bus, to make a personal examination with this view, and his report is so much to the point that I give it entire : SEPTEMBER 10, 1873. MAJOR: I beg leave to submit the following suggestions in regard to the application of the unexpended residue of the appropriation to the Tombigbee River. They are made in compliance with your orders of June 13. In my report to you of an examination of the river from Columbus to Fulton, I attempted to show the impolicy of any expenditure on the river above Columbus, save for the improvement of high-water navigation, which I strongly recommended. But it is for the planters on the upper part of the river that this aid is most imperatively demanded, to deliver them from the heavy burden of taxation to which they are subjected to get their produce to market and to obtain their return supplies. Navigation is practicable at high-water from Columbus to Aberdeen, though not good. Moreover, these towns, situated on the river, and only twenty-eight miles distant by land from each other, have each a branch road connecting with the main trunk of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. It will be seen, therefore, that the planters in that section possess very superior facilities to those dwelling above. If the money be expended below Aberdeen, it will be of no benefit to the planters above. If it be expended above, it will inure more or less to the benefit of all. If the high-water navigation be improved up to Cotton-Gin Port, it will tend to relieve the planters above to some extent. It is a very accessible point, located on a high bluff on the east side of the river. I attended a town meeting of the citizens of Aberdeen, and they were unanimous in desiring that the money should be expended above. I was invited to a conference with the board of trade at Columbus. They wished to have the residue expended below Columbus in the improvement of low-water naviga tion. I informed them that I had already determined to recommend its application above Aberdeen, because the work below was more expensive, the benefit to be derived from it was less, but, above all that, their necessities were far less urgent than those of the people above. They admitted the force of my reasons, and acknowledged that under my instructions I could not well act otherwise. I shall therefore respectfully advise that the residue be applied from Aberdeen upward in the direction of Fulton, and on the plan suggested in my report, to wit, by removing drifts, logs, stumps, &c., in the bed of the river down to the level of lowwater and to a width of 60 feet, and by clearing away the leaning trees on the bank. I am, major, with great respect, your obedient servant, Maj. WALTER M. MCFARLAND, Corps of Engineers. POWHATAN ROBINSON, In accordance with these suggestions, I recommended that the balance of this appropriation be expended in the improvement of the Tombigbee River, between Aberdeen and Cotton-Gin Port, in the manner indicated, and by letter from the Office of the Chief of Engineers, dated November 10, 1873, my recommendation was approved, and I was authorized to do the work either by contract or hired labor, as the one or the other method might, in my judgment, seem best to subserve the public interest. The method by hired labor was adopted, and Mr. Robinson was assigned to the execution of the work. Preparations had already been made in anticipation of the approval of the Engineer Bureau, so that there was no delay in getting the work started, and work was vigorously prosecuted up to the 27th of Decem ber, when the rain and the rise of the river put an end to the season's operations. Better progress was made than had been expected, as the working party reached a point on the river five or six miles above Cotton-Gin Port; and some hopes were entertained that the improvement might be carried, before the winter rise occurred, as far up as Barr's Ferry, the point where the road from Smithville crosses the Tombigbee, and through which the benefit of the improvement would first manifest itself to the citizens of Itawamba County; but in this hope we were disap pointed. In these operations many thousand trees, large and small, have been cut down and a good many logs removed, and islands denuded of the small growth which covered them, in order that they might not obstruct the passage of boats during the high-water stage. About half of the available balance has been expended in this work, and the remainder will probably be sufficient to extend the same improvement as far as Barr's Ferry, fifty-five miles above Aberdeen and thirty miles above Cotton-Gin Port, to which latter point only, it was supposed, the available funds would enable us to go. Since the close of the fiscal year these operations have been resumed, and by the close of the month of October the funds will be exhausted. The estimates for the improvement of this river, as given in the reports referred to in the earlier pages of this report, are as follows: For the improvement of the Tombigbee River from Columbus to the mouth... Columbus to Fulton.. Appropriated act of June 10, 1872.. $21,500 00 35,000 00 56,500 00 10,000 00 46,500 000 $10,000 000 There have been expended during the year ending June 30, Out of the appropriation of.... The whole unappropriated balance of $46,500 could be profitably expended in this improvement during the next year. The region benefited by this improvement would be Western Alabama and Eastern Mississippi. The nearest port of entry is believed to be Mobile, Alabama. The amount of revenue received there is unknown to me. Financial statement. Amount in hands of officer and subject to his check.. $4,667 05 2,350 77 2,316 28 Amount required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876.. 46,500 00 P 4. OOSTENAULA AND COOȘAWATTEE RIVERS, GEORGIA. Report of Captain L. Cooper Overman, Corps of Engineers. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, GENERAL: In compliance with telegraphic instructions, dated Washington, D. C., March 2, 1874, and letter dated Office of the Chief of Engineers, Washington, D. C., March 2, 1874, I have the honor to submit the following brief report and "estimate for the improvement of the Oostenaula River, Georgia, between Resaca and Carter's Mill." The examination was commenced on the morning of the 13th instant, and completed by the evening of the 14th instant. The Hon. P. M. B. Young accompanied me for a part of the time. The trip from Resaca to Carter's mill and back, for the examination of the river, was made on the steamer Mary Carter, built at Resaca, Ga., and intended to trade between Rome, Ga., and Carter's mill. This steamer, a stern-wheeler, is 111 feet long, 18 feet wide, 3 feet depth of hull, draws 10 inches light when under way, and from 24 inches to 30 inches when loaded. The cylinders of her engines are 10 inches in diameter and 30 inch stroke. The stage of water at the time of the examination, according to the testimony of those living on or near it, was from 24 inches to 30 inches above low-water. At this stage the steamer employed had no difficulty, from want of sufficient depth of water, in passing over the whole length of river in question, as but one shoal was found with less than 33 inches of water upon it, and that only for a short distance. Four miles above Resaca, by river, the Conasauga and Coosawattee Rivers unite, and from their junction to Rome, Ga., the stream is called the Oostenaula. Carter's Mill, the point mentioned as the end of the survey ordered, is on the Coosawattee River, near the foot of the "Chatua Mountains," through which the river breaks from the northeast. The distance from Resaca to "Carter's Mill" landing, by river, is estimated at 45 miles. The river from Resaca to the junction of the Coosawattee is about seventy yards wide, with bluff banks and plenty of water at ordinary stages; from the junction to "Carter's Mill," the Coosawattee varies in width from sixty yards to forty yards. The banks are generally steep, frequently rising into high, rocky bluffs. The stream, except at the shoals, is from 5 to 10 feet deep at all seasons. The shoals are scattered along the 45 miles in question, and vary in length from a few yards to one-half a mile. The low-water season lasts ordinarily from June till November, but during the remaining months of the year the river is as high or higher than it was when this examination was made. The navigation is at present obstructed even at ordinary stages in many places by sunken logs, trees, and "snags;" by "overhanging trees," which prevent a boat from keeping in the best water, and inter. fere with her management at short turns; by various "fish-traps," erected by individuals under the laws of the State of Georgia, which laws permit the same, provided an opening of 40 feet in width is allowed for the passage of boats; by the remains of two or three old mill-dams, which have only been partly removed, and by detached masses of rock lying in the channel, and especially dangerous in the short turns of the stream. The navigation during the low-water season is still further obstructed by a number of gravel-bars and two or three rock-bars, or reefs. APPROXIMATE ESTIMATE TO IMPROVE. 1st. To secure good navigation for boats drawing from 24 inches to 36 inches during seven months, (November to June;) cost of suitable derrick-boat, with quarters for men and blacksmith-shop on board.......... Services of two foremen, at $3 per day, including ratioùs for ninety days. Services of twenty men, at $1.50 per day, including rations for ninety days Tools, materials, &c.. Contingencies, 15 per cent Total for seven months.... 2d. To secure good navigation during eight months, (October to June,) Excavation of eight hundred cubic yards of gravel, at $2 per yard Total for eight months... 3d. To secure good navigation for boats drawing 24 inches during nine Excavation of twelve hundred cubic yards of gravel, at $2. Contingencies, 10 per cent Total for nine months For a longer period than nine months the cost to improve would increase in a degree far beyond the advantage to be gained or the amount of trade benefited. No estimate is therefore made for a longer period than nine months. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Brig. Gen. A. A. HUMPHREYS, L. COOPER OVERMAN, Captain of Engineers. Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. APPENDIX Q. REPORTS UPON BRIDGING NAVIGABLE WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES. Q. 1. BRIDGE ACROSS THE GENESEE RIVER, NEW YORK. Letter of the Chief of Engineers. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, Washington, D. C., October 4, 1873. SIR: Congress by an act approved March 3, 1873, (vol. 17, Statutes at Large, page 610,) authorized the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad Company to construct a draw-bridge across the Genesee River, in Munroe County, New York, and required that the structure shall be located and built under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe, &c. The president of the company submitted drawings showing location and plan of the bridge, and also certain papers and petitions in relation thereto. These were referred to a board of engineer officers, instructed to assemble at Charlotte, N. Y., the site of the bridge, and, after a careful examination, to prepare such regulations as are necessary for the security of the navigation of the river, and report whether a bridge constructed at the location selected and according to the plan proposed will conform to these regulations. The report of the board is herewith respectfully submitted. They recommend that the location of the bridge be approved, and that the draw-openings proposed by the company, viz, 70 and 71 feet, be accepted. In regard to the height of the bridge above surface of the river, the board expresses the opinion "that the under-surface of the bridge should not be less than 13 feet above high-water mark." This would require the plan proposed by the president of the company, in his letter of July 25, to be raised 111⁄2 feet. The board recommend certain regulations for the working of the bridge: First, that in all cases the navigation interests shall have the precedence in passing the bridge; and second, that during the season of navigation the company be required to keep such lights at the draw as may be prescribed by the Light House Board. These appear to be matters of regulation, belonging rather to the local or State authorities, and not contemplated in the act of Congress as coming under the supervision of the War Department. The views and recommendations of the board, with the above exception, are concurred in by me, and if they meet your approval, it is recommended that I be authorized to so inform the president of the railroad company. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. W. W. BELKNAP, A. A. HUMPHREYS, Brigadier-General, and Chief of Engineers. Secretary of War. [Indorsement.] The Secretary of War approves the recommendations of the Chief of Engineers. OCTOBER 8, 1873. H. T. CROSBY, Chief Clerk. Report of Board of Engineers. CHARLOTTE, N. Y., August 26, 1873. GENERAL: The Board of Engineer Officers constituted by Paragraph 1, Special Orders No. 103, dated Headquarters Corps of Engineers, Washington, D. C., August 15, 1873, convened at Charlotte, N. Y., August 26, 1873, in obedience to that order, all the members being present. The board proceeded to examine and deliberate upon the several maps and papers brought to their attention, and bearing upon the question of the location and plan of the bridge proposed to be built across the Genesee River, in Monroe County, New York, by the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad Company. The resident engineer of that company laid before the board all data necessary to enable the members to fo in their opinions upon the matter in question. The Board also gave careful attention to the opinions expressed by dock-owners, masters of tugs, and prominent citizens of the village of Charlotte. Full opportunity was given, and a free expression of public opinion was invited as to the location and plan of the proposed bridge, resulting in, with one excep tion, a general expression of approval of the railroad company's project without alteration in any manner. The board, after mature deliberation and a thorough discussion of the bject in all its bearings, came to the following conclusions, which they tfully present as their |