Annual Reports of the War Department

Number of hours detention of vessels on bar, arranged according to draught of vessels detained.

Months.

In response to advertisement inviting proposals for dredging at Sabine Pass, Texas, for which Congress had made provision, bids for the work had been received, and were being considered at the time work was suspended at Southwest Pass.

As the lowest responsible bid received would not have excavated a channel at Sabine Pass of the depth contemplated by the act appropriating, it was recommended that one of the idle dredge-boats be utilized for the purpose, which, it was thought, would be able to excavate a deeper channel at less cost than would have been obtained by acceptance of any of the bids.

This recommendation was approved by the Chief of Engineers. The Essayons was selected for the service, and sent to Sabine Pass November 22, 1877. The Essayons became disabled, and the McAlester was sent to relieve her. The latter vessel left this port January 1, 1878, and sailed from South Pass January 2, but never reached her destination. Since, pieces of her wreck picked up in the Gulf leave no doubt that she was lost, probably in the severe storm of January 3, with all on board.

Immediately upon notification that the McAlester had not arrived at Sabine Pass, boats were dispatched from New Orleans and Galveston in search of her. These vessels cruised in every direction in the Gulf it was thought possible for the McAlester or her wreck to have drifted, with the hope of at least saving some of her crew. However, the search resulted in nothing beyond picking up a sky-light and hatch (supposed to have belonged to the McAlester) by the revenue-cutter McLane. Several weeks after her disappearance portions of houses recognized as belonging to the McAlester were picked up in the Gulf, which would seem to suggest that she probably foundered, and that the portions of wreck found were afterward detached from the hull at the bottom of the Gulf by action of the waves.

The end dock, coal-barge, and storehouse belonging to the work being of no further service that would justify the expense required to care for them, were sold at auction by direction of the Chief of Engineers.

Under the same authority the launch Survey was transferred to the work for improving harbor at Galveston, Tex., and the Essayons and other property transferred to the work for improving Sabine Pass, Texas. The following statistics regarding the commerce of the port of New Orleans for the year ending June 30, 1878, have been kindly furnished by the collector of the port:

The work is located in the collection district of New Orleans and near the lighthouse at Southwest Pass. It is not susceptible of permanent completion.