ant Engineer Judson, assisted by a party in the United States schooner Surveyor, and at the same time the wharf in the inner harbor, which had been repaired in 1883 by means of an appropriation which was made in 1882, was again repaired, as far as the funds available for the purpose would allow. It is proper to be remarked in this connection that this wharf is so thoroughly decayed that it is past any useful repair, and should be replaced by a new structure. The supplies for the light houses are landed here, and all the passengers (many thousand annually) and all the goods to and from the island arrive at and depart from it, except that in summer months an excursion steamer from the mainland uses for its passengers a small private wharf in the outer harbor, but this wharf cannot be used in winter on account of the exposure of the outer harbor. As the case now stands, the public considers the wharf a Government wharf, and that it has no right to do anything to it, and if it is not to be renewed at Government expense by means of an appropriation made for the purpose-it will require about $2,500-provision should be made for turning it over to the authorities of the town of New Shoreham (the corporate name of Block Island) for public use and maintenance.

On the 6th of October, 1884, advertisements were issued for riprap granite for filling the gap under the provisions of the act of Congress of July 5, 1884, appropriating $15,000 for improving the breakwater. The following proposals were received and were opened on the 28th of the same month:

NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF BIDDERS.

Price per ton of 2,240

pounds.

James Scully, Groton, Conn..

Isaac A. Sylvester, Newton Centre, Mass..

$1.65

1 67

With the approval of the Chief of Engineers, the contract was awarded to Mr. James Scully, the lowest bidder; contract dated November 15, 1884, to be commenced within one month after signing of contract, unless otherwise agreed, and completed August 31, 1885.

Work under the above contract was commenced March 19, 1885, and at the end of the fiscal year is still in progress. The amount of riprap stone deposited in the gap during the year was 5,795 tons. Mr. Andrew R. Elliot is the local inspector of the work.

On the 8th December, 1884, the following resolution was passed by the Senate of the United States:

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES,

December 8, 1884.

Resolved, That the Secretary of War be, and he hereby is, directed to communicate to the Senate, without unnecessary delay, whether there exists a public

necessity for the enlargement of the basin or harbor inside the breakwater at Block Island, Rhode Island, for the proper accommodation of the shipping seeking refuge at that place; and, if so, to what extent should such enlargement be made, and what would be the probable cost thereof.

Attest:

ANSON G. McCook,
Secretary.

In compliance with the above resolution I was directed to make report. My report and estimate, dated December 30, 1884, were transmitted to Congress and printed as Senate Ex. Doc. No. 27, Forty-eighth Congress, second session, and a copy will be found appended hereto.

AMOUNT EXPENDED, AND PROGRESS, DURING THE LAST FISCAL YEAR.

The amount expended during the last fiscal year, including liabilities outstanding June 30, 1885, was $12,065.11, and the result was the filling of the whole length of the gap nearly up to mean low water, but not to the full width of the breakwater at that level. The width of the filling at the top on June 30, 1885, was about 10 feet.

OPERATIONS CONTEMPLATED FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1886.

With the remainder of the funds available for the purpose, it is proposed to carry the filling of the gap in the breakwater as high as they will admit. It is expected that the current contract will be completed, and the appropriation of July 5, 1884, will be exhausted, August 31, 1885. No appropriation having been made for this work at the last session of Congress, no other work will be done during the next fiscal year.

WORK REQUIRED TO BE DONE TO COMPLETE THE EXISTING PROJECT.

The work which will be required to be done to complete the present project after the completion of the current contract will be the filling of the gap to its full height of 6 feet above mean high water and its full width at top of 25 feet.

It should be remarked that the enlargement of the inner harbor or basin not having yet been acted upon by Congress, the cost of this work, which will be found in the special report on the subject which is appended to this report, is not included in the "amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project" in the following money statement:

Block Island is in the Newport collection district, and Newport is the nearest port of entry. There is no duty collected at the island. The value of the harbor is mainly as a harbor of refuge for coasting vessels. There are four lights on the

island, the north and south lights and the break water lights. The nearest fortification is Fort Adams, Newport, R. I.

July 1, 1885, amount expended during fiscal year, exclu

Amount (estimated) required for completion of existing project..... 24,000 00 Amount that can be profitably expended in fiscal year ending June 30,

1887........

Submitted in compliance with requirements of section 2 of river and harbor acts of 1866 and 1867.

24,000 00

SPECIAL REPORT ON ENLARGEMENT OF THE BASIN OR HARBOR INSIDE THE BREAKWATER AT BLOCK ISLAND, RHODE ISLAND.

ENGINEER Office, United STATES ARMY,

NEWPORT, R. I., December 30, 1884.

GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of the following resolution of the Senate of the United States:

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES,

December 8, 1884.

Resolved, That the Secretary of War be, and he hereby is, directed to communicate to the Senate, without unnecessary delay, whether there exists a public necessity for the enlargement of the basin or harbor inside the break water at Block Island, R. I., for the proper accommodation of the shipping seeking refuge at that place, and, if so, to what extent should such enlargement be made, and what would be the probable cost thereof.

Attest:

ANSON G. McCook,
Secretary.

In compliance with the directions contained in an indorsement on the above resolution, I beg leave to submit the following report:

The harbor of refuge at Block Island, which is entirely an artificial harbor, is at the southern end of the curve which forms the eastern side of the island. Before its construction Block Island had no harbor. The only vessels used were open boats, which on the approach of storms were hauled up on the beach by oxen. The largest of these boats were of about 10 tons burden.

The works consisted of a main breakwater, which extends northerly from the shore, a distance of about 1,900 feet, forming the outer harbor, and the inner harbor or basin referred to in the resolution of the Senate.

The inner harbor lies in the western angle between the breakwater and the shore. It is about 300 feet by 250 feet in area and has an opening about 80 feet wide (60 feet in the clear), on the north side, through which vessels pass to and from the outer harbor.

It was first dredged to a depth of 7 feet at mean low water. Afterwards it was dredged to a depth of 9 feet, and the bottom of a large part of the outer harbor was cleared of bowlders.

The main breakwater, except for a distance of about 300 feet from the shore, where it forms the eastern side of the inner harbor, is constructed of riprap granite. It is 35 feet wide at the top, which is 6 feet above mean high water. The inner slope is 1 on 1 and the outer slope is 1 on 2.

The eastern, northern, and western sides of the inner harbor are of crib-work constructed (in 1871-'72) of spruce timber, resting at about the level of low water, on a riprap foundation, and filled with stones gathered on the island.

The crib-work on the eastern side, which is most exposed to the force of the waves, became so much decayed that an interior wall of masonry was constructed during the last year to protect the inner harbor when the crib-work on that side is carried away by the sea.

The crib-work on the two other water sides of the inner harbor is also very much decayed, and will soon be liable to destruction in heavy storms.

A plat exhibiting the bottom of the outer harbor as it was found by the survey of 1878, and also by the survey which I caused to be made last August, shows that there was much shoaling-3 feet in some places-between the times of the two surveys.

The material used for this shoaling comes from the high cliffs at the southward and eastward of the harbor, which are constantly being undermined by the sea, and also from the shore, which extends from the harbor to the northward and westward.

The former material is carried along outside the main breakwater, a part of it passing through the interstices of the riprap forming a parallel bank inside, which does not encroach much upon the anchorage.

Another portion passes through the gap in the main breakwater, and is doubtless afterwards brought farther into the outer harbor in northerly storms, causing a general shoaling of the harbor.

After the closing of the gap, which is to be done by means of the appropriation of July 5, 1884, some material will probably pass around the outer end of the main breakwater and be carried into the outer harbor as before.

The quantity of material which comes from the shore to the northward and westward of the harbor is very large, as is shown by the great amount of filling in the angle between this shore and the harbor works.

UTILITY OF THE INNER HARBOR.

The eastern shore of Block Island, on which the harbor of refuge is situated, is exposed to the full force of the waves of the Atlantic. In northerly storms especially, small vessels cannot lie with safety in the outer harbor, and even in northeasterly and easterly storms the swell which makes round the extremity of the main breakwater is so heavy that none except large vessels will remain outside, unless for want of room they cannot get into the inner harbor which although made for the temporary purpose of sheltering the vessels that carried stone from the mainland for the main breakwater in the earlier periods of its construction, has proved one of the most beneficial works in my district. At night, especially in bad weather, it is always filled to its full capacity.

On a recent visit to Block Island I counted fifty-nine fishing and other vessels crowded into this little area, and larger numbers would have availed themselves of the complete shelter which it affords, except for the want of room.

Appended to this report, I send a copy of a letter containing the statistics of the use of the inner harbor during the last year, which have kindly been furnished by the Hon. Nicholas Ball, a prominent citizen of Block Island, at my request.

These statistics confirm the judgmeut derived from my own observation, that the size of this excellent refuge is entirely inadequate to the requirements of local and coasting vessels, and that it would not be good policy to replace by masonry walls the decayed crib-work, retaining the present size of the inner harbor.

I intended to submit these views to the Chief of Engineers in my next annual report, and I am gratified at this earlier opportunity, furnished by the Senate resolution, of stating that, in my judgment, the enlargement of the inner harbor is a public necessity, and of submitting the following plan for it:

PROPOSED ENLARGEMENT OF THE INNER HARBOR.

From the shore west of the inner harbor, and at a distance of about 1,000 feet from it (1,300 feet from the prolongation of the line of the main breakwater),