Dates of ice closings and openings on the Missouri River, 1872-1887-Continued. Locality. 1880-'81. 1881-82. 1882-'83. 1883-'84. Closing. Opening. Closing. Opening. Closing. Opening. Closing. Opening. Ice closed at Quindaro. The exact date of closing not given. December 14 river was full of running ice, and on December 21 ice was 10 inches thick in channel. APPENDIX A 1. REPORT OF SECRETARY ON PRECISE LEVELING. MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION, Saint Louis, Mo., November 21, 1887. SIR: I have the honor to report that the work of precise leveling between Saint Louis City Directrix and United States Engineer P. B. M. 17 of Missouri River (published list of 1881) has been completed by Mr. O. W. Ferguson, who had charge of the party. It will be remembered that the Missouri River levels were based on P. B. M. 12 of the Mississippi River Commission, situated at the mouth of the Missouri River. The elevation of this P. B. M. 12 was given, at first, as 13m.2824 above Saint Louis City Directrix. On this the published Missouri River elevations were calculated. In March, 1886, it was discovered that the elevation of P. B. M. 12, as finally determined and published in Annual Report of Mississippi River Commission for 1883, was given as 0m.104 13.3869, a difference of + S 0.341 S From that time to date this +0.341 has been adopted as the proper correction for all the Missouri River elevations. The line of precise levels now completed had for its object a direct check on the elevation of Mississippi River Commission, P. B. M. 12 above Saint Louis City Directrix, and as a result the determination of the constant correction, if any, to be applied to the published Missouri River elevations. The results are shown on the table appended. From an examination of the table it will be seen that the constant correction to be applied to the elevations on the Missouri River as published is +0.300 instead of 70 .341. It should be borne in mind that this +0.300 error is not to be charged to the level work done on the Missouri River. The last column of the table gives the corrections for the Missouri River due to instrumental and other field work errors for the work between the mouth of the river and Saint Charles; and when it is remembered that the wye level alone was used on the Missouri River, the figures referred to are an indorsement of the opinion expressed in the Annual Report of the Commission for 1886, that the elevations as determined along the Missouri River are quite reliable. It is proposed to publish, as soon as may be, a correct list of Missouri River elevations. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Lieut. Col. CHAS. R. SUTER, THEO. A. BINGHAM, First Lieutenant of Engineers, U. S. Army, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, President Missouri River Commission, Saint Louis, Mo. * Letter of January 30, 1886, says it is at same level as City Directrix. APPENDIX A 2. Descriptions and elevations of bench-marks on the Missouri River, referred to Saint Louis City directrix, May, 1888. List of bench-marks No. 1 was issued 1881-82. This list is No. 2. It is corrected by all data on file up to date. Its elevations were determined by wye levels, except the following, which are precise level determinations: 6 (12)—7 (11)—8 (10)—9° ̊ (9)—11 (7)—15 (3)—17 (1)-Each bench-mark has two numbers. The one in parenthesis is the one in the note books; the other is that of the complete old series reckoning from the mouth up. A new series is in progress. The new bench-marks are placed on lines generally straight across the valley, these lines being about 5 miles apart. The desig. nations of the new bench-marks are in the form of a fraction, the numerator being the number of the line reckoning from the mouth up; the denominator being the number of the bench-mark in that line reckoning from the right bank. All elevations refer to the Saint Louis City directrix, which is 433.97 feet above the Cairo datum and 412.71 feet above the Mississippi River Commission 1881, determination of mean Gulf tide at Biloxi, Miss.] No. 1 (17) Mouth Mis. souri River. 2 (16) 3 (15) 4 (14) Equals P. B. M. 12 of Mississippi River Commission; "top of copper Chambers" On east side of 1.5-foot elm, in woods behind willow bar, 140 feet west Descriptions and elevations of bench-marks on the Missouri River, etc.-Continued. No. Description. Eleva Above tion. the mouth. 5 (13) 6 (12) 7 (11) Jamestown. 8 (10) 9 (9) 10 (8) On west side of 3.2 foot sycamore, 900 foot from river, 400 feet from On 1.9 foot black oak, on side of bluff, 70 feet from river, one-half Horizontal furrow in head of copper bolt leaded into northwest ex- On 3.1-foot cottonwood, on edge of high water bank, behind willow On north side of 2-foot burr oak, 170 feet from river, on line between On west side of 2-foot elm, 120 feet from river, on west side of clump On west side of 3.3-foot cottonwood, 120 feet from river, 215 feet On 1.2-foot black oak, on east side of wagon road, 40 feet from edge On northwest side of 1.6-foot cottonwood, 150 feet from edge of high- Horizontal furrow in head of copper bolt leaded into northwest side Gauge B. M.-A cross (+) cut on top of horizontal surface of pro- "B. M. 77" of 1879-on southwest corner of offect course of west col- 35.893 B. M. 78" of 1879. Top of foundation-course at northeast corner of 39.568 18 (157) On 3.3-foot sycamore, westward one of a pair standing 100 feet from 19 (156) 20 (155) 21 (154) On 1.4-foot cottonwood, on south side of dry chute, 1,500 feet below On 2-foot maple, 30 foot from foot of bluff, 125 feet from bank, at point 22 (153) On 2.5-foot cottonwood, 20 feet from bank, at landing near ▲ 862, oppo- 23 (152) 24 (151) On 8-inch sycamore, 300 feet from river, opposite A 863, 1,800 feet be- On 2.5-foot box alder, standing alone in a cultivated field, 350 feet from 23. (150) On 1.7-foot pignut hickory, 150 feet from bank, 1,000 feet south from 26 (149) Cottleville. On 1.9-foot black walnut, one-quarter of a mile west from house of 47.912 43.8 27 (148) On 2-foot elm, 300 feet southwest from house of William Walter, one- 28 (147) On 3.3-foot maple, 100 feet from river bank, on bank of ditch or dry On 1 9-foot linn, 120 feet from river, at foot of bluff, 400 feet below low- Descriptions and elerations of bench-marks on the Missouri River, etc.—Continued. 32 (113) St. Albans. 33 (142) On 1.5-foot linn, 40 from river, 300 feet below first point of bluff be- On 1.7-foot oak, in recess between bluffs, known as "Eddy Hollow," 34 (141) On a doubled and twisted white walnut, 2.5 feet in diameter, in gully 67.208 56.4 35 (140) 36 (139) Augusta. 37 (138) On 1-foot cottonwood, on east bank of dry slough, 500 feet north 38 (137) 39 (136) On 1.5-foot cottonwood, 900 feet from river, standing alone in wheat On 2-foot black oak, 200 feet from river in grove about three-fourths On 3-foot box alder, 2,500 feet below 826, 250 feet from river, in 40 (135) 41 (134) South Point. On 1.2-foot hackberry, 200 feet from river, 150 feet below fence be- 42 (133) On 1.5-foot elm, 20 feet south from railway, by spring, about 1 mile T. B. M. 3', on corner of red sandstone, top layer of west abut- "B. M. 75" of 1879; northeast corner of door-sill of Elm street en- B. M. 74" of 1879; northwest corner water-table of three-story On 2.1-foot sycamore, on main bank, 300 feet from chute, 200 feet T. B. M. 5, on extreme southwest corner of large cut stone used for T. B. M. 5', is a point within the upper loop of the "B" of the 45 (130) Mark "0" cut on northwest corner of top of riverward wall of cul- On 2.3-foot oak, 300 feet south from railway, on west side of bluff, chiseled on the southeast corner of the top cop- 87.733 78.2 chiseled on the southwest corner of west end stone of coping stone on retaining-wall east side creek, landward side of arched culvert over the "Little Bauf" Creek, 300 feet above Dundee, Mo., station-house. 81.602 47 (128) On northeast corner of top of east abutment of railroad bridge No. 16, 48 (127) Horizontal furrow in nead of copper bolt set into cut rock at head 94.549 49 (126) On northeast corner of west abutment of bridge 13 miles below New On northeast corner water-table of 3-story brick store of New Ha 52 (123) On northeast corner northwest wing-wall of Missouri Pacific Rail- 53 (122) Hoehn's On 2-foot elm, 200 feet from river in field, at head of long willow bar, 54 (121) On 3-foot sycamore, 200 feet from river, at eastern edge of timber, 55 (120) 56 (119) 57 (118) Bates Island On 1,7-foot elm, on bench, midway between R. B. O's 467 and 468. On 10-inch sycamore, 20 feet from railway, at base of bluff, 1,500 feet |