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TABLE 7.—List of steamers plying on the Missouri River, in the district of New Orleans, enrolled at the port of Omaha, Nebr., during the year 1891--Continued.

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APPENDIX A 2.

ELEVATIONS ABOVE SEA LEVEL OF THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND AT THE SECONDARY TRIANGULATION STATIONS BETWEEN THREE FORKS, MONTANA, AND FORT BENTON, MONTANA (SURVEY OF 1890).

NOTE. Elevations are in feet and depend upon the elevation of the Northern Pacific Railroad track at Gallatin, Mont., as given by the railroad levels, for height above sea level.

Results marked with an asterisk (*) are from a direct connection with a bench mark (published list of 1891), and those marked with a dagger (†) are from a continuous connection of reciprocal readings between stations. All readings or angles upon which the elevations depend are from one vernier and one pointing of the 10inch limb theodolite used on secondary triangulation; but, in general, there are two or more routes for arriving at any one station. The extreme limits of error are put at

10 feet.

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APPENDIX A 3.

ANNUAL REPORT OF MR. A. H. BLAISDELL, ASSISTANT ENGINEER, 1892.

OFFICE MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION,

St. Louis, Mo., June 30, 1892.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report on the water gauges maintained by the Missouri River Commission for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892. The following table gives the location of each gauge, its character, time maintained during the year, and the distance above the mouth of the river as measured on the channel lines of 1878-79 and of 1890:

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The gauge at Ewings Landing was established by Division Engineer S. H. Yonge, and is maintained in connection with the works of improvement in progress on the First Reach.

Unusual rainfall occurring in April and May produced a flood comparable with those of 1881 and 1883; and, by order of the president of the Commission, the old gauges at Hermann, Randolph, Leavenworth, St. Joseph Water Works, White Cloud, and Sioux City (Perry Creek) were reestablished for purpose of comparison and study of flood data.

They are still being maintained but will be discontinued when the present high water subsides.

For some years the inspection of the gauges, and also such repairs and renewals as were necessary, had been performed under the direction of the division engineers. This extra monthly duty occasionally interfered with the survey and other work on the divisions, and it was decided by you to assign the work to an assistant reporting directly to this office.

Mr. L. P. Butler, assistant engineer, was directed in March, 1892, to report for the field duty connected with the gauges, and is now returning from his third tour of inspection.

We have still every reason to regard the cable gauge as the standard form for the Missouri River. In order, however, to provide against all possibility of a broken record resulting from accident to the cable there was sent, by your direction, on August 15, 1891, to each cable-gauge station a duplicate gauge cord, weight, and index, which were adjusted to the proper lengths by the inspector, and made ready

for immediate use.

It was also decided to increase the size of the sash-cord cable

from one-eighth inch diameter to three-sixteenths inch.

There has been no change in the system adopted for the permanent preservation of the records.

For the purpose of ready reference a condensed weekly abstract of the records is kept, copies of which are furnished to the steamboat service of the Commission. Monthly comparison of the readings of the Weather Bureau gauges on the river with those of the Commission have been made, with interchange of records.

The elevations of the zeros of the Weather Bureau gauges are as follows:

At Hermann, Mo., about 71.1 feet.

This equating number holds good for the lower 10 feet of the gauge. The upper section of the gauge, from 13 feet to 32 feet, is graduated wrongly, the average vertical height between feet marks being 0.873. The correct elevation of the 32-foot mark is 100.537 feet, and that of the 18-foot mark is 88.296 feet.

At Boonville, 152.143 feet.

At Kansas City, 303.35 feet.

At Plattsmouth no equating value appears obtainable, as this gauge is landlocked except in very high water.

At Omaha, 545.05 feet.

At Sioux City (Perry Creek), 663.8 feet.

Accompanying this report is a profile showing the relative high water elevations and points on the river between St. Charles and Sioux City for the years 1844, 1881, 1883, and the present year up to date.

This drawing can be considered as giving only relative heights attained by the water at gauge stations and not relative slopes, as the distances are measured on the channel line of 1890.

The following table gives the data from which the drawing was made; and also the dates when the water reached its maxium height, except in this year, when the river at all stations above White Cloud was still rising slowly on the 30th of June.

The Townsend, Mont., gauge, which is 219.3 miles by channel above Fort Benton, gave its maximum reading on June 22. This was 6.4 feet above the average and almost stationary height for 75 days preceding May 10.

Missouri River, relative high-water elevations, referred to the St. Louis city directrix.

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After the completion of the lines of precise levels now in progress, and the corroction of the elevations of the bench marks, the gauge data can be more confidently and thoroughly studied.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

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A. H. BLAISDELL,
Assistant Engineer.

APPENDIX A 4..

ANNUAL REPORT OF MR. J, A. SEDDON, ASSISTANT ENGINEER, 1892.

OFFICE MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION,

St. Louis, Mo., June 30, 1892.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report on the study of physical data for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892:

The work has consisted principally in continuing the study of flood movement; and in this it is thought that final results have been reached in the Lower Mississippi River from Cairo down. This has been made the subject of a special report, given as an appendix to the annual report of the Mississippi River Commission, where the data used belongs. For the characteristics of flood movement and the precision of its determination reference is made to that report.

From the report it is seen that the conclusions depend on the precision with which time intervals can be determined by trial gauge relations, and on the relations being extended over successively lengthening reaches without disturbances from tributary increments. On the Lower Mississippi it was found that the true intervals were determinate to the nearest tenth of a day (or to within about 14 hours); and in favorable floods the relations were extended through seven gauges, covering over 300 miles of river. From this it follows that a flood wave is in a permanent shape, and moves down as a whole without change of form and at a fixed rate.

Prior to this investigation the study of gauge relations had been carried forward to about an equal extent over the Missouri and Lower Mississippi rivers, and to a somewhat less extent over the Upper Mississippi. In these studies the determination of time interval was only attempted to the nearest quarter of a day, and no systematic study of floods through successively lengthening reaches was made; but, as far as it went, the conclusion had been reached that the general characteristic of flood movement was the same in all the rivers, though there were material differences in the rates of travel.

It now remains for further investigation to determine whether the precision which characterizes flood movement found in the Lower Mississippi will be maintained in the upper rivers.

A short series of discharge observations in the vicinity of St. Charles, Mo., was taken on the flood of this year. These have been computed, and a preliminary study has been begun of the present variation of discharge to gauge in the lower rivers. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

First Lieut. J. C. SANFORD,

Corps of Engineers, U. S. A.,

Secretary Missouri River Commission.

J. A. SEDDON,
Assistant Engineer.

APPENDIX B.

ANNUAL REPORT OF MR. CHARLES F. POTTER, DIVISION ENGINEER, 1892.

MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION, OFFICE OF DIVISION ENGINEER, Omaha, Nebr., June 15, 1892. COLONEL: I have the honor to submit the following report of operations under my charge at Sioux City, Iowa, during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892: There was no work of construction in operation at Sioux City during the year. A shore-line survey of the river from Milwaukee Point to the Railroad Bridge was

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