better work than previously; the bottom is more uniform, and there is 14 feet of water. It requires much vigilance to prevent the foremen of the dredges from taking a zigzag course; they either run too close to the stakes or keep an unnecessary distance from them. I have repeatedly told them to allow from 8 to 10 feet, but not more. If they run closer, the stakes will fall down the slopes of the cut. The men are negligent and require constant watching.

Thursday, July 16.-Morning cloudy and dark; light wind from NE. Dredge No. 1 at work again; scows leaking; carpenters at work repairing them; 11 a. m., wind changed to NW., light; at noon calm and very hot. Towards sunset wind again sprung up from NE., light. Ceased working at 9 p. m.; tug started for Algonac, after work was stopped, for a new dipper handle. Night dark; one dumper had a roller broken; can have but one hopper loaded.

Number of dumps this day, 21; number of cubic yards excavated,

882.

Friday, July 17.-Morning clear and calm. Commenced working at daybreak. Tug returned at 6.15 a. m., without dipper handle. Both dredges broke down at 9 a. m. Dredge No. 1 resumed work at 10.30 a. m.; she leaks badly. Noon, wind rising from NW.; cloudy, threatening weather; 2 p. m., changed to SE. and was variable all afternoon; 4 p. m., squall from NW.; blew hard. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning continued until 8 p. m. Blew fresh all night.

Number of dumps this day, 8; number of cubic yards excavated, 310. Saturday, July 18.-Wind westerly; water rough. Commenced work at daylight. This morning chloride of lime was scattered through the canal boat; very much needed. Calmed down before noon. Fine working day; but one dredge at work (No. 2.) The crew of No. 1 employed in stopping leak and getting ready the new dipper handle. 2.30 p. m., scow with wood from Baltimore; very lucky, as there was none on hand. 9 p. m. ceased work; night dark and wind freshening.

Number of dumps this day, 12; number of cubic yards of material excavated, 495.

Sunday, July 19.-Forenoon calm; men at work repairing No. 1 dredge; tug gone to Algonac for coal; returned 6 p. m. Blew fresh in afternoon.

Monday, July 20.-Sunrise, light wind from the NW.; heavy swell from lake. Dredge No. 1 working at 8 30 a m.; No. 2 (leading) is now opposite "William's piling; 12 m., squall from NW., lasted about half an hour; rain. Heavy squall with rain, from NW., at 2 p. m., continued all the afternoon; blew hard; heavy sea. Ceased working, and winded dredges; canal boat drifted towards Canada shore; brought up by tug.

There are but three anchors for the whole fleet of nine vessels. Each should have an anchor, and in squalls be independent of each other. The canal boat has a wood-scow attached, and is held by an

anchor of about 300 lbs.

Number of dumps, 10; number of yards excavated, 430.

Tuesday, July 21.-Heavy sea from the NW. No work this morn

ing. Dark and cloudy throughout day; rained. Commenced dredging with both machines at 12 m.

Evening.-Squalls from NW. Closed work at 7.30 p. m.

Number of dumps, 6; number of cubic yards excavated, 241. Wednesday, July 22.-Dark, cloudy weather. Blew fresh all day until 5 p. m. Commenced dredging at 5.26 p. m.; ceased at 7.30. Number of dumps, 4; number of cubic yards excavated, 179. Thursday, July 23.-Wind from NE. Morning cloudy. Commenced dredging at sunrise. I find that No. 2 is dredging a better channel than No. 1, the depth more uniform; whereas No. 1 has 14, 15, and 16 feet. The 16-feet cut is not extensive, being only a few dippers full. I remeasured 14 feet deep on the dipper handles and told the tenders to dredge to that depth, or as near as possible.

Squall from northward with heavy rain at 4.40 p. m., lasted about half an hour Best day's work yet done; no time lost, and scows well filled. Ceased dredging at 9 p. m.; night cloudy and dark. Mr. Pexton went out with the last dumpers, and on return reported that the stakes marking the boundary of deposits could not be seen. He thinks the material was not deposited at the proper distance. The engine of No. 2 being out of order, the foreman had it taken out when work was over, and set men to work at it during the night.

Number of dumps, 23; number of cubic yards excavated, 991-5. The material excavated by the dredges differ in quality; that dredged by No. 1 is principally coarse sand, that by No. 2 is mixed with fine sand and mud. The leading dredge is working in the old cut. The tender complains of the hardness of the bottom.

The day's work has been very satisfactory, and from the amount of work done shows that when both dredges are worked steadily during the day one thousand cubic yards can be got out.

Friday, July 24.-Morning cloudy; commenced work at daylight with both dredges. Mr. Pexton splicing ropes, &c., for buoys. 3.40 p. m., No. 2 engine again out of order; foreman had it taken out, and had men working at it all the afternoon and far into the night. Scow from Algonac with wood. Night dark; ceased work ing at 9 p. m.

The material dredged up to-day was a mixture of coarse sand and a very fine soft black sand; there was a little clay visible, some shells were scattered through it.

Number of dumps this day, 18; number of cubic yards excavated, 787.

Saturday, July 25.-Commenced dredging at daylight; morning calm and beautiful. Two scows were dumped this morning at 5.30, earlier than any morning previous; twelve boats got out by noon. Day continued fair and warm; wind at sunset from southwest, freshened a little at 9 p. m. The aurora borealis was visible immediately after the sun went down. A dark bank of cloud, forming an arch, extended from northeast to northwest. Above this was a beautiful mellow light, through which were vertical rays of silver color to about thirty degrees above the horizon, the whole occasionally brilliantly illuminated by flashes of white light. It looked very beautiful. The wood expected from Algonac to-day did not arrive; out of fuel.

Number of dumps this day, 28; number of cubic yards excavated, 1158.5.

Sunday, July 26.-Morning calm; swell from SW. Men at work at engine of No. 2 dredge, stopping leak in boiler, &c. Mr. Pexton and myself turned out at 5 a. m., and set some new cedar buoys between the northeast end of the cut and the row of piling. We placed them about two hundred feet apart. I think these buoys will serve better than the stakes; but yet they don't answer as well as I expected, the current causing them to lean over. We did this much work, being tempted by the calmness of the weather, and the opportunity afforded by the dredges lying idle. Yesterday the carpenter was set to work tearing down the old bunks and placing a partition across that part of the boarding house hitherto used for eating and sleeping in; the improvement is decided, the men's sleeping place being now separated from the eating apartment. Tug went to Algonac for wood and coal; returned at 11 p. m.

Monday, July 27.-Weather at sunrise rough; heavy sea; wind from SW. Men turned out to work at about 3 a. m.; succeeded in loading two boats, one load was dumped in the channel about two hundred feet west of the dredges to prevent the boat from sinking; the sea rolled over her, the contents were not allowed. Seven a. m. wind freshened; winded the dredges and ceased work. Foreman went to Baltimore in the tug to make arrangements for procuring wood more regularly. Wind blowing fresh all the afternoon; heavy sea from SW.; canal boat rolling like a barrel. Tug returned at 4.30 p. m. At sundown wind rising; blew a gale all night. No accident occurred to any of the fleet.

Number of dumps this day, 1; number of cubic yards, 44.

Tuesday, July 28.-Wind changed during night to the northward; at sunrise, blowing hard, with heavy sea; no dredging. Foreman went to Detroit to-day for provisions, &c.; also, to endeavor to hire a small dredge lying at Detroit. I am opposed to this plan, and so stated in a report to Captain Whipple this morning. Wind going down at 4 p. m., commenced dredging; No. 2 dredge got out one boat, and then had pillow block broken; idle rest of afternoon; sundown, light breeze from southward.

Number of dumps, 5; number of cubic yards excavated, 222. Wednesday, July 29.-Morning clear, wind westerly; commenced work at daylight; No. 2 not yet ready for work. Foreman returned from Detroit; delares the dredge at Detroit useless. 9 a. m., No. 2 dredge at work; 1 p. m., pillow block again broken; had to take engine asunder and repair. Wind blew fresh during afternoon. Closed work at 8.50 p. m.

Number of dumps this day, 14; number of cubic yards excavated, 597. Thursday, July 30.-Wind from SW., fresh; commenced work at daylight. One man discharged this morning for neglecting work; reported to foreman by Mr. Pexton. No. 1 broke down about 12 m.; remedied about 2.30 p. m. Having a few hours of calm weather, I sounded the cut from end to end. Wind blew fresh about 4 p. m., increasing during the night to nearly a gale. Winded the dredges; No. 2 dredge got to work at 3 p. m. There is a dispute about the

last two scow loads; it grew dark before they could be taken out; Mr. Pexton accompanied them; on his return he stated that they were dumped at not more than 300 yards from the channel; the wheelsman and engineer of the tug state that they saw the stakes and the material dumped at the required distance; I have included them in the total amount dredged during the day, leaving them to be allowed or not, according to the decision of the officer in charge. Number of dumps, 15; number of cubic yards, 667.

The questionable loads are 46 and 38 cubic yards, respectively. Friday, July 31.-Heavy weather; wind from SW.; blew nearly a gale up to 5 p. m., then suddenly fell, and then changed round to NE., blowing fresh. No work done except some needful repairs to dredges and scows. 9.30 p. m., wind moderated somewhat. Night

dark and cloudy.

Saturday, August 1.-Morning calm; water smooth. Commenced work at 2.30 a. m.; a good beginning for the month; hope it will continue. Scow from Baltimore with wood at 9 a. m. I took all the opportunity to-day, assisted by two of the contractor's men, to sound the cut dredged during last month; I sounded one line in the centre of each cut, one between the cuts, and diagonally at the distance of about 100 feet. The day continued calm to the time of ceasing work, 11 p. m.

The material dredged to-day was coarse, and coarse and fine sand mixed.

Number of dumps, 32; number of cubic yards, 1,367.

Sunday, August 2.-Morning calm and fine. Plotted soundings today, and wrote monthly report for July. Had the dredges change places, putting No. 1 in front. The tender of No. 2 dredge is very careful; we placed it in rear to dredge off the ridges left by No. 1, if any. Day continued fine. This afternoon I noticed that one of the channel buoys (red) is out of line; will have it properly placed to

morrow.

Monday, August 3.-Morning calm and fair. Commenced dredging at day break; 10.30 a. m., steamboats "Dart" and "Forester, from and to Detroit, passed the dredges. We were returning with empty dumpers at the time, and had to stop near the channel to allow them to pass. Captain Whipple arrived in tug "Franklin Moore" to inspect last month's work. I handed in report of operations during past month; proved satisfactory. I referred the dispute alluded to on July 30th to Captain Whipple. His decision is, that from the fact that the wheelsman of the tug said he saw the stakes, and Mr. Pexton being in doubt as to the distance at which the boats were dumped, together with my recommendation, the contents of the scows are allowed. Captain Whipple took small boat, and, with self and others, took soundings in cut; gave me general instructions for my guidance during month; 4 p. m. returned with Captain Whipple to Detroit in tug. Previous to my departure, the number of boats got out was 17; Mr. Pexton (left in charge) reports seven more during the afternoon. Wind blowing fresh from southwest; stopped work on account of it at 7 p. m.

Number of dumps this day, 24; number of cubic yards excavated, 1,077.

Tuesday, August 4.-1 remained in Detroit all day, procuring some articles necessary on the work. Hired a carpenter to be in readiness in morning to go to the flats to make buoys, &c. Mr. Pexton's report of operations at the flats to-day is as follows: "Morning calm and fine; rain through the day; 6 p. m. blowing fresh from northward; ceased working."

Number of dumps, 14; number of cubic yards, 609.5.

Wednesday, August 5.-Wind from northeast; blowing hard; no work. Arrived at flats at 11 a. m., accompanied by the carpenter. Some men, to make up a double crew, for working dredges at night, came up to day. Mr. Pexton gone to Detroit this afternoon. Blew fresh all day from northeast.

Thursday, August 6.-Morning calm and moonlight; water perfectly smooth; dredges at work at 2.30 a. m. Captain Whipple arrived at flats at 12 m. to investigate a charge made by Mr. Ward, of steamer "Forester," that an obstruction was placed in the channel by some persons connected with the dredging. We took soundings. in the channel, and found not less than 8 feet of water; no obstruction. Captain Whipple left for Detroit at 2 p. m. Employed Mr. Polglase to assist in the place of Mr. Pexton. Continued calm all day. At 11 p. m. wind rose from southward; continued working. The material excavated to-day is nearly all mud; very difficult to dump it.

Number of dumps, 27; number of cubic yards, 1,177.

I set another buoy near the lake to-day.

Friday, August 7.-Continued dredging until 20 minutes past midnight; took out two dumps since 12 p. m.; morning bright and clear; blowing fresh from southward; winded dredges; set to work again at 11.30 a. m.; slight breakages on both dredges during the day, such as backing, dipper and turn table chains; tug R. R. Elliott ran aground during the blow this morning at the bend near the mouth of the river; she sent to us for yawl; the day was not very favorable for work; too much sea; towards evening calmed down; placed lanterns on stakes, as usual, when dredging at night, and worked till midnight; number of dumps, 16; number of cubic yards, 698; material, sand and mud.

Saturday, August 8.-Continued working since midnight; morning calm and moonlight; dredge No. 2 loses time; her boiler leaks and can't make steam quick enough; during the day both dredges had slight break downs; 5 p. m. blew fresh from northward, with rain; ceased dredging at 6 p. m.; material excavated, sand and mud; number of dumps, 14; number of cubic yards, 561.

Sunday, August 9.-Wind light, from north; clear; men repairing machinery of No. 2; one of the stakes on the dumping line was blown down last night and replaced to-day; afternoon calm and clear; sunset, wind from southeast; cloudy.

No.

Monday, August 10.-Commenced working with No. 1 at 1 a. m.; weather calm but cloudy; 4 a. m., dipper chain broken; 6 a. m., 2 at work; light breeze from southeast; at about 1 p. m. one of the