at this point. It is a cheap wooden highway bridge of Queen trusses, with three spans as follows: right shore span 60 feet, middle 150 feet, left shore 80 feet. The middle span has fallen down, and as the channel passes through this opening the bridge, as far as height is concerned, is no obstruction. As originally built, it, height in the clear was 15.2 feet above low-water surface. The missing span was doubtless carried out by a flood. The channel remains good to an island 0.8 mile below the bridge.

Island 11.1 miles below Olean.-This is the first island below Olean. It is 600 feet long, but as it is entirely covered at a 4-foot stage it scarcely deserves the name. The channel passes down the right hand chute and has a depth of 1.8 feet. Length of ripple, 1,300 feet; fall, 2.06 feet. This is the first considerable ripple. The bottom throughout is fine gravel, no rocks, either solid or detached, having yet been noticed in the river-bed. The channel thence remains good, with no important ripples, to the bridge of the Bradford Branch of the Erie Railroad.

Bradford Branch Railroad Bridge, 14.7 miles below Olean.-This is an uncovered through bridge of wooden Howe trusses, and it crosses the river with one span of 185 feet. The abutments have been extended 50 feet out into the river on each side, narrowing the natural width 100 feet. As its lower chords are only 14.4 feet above low-water surface, the bridge will probably be carried away by the first high freshet. It has been built since the sudden development of petroleum in the Bradford oil region, and it is questionable whether it will last as long as the excitement in that district.

Tuna Creek, 15 miles below Olean.-This is a considerable tributary entering from the south or left hand. It heads in McKean County, Pennsylvania, and passes through the Bradford oil country. A large number of rafts come down this stream in highwater from Bradford, which is 12 miles up. Immediately below its mouth the Allegheny is crossed by a bridge.

Tuna Creek Bridge, 15.1 miles below Olean.—This is an uncovered highway bridge of wooden Queen trusses with a total length of 320 feet. It has two channel-spans each of 104 feet, and two shore spans, the right one being 72 feet and the left one 40 feet. The elevation in the clear above the low-water surface is 26 feet.

Bridge 18 miles below Olean.-A ponton bridge crosses the river at the 18th mile. Its length is 230 feet. It is arranged so as to be swung open in the rafting season.

Upper Horseshoe Bend Ripple, 19.5 miles below Olean.-This is the first point below Olean at which raftsmen have serious trouble. A small gravel-bar divides the channel. On the right the least depth is 1.8 feet, but the channel is only 60 feet wide. On the left the channel is 150 feet wide with a depth of 1.2 feet. The fall, in a distance of 850 feet, is 1.62 feet. A wing-dam 150 feet long, closing the right chute, would probably be the means of washing out an easier channel for the raftsmen.

Bemis Boom, 20.7 miles from Olean.—This boom is constructed of piles driven at intervals of a few feet. It extends from the left shore diagonally across the river. At a point 750 feet below its head the right-hand channel is reduced by it to a width of 150 feet. The entire length of the boom is 2,100 feet, terminating opposite the large saw-mill of Mr. J. M. Bemis. Immediately below the saw-mill the river is crossed by a ponton bridge 300 feet long.

Tuna Lumber Company Boom, 21.7 miles below Olean.—This boom starts from the right bank and extends diagonally towards the left. At a distance of 600 feet from its head, near the left shore, a channel 100 feet wide is left open. The boom continues along the left shore below the opening a further distance of 3,700 feet. The channel is on the outside of the boom and close to it for some distance, until it leaves the boom to take down the right chute of Lewis Island.

Lewis Island, 22.3 miles below Olean.-Great Valley Creek enters from the right 2,000 feet above the head of the island. Some years ago the Tuna Lumber Company closed the right-hand chute of the island (the present channel) with a low dam, the intention being to aid their water-power. The old channel was down the left-hand chute, but this chute was afterwards closed by a mill-dam built entirely across it 2,800 feet below. That side has now become so filled with obstructions that it is no longer navigable. There is a fall of 9 inches at the dam across the right-hand channel. The removal of this dam would benefit the shoals below. The average width of the channel-chute is 250 feet.

Salamanca Bridge, 23.2 miles below Olean.-This is a highway bridge that crosses the river 600 feet below the foot of Lewis Island. It stands in shallow water in a ripple, which in a length of 12,000 feet falls 3.32 feet, and has a least depth of 11 inches. It is the most decided fall so far observed on the river below Olean. The bridge is divided into five spans, the three in the center being of iron, and each 85 feet long. The right-shore span is 100 feet and the left-shore span 50 feet long, both through wooden trusses. The entire length of the bridge is 405 feet. It has stone piers resting on piles. The best channel passes under the central span. Height in the clear above low-water surface, 19.2 feet. Salamanca, on the right bank, is a large and thriving town, and is an important railroad center. On the left bank, opposite the

lower end of the town, is the Tuna Lumber Company saw and planing mill. It has a daily capacity of 25,000 feet, board measure, of lumber.

Little Valley Creek Island, 24.9 miles below Olean.-At the mouth of the creek, which enters from the right below the head of the island, a bar of fine gravel has made out into the river, by which the channel is narrowed to a width of 80 feet, forming a strong ripple with a depth of 1.3 feet. Passing this island, in a distance of 2,400 feet the river falls 3.71 feet. A wing-dam 200 feet long, closing the left chute of the island, would effect a decided improvement to the navigation. About the middle of the island a wagon-bridge of iron bow-string girders crosses the river. Over the right chute it has two spans of 100 feet and one span of 118 feet; over the left chute it has one span of 100 feet. The intermediate section on the island (225 feet long) is supported on piles. Total length of bridge, 643 feet; height in the clear above lowwater surface, 20 feet. Immediately below Little Valley Creek Island another island occurs. The channel, in passing abruptly to the left chute of this island, is reduced to a width between the islands of 200 feet. Very little water passes to the right of the second island at the present low stage. No particular trouble here.

Bucktooth Island, 25.7 miles below Olean.-The length of this island (which is cultivated) is 4,000 feet. The channel is to the right, with a general width of 250 feet. Near its foot Bucktooth Run enters the river from the right, and has pushed out a bar, making a shoal ripple, the least depth being 9 inches. There are 3 ripples in the chute of this island, with a total descent of 5.29 feet. From the foot of the island to Jamison's Falls the depth is good.

Jamison's Falls, 27.5 miles below Olean.-Length of ripple, 150 feet; fall, 1.81 feet; least depth, 9 inches. Bottom composed of small bowlders.

Jamison's Island, 28.4 miles below Olean.-Island 600 feet long and 200 feet wide. Channel down the right. The chute is shoal throughout. In a distance of 200 feet the river falls 2.74 feet, with a least depth of 9 inches. There are some loose rocks in the channel, which could be removed to advantage. A wing-dam 200 feet long, closing the left chute, would add considerable water to the channel. On the right shore there are a number of rocks, varying in size from to 2 cubic yards. These are the first rocks appearing along the river below Olean, and are indicative of a change in the characteristics of the stream. From thence to Sunfish Island the channel remains in mid-river. No trouble.

Sunfish Island, 30 miles below Olean.-This island was once cultivated, but has been so much eroded by the river that at present it is a mere gravel bar, covered at a 34foot stage. It is 800 feet long and 300 feet wide. The channel is on the left 200 feet wide. A narrow chute, only 50 feet wide, takes around the right. The entire length of the ripple is 1,050 feet with a fall of 3.03 feet, and a least depth of 1 foot. No improvement appears to be necessary. On the right shore 600 feet below the island there is a large crescent-shaped gravel bar, 1,200 feet long and 250 feet wide, covered at a 1.5-foot stage. The channel passes to the left of the bar and has a least depth of 11 inches. The ripple is 300 feet long, with a fall of 1 foot, and a channel 250 feet wide. No trouble.

Red House Bridge, 30.98 miles bolow Olean.-This is an uncovered through highway bridge, composed of combination (wood and iron) trusses. The entire length is 410 feet, which is divided into 3 spans of the following lengths, measured from center to center of piers: right hand span, 170 feet; middle span, 132 feet; left channel or shore span, 108 feet. It rests on masonry piers and abutments. The channel passes under the middle span. Height in the clear above low-water surface, 21 feet.

Red House Creek Island, 31.8 miles below Olean.-The length of this island is 1,500 feet and the general width is 200 feet. The channel passes down the left chute and is about 250 feet wide, except at a point about midway, where it is narrowed to 150 feet by a bar extending out from the left shore. Ripple at head, 200 feet long; fall, 1.07 feet; depth, 11 inches. Ripple midway in chute, 550 feet long; fall, 0.95 feet; depth. 11 inches. Considerable water wastes down the right chute. A wing-dam 150 feet long, closing that side, would deepen the channel. The bottom here is composed of fine gravel.

Red House Creek, nearly dry at this season, enters from the left 400 feet below the island. Thence for 2,000 feet the depth is good to Red House Island.

Red House Island, 32.5 miles below Olean.—The length of this island is 1,600 feet, and its width is 200 feet. It is covered with timber. The channel passes down the left chute. A rapid from near the head of the island extends 600 feet, falling 2.49 feet, with a least depth of 11 inches. The right chute carries a strong stream 50 feet wide even at this low stage, which might be turned into the channel by closing that side with a low dam 400 feet long. From the foot of this island to Robinson's Island, a distance of 4,000 feet, the channel is easy.

Robinson's Island, 33.8 miles below Olean.-Length of island, 19,000 feet; greatest width, 225 feet. The channel passes down the left. A gentle ripple, with a depth of 1.5 feet, occurs at the head of the island. It is not troublesome. There is another ripple near the foot of the island known as "Josh Billings Ripple." In a length of

400 feet there is a fall of 1.40 feet, with a depth of 2 feet. No improvement seems to be required. From the head of Josh Billings Ripple a low bar begins to appear on the left of the channel. It is 1,300 feet long and 200 feet wide at its widest part. A little water escapes to the left of it, and the whole is covered by a rise of 6 inches. At the foot of this bar there is a wide-spread shoal and ripple 600 feet long, falling 2.38 feet, with a least depth of 1.5 feet. No special difficulty in the navigation.

Island, 35.9 miles below Olean.-Length of this island 2,400 feet; greatest width, 275 feet. The channel is down the right chute. The bar from the head of the island and another from the right shore contract the channel to a width of 125 feet. There is also a short, strong ripple, the river falling 1.02 feet in a distance of 150 feet. Least depth on ripple, 11 inches. Only a trifling quantity of water passes to the left of the island.

Quaker Bridge Island, 36,5 miles below Olean.-Length, 1,400 feet: greatest width, 120 feet. The deepest channel passes down the right chute. Below the head of the island a ripple occurs measuring 600 feet in length, with a fall of 1.43 feet and a least depth of 11 inches. Above the head of the island the remains of 5 piers, possibly remains of a bridge, obstruct the channel. These should be removed in case a general system of improvements is undertaken on this portion of the river. The island divides the volume of the water about equally, so that the construction of a wing-dam closing either side would undoubtedly improve the depth in the chute left open.

Quaker Bridge, 36.8 miles below Olean.-This bridge crosses the river above the foot of the island above mentioned. It is a wooden Queen truss, resting on wooden pile piers. The entire length is 300 feet, divided into 4 spans, averaging 75 feet each. Its clear height above low-water is 17.5 feet. One pier stands on the island.

Hotchkiss Island, 37 miles below Olean.-This is a cultivated island 4,500 feet long, and with a maximum width of 425 feet. From above its head a small island on the right laps with it a short distance. The channel is between these two islands, and continues down the main or right chute of Hotchkiss Island. There are three ripples in this chute. The first at the head of the island is 850 feet long and falls 1.55 feet, with a depth of 1.5 feet. The second ripple, near the middle of the chute, is 1,000 feet long, with a descent of 2.10 feet, and a least depth of 1 foot. The third ripple is between the foot of the main island and another small island to the right. The low-water width is only 100 feet. The length of this ripple is 200 feet; its fall is 1.41 feet, and its depth is 1 foot. There is no trouble for rafts at this island, but as a considerable volume of water escapes down the left chute of the large island, an improvement could be effected by closing that side with a wing-dam 250 feet long.

Fish Basket Ripple, 38.3 miles below Olean.—At this point a low bar 500 feet long, covered at a 2-foot stage, divides the river. The channel is to the right and there is no special difficulty. The length of the ripple is 450 feet, with a fall of 1.24 feet and a least depth of 1.8 feet. About one-half mile below there are two gravel bars in midriver with a narrow chute between them. Either shore-channel can be navigated past this obstruction, though neither has a depth of over 10 inches. The entire fall of the river here is 3.37 feet in a distance of 800 feet. Suggestions for improvement are deferred for the present.

Holliday's Island, 39.9 miles below Olean.-Length, 2,000 feet; greatest width, 300 feet. The channel is down the left side. At the foot of the island there is a strong ripple, falling 2.84 feet in a distance of 300 feet. Least depth, 10 inches.

Purse Run Bar, 41.3 miles below Olean.-This bar is situated in mid-river. It is 900 feet long and 275 feet wide, and is covered at a 24 foot stage. Nearly all the water now passes to the right, but at one place the water surface is only 80 feet wide; length of ripple, 550 feet; descent, 1.83 feet; least depth, 1.1 feet. No improvement is suggested.

Limestone Falls. 41.6 miles below Olean.-The river here falls over a solid ledge of limestone. At this stage the water surface is 200 feet wide. The entire length of the rapid is 650 feet, descending 3.84 feet, with a least depth of 1 foot. Fragments of the ledge, averaging half cubic yard in size, render this place hazardous for rafts during the lower rafting stages. The removal of these rocks would be advisable.

The channel over the falls is near the left shore. At this point on the right, an island 2,900 feet long begins. No water passes behind it excepting at higher stages. The island belongs to the heirs of Cornplanter, a celebrated Indian chief of the Six Nations. At the foot of the island (42.2 miles) a low flat bar, covered at a 2-foot stage, extends out 250 feet into the river from the left and continues for a distance of 1,200 feet. This bar throws the channel close to the foot of the island, whence it continues along the right shore below. Length of ripple at this point, 400 feet; fall, 1.49 feet; depth, 1.2 feet; width of channel, 150 feet.

Zeigler Bar, 42.7 miles below Olean.-This bar extends out from the right shore 175 feet and is 900 feet long. Length of ripple, 400 feet; fall, 1.49 feet; least depth, 1 foot. Channel near left shore. No trouble.

Bucktooth Island, No. 2, 43 miles below Olean.-Island 700 feet long, 150 feet wide. The best channel passes down the left chute. The water is about equally divided by

the island. The least depth found was only 6 inches. A wing-dam 300 feet long, to close the right chute, would be advisable. The ripple is 300 feet long, with a fall of 1.32 feet.

Saw Mill Island, 43.4 miles below Olean.-This island is 800 feet long and 175 feet wide. The channel passes to its left, but at one point it is contracted to a width of only 50 feet by a gravel bar from the left. The bar is covered at a 24-foot stage. The least depth in the channel is 11 inches, but this might be increased by closing the right chute of the island and the left chute of the bar. The ripple falls 2.97 feet in the space of 600. A short distance below this island there is another ripple, falling 1 foot in 300, with a depth of 1 foot. As the water is united and the channel in midriver, no improvement is suggested.

Little Island, 44.3 miles below Olean.-Length of island proper, 400 feet; width, 80 feet. The channel passes close to the left shore and is straight. The right chute of the island is 500 feet wide, but it is obstructed by a high bar, almost an island, between which and the island considerable water wastes in a swift narrow passage.

Immediately below the island an extensive low flat bar pushes out from the right shore to the mid-river line, but does not interfere with the low-water channel. The length of ripple in the channel chute of Little Island is 875 feet, with a fall of 2.22 feet, and a least depth of 1 foot. The bottom is composed of fine gravel. It may eventually prove advisable to close this right chute of the island. A dam 500 feet long will be required.

New York and Pennsylvama State line, 45.1 miles below Olean.—At this point there is a shore bar extending out from the left bank to mid-river. There is a gentle ripple abreast of the bar, which has a length of 400 feet, a fall of 0.81 foot, and a depth of 1 foot. It terminates 600 feet north of the line. The State line is the southern terminus of the Seneca Indian reservation, which extends up 40 miles, with a width on each side of the river of one-half mile. Considerable tracts of this land have been leased to the whites. For the most part the land is a wide fertile bottom; but the Indians prove to be indifferent farmers, the young men preferring the excitement of rafting to regular labor. These aborigines are remnants of the Senecas and Onandagas, of the Six Nations. But few if any of the pure-blooded original stock can be found among them. They number in all about 500.

Corydon dam, 46.2 miles below Olean.-This artificial work is at present a complete obstruction to navigation, excepting at high stages in the river. Practically the dam is the head of navigation. It is made of timber cribs filled with stone and sheeted with plank. Its length is 280 feet and it entirely closes the river. The fall is 3.54 feet. On the left two mill-races conduct to the saw-mills of Charles & Co. and Morrison & Co., each of which has a daily capacity of 20,000 feet, board-measure. On the right, below the dam, is a saw-mill, the property of Mr. J. Dalrymple, with a capacity equal to the others. Immediately below the dam there are two rough stony bars, which are covered at a 24-foot stage, and have a channel between them that is only 75 feet wide. Rafts passing over the dam at moderate stages bend so much as to strike the bottom; many have in this manner been entirely broken up. The ripple between the bars below the dam has a length of 600 feet, with a fall of 2.77 feet, and a least depth

of 9 inches.

Ripple, 46.7 miles below Olean.-At this point a bar extends out from the right shore somewhat confining the channel. Length of ripple, 475 feet; descent, 1.24 feet; least depth, 1 foot. No improvement suggested.

Hook's Island, 47 miles below Olean.-Length, 1,400 feet; width, 300 feet. The channel is to the left and easy until the foot of the island is reached, where there is a ripple passing between the head of a second island on the right and a small isolated bar on the left; length of ripple, 300 feet; descent, 2.28 feet; least depth, 11 inches. Formerly there was an island on the left known as Woodbeck's, but the flood of 1865 washed it entirely away, leaving only a low gravel bar 2,500 feet long and 350 feet across at its widest point. It is now covered at a 3-foot stage. No water passes to the right of Hook's Island excepting at freshet stages.

Brown's Island, 47.5 miles below Olean.-This island begins on the left immediately below the foot of Woodbeck's Bar. It is 4,000 feet long. The main body of the river here passes between two islands, the one on the right being 3,000 feet long. A ripple occurs between the islands (at the 47.69 mile), whose length is 300 feet; fall, 1.99 feet; and depth, 1 foot. The bottom of this ripple is composed of bowlders larger than any heretofore observed. At a distance of 900 feet below there is another ripple located opposite the foot of the right-hand island. Here also the bottom is composed of bowlders. Length of ripple, 150 feet; descent, 0.57 foot; depth, 11 inches.

Cornplanter Falls and Island, 48.6 miles below Olean.-Length of this island, 3,400 feet. At its widest part it measures 400 feet, exclusive of its beaches. The channel is to the left, and is of ample breadth excepting at the "falls" or first ripple situated just below the head of the island. Here a low bar from the left, covered at rafting stages, confines the current to a width of 140 feet. The bottom of the "falls" is composed of a cemented gravel. Length of ripple, 200 feet; descent, 1.87 feet; depth, 1.4 feet. The

chate is rather shoal throughout, and has a succession of ripples, which aggregate in length 1.600 feet, with a total fall of 6.23 feet, and a least depth of 1 foot. (See table of ripples for details.) No improvement suggested. At the fiftieth mile from Olean, opposite the mouth of Cornplanter Creek, which enters from the right, a gravel bar divides the channel about equally, and gives a depth of 11 inches on either side, with a scarcely appreciable ripple.

Cornplanter Island No. 2, 50.4 miles below Olean.-This island is about 1 miles in length and 700 feet across at the widest point. The channel is to the right. The left chute of the island is closed near its foot with a dam, furnishing power to a sawmill. The owners at one time attempted to close the right or channel chute by means of a wing-dam. A piece of this dam, 100 feet long, projecting into the channel from the head of the island, should be removed. About 2,500 feet below the head of the island an ice gorge in 1865 was the means of cutting the island in two. Through this slough, which is about 100 feet wide, considerable water wastes from the channel. There are 7 ripples in all in the channel chute of this island, aggregating in length 1,850 feet, with a descent of 9.42 feet. The worst one, known as "Gilman's Bar, just below the cut-off. Here the channel is very much contracted, passing between a central bar and the island. Length of ripple, 500 feet; fall, 3.02 feet; least depth, 11 inches. These shoals would be much improved if the left chute of the island and the slough referred to were closed by means of wing-dams.

is

Billy's Ripple, 52.3 miles below Olean.-There are here two small detached gravel bars on the left of the channel, and an extensive shore bar on the right. No trouble. Ripple falls 1.80 feet in a distance of 500 feet.

Schoonover Island and Falls, 52.6 miles below Olean.-This island stands in mid-river. Its entire length, including bars, is 1,200 feet, and it is 300 feet wide. There is no special trouble here. The best channel is down the right chute, in which there are two moderate ripples, together measuring 725 feet in length, with a fall of 2.51 feet and a least depth of 1.4 feet.

Harrison's Ripple and mouth of Sugar Creek, 53.3 miles below Olean.-Length of ripple, 400 feet; descent, 1.57 feet; depth, 1 foot. No trouble at this point. There is a large island on the right of the channel, but no water passes behind it, excepting at high stages, 2,200 feet below; Harrison's lower ripple is encountered. Here in a distance of 800 feet the river falls 3.42 feet, with a depth of 11 inches. Near its lower end some water escapes to the right of a detached bar. No improvement is suggested at present. Kinzua Island, 54.5 miles below Olean.-Length of island, 2,200 feet; greatest breadth, 400 feet. No water passes to the left of this island excepting during high-water. The channel passes down the right chute, entering which there is a gentle ripple with a depth of 1 foot. At the foot of the island there is a bar in the middle of the river and the channel passes between it and the island with a width of 80 feet. The ripple in this passage is 600 feet long, with a descent of 1.28 feet, and a depth of 1 foot. Below this bar and nearly connected with it there is a small island 600 feet long, the channel passing to its left. From the foot of this island a bar known as “Kinzna Bar,” 900 feet long and 190 feet wide, occupies the right half of the river. The entire passage of this island and bar is shallow. The length of the ripple is 1,450 feet; its descent is 1.40 feet, and its depth 1 foot. A few years ago the channel was to the right of the small island and bar, but that side is now nearly closed at this stage.

Ripple, 56.5 miles below Olean.-Here two small low detached bars, each 300 feet long, and covered at a stage a few inches higher, divide the volume of the river into three parts. The channel, about 100 feet wide, is down mid-river between the bars. Length of ripple, 375 feet; descent, 1.21 feet; depth, 11 inches. Raftsmen usually float over bars as low as these.

Mouth of Kinzua Creek, 56.6 miles below Olean.-This creek enters from the left. It is upward of 30 miles long. At one period its annual output of pine timber amounted to from 10,000,000 to 12,000,000 feet, board-measure, but the lumber shipments from its valley are now comparatively insignificant. The town of Kinzua is of a mile back from the river. The flood of 1865 cut through the neck between the creek and the river at a point 900 feet above the mouth of the former. As there is a crooked, shallow ripple in the river below the cut-off, it would be of advantage to close the gap with a dam 100 feet long in order to utilize the water that wastes through it. The remains of an old mill-dam at the head of this ripple further tends to impede the navigation. Length of ripple, 375 feet; descent, 138 feet; depth, 9 inches.

Lower down and nearly opposite the mouth of the creek the channel passes with an abrupt turn between a bar on the right, covered at a 3-foot stage, and the foot of the island on the left. Length of ripple, 200 feet; descent, 1.1 feet; depth, 10 inches. This is followed 400 feet below by a gentle ripple 300 feet long, with a fall of 0.6 foot, and a depth of 10 inches. Thence the channel remains fair to Bent's Run.

Bent's Run, 57.8 miles below Olean.-This run enters from the left; a bar starting from the right bank, 1,400 feet above the run, extends like a tongue into the river and passes diagonally down stream a total distance of 2,600 feet. From near its head there is a wide "pocket” between it and the right bank; the whole is covered at a two-foot stage.