the river from its mouth to the city of Mount Clemens was submitted in 1880 and renewed and approved in 1889. It contemplates a channel 8 feet deep and of navigable width for the entire distance of about 83 miles from the mouth of the river to Mount Clemens. Involved in this was the closing of a gap opposite Mount Clemens and of Catfish (or Blind) Channel; also closing the main channel at and making a straight cut across Shoemakers Bend, constructing a revetment on the north side of the mouth from the shore to the requisite depth in Lake St. Clair, and dredging wherever necessary to attain the desired depth, the estimated cost of the improvement being $32,926. By June 30, 1891, the work at Shoemakers Bend had been completed, the gap opposite Mount Clemens had been closed, some dredging had been done at the mouth of the river and at various shoals between there and Mount Clemens, and dredging was still in progress. Work was continued until the funds were exhausted on October 4, 1891, when a channel 8 feet in depth and 75 feet or more in width extended from the mouth of the river to the bridge at Mount Clemens. Although this channel can not be considered as permanent, no complaint of its deterioration has yet been received. The good effect of the dredging already done is liable to be destroyed by deposits of material brought down by annual freshets in the river. Total expenditure to June 30, 1891.. Expended during fiscal year.. Total expenditure to June 30, 1892.... July 1, 1891, balance unexpended.. June 30, 1892, amount expended during fiscal year... July 1, 1892, balance unexpended....... Amount appropriated by act approved July 13, 1892....... Amount available for fiscal year ending June 30, 1893.. (See Appendix L L 15.) $45, 405.06 6, 006. 54 51, 411. 60 7, 971.49 7,869.97 101.52 8, 564.00 8, 665.52 16. Grosse Pointe Channel, Michigan.-Between the lower end of St. Clair Flats and the deep water of Detroit River the only known obstruction to navigation is the large shoal off Grosse Pointe, known as Grosse Pointe Flats. At ordinary stages of water vessels drawing 16 feet can cross this obstruction, but when the water is as low as it has been during the last few years vessels drawing more than 15 feet can pass only with great care and difficulty. * The river and harbor act of August 11, 1888, appropriated $75,000 for "improving St. Clair Flats Ship Canal, all or any portion of which may, in the discretion of the engineer, be expended in dredg ing Grosse Pointe Channel." Five thousand dollars was consequently reserved from this appropriation for the removal of any small and welldefined obstruction that might be found at Grosse Pointe, as well as for making such surveys as might be necessary before making a definite project. A small shoal was removed in July, 1889, but no more such obstructions have since been found. As the improvement of other connecting channels of the Great Lakes begins to approach the 20-foot depth, which it is recognized that they should ultimately have, the annoyance to shipping at Grosse Pointe Flats must increase, and the necessity for a channel at this point is urgent. The number of vessels annually crossing these flats is enormous, and to insure a thoroughly satisfactory result a channel 800 feet wide and nearly 5 miles long should be dredged and the full depth of 20 feet should be obtained at whatever cost. The approximate estimate for this work is $956,825.76. The commerce which passes this point already exceeds 20,000,000 tons annually, and steps can not be taken too soon for its accommodation. July 1, 1891, balance unexpended .... $3,844.05 3, 844. 05 Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project....... 956, 825.76 Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867. (See Appendix L L 16.) 17. Rouge River, Michigan.-Before improvements were begun Rouge River had a channel of 11 feet over the bar at its mouth, and from 10 to 17 feet thence to the bridge of the St. Louis and Wabash Railroad, a distance of nearly 15,000 feet. In earlier days vessels had ascended it to Dearborn, a distance of about 15 miles. The approved project for improvement contemplates dredging the river to a depth of 16 feet and width of 240 feet at the mouth, gradually narrowing to 100 feet at a distance of about 1,150 feet above, and then continuing this width to the bridge of the St. Louis and Wabash Railroad. On June 30, 1891, the dredged channel was 16 feet deep, 240 feet wide at the mouth, gradually narrowing to 100 feet at a distance of 1,150 feet above; thence to the Michigan Central Railroad Bridge, an additional distance of about 11,500 feet, it averaged 70 feet in width, being wider at the curves. The total length of the dredged channel was about 12,650 feet. No funds were available during any part of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892, for which reason no work was done, and some shoaling has taken place in portions of the channel already dredged. Total expenditure to June 30, 1891 July 1, 1891, balance unexpended.. July 1, 1892, balance unexpended.... Amount appropriated by act approved July 13, 1892. Amount available for fiscal year ending June 30, 1893.. (See Appendix L L 17.) $20,483. 28 20, 483. 28 133. 17 133.17 11,690.00 11, 823. 17 18. Detroit River, Michigan.-Originally the channel at Lime Kiln Crossing, Detroit River, could not be depended upon for more than 13 feet of water, the ordinary depth being much affected by the direction of the wind. As originally projected in 1874, the improvement at this point was to consist of a curved channel 300 feet wide, with a uniform depth of 20 feet, and the original estimate was based upon this project. In 1883 it was wisely determined to so modify the project as to secure a straight channel, the least width of which should be 300 feet, with a somewhat greater width at each end, utilizing the work already done. In 1886 this was further modified to the end that the width of the channel should be increased to 400 feet by removing an additional 100 feet from the western (American) side; and in 1888 a further additional width of 40 feet on the western side was authorized, as the lowest bid under the final appropriation was so low that the money in hand would pay for the increased excavation. This 440-foot channel was completed during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1891, at a cost of but little more than half the estimate for the 400-foot channel, and the only work done during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892, has been the preparation of a map of the river front of Detroit, and the reading of water gauges. The project for Lime Kiln Crossing having been completed, no further estimate is submitted for work at that point. Owing to the low water of the last few years, however, vessels have struck on a number of shoals in different parts of the river, and, in view of the magnitude of the commerce affected, all such shoals should be removed as soon as possible. Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project.. Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867. (See Appendix L L 18.) 30,000.00 30, 923. 89 20,000.00 19. Removing sunken vessels or craft obstructing or endangering navigation.- Wreck of scow Hannah Moore.-The unladen wooden scow Hannah Moore became water-logged and sunk in St. Clair River on July 3, 1891. When it became apparent that her owner did not propose to remove her, the thirty days' notice required by law was published and specifications for her removal were issued. In due course a contract for her removal was entered into on September 28, 1891, with the lowest bidder, Mr. Chauncey E. Mitchell, for the lump sum of $880. By November 9 the wreck was completely removed, and on November 16 the contract was closed. The total cost to the Government, including superintendence, printing, advertising, etc., was $902.10. No articles of value were recovered. (See Appendix LL 19.) IMPROVEMENT OF RIVERS AND HARBORS ON LAKE ERIE WEST OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA. Officers in charge, Maj. L. Cooper Overman, Corps of Engineers, to December 1, 1891, and Lieut. Col. Jared A. Smith, Corps of Engineers, since December 12, 1891, with Lieut. William V. Judson, Corps of Engineers, under their immediate orders; Lieut. William V. Judson, Corps of Engineers, in temporary charge from December 1 to 12, 1891. 1. Monroe Harbor, Michigan.-The original project for the improvement of this harbor was adopted in 1835, when Monroe was a town of considerable importance, and when the navigable waters of the River Raisin were separated from the waters of Lake Erie by extensive shoals. It provided for cutting a canal through River Raisin Point, between the river and the lake, 4,000 feet long and 100 feet wide, and protecting the entrance into the lake by parallel piers, the object being to afford a channel of entrance of navigable width with a depth of 10 feet. Work was commenced in 1835 and has been continued from time to time since that date. The entire amount appropriated for this harbor has been $225,515.27, all of which has been expended in construction and repairs. The annual report for 1891 reported that at the close of the previous fiscal year there was a fair channel with a least depth of 8 feet up to a point below Monroe, where the bottom is of rock. No expenditures have been made during the past year, and there is no further information regarding condition of channel. The revetment of the canal and the piers are now very much decayed Amount appropriated by act approved July 13, 1892 Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project ...... Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867. (See Appendix M M 1.) $10,000.00 16,000.00 2. Toledo Harbor, Ohio.-The original project provided for making the existing channel 200 feet wide and 12 feet deep through Maumee Bay, and this was amended from time to time, resulting in the present project, which provides for a width of 200 feet at bottom and a depth of 16 feet at low water between the city of Toledo and deep water in Lake Erie. The total amount appropriated for improving the natural or old channel previous to June 30, 1892, is $724,332.61. Amount expended to June 30, 1891, $719,432.58. Amount expended in last fiscal year, including liabilities, $4,900.03. The act of September 19, 1890, appropriated $5,000 for clearing old channel. This sum was expended in the summer of 1891 in dredging shoal places. The channel was so far cleared as to leave a depth of 15.6 feet throughout and a width of 100 feet in the narrowest place, the widest being about 260 feet. As the new straight channel is now open to navigation, and is better than the old one, it does not seem desirable to expend any further sums in maintaining the less direct and poorer channel. Dredging in straight channel was continued until June 7, 1892, save when suspended for the winter. As a result this channel is now open to navigation with its full width of 200 feet on the bottom over nearly nine-tenths of the distance, and the narrowest portion remaining has a width of 170 feet. Various causes have contributed to prevent dredging so as to give a clear channel of 17 feet depth, and there has been a fill of eight-tenths of a foot from sediment and other material moved by waves or currents. The average depth below mean level of the lake, referred to mean level from 1860 to 1875, is 15.6 feet. There is, therefore, considerable dredging still required to complete the channel to full width and depth, and an annual expenditure will be required in future for maintenance of the channel. The officer in charge of the work recommends that a good dredge and scows be procured and operated by hired labor, as the most economical and advantageous method of maintaining the channel. The pile protection around the range lights in the turn-out division was completed December 1, 1891. Amount available for fiscal year ending June 30, 1893.. $4,900.03 4, 423.66 476.37 476.37 191, 682.54 176, 224.04 15,458.50 9, 905.89 5, 552.61 200,000.00 205,552.61 Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project..... 1, 200, 000. 00 Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867, (See Appendix M M 2.) 3. Port Clinton Harbor, Ohio.-In 1870 the channel at the entrance to this harbor was narrow and intricate, with a depth of only 5 feet. The present project, adopted in 1875, provides for a pile revetment from the north shore of the Portage River, opposite the town, 967 feet into the lake, and two pile piers 200 feet apart, of an aggregate length of 4,100 feet, extending to the depth of 10 feet in the lake, with a view of maintaining a depth of 9 feet between them. The total amount appropriated and expended for this harbor to June 30, 1891, was $56,000. The act of September 19, 1890, appropriated $3,000 for improving this harbor. This sum has been expended in the last fiscal year for dredging to deepen the channel. A depth of 10 feet through the bar and between piers has been restored. Such expenditures for maintaining the depth of water are not a part of the project of improvement for which the estimate is submitted, and the estimate to complete the project is therefore not reduced. July 1, 1891, balance unexpended June 30, 1892, amount expended during fiscal year Amount appropriated by act approved July 13, 1892. Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project...... Submitted in compliance with requirements of sections 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867. (See Appendix M M 3.) $3,000.00 3,000.00 10, 000. 00 27,000.00 4. Sandusky City Harbor, Ohio.-The original depth in the channel through the outer bar was 10 feet and greatest depth in bay about 12 feet. The project adopted in 1880 provided for a channel through the outer bar and through the bay 200 feet wide, and parallel to the city docks 100 feet wide, the whole to be 15 feet deep. Approved project of 1888 provides for a "straight channel" for this harbor 200 feet wide and 17 feet deep, extending from the east end of the dock channel to the north end of Cedar Point. This new channel will materially shorten and improve the existing entrance. The estimated cost of straight channel, as projected, is $96,712; of this amount |