel bridge one-fourth mile it will be seen that the north pier did all that could be expected of it. Since the bridge went out last fall the business on this reservation has been seriously handicapped. During the period of high water many of the Indians are either compelled to run great risks in crossing the river to sell their wool, pelts, and blankets or go long distances to find other stores in the interior of the reservation. The Indian traders on different parts of the reservation are compelled to cross their supplies each way in small boats, which, of course, is expensive and has to be paid by the Indians.

This spring we were unable to start the agency sawmill on account of the high water preventing us from crossing the river with the logging teams until the latter part of July. Now that the To-ad-lena school is in operation it is all the more important that we have a safe means of crossing the river to get supplies and employees from here to that school. A bridge at this place will not only be a great benefit and convenience to the Government in carrying on the agency work here and to the Indians, but it will be a great convenience to the white people of this valley who make frequent trips across the reservation to sell the products of their farms in towns along the Santa Fe Railroad.

I have been talking with the engineer, who informs me that he has suggested that the north pier might be higher than the old one. If you will permit me to suggest, the bridge we had and the grade was exactly what we needed. The only change I will suggest is to put the north pier on a solid foundation.

Very respectfully,

W. T. SHELTON, Superintendent.

DENVER, COLO., October 25, 1912.

SHELTON, Shiprock via Farmington, N. Mex.: Mail here at once number Indians living south of river. Danger of fording, period when fording is impossible, and any data for use in report justifying need of bridge.

CHARLES.

Specifications for labor and material required in the construction of a riveted steel highway bridge across the San Juan River at Shiprock, N. Mex.

The work contemplated consists of the building complete and ready for use of a 250-foot riveted steel bridge with a 16-foot roadway, the repairing of the south abutment, and the building complete of a new north abutment.

The above work is to replace a bridge which was taken out by the flood of 1911.

Bids are to be accompanied by stress diagrams and preliminary design of the whole structure in duplicate, for which these specifications and the plan attached to them are to tentatively govern.

SUBSTRUCTURE.

At the south end of bridge the old abutment will be repaired and used. Damage to this abutment consists of taking out of about 5 cubic yards of concrete when the old span was lost.

The abutment at the north end will be entirely new. It will rest on shale about 7 feet below the level of low water and will be of dimensions shown on plans.

The former abutment shown by dotted lines on the plans will be allowed to remain in place, except that the wing walls will be broken loose from the main wall, and any portion of abutment which may be in the way of new abutment

must be removed. The old abutment, including the wing walls, is to be left on the ground to act as a protecting apron for the new abutment.

All concrete used in repairing south abutment and in the new north abutment will be in accordance with the following specifications: Concrete will consist of sand and gravel mixed with Portland cement in the proportion of 1 part of cement to 64 parts of mixed sand and gravel. One sack of cement is to be considered as 1 cubic foot. There will therefore be used 4 sacks or 1 barrel of cement to each cubic yard of concrete.

The sand and gravel used are to be subject to the inspection of the engineer in charge. They must be free from loam. The natural mixture as found in gravel bed is to be used without being separated by screening, but if in the judgment of the engineer the natural mixture is deficient in either sand or gravel the deficiency must be corrected by the addition of such amount of the element lacking as the engineer may deem necessary.

All concrete will be thoroughly mixed by hand or in a batch mixer and shall be what is known as a wet mixture. No concrete shall be allowed to stand after mixing. It is to be deposited in a strong wooden form of exact shape of structure required. The exposed face of masonry will consist of clear mortar without stone. This facing will be placed at same time as main body of work. During the placing of concrete one man will be kept inside of form working the fine material to the front. No stone should show on the exposed surface after removal of forms. No plastering will be allowed, but minor cavities may be pointed up to give workmanlike finish. After forms are removed the surface is to be painted with a thin grout of cement and water applied with a brush.

SUPERSTRUCTURE.

The superstructure will consist of one 250-foot steel span with 16-foot clear roadway. This span will be proportioned for a loading as per Theo. Cooper's "Specification 1909, edition for class D bridges," except that concentrated load will be 10 tons instead of 6 tons.

Bidders will submit strain sheets and detail plans for the structure contemplated in their bid. A riveted span with steel hand rail and steel joists is pre ferred. Bidders may submit an alternate bid on Oregon fir joists if they desire. Native lumber may be used for wooden floor and furring strips on the steel joists.

The earth approaches will not be included in the bridge contract.

All structural steel shall be given one coat of graphite paint at the shop and one additional coat of the same paint after erection.

о

AS REQUIRED BY ACT OF AUGUST 24, 1912, RESULT OF INVESTIGATION OF CONDITIONS ON THE YUMA RESERVATION IN CALIFORNIA WITH RESPECT TO THE NECESSITY OF CONSTRUCTING BRIDGE AT YUMA, ARIZ.

DECEMBER 4, 1912.-Referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs and ordered to be printed, with illustrations.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
Washington, December 3, 1912.

The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

SIR: The Indian appropriation act for the current fiscal year, approved August 24, 1912 (Public, No. 335), contains the following

item:

To enable the Secretary of the Interior to make an investigation of conditions on the Yuma Reservation, in California, with respect to the necessity of constructing, for the use of the Indians, a bridge across the Colorado River between Fort Yuma, California, and the town of Yuma, Arizona, one thousand dollars, and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to cause plans, surveys, and reports to be made together with an estimated limit of cost of said bridge and to submit his report thereon to Congress on the first Monday in December, nineteen hundred and twelve.

The Yuma Indian Reservation is located in the southeastern part of California and embraces 38,969 acres. The Indian population on June 30, 1912, was 803. The post office, telegraph office, and railroad station are located at Yuma, Ariz., which is about one-half mile across the Colorado River from the agency and school. There are now three means of communication across the Colorado River between the reservation and Yuma, Ariz., viz, the Southern Pacific Railroad bridge, a public ferryboat, and private boats of various kinds. The first means of communication is merely a privilege of courtesy permitted by the Southern Pacific Railroad Co., which may

properly be revoked at any time, and accommodates only foot passengers. The second means is an expensive and precarious one, and the third is inadequate and hazardous. There is at present no satisfactory means of communication between the two points to be connected by the proposed bridge. The Yuma Indians would derive beneficial use from the proposed bridge for trading purposes at Yuma, for marketing their agricultural products, and for disposing of cordwood which they cut from the reservation. A bridge across the Colorado River at the point proposed would be a considerable benefit to the general public as cross-country travel by wagons and automobiles is increasing, and an ocean to ocean highway crosses the Colorado River at Yuma. There is at present no highway bridge across the Colorado River for a distance of 1,200 miles from its mouth.

There is inclosed a copy of a report of November 13, 1912, from the Acting Director of the Reclamation Service, representatives of which service made an investigation of the conditions, together with copies of two blue prints which accompanied the report. The general plans submitted provide for a bridge 447 feet over all, and the limit of cost has been placed at $75,000 for a bridge erected, painted, and complete for traffic. Respectfully,

SAMUEL ADAMS,

First Assistant Secretary.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

UNITED STATES RECLAMATION SERVICE,
Washington, D. C., November 13, 1912.

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

SIR: Pursuant to the instructions contained in your letter of September 10, 1912, to make investigations, plans, and report, together with estimated limit of cost of a bridge over the Colorado River between Fort Yuma, Cal., and Yuma, Ariz., there are inclosed herewith two blue prints showing location and design of such a bridge, and there is submitted below information relative to the usefulness of such a bridge to the Yuma Indians and to the general public, with estimated costs.

The bridge is located at the most suitable cross section of the Colorado River, between School Hill, Cal., and Penitentiary Hill, Ariz. The bridge has been designed as light as possible consistent with the nature of the traffic to which it will be subjected. A roadway of minimum width of 18 feet, with sidewalks on each side thereof with a minimum width of 5 feet has been provided for in the designs. The elevation of the floor system of the structure above high water is sufficient to permit of navigation without the use of a draw span.

The estimated limit of cost of the bridge erected, painted, and complete for traffic, is $75,000.

There are now three means of communication across the Colorado River between Fort Yuma, Cal., and Yuma, Ariz., viz, the Southern Pacific Railroad bridge, a public ferryboat, and private boats of one character and another. The first means of commu