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Missouri River sediment observations, Saint Charles, Mo.-Continued.

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July 1.

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Missouri River sediment observations, Saint Charles, Mo.-Continued.

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Missouri River sediment observations, Saint Charles, Mo.-Continued.

ANNUAL REPORT OF PRESIDENT MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION, 1886-'87.

MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION,
Saint Louis, Mo., August 2, 1887.

GENTLEMEN: Work under the construction department of this Commission during the past fiscal year has embraced repair, construction, and care of plant and construction & revetment at Saint Joseph, Mo., and construction of revetment and dike work at Kanse City, Mo. At the beginning of the fiscal year this work was in charge of Maj. W. R. Livermore, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, with station at Kansas City, Mo. On No vember 7 Major Livermore was relieved, and I was instructed by the Commission to take charge of this department of their work. Under Major Livermore's direction the greater portion of the plant had been repaired and launched, and everything got in readiness for resuming work, but the very late date, October 28, 1887, at which the allotments of the Commission received the approval of the honorable Secretary of War rendered it impos sible to carry on work to advantage so late in the season. Orders were therefore give to lay the plant up for the winter, and this work was completed early in December. As soon as danger from ice was over such portions of the plant as were needed were repaired and launched, and the tow-boats Stone and Alert sent up from Bushberg, where they had been wintered. The Alert was purchased for the use of the Commission Decem ber 20, 1886, at a cost of $20,000. She had been chartered the previous season and had been found well suited to the work.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

Work in this neighborhood has been throughout the year in charge of Assistant S. H. Yonge. Repairs to plant were completed May 1. On April 2, work was begun on a dike across the head of the slough above the East Bottoms. The changes in the river near Pest Island had thrown a considerable current into this slough, and it was enlarging so fast as to render it problematical whether the head of the East Bottom revetment could be held. It was therefore decided to throw a dike across the head of the slough to connect with the tow-head, thus deflecting the current from the slough with the expectation that it would eventually silt up. The dike consisted essentially of two rows of braced piles, reduced to one row on the bar near the tow-head. A foot mat 20 feet wide and 18 inches thick, is sunk around the piles to prevent scour, and a mattress 35 feet wide suspended from the up-stream side of the piles, and further supported by poles, completes the system.

The whole length of dike is 1,958 feet. It was finished June 8, but the stage of water since has been too high to determine as yet what its effect will be. The crest of dike was kept down to an elevation of about 5 feet above low water to enable drift, etc., to pass over it during floods.

The revetment of the East Bottoms was begun April 25, a second mattress party being started May 10. At the close of the fiscal year work was temporarily suspended, owing to high water. The mattress work was then complete for 5,500 feet, and complete, except on the upper bank for 635 feet. About one-fourth of the upper bank mattress was covered with stone. There remains 3,500 feet to construct to complete the work.

The details of this work are entirely similar to that done at Quindaro Bend in 1885. From A to B, 1,100 feet (see map), the mattress extends to the top of the bank and averages 88 feet in width, thence to C, 3,400 feet, the average width is 127 feet. From C to D the width is 105 feet, and for the remainder of the distance, 635 feet, only the under water mat, 88 feet wide, is constructed.

The work done in former years remains intact. On the Kaw Bend work about 500 feet of the upper bank protection was damaged apparently by water seeping back to the river from the bottom lands. This was repaired at small cost.

Both brush and stone for the work have been procured by hired labor. Much difficulty has been experienced in all departments of the work from the great scarcity and high price of common labor. The cost of all work has been greatly enhanced thereby As soon as the river recedes to a sufficiently low stage work will be resumed on the East Bottoms revetment and pushed to completion. There will still remain a considerable fund unexpended, and the question will be where it car best be applied. It has been preliminarily decided by the Commission to commence work in Sharp's Bend, the next in sequence to the East Bottoms. The funds available will not, however, be sufficient to complete the work needed in this bend, and for other reasons I think the money can be more advantageously expended elsewhere. At the time the first work in this vicinity was projected by the Commission it was thought that the protection of Parkville Bend would ultimately be needed to prevent the Kaw Bend work from being taken in reverse. Subsequent surveys, however, showed that the protection should be extended st. further up-stream so as to include Little Platte Bend. This work was not, however, looked on as of pressing importance. During the last two years, however, there has been much caving in Little Platte Bend, where the situation now seems dangerous and a cut-off threatened. As this would be likely to make extensive changes and greatly jeopardize the work in Kaw Bend I have to recommend to the Commission that the revetment of this bend be undertaken at once and that the work in Sharp's Bend be left till another appropriation is available.

For details of work, see report of Assistant Samuel H. Yonge, Appendix B 1.

SAINT JOSEPH, MISSOURI.

The plant at this point was re-enforced from Kansas City to enable the work to be pushed more rapidly. Work began April 25, on the extension down-stream of the BonTon revetment. By June 17 this work had been completed for 4,158 feet, when the near exhaustion of the allotment compelled its suspension, leaving about 2,000 feet to be done hereafter. The details of work were the same as in 1885, except that portions of the cable-system were doubled to secure a better bond with the brush. The average width of mattress was 125 feet, extending to the top of the bank. Much trouble was experienced with the bank, which is largely composed of sand and very easily eroded. This has added greatly to the labor and expense and retarded progress. The same trouble in regard to labor was experienced as at Kansas City. During the balance of the season the covering of the upper bank with stone will be completed and 3,000 cubic yards of stone will be placed on the Elwood revetment at certain exposed points.

All the work of previous years is in excellent condition.

During the month of July all work contemplated here will probably be finished, and the fleet hauled out for the winter. The tow-boat Alert and fifteen barges will be sent to Kansas City.

This work will about exhaust the current allotment, and in order to care for the plant and provide for contingencies it is recommended that $10,000 be transferred to this work from the Kansas City allotment.

For details of work, see report of Assistant S. W. Fox, Appendix B 2.

CONSTRUCTION OF BARGES.

On February 8, arrangements were made for the construction of fifteen barges for the work, ten to be built at Cincinnati, Ohio, by the Cincinnati Dry Dock Company, and five to be built at Levanna, Ohio, by the Boyd Manufacturing Company. At the end of the fiscal year eleven barges had been completed and accepted, and the balance will probably be delivered during the month of July, 1887.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

CHAS. R. SUTER,
Lieut. Col. of Engineers,

President Missouri River Commission.

The MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION.

APPENDIX B 1.

REPORT OF MR. SAMUEL H. YONGE, ASSISTANT ENGINEER.

KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 22, 1887.

COLONEL: I have the honor to submit the following report of operations conducted on the work of improving Missouri River in the vicinity of Kansas City, Mo., from November 7, 1886, to June 30, 1887, viz:

REPAIRS TO AND CARE OF PLANT.

The work of repairing the launching ways at Quindaro, Kans., and extending them so as to accommodate the increased number of boats to be wintered there, was com menced November 8 and completed November 30, 1886.

The work of pulling the boats out of the river and storing them on the ways was begua November 14 and completed December 6, 1886.

As the method of doing this work was essentially the same as that employed in 1885, which was fully described in my last annual report to you, no description is thought

necessary.

The fleet taken out of the river and laid up on the ways consisted of 5 hydraulic graders, 2 hydraulic pile-sinkers, 2 hydraulic pile-sinker tenders, 4 double-deck quarterboats, 6 mattress-boats, 1 machine-boat, 29 100-foot barges, 1 64-foot barge, 3 miscella neous hulls, 1 steamer-Melusina-or a total of 54 hulls.

The cost of this work, including proportionate amount of cost of administration, miscellaneous expenses, and services of steamer Melusina amounted to $3,530.22.

On the completion of this work, the force in the field, with the exception of a few

men to watch and take care of the property, was discharged.

In the early part of February, 1887, the repairs to such boats as had not been repaired. or only partly so, during the preceding summer and fall, were begun. These consisted in recalking 38 hulls and repainting the whole fleet of 77 boats, which were all launched by May 1, 1887.

The whole cost of repairing and launching the fleet, including proportionate cost of administration, miscellaneous expenses, and services of steamer Melusina amounted to $6,536.64.

The fleet was subsequently removed below the Kansas City Bridge, such boats as were not immediately needed being tied up at Harlem, Mo., in charge of watchmen.

CONSTRUCTION OF WORKS OF IMPROVEMENT.

The works of improvement constructed at East Bottoms, below Kansas City, Mo.. consisted of a dike and a revetment, commencing about three-fourths of a mile below the dike.