Memphis, Tennessee, November 15, 1870.
Sir: I have the honor
as well as the privilege of reporting to yon the following facts, and my
opinions which have been elucidated from the examination I have made (in
conjunction with my assistant, Captain J. S. Tennyson) of White River, commencing at Forsythe, in Missouri, and ending at Duvall’s
Bluff, in Arkansas, a distance of four hundred and forty miles. Black River was
also examined by Captain Tennyson (while I was sick at Jacksonport) from its
mouth to Pocahontas, a distance of one hundred and fifty-one miles, and is
situated altogether in the State of Arkansas. This examination of those rivers
was made under instructions from you dated August 25, 1870.
I am pained to inform you that my individual
attention was diverted from a portion of this examination by a severe attack of
a sore eye, which rendered me almost blind for a time, besides throwing me into
a violent fever, caused, as I think, from excessive pain. I am, however, glad
to inform you that I do not consider my personal service in this respect a
material loss.
There were no important engineering points
to he examined while Captain Tennyson was conducting the examinations. Besides,
I was with him upon the whole of White River, and gave him ample directions,
both for this and Black River. I feel, therefore, confident that all has been
faithfully performed. Had my eyes and general health been good, I should have
examined his notes before leaving the river, and thereby have been enabled to
report in full these two rivers, as I would wish.
Little Red River was also examined by Captain
Tennyson under instructions from me, but not until I left Duvall’s Bluff and
came to this place. Unfortunately, Captain Tennyson was taken sick soon after
examining Little Red, and I have not had the privilege of getting any of the
notes or opinions of the captain, except so far as they were given me verbally
before I left. I judge, however, these will be reported upon by my successor,
and no injury will result to the public service. If Little Red is included, the
examination under my charge embraced a distance of about six hundred and fifty
miles, averaging about thirteen miles per working day. Considering the
difficulties we encountered, especially for the first one hundred miles, where,
from extreme low water, our boat had to be dragged over very many of the shoals
by hand, this average is therefore a large one.
But much of our success in getting along so
well is due to the skill and energy displayed by Captain Tennyson. I would, therefore,
hereby acknowledge my indebtedness to him for his untiring zeal, his uniform
kindness to me individually, always showing a wish to forward my desires in
relation to the work, and his kind attentions to me while I was disabled. While
making these preliminary remarks, permit me to say in regard to myself, that
after arriving at Duvall’s Bluff I became fully convinced that my diseased eye
would not allow me to go on any farther, at least this fall, with the charge
you had assigned me upon other rivers in Arkansas.
I therefore on the 11th of
October signified my intention of resigning at an early day. This has been a
sore grief to me, but as necessity knows no law I was compelled to submit. With
this I return you my heartfelt thanks for your uniform kindness while I have been
employed under your directions; and now, after signing this report, resign in
full the position you have given me.
Report Relative to
Obstructions Requiring Engineering Talent to Improve.
The
miles here counted are estimated only, and commence at Forsythe. In giving the
name of shoals I found that the people along the river differ, often
materially. In giving the name, therefore, I may not always be understood, but
by referring to the mile, and the points contiguous, I judge no
misunderstanding will take place. The word shoal,
as used in this report, includes not only shallow water, but a fall of several
inches to several feet.
Elbow Shoals will be found on mile
53. These shoals are well known, and require no further description of their
location. The fall immediately at the elbow is 2.28 feet; further down—say,
eight or ten hundred feet—there is an additional fall of 1.76 feet— altogether
equaling 4.04 feet as the whole fall of Elbow Shoals. I made a survey and took
a level of these shoals, and herewith present a sketch of this obstruction.
The points or lines marked No. 1 and No. 2
are the remains of old dams erected some years ago by the State of Arkansas,
but are now nearly washed away. From appearances, these works were built with
open cribs, and were entirely too low to overcome the fall before the water
passed over them. A strong dam should be built at least 10 feet high, covered
on breast and top, so that no opening for stone to escape can be left exceeding
6 inches in width.
The island at the head is composed
principally of large stones, and by excavating from C to H, will give
sufficient stone to fill the cribs, besides strengthening the work at both ends
of the dam.
The timbers used in the dam should be
generally of good white-oak. Much of it will be exposed for a part of the year.
15,000
feet of foot-thick crib and other timber, at 16 cents……....$2,400.00
4,000
pounds iron bolts, at 12 cents....................................................
480.00
5,000
cubic yards loose stone and gravel removed from the
channel and carried into cribs and
embankments, at 60 cents....... 3,000.00
Add
for contingencies and superintendence………………………..1,200.00
Total……………………………………………………...…7,080.00
The dam will be about 300 feet long, and if
properly built, will be the means of keeping open a new channel, which will be
entirely safe for navigation.
Bull Shoal.
Shoal on mile 78 has an estimated fall of 3½
feet in a distance of one-fourth of a mile. This shoal is called Bull Shoal, and will require dredging or
some other means of opening up the channel. The cost of work on this shoal may
be set down at $700.
Mile 85 ends at mouth of Little
North Fork, and has an estimated fall upon Shoal 91 of 2 feet. This shoal will
have considerable loose rock and gravel to remove, the estimate for which I set
down at $660.
M’Gar’s Shoal.
On mile 86, located immediately below Little
North Fork of White River, river spreads out quite wide over a solid rock
bottom with hardly a perceptible channel. A channel must be opened by
excavating solid rock, more or less, over a distance of 800 or 900 feet.
Channel should be about 100 feet wide. The fall is estimated here to be 2½ feet.
The work should be done in low water. A gravel and earth coffer-dam should be
built on the two sides and across the upper end of the proposed channel. The
water will then draw off from the work which requires to be excavated. The estimate
for this work is as follows:
2,500
cubic yards rock, at $2.50………….... $6,250.00
Contingencies………………………………..
1,250.00
Total.....................................................7,500.00
Shoal on Mile 98.
Estimated fall of 2½ feet. This shoal is on
solid rock, with high ridges or points, which must be removed for 80 or 100
feet in width. The work will be very similar to that described on McGar’s Shoals.
The quantity of rock to be excavated will not be as large. The estimate may be
set down as follows:
1,000
cubic yards rock, at $3............$3,000.00
Contingencies………………………. 800.00
Total...................................................
3,800.00
Mile 113.
Red Bend Shoal on the lower part of
this mile, fall of which is estimated at 2£ feet. In the channel some loose
rock to be removed, and a wing-dam on the right from island to the shore. The
cost upon this mile may be estimated at $2,000.
Buffalo Shoals on Miles 122
and 123.
These shoals are two miles long, on a solid
rock bottom. Although the river is reasonably straight, the channel changes its
course by taking sometimes the left side, sometimes the middle, at other times
near the right shore. The changes, however, are gradual, and do not much injure
the navigation. The wing-dams will therefore have to be constructed to suit
this channel. If properly located and constructed they will form intermediate
basins or pools, which will operate to deaden the current in the channel and
greatly help navigation. The entire fall of these shoals I estimate at 10 feet.
There will be a considerable amount of excavation necessary in the channel, and
may be done much in the manner recommended upon McGar’s Shoals. The excavation
should, however, be carried into the wing-dams. These shoals, as will be seen
by the following estimate, are the most expensive, and perhaps the improvement
as important as any upon the river:
3,000
cubic yards excavation, at $3……………....... $9,000.00
2,500
cubic yards into wing-dams, at $1……………. 2,500.00
Add
for contingencies.................................................. 2,500.00
Total ……………...…………………………14,000.00
Rapids Shoal on Mile 138.
The bottom here is solid rock, and there is
considerable loose rock to remove. Fall here, about 3 feet.
Estimate.
200
cubic yards solid rock excavation, at $3………..$600.00
200
cubic yards loose rock excavation, at $1……….. 200.00
Contingencies………………………………………..
200.00
Total………………………………………...1,000.00
Mile 206—Corn-Wall Shoal.
Wing-dam necessary in this’ shoal, the fall
of which is estimated at 3 feet. Low islands divide the water into numerous
channels, and these are very crooked. Wing- dams here and other .work may be
estimated at $3,000.
Mile 209, at Batesville—Batesville
Shoal.
This shoal is estimated to have a fall of 4
feet. The channel is very crooked, and must he improved by dredging or
otherwise. Estimated cost here, $2,000.
Mile 210 also has a very crooked channel, but
the fall only estimated at .50. A part of Batesville 81ioal on this mile. The
estimate for dredging may be put, wing-dam also, at $2,000.
Mile 211 will also require some dredging work,
which maybe estimated at $1,000.
Mile 214 requires a wing-dam on Patty Breath
Shoal, fall of which is estimated at 3 feet. This wing-dam and some dredging of
channel will cost, probably, $1,500.
Mile 251 — Music Shoal.
Estimated fall of 2½ feet; very crooked.
This shoal is very bad, and will require considerable work with dredge, and at
least one wing-dam. The work on this shoal may be estimated at $4,000.
Recapitulation of Cost of
Obstructions Requiring Engineering Skill.
No further obstructions of the above
character exist on White River below Jackson- port, on Black River from mouth
to Pocahontas, or Little Red for sixty miles above the month.
The following is the estimated cost of minor
obstructions, such as removing snags, logs, loose rock, and leaning trees from
the channel of White River from Forsythe in Missouri to Jacksonport in
Arkansas, a distance of two hundred and fifty-four miles. The like obstructions
on the balance of White River from Jacksonport to Duvall’s Bluff, of Black
River, from mouth to. Pocahontas, and of Little Red from mouth sixty miles,
were examined by my assistant. To his report I would therefore respectfully
refer for the information not here reported.
Section I—100 MILES.
This section was examined under favorable
circumstances, the river being exceedingly low | lower, it was said, than ever
known before. The section commences at Forsythe and terminates with the one hundred
miles.
It may be here proper to remark that I had
the river measured for what I considered its average width of channel, and
found it to be 400 feet. I also measured the flow of, water at mile 67 and
found it 264 cubic feet discharged per second. The average height of the bottom
land I found by the level to be about 23 feet, and the highest watermark shown
me as known, was 28 feet. I think, that this may be considered a fair average
for the whole distance to Jacksonport. I would here state, however, that the
width of the river below this section will average probably 500 feet.
The character of the country for near two
hundred miles is quite rough. The hills and' rock bluffs are very high and
precipitous. The bottom lands are narrow generally, on one side of the river at
a time, and seldom over one-half mile in width.
Lead and other ores are said to exist in
such quantities as will justify working, near this river. Most of the country
may be said to be in its primitive condition. Population quite sparse. The
land, much of it, said to be Government domain. The improvement of the river,
as here proposed, would add largely to the inducement of settlement.
The country below the first two hundred
miles presents fewer hills, much of the way bottom lands on both sides, and far
wider than the upper part of the river, and-often much lower, being subject to
more frequent overflow.
I may say, once for all, that the river in
general, for two hundred and fifty-four miles, is shallow when the water is low,
the pools varying from 1 to 5 feet deep, while the shoals, which were numerous
in the extreme low water of this season, hardly in any case had a sufficiency
for floating our boat, which drew only 6 inches when the party of four persons
were all aboard.
The banks of White River in general are
quite permanent as far as Jacksonport. The undermining of the banks by water
seldom seen.
The estimate made here was set down mile by
mile as we descended the stream, and after making this estimate, I added full
20 per cent, to cover all contingencies. At this rate—
Section
No. 1, 100 miles, will cost.................................. $3,300
Section
No. 2, 100 miles, will cost ................................... 4,200
Section
No. 3, 54 miles, will cost……………………...... 2,700
Recapitulation of Cost of Sections,
Including Obstructions Requiring Engineering Skill.
Section
No. 1, 100 miles………………………. $23,040
Section
No. 2, 100 miles……………………….. 21,200
Section
No. 3, 54 miles…………………............. 16,200
Grand total................................................
60,440
I have taken notes of estimated fall at each
shoal, adding to each mile 6 inches. The following is the results of this
estimate:
Section
1, 100 miles..................................152.30
feet.
Section
2, 100 miles…….........................
143. 35 “
Section
3, 54 miles..................................... 75.55 “
Total................................................
371.20 “
I think it probable that this estimate will
be found large, if ever the correct fall is ascertained. The average is here
nearly 1½ feet per mile.
I would further add that after descending
over the 1st section the river rose about 4 feet. I do not consider,
therefore, the estimate of cost or fall as satisfactory for the remaining
distance as over this section. The rise, however, greatly hastened our work, and
upon the whole, perhaps, all was for the best, the character of the river being
well known by the examination made before the rise.
I remain, very truly, your obedient
servant,
Alonzo Livermore,
Civil
Engineer.
General W. F. Raynolds,
Lieutenant Colonel Corps of Engineers, U.
S. A.
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