APPENDIX Z.

IMPROVEMENT OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER ABOVE FALLS OF ST. ANTHONY, MINNESOTA, OF CHIPPEWA RIVER, WISCONSIN, OF ST. CROIX RIVER, WISCONSIN AND MINNESOTA, OF MINNESOTA RIVER, MINNESOTA, AND OF RED RIVER OF THE NORTH, MINNESOTA AND NORTH DAKOTA; GAUGING MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT OR NEAR ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

REPORT OF MAJOR W. A. JONES, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, OFFICER IN CHARGE, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1892, WITH OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE WORKS.

9. Red River of the North and tributaries above Fergus Falls and Crookston, Minnesota, and Big Stone Lake, Minuesota and South Dakota.

UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, St. Paul, Minnesota, July 5, 1892. GENERAL: I have the honor to transmit herewith reports upon the works for improvement of rivers and harbors in my charge for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892.

*

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Brig. Gen. THOMAS L. CASEY,

W. A. JONES, Major, Corps of Engineers.

Chief of Engineers, U. S. A.

Z I.

IMPROVEMENT OF MISSISSIPPI RIVER ABOVE FALLS OF ST. ANTHONY, MINNESOTA.

The present project, under which work has been carried on since and including 1880, is based upon the project for the improvement of 117 miles of the river, from Conradi Shoals to Grand Rapids, the latter the present head of steamboat navigation. The estimated cost, $54,127.50, is given in the report of February 8, 1875, upon part of the Mississippi routes to the seaboard, plan of improvement to afford 3 to 5 feet depth in the channel by removing snags, bowlders, and bars, and confining the low-water discharge to widths practicable for navigation by means of wing dams where necessary. In 1889 the estimate was increased to $63,000.

This same report (1875) estimated the cost of improvement of the river between the Falls of St. Anthony and St. Cloud at $144,667.50, the improvement of this section to afford 5 feet depth in the channel at low water between the Falls and St. Cloud by removal of sand, gravel, and bowlder bars and the construction of wing dams. The sum of $20,000, appropriated by act of Congress approved August 14, 1876, was expended between these places. Prior to the rendition of the report and estimate of February 8, 1875, Congress had appropriated, by act approved June 23, 1874, the sum of $25,000 for improvement of the river above the Falls of St. Anthony, which was also expended in improving the channel between the Falls and St. Cloud.

Steamboat navigation having discontinued between the Falls and St. Cloud, a distance of 78 miles, the third appropriation made by Congress, that of $15,000, by act of Congress approved June 14, 1880, was applied to the stretch (130 miles in length) of river between Aitkin and Grand Rapids, as have been all subsequent appropriations for improving the river above Falls of St. Anthony, except the appropriation made by act of Congress approved September 19, 1890, which was ap plied to the stretch (185.4 miles in length) of river between Grand Rapids and Brainerd (this stretch included within the distance from the Rapids to Conradi Shoals).

Before work of improvement commenced under the present plan, the stream between Grand Rapids and Aitken was so obstructed by snags, bowlders, and leaning trees that at low and even high stages of water navigation was difficult and sometimes almost impossible for steamers drawing more than 3 feet of water.

The amount expended on present project to June 30, 1891, including outstanding liabilities, is $55,439.35. With this sum there had been produced a general depth in the improved channels of 3 feet at low water. A few snags and leaning trees offered some obstruction, but did not seriously interfere with navigation.

Field work during the past fiscal year was performed between July 25 and September 15, 1891, in removing snags and leaning trees between Grand Rapids and Aitkin. The following is a statement of work performed during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892:

There being no demand at present for navigation between Brainerd and Minneapolis, no further appropriation is now asked for. The time will come when this should be done. I will say, in conclusion, that this reach may be placed in excellent navigable condition at quite a reasonable expense.

Amount expended during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892, including outstanding liabilities, $5,738.51.

The balance of funds on hand will be expended in removing snags and leaning trees between Aitkin and Grand Rapids.

The three completed reservoirs at the headwaters of the Mississippi River, above Grand Rapids, may be relied upon henceforth to provide sufficient water and depth for the steamboats on the river at and above Brainerd.

Last season two steamers with barges were engaged in freight and passenger transportation between Aitkin and Grand Rapids. During the winter of 1889-190 the Duluth and Winnipeg Railway Company constructed a line from Cloquet, a point on the St. Paul and Duluth Railway, to La Prairie. They have since extended their line through and beyond Grand Rapids.

In 1889, my predecessor, Maj. C. J. Allen, reported:

The comparative tables of commercial statistics herewith show that in 1880, the year in which the work of improvement between Aitkin and Grand Rapids commenced, there was but one steamer (with its barges) plying between those points, and that though the amount of freight transported that year by steamer was unusually large, the freight rates were from 75 cents to $1 per hundred pounds, while in 1883, 1884, 1885, and 1886 the rates reduced to 20 to 40 cents per hundred pounds The last-named figures obtained in 1886, at which time there were three steamboats engaged in freighting and carrying passengers between Aitkin and Grand Rapids. The country bordering the river north of Aitkin is becoming more and more settled, and there is no doubt that the improvement of the river already effected by the United States Government has largely contributed to the increase in settlement. This work is in the collection district of Minnesota, of which St. Paul is the port of entry and St. Vincent a subport. Collections for the year ending December 31, 1891, $299,659.32; value of domestic exports for same period, $452,251.

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS.

Comparative statement of steamboat business on the Mississippi River between Aitkin and Grand Rapids, 1880–'90, inclusive.

* Amount of commerce and navigation when work of improvement began. Amount of commerce and navigation 1890 and 1891, approximate. Tonnage of steamboats, 140 and 185 tons, respectively.

Comparative statement of loose logs run on the Mississippi River above the Falls of St.

Year.

Anthony.

The reservoir project is the outcome of surveys and examinations in 1869, 1874, 1878, and 1879, the results of which are published in appendices to various Annual Reports of the Chief of Engineers. The résumé of the subject is given in the Report of the Board of Engineers, printed in Appendix A A to the Annual Report of the Chief of Engi neers for 1887.

From the results of the surveys and examinations just noted and further examinations in 1880, the first cost of constructing forty-one reservoir dams in Minnesota and Wisconsin was placed at $1,809,083, exclusive of that of land damages, which could not be given in advance. (See page 1871, Appendix W, to Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1881.)

The project for this improvement was inaugurated in 1880 by an appropriation for the construction of a reservoir dam at Lake Winibigoshish, made by act of Congress approved June 14 that year. For the reasons given in the Annual Report for 1886 the work of construction was commenced and has been continued in Minnesota.

The project has for its object the construction and maintenance of reservoirs at the head waters of the Mississippi River, in the State of Minnesota, for the purpose of collecting the surplus water, principally from the precipitation of winter, spring, and early summer, to be systematically released so as to benefit navigation upon the Mississippi