ISBI ^' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /o /xy >5^■ / /^ #p ^ :/>. "^ ^ 1.0 |50 "^^ 1^ I.I 140 llliiM III 2.2 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^1 6" ► pm^ ^^ <91 '»/ ^ ^- ..'>' % ^^ ^>\^ ''W m. °m Photograpliic Sciences Corporation *>.^ €^. ^^ A^ '^> \\ ^ M 4> ^^ "^oN ^!f^^ 23 WIST MAIN STRIBT WieSTER.N.Y. 14S30 (716) 872-4503 '4^ '<^ '% k CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. ^ CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1981 Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy availeble for filnrsing. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les dd^ails de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibiiographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mdthode normale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. r~~/ Coloured covers/ 1 }lJ Couverture de couleur r I Covers damaged/ D D D D n D D Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicul6e I I Cover title missing/ Le titre ue couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur □ Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relid avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distorvion along interior margin/ La reliure serrde peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intdrieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within tho text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout6es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6td filmdes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl^mentaires; □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur n n D D Pages dan^^aged/ Pages endommagdes Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurdes et/ou pelliculdes Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6color6es, tachetdes ou piqudes Pages detached/ Pages d6tac.i6es BShowthrough/ Transparence □ Quality of print varies/ Qualit^ in6gale de I'impression I I Includes supplementary material/ n Comprend du matdriel supplementaire Only edition available/ Seule Coition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies per un fauillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6ti fiimdes d nouveau de fa^on d obtenir la meilleure image poi;sible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 2ex 30X '■"""■"■ " ' / ■" J 12X lex 2DX 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Library cf the Public Archives of Canada L'exenoplaire film6 fut reproduit grftce d la g6n6rosit6 de: La bibliothdque des Archives publiques du Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy ?nd in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettetd de I'exemplaire filmA, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the !ast page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimis sont film6s en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant suit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmds en commandant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — »- (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "EI^D"), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre im^ge de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols -^ signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent 6tre film^s i des taux de rdduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en has, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 5 6 AFFIDAVITS TAK2N IN CONNECTION WITH AN IIiT-V-ESTZC3-^Tl031T -AS TO- WOOD AND SAWDUST DEPOSITS IN THE HUDSON AND OTHER RIVERS. -^'.y^^\^-\ V y^ y' V - -SUBMITTED WITH- REPORTS ON THE SUBJECT, -FROil- HON. WM. J. McALPINE. -AND- ID. nyc. C3-K.EEj^E, O.E PRINTED BY C. W. MITCHELL, ELGIN STREET. 187G. B tr H ti( D H su pr; th( Hi sea the at dm fro; OB Cai TAKKS IX CO.NXKCTIO.N WITH AN INVESTIGATION :8 TO ^OOD A^D ^AW-DU?T PePO^IT? The following affidavits were taken at the instance of Mr. H. F. Bronson, of Ottawa, Canada, who was commissioned by the sawn lumber to,deofthat place to investigate the matter of saw-dust deposits in the Hudson River, in the State of New York, and were submitted in connec- tion with reports on the same subject from Hon. Wm. J. McAlpine and D. M. Greene, Esq., C.E., previously published. In looking over the statements regarding deposits in the Champlain tanal, which connects the watei-s cf Lake Champlain with those of the Hudson River at Albany, the reader will bear in mind that that CanaHs supplied with water throughout its entire length from the Hudson River prmcipally through what is known a3 the Glen's Falls Feeder, which taps the river about one and a half miles above the town of Glen's Falls, on the Hudson. As Mr. Greene states in his report, page 14 of printed copy, " in dry seasons nearly the entire flow of the river is thus diverted," while above the mouth of the Feeder there are a number of large saw-mills, particularly at Wairensburg, aa Mr. Greene also mentions, from all of which "saw- dust, together with large quantities of slabs and edgings, are and have been from the beginning cast into the river." Hence the thorough investigation aa to deposits of sawdust, &c., in the Champlain and Glen's Falls Feeder Canals. Wm, J. McAlpine, of the City of Albany, State of New York, being duly sworn, deposeth and says that he is a Civil Engineer, and has been practising as such for the last forty-five years, and from eighteen hundred and thirty-four to eighteen hundred and fifty- four on the Eastern division of the canals of 'New York, embi*acing the Champlain and Glen's Falls Feeder Canals, in the capacity of Resident Chief and State Engineer. '"lat he has had charge of the enlargement of the Glen's Falls Feeder, and the re-construction of its locks, and also of the improvements of the Champlain Canal, and (during his term of ofiice as State Engineer), of the removal of the Castleton bar, on the Hudson River, about six miles below Albany. That while in the State service he has had occasion to pass over the Champlain Canal and Feeder almost every spring during the time that the workmen were engaged in removing the deposits from the bottom of these canals, the character of which deposits he has carefully noted. That he has been familiar with the traffic upon the said canals for the period above mentioned, and also with the vast amount of lumber manufactured on the Hudson River, above, at and below the said Feeder Canal. That in the removal of these deposits from the said Canal, he has never seen or heard of any accumulation of sawdust in any part or place in the channels of these Canals, and has never heard of any complaint having been made of any such obstruction to the navigation of the Hudson River above Glen's Falls, nor below Fort Edward (the river between these two places being an almost continuous rapid). That during the removal of the Castleton bar, by direction of the Legislature, in eighteen hundred and fifty-two, he has had occasion to fre- quently visit and examine the material excavated, and never observed or heard of any deposits of sawdust at that place, but that he hvA seen so re- moved sunken logs and decayed wood. He further deposes and says that much of the sand used for the masonry of the enlargement of the Erie Canal, between Cohoes and Albany, was, by his direction, taken from the Hudson River bars, in consequence of its great purity and entire freedom from woody or organic matter ; and more recently, viz., in eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, he directed that the sand for the twenty-five thousand cubic yards of masonry in the foun- dation of the new Capitol at Albany should be taken from the sand bars in the said river, opposite and below that city, and for the reasons firct above stated. That he has had occasion to examine the deposits made upon many other rivers in the United States, where large lumbering operations were canied on, as on the Dolawai-e, Susquehanna, those in the State of Maine, and some in the Western States, and that he has never seen or heard of any obstructions or impediments to navigation on those ri>ers from the deposi- tion of sawdust. That he believes from the inferior weight of long water saturated saw- dust to that of even the finest sand, the former will always be moved for- ward by a cuiTent which will just begin to deposit the latter, and hence that the two would rarely be deposited in the same place, and never on a bar whoi-e thei-o is a current of more than one-fifth of a mile an hour, and in a i-unning sii-eam it will only be deposited whei'e there is almost no current, such as in eddies, or in very wide expanses of the sti'cafti, and even if it should happen to be left in any regular navigable channel, it would of itself form almost no obstniction to a vessel, which would only stir it up, and then it would be floated forward and dejjosited in another place where it would do iio injury to the navigatioii. And further this deponent saith not. WM, J. Mc ALPINE. United States of America, Connnonwealth of Massachusetts. Berkshire (s.3.), Feb. 16, 1871. Subscribed and swonx to before me, • Edgar M. Wood, Covimissloner oftlte Ctrcidt Court of the U^S. -:o:- State of New York, ) CouNTf^ OF Warren. / " Augustus Sherman being duly s noyv., gays that he resides in Glen's Falls, in said County, and is engaged practically in the business of manufacturing lumber on the Hudson River, about fifty miles above the cities of Troy and Albany, and has been so engaged in said business for the last forty-five years and upwards. That during said time deponent has been the owner or lessee of one or more saw mills, run and operated by deponent in said business. That deponent owns timber lands on said river and its tributaries, and has cut the timber therefrom, manufactured the same into lumber, and transported the same to Troy, Albany and other markets, and is well acquainted with the Hudson River, its size, capacity, channel and currents, as well between Glen's Falls aforesaid and Troy and Albany, as above Glen's Falls. DeDonmt is also well acquainted with the different saw mills on said River and their capacity. That the principal part of the lumber manufactured by deponent has been manufactured by deponent at the mills known as the " Sherman Mill" and the " Swartwout Mill" (the latter leased by deponent), which are situated on said river, about one mile and one half mile above Glen's Falls aforesaid. That, during the last ten yeai-s deponent has manufactured at said mills abo\it 15,000,000 feet of sawn lumber annually, the most of which has been cut into boards about one inch thick, and some into scantling 3 by 4 inches, and some into planks 1^ inches thick, the whole on an average, in deponent's opinion, would not average over 1^ inches m thickness. That, in deponent's opinion and belief, there has been manufactiu-ed anniially, on an average, on the Hud- son River, and principally at Glen's Falls, Sandy Hill and Fort Edward (all within a cistance of eight miles), during the last ten yeai-s, not less than 100,000,000 feet of sawed lumber. That for the last fifty years large quantities of sawed lumber have been manufactured every year on said river, and in deponent's opinion and bolieC that for the forty yeans next piior to the last ten years, not less than from 100,000,000 to 115,000,000 foot of sawed lumber were manufactured annually on an average. That from deponent's earliest recollections there has been a large business done on said river in. manufacturing sawed lumber (and which extend back up- wards of sixty years), and with some fluctuations has been gradually in- creasing. That formerly, say tliirty-five years ago, nearly all the lumlx"* manufactured on said river was from white pine and spruce timber, but white pine timber became more and more scarce, and has been manufactur- ed less and less until the principal part of the lumber now cut on the said river is spruce and hemlock. Deponent further says that he has not seen and does not know of any accumulation of sawdust in said river to impede or in any way inconvenience navigation on said river whatever. That edgings have more or less as well as the sawdust been cast into the Hudson river. That deponent has seen in some of the eddies in said river small collections of edgings, sawdust, floodwood and debris ; but for the edgings, slabs or other firm substance to hold or confine the sawdust in one place it moves and floats about readily in the water, and is easily mov- ed by any disturbing substance in the eddies and will not remain in the channel of said river. That the Feeder Canal extends from the Hudson River to the Champlain Canal, and interaects said river at the point where deponent's said mill is located on said river, and that iu deponent's c pinion and belief there has been for the past forty years about 35,000,000 or 40,000,000 feet of sawed lumber manufactured annually on the Hudson River above said canaL That deponent has owned and ran canal boats on said canal, and transported lumber theroon ever since it was navigable, and more than thirty years, and that depoxisnt has never known or heard of any obstruction from accumulation oi coiit; tion of sawdust in said canal. That from deponent's experience in the use of said river and canal and the manufacture of lumber, deponent has no doubt whatever that sawdusu alone will not accumulate or collect in sufficient quantities to impede or impair navigation in the least. That deponent is now President of the Firet National Bank of Glen's Fails, Subsci'ibed and sworn to, \ before me this 31st day January, 1871. j S. BROWN, Countt/ Judge. A. SHERMAN. :o:- State of New York, ) County of Warren. J ' Zenas Vandusen being duly sworn, deposeth and saitli 'hat he re- sides in the town of Queensburg in said Comity, and is enga, od in the business of manufacturing sawed lumber on the Hudson River ; and that he has been so engaged for the last thirty years ; and is familiar with the business of manufacturing sawed lumber on the Hudson River in all its branches. That deponent's saw mill is located on said river at the point whero the Feeder Canal intersects said river. Deponent further saith that he has heard read the affidavit of Augustus Shonn.tn hereto annexed. That said affidavits so far as deponent has knowledge of the facts alleged and stated in said affidavit, is correct and true, and »a to all other parts of said affidavit, deponent believes it to be true Deponent further saith that he has never known of any accumulation of sawdust in spid river or canal, so as to in any way injure and impede navigation, nor of sawdust together with other material obstructing or in filling up said canal or the channel of said river, or in any other place than in eddies in the river. Subscribed and sworn to, ) before me this 11th day V ZENAS VANDUSEN. of Feby., 1871. J S. Brown, County Judge f Warren County. ss. State of New York, ) Warren County, j Jeuemiah W. Finch, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith that he resides in Glen's Falls in said county. Is Vice-President of the Glen's Falls National Bank, and is engaged in the business of manufacturing lumber, and has been for twenty years on the Hudson River and is now part owner in three large sawmills on said river, and is familiar with the business of manufacturing lumber in all its branches from cutting the timber from tho stump to the sale of the lumber in the market. That the firm of which deponent is a member transports most of the lumber they manufacture to the cities of Brooklyn, New York, and other places inter- mediate. Glen's Falls and New York. JJeponent further saith that most of the timber has been cut off the Hudson River proper, and the prim £jal part thereof is now obtained from the ti'ibutarien of said river, and much of it from quite small creeks or brooks, and so small that the timber can bo floated out only by means of dams, ponds, and artificial flooding, the effect of which is to wash the banks of the streams very much and thereby fill the waters with much eui-th which is carried down into the main stream, and some of it into the canal, and whic' radually settles and is deposited on the banks and bed of the said river -, nd canal. Tliat all, or nearly all the mills cast more or less edgings and otlier refuse into the river lus well as the sawduso. That in the eddies of the river the edgings have, in some fevr instances, lotlged, and by means thereof sawdust, sand and other de- posit collected and settled around, between and u]Ton them, but that no such accumu'iations have formiid in the channel of the river, and that the sawdust alone does not arid will not accuniulatt? or fonn any ol>strnction to navigiition whatever. Tliat deponent has never heard or known of any collection or accumulation of sawdust alone in the canal or Hudson River, nor of any accumulation or collection of etlgings with sawdust and earth that was an obstruction or which impeded or impaired the navigation of said river or canal. That no one in this community, so far as deponent knows or has ever heard, claims, or haa ever claimed, tliat sawdust made by wm 8 tho sawmills was injurious to navigation or tended to injure the same either on the canal or river ; nor has any objection been mado to sawdust being discharged into the river, so far as deponent knows or has any information or belief. Deponent further says that upon his information he firmly believes that sawed lumber has been manufactured on the Hudson River for the last seventy-five to one hundred years ; that deponent's belief is founded, as well upon the general statemente, traditions and history of this portion of the -country, as the fact that some of the ancient title-deeds form- ing a link in the chain of the title of some of dei)0D oat's mill property, and which wei'e made in the seventeenth century, recognizing, then existing, of saw mills, and defining the rights and privileges of the same respectively, •IS well as to the use of water and other rights iu common, as the boundaries of the mill sites. Deponent further says that Glen's Falls is located on the Hudson River, about fifty miles above Tx-oy and Albany; and also, in deponent's opinion and beliof, that for the last ten yeara thei"e has been manufactured on said river, on aj avei-age, annuallv. not less than from 150,000,000 to 175,000,000 feet of sawed lumber, and before that time not ijuite so much- Subscribed and swoi'n to before \ me, this 11th day of February, '• 1871. J S. Brown, County Judge of Warren County, N. Y J. W. FINCH. -:o:- 6'6'. State of New York, ( Washington County, j Orson Richards, being duly sworn, says that he resides in the town of Kingsbuiy, in Washington County, and State of New York. That de- ]>onent ia engaged in the business of manufacturing lumber, on the Hudson River, and has bean so engaged for the last thirty yeai-s. That deponent has one mill which runs over 200 Siiws, and is part owne» of four other mills, and is familiar not only witli the sawir^g business, but also with all the other branches of tho trade — as well as the running of the logs to tho mills, as transporting the lumber to marke. by boating the same on tho canal, and otherwise. That depo\ent s largest mill is located on the said Hudson Ei^■or, about three miles below Glen's Falls. That deponent has been familiar with the said river and the business done thereon for the last tlii:ty yeai's and upwards. In deponent's opinion and belief, there has been manufactured on said river, annually, on an average, for the List ten yeais, at least 150,000,000 feet or more of sawed lumber ; and before ten yoai-s last ])ast, for the last twenty years, an average of not less than 120,000,000 feet or upwards of sawed lumber. That, in deponent's opinion and belief, prior to fifteen years ago, there has been as much as of sawed lumber cut on said river and its uributaries per year (and wliich would average one inch and one-eighth of an inch in thickness), above tho point where tho Feeder Canal irtei-sects the river, and tho saw- dust mado therefrom, as well us more or loss of tho other refuse, cast hito 9 the waters to be carried off. Deponent further says that he has never known or lieard of any obstruction, hindrance or injury to boating, raftin<» or navigation from such sawdust or refuse in the river or canal. Deponent further says tliat he has never heard or known of any accunuilation of saw- dust in said canal or river whittever, alone, nor with other substances, ex- cept that in some of the eddies of the river the edgings and slabs have collected, and more or less sawdust has been (-.topped and held by the accu- nmlation of such firm substances ; nor has (ai[)onent ever known or heard of any such accumulations as last described b.ving formed at any place or places in the least injurious co the use of the river for all floating and navigable purposes. Nor has deponent evei' knov.'n or heard of any com- plaint by boatmen or others of sawdust being put in the river, nor has any objection ever been made tc sawdust and other refuse being cast into the water, so far as deponent has any knowledge, information or belief in the premises. That deponent discharges large quantities of sawdust and some edgings into the said river every year. That as to the other refuse than sawdust, there has been less and less cast into the river in proportion to the lumber 'iianufactured as such refuse has become more and more valuable for other purposes and it became the intei'est of the manufacturer to save it. That, so far as deponent lias any knowledge, information or belief on the suliject, all manufacturei-s of sawed lumber on said river ha'^e been guided and controlled — as to casting and throwing into the waters thisreof the sawdust and refuse of and from sawed lumber manufactured— by their own interests and wishes, and that no injury has arisen therefrom — or, at least, none so far as deponent knows or has heard of, to the navigability of said river or canal. Sworn to before me, this j 11th day of February, I- 1870. j W. M. Col n, Notary Public. ORSEN RICHARDS. last State of New York, |^ Warren Count v. j tss. John Keenan being duly sworn, says that h"; resides in Glen's Falls in said county, and has known the Hudson River and Chami)lain Feeder Canal since 1833. That dojionent is senior co-partner of the Jointa Lime Company, and Px-esideut of tlio Glen's Falls Transportation Con^pany, which runs boats from Glen's Falls to Troy, Albany, New York, and other places. That de[)onent and hia co-partnera have dune work by the job on said canal in deepening and enlarging the same ; and doi)onont has been famihar with the navigation and condition of said canal since the year 1832. That in the summer seasou when the water is the lowest in said river, the Feeder Canal draws the whole volume of water from the rivtu-, so that the channel of the river is pniciically turned into the canal during auch i)oriods of low water. That dopsnent nas never known or heard of any saw-dust collecting or accumulating in any part or [)ortiou of yaitl I 10 canal. That deponent has repeatedly seen the woikmen engaged at various times clearing the sediment out of the canals, but has never seen any saw- dust among it. That deponent has never known or heard of any injury arising from saw-dust in the river or canal to the navigation «hereof. That the parties engaged in navigation on said river and canal have not consid- ered and do not consider that the saw-dust from the saw-mills do any injury to navigation whatever, so far as deponent has any knowledge or belief ; and that so far as deponent ha? any knowledge or belief, parties engaged in navigation have never made any objection, and do not objcci to 8a\v-dust being cast in the river. Subscribed and sworn to, ) before me, this 31st V JOHN KEENAN. day of January, 187 1 . I S. Brown, County Judge of Wwiiren County, F. Y. ■M- -:o: 88. State of New York, ) Warren County, j ' Colonel Alonzo "W. Morgan being duly sworn, says that he is a resi- dent of Glen's Falls in said cou.ity, and has so resided since the year 1813 ; and had charge of the Feeder Canal, and about fifteen miles of the Cham- j/lain Canal, as Superintendent for three years, some twenty to twenty- five years ago, and as such Superintendent, had chai'ge of making repairs on said portions of canal (and which portions included about four miles of the summit level of the Champlain Canal), and keeping it clear and free from obstructions, and every spring during said three years cleared out the deposit from the bettom of the canal, but that such deposit did not consist in any part of sawdust. That no sawdust ever collected or accumulated in said canal, so far as deponent has any knowledge or belief. Deponent fur- ther saith that when he first became acquainted with Glen's Falls there were four saw-mills at Glen's Falls, and also saw-mills all along for 30 or 40 miles above, and large quantities of white pine timber were then being manufactured, but as to what quantity deponent is not able to say, as deponent is not a lumt)ermau. That, as deponent understood and believes, saw-mills were erected on the Hudson at Glen's Falls and vicinity, and the manufacture of lumber commenced, about ninety years ago or upwards, and Vas been continued ever since. That deponent never heard of any com- plaint or trouble as to navigation on the Canal or Hudson River from saw- dust, and aovor knew of any injury therefrom, and dopoaent docs not believe navij^'ation has been injured in the least by sawdust.. Col. a. W. morgan. Subscribed .and sworii to ))oforo mr, this 31st day olMiMi., 1871. S. IjUOWN, County Juove Glen's Falls. During the whole time that I have resided here I have never observed that any obstruction to navigation, or to the use of the Hudson River for floating logs, or for wat,er power, has been occasioned by the discharge of sawdust and edgings from saw-mills into the stream, nor have I ever heard any objection made or of any objection being made to such use of the stream, nor iiave I ever heard any complaint made by navigators of the canals, or by those interested in their navigation, or by officers having the same in charge, that the sawdust or edging from the saw-mills above the Feeder Dam have had any tendency to obstruct the use or to diminish the suppl}' of water in the Canal. I make this statement at the request jf my friend, Mr. H. F. Bronson, of Ottawa. Respectfully, E. II. ROSEKRANS, Justice of Supreme Court. -:o:- Statk of New York, )^ Wauuen County, j '*''■ Hon. Jo.SKt»n KussI':ll, being duly swoni, says tluvt at ]»i'OHOiit. lie rcsidi'S at Glen's Falls, and until lately resided at VVarr^Misbnri,', in said Comity, and which plaice is pIho located upon the lludsoii River. That dcipoiiciit lias lieon actually engiiged in the business of munufacturiiig sawn lumber for the last fifty years on the Hudson River, except that depouont'.s lumlier Imsiness for tho last ten yeai-a, or about that time, has been olsowhcire, and not on said river. That deponent commenced lumbering fifty year.-i ago. 12 li on the East branch of the Hudson River, six miles above Wan*ensburg. That at that time, in deponent's opinion and belief, there were 75,000,000 feet of sawed lumber, and upwards, manufactured annually on the Hudson River and ita tributaries, and that the manufacture of sawn lumber has been gi-adually increasing on said river ever since (with some fluctuations), until noy, in deponent's opinion and belief, the manufacture of sawed lum- ber on said river and its tributaries exceeds 200,000,000, and, in deponent's opinion and belief, will average annuiUy at least from 175,000,000, to 200,000,000 for the last ten years. That when deponent first commenced lumbering, not only edging, but more or less slabs were thrown in the river, and the whole waste, aside from sawdust, was at least foUi' times as much as at present ; that the change or diminution of waste thrown in the river has been caused by the increased value of the material and the improve- ments in mills and machinery. That chere has never been any restriction, by public law or otherwise, so far as deponent has any knowledr^e or belief, or information, upon the millownors and manufacturers casting into the river as much refuse stuff as they chose, but, on the contraiy, they have always disposed of the refuse stuff, including sawdust, as their convenience and interest required, and generally by casting the same into the river. That deponent has never known or heard of any obstruction or injuring to the navigation of said river or the canal by ireason of the sawdust and refuse stuff cast into the river, nor has deponent ever known or heard of any objections being made to refuse stuff being cast into the river. Deponent further says that he represented this District in the Congress of the United States two terms of two years each. Deponent was first elected in 1844, and the last term in 1850. JOSEPH RUSSELL. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 1st day of Feb., 1871. S. Brown, County Judge of Warren County. -:o:- State op New York, ) Warren County. ) " WiLLiAN Coleman, being duly sworn, saith that he resides in the town of Kingsbury, Washington County, and State of New York, and in the immediate vicinity of the Feeder Canal, and has so resided for thirty years last past. That deponent has been Superintendent of said Feeder Canal, and that part of Champlain Canal which the Feeder Canal dischai'ges its waters into, for about eight years. That, among others, it was deponent's duty to keep said canal ^ree and clear from all obstructions, and occasionally deponent caused i,ho sediment to be cleared from the bottom of the said canals of which deponent was such Superuitendent, but never found any accumulation of sawdust in said canals, but did find sand, dirt and mud. That deponent has been well and familiarly acquainted with said canals and its navigation for over thirty years last past ; that the canal has never been obstructed, filled, nor partially filled with sawdust (except as the same flowed with the currents of the water), nor has the navigation thereof been 13 in the least impeded or interfered with by sawdust. Deponent farther 8 of February, 1871. ) S. Brown, Warren County Judge. GEORGE SATTERLEE. From Ex.-Senator Hichards, New York State : — Potsdam, N. Y., Feby. 2, 1871. Prof. D. M. Greene, — Dear Sir, — ^The writer is surviving partner of the late firm of G. & S. T. Richards, who were up to a recent time engaged in the lumber manu- facturing business, and operated mills propelled by water power, on the Schroon, or east branch of the. Hudson River, which is the main branch ot that river above the Mohawk, In common with all the other mills on the Hudson and Schroon Rivers, the sawdust made at our mill was always dropped into the river and car- ried down the stream by the water. The firm of G. & S. T. Richards commenced such business in the year 1848, and continued in it to and including the year 1869, during all of which time they were acquainted with the other parties doing a similar business on such rivers, and it was known that the millc disposed of their sawdust in the manner above mentioned ; and during all of which time the said firm of G. & S. T. Richards put their slabs, edgings and buttings, as well as sawdust into the river. The lumber manufactured by us was mainly put on canal boats at Glen's Falls, and transported through the Champlain Canal to Troy and Albany and other markets below those points on the Hudson River. 15 The mills aforesaid of G. & S. T. Bicbards manufactured annually on an average about one and three-quarter millions feet boa d measui*e of pine, spruce, hemlock, bass, ash, and some other kinds of lumber. Our mill was located six miles above the village of Warrens^ g (over twelve miles by the river, which has very little fall for that distan 5), to which place we moved our lumber by rafting and running down the ri\ ^r. "We were never troubled in the least by the presence or accumulation of sawdust in the river or canal in transporting our lumber to market. Soon after the building of the large leather tanneries on the river and branches above our mill, we had consideiable fears that the accumxilation of exhaust gi'ound tanbark, large quantities of which were thrown into the river above us, might seri- ously interfere with the navigation of the river. In fact the tanbark was our greatest danger ; but it was found that the spring freshets had the effect to throw the bark and sawdust into bars above ordinary water, where after the bars got diied out, the owners of the land burned the accumiila- tions and got a veiy good manure for their land. In the opinion of the writer, founded on his experience in the business, no danger need be apprehended of the obstruction of the navigation of a river on account of the accumulation of sawdust thrown into it. Respectfully, Geo. Bichards. •;o:- State op New York, ) Rensselkar County. ) *' Thomas McManus, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he re- sides in the city of Troy, and is the senior member of the " Hudson River Transportation Company," whose cIHces are at 191 River Street, in s. id city; and that the business of said Cuapany consists in the transportation of merchandise upon barges and otherwise, on the Hudson River, between the cities of New York and Troy and intermediate points. Deponent further says that he has been acquainted with the said Hudson and its navigation for the period of 25 years, and that he has been actively engaged in the navigation thereof for the 23 years last past. Deponent further says that he has been an Alderman of said city of Troy ; that, during the time he served as such Alderman, he was Chaii man of the Committee on Navigation, the chief duty of which was to keep the Hudson River in navigable condition within the limits of said city ; that said Com- mittee had charge of the city dredge, and also had control of its operations. Deponent further says that he has a large acquaintance with jmreous engaged in the navigation of said Hudson River, and that such acquaint- ance, together with his own personal experience and observation, have afforded him unusual facilities for knowing the location, magnitude and character of the bars and other oi^otructions to navigation in said Hudson River, and of the kind of material of which they are and have been composed. 16 Deponent furthei* says that said obstructions and bars are caused by the deposit or accumulation of sand and gravel, together with sunken logs and pieces of timber, the latter being, in deponent's opinion, an active primary cause of those obstructions which contain them. Deponent has never seen or heard of any obstructions or impediments to navigation which were caused by the deposit or accumulation of sawdust alone, nor has he ever heard of any complaint or objection having been made — that sawdust cast into the river from sawmills on its banks or elsewhere became deposited in bars, or that it had a tendency to be so deposited, or that it injured or impeded navigation in any manner whatever. Deponent further says that he does not believe that sawdust alone has been or will be deposited, or that it will accumulate on the bottom of the channel of a navigable river like the Hudson to such an extent and of such consiatency as to produce any impediment or obstruction to the free naviga- tion of such rivei'. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 18th day of February, > T. McMANUS. 1871. D. M. Greene, Commissioner of Deeds. -:o:- ss. State of New York, ) Rensselaer Cot,nty. j Daniel H. Sullivan, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he resides in the city of Troy ; that he has been acq[uainted with the Hudson River and its navigation for 28 years ; that he has been engaged in the navigation of the said river, in various capacities, during the greater part of that period, and that he is now, and has been for 14 years, the Superin- tendent of the " Hudson River Transportation Company." Deponent further says that the offices of said company are located in the said city of Troy, and that its business consists in the transportation of merchandise, upon barges and otiierwise, upon said river, between the cities of New York and Troy and intermediate points. That, during the time deponent has been employed on said river, and especially during the time he has acted in the capacity of Superintendent; as aforesaid, he h«w been personally familiar with the location, magnitude and character of the bars and other obstinictions to navigation which have from time to time been formed in said river, and has observed the kind of materials of which they were formed, and that said materials were mud, sand and gravel, together with oak logs and hard wood sticks ; but that deponent never saw pine logs removed from said bare. Deponent further says that he never saw any deposit or accumulation of sawdust in the channel of said river, and that he never experienced any difficulty, or met with any obstruction or impediment in the navigation thereof which was caused by sawdust. Deponent further says that he has a large acquaintance amongst per- sons engaged in the navigation of said Hudson river, and that, in his 17 intcrco\irse with such persons so engaged, he has never heard of any bars, deposits or accninulations of sawdust iu the channel thereof which interfiired with or inj[)eded navigation in the least ; nor has deponent ever heard of any complaint or objection having been made to the casting i>f sawdust into said river, that it obstructed or im[»eded, or that it had a tendency to obstruct or impede navigation ; or that it was objectionable in any way whatever. Deponent further says that he wiis for six years employed in a ship- yard at the village ot Athens ; that said village of Athens is situated on the west bank of the Hudson River, about twenty-five miles below the city of Albany, and about thirty-one miles below the city of Troy. That in the said shipyard the sawmill was located over a ^nmll bay, where there was no perceptible motion of tl ; \va* : except such cuirents as were can e 1 by the tides, and where the bottom v/.us of soft mud ; tluit the sawdust from siid mill was deposited into the Wfiter of the said bay ; that there was never, so far as dejjonent knows, any acciimidation of sawdust upon the bottom of the river at that point, but that the sawdust so deposited or cast into the river was floated off, and, as de})onent verily believes, was carried by the current to the sea. Finally tieponent says that, in his opinion (which is based u]>on his experience and obsei-^'ation upon the said Hudson Kiver), sawdust, when Ciist into a navigable river like the Hudson in such quantities and at such rates as it would natiirully be produced in the manufacture of lumber, will not produce bai-s or obstructions to navigation in the channel thereof. Subscribed and sworn to, \ before me, this 17 th day \ of February, 1871. f D. M. Greene, Commissioner of Deeds. DANIEL H. SULLIVAK ed in ion of cities time time been bars been they ether pine (fTY. J SS. State op New York, Rensselaer 'Jounty Henry Smalley being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a resi- dent of the City of Troy in said County. That said city of Troy is located upon the Hudson River, about fifty miles below the river of Glen's Falls, in the County of Warren in said State, and about one hundred and fifty miles above the City of New York ; and that large volumes of the watera of the Erie and Charaplain Canals, together with the sediment therein con- tained, are deposited in said Hudson River within the limits of the said City of Troy. Deponent further deposes and says that he has been familiar with, and has been engaged in navigating said Hudson River for the })eriod of sixty years ; that from 1849 to 1870, a period of about twenty years, he was employed as Captain ot the Troy city dredge ; that while so employed he had occasion to remove from the channel of the said Hudson River, within the limits of the said City of Troy, all dei)Osits tending to obstruct or impede the navigation of the same. That he personally saw and knew 18 the character of the matenals dredged from the channel of said river within the limits aforesaid ; and tliat saionf>nt further sa^'s, that he found no saw-dust in said canal in clearing out the same, and de[)oneut has never known or heard of any accumu'ation of saw-dust in said river oi* canal, or any injury or incon- venience resulting to navigation in said river or canal therefrom at any place or time. Subscribed and sworn to, ) before me, this 1st day V GEORGE W. NELSON, of February, 1871. ) S. Browk, County Judge of Warren County, -:o: City of Ottawa, Provinck of Ontario, Canada. Levi Young, of the City of Ottawa, being duly sworn, deposes and says tliat he is ac((uainted with the character of the Penobscot River, in the State of Maine ; tliat he was engaged in navigating said river and in attend- ing booms u|)on it, from the year 1832 to the year 1854 ; that during that ])eri(>d he enjoyed every fiicility for learning the capacity of said river, and for making himself aorpiainted with tlie business transacted upon it. De- ponent further says that said river runs through an extensive pine region ; that for many years tlie timber of this region has been sawed into lumber upon the banks of said river, and that the sawdust has been cast into the said rivei-. Deponent further says that he never saw any deposits of saw- dust in the channel of said rivei, and that he never heard of any bars or obstructions to navigation of any kind resulting from the deposition of saw- dust. Deponent fui'ther deposes and says that when large quantities of slabs and edgings ai'e cast into a stream with sawdust, and especially where shoiils and eddies occur, bars or accumulatioas may occur, but that his experience with navigable streams, and in the manufacture of lumber on sucli streams, has taught him, and that hq verily believes, that sawdust alone has not been and will not be deposited in such a manner as to obstruct or impede navigation, or to obstruct the ordinaiy natural flow of the water. Sworn before me at Ottawa, ) this 20th day of Feb., 1871. j Gko. Hay, J. P. LEVI YOUNG. -to: — I, David Rino, of the City of Ottawa, in the County of Carleton, a foreman in the employ of Messi-s. Bronson k, Weston, at Ottawa, make oath and say as follows : I Avas born in the town of Old Town, on the Penobscot River, in the State of Maine. I am now 38 years of age. I worked on the said river from the time I was able to work at all until the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-tive, when I left that part of the country for Canada, whei*e I have since remained. I am well acquainted with the 20 Penobscot Rivor, liavinij worked on it from tlio head watPi'S thereof to Its mouth. Thore are a great many saw-tnilla on the said river : it is literally covered with saw-mills for ten miles thereof between the said town of Old Town and the city of Bangor. From these mills all the edgings and saw- dust is thi'own into the said river, and more sawdust and edgings is so thrown into it in one week than is thrown into the Ottawa River from the saw-mills at the Chaudiere in one year. During the last five years that 1 was at work on the said Penobscot River I drove rafts of sjiwed lumber down it. The navigation of the said Penobscot River was not in any way damaged, injin-ed or affected by the said siiwdust, nor was the natural flow of the water in the said river obstructed thereby, nor did it impede the navigation thereof. DAVTD RING. Sworn before me at the City of Ottawa, in the County of Carleton, this 20th day of Feb., 1871. Geo. Hay, J. P. -:o: Area of territory dmined by the River Ottawa and tributaries above the city of Ottawa is 43,000 square miles. Add 19,000 square for area drained below Ottawa and above Grenville, making a total area of (52,000 square miles (not including about 4,000 square miles more below Grenville). By the Report to the Canadian Legislature by T. C. Clarke, Esq., C.E., of his survey of the Ottawa Canal navigation, the mean discharge of the Ottawa (by a series of observations), at Grenville is 85,000 cubic feet |)er second — 35,000 cubic I'eet per second at low water, and 150,000 cubic feet per second at high water. Forty inches may safely be taken as the average precipitation of rain and snow in Canada on the Ottawa ; it would seem necessaiy to assume a greater average in order to account for the great deliveiy of the Ottawa compared with the area it drains, A. J. RUSSELL. ^^:)