The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1849-12-05
To His Exccllcncy, ANsEL BRIO
Governor Of Iowa.

| Governor OF Iowa.
In the previous Reports of the Engineer, es-
Inmates have been submitted for the Work, from
the mouth of the River to Ottumwa, amounting
to the sum Of 100000. Since these reports
were made additions have been proposed to this
part of the work, amounting to S25, 900; making
the cost of the work below this point, 1925 600
The estimates for the work from Ottumwa to
Fort Dcs Moines, including that at these two
points, is $66G,907 81; making the total cost of
the Improvement, from the mouth of Des Moines
River to the Raccoon Fork, 81 ,19l 1907 81.
We submit the following extracts from the Re-
port, as explanatory to some extent, of the char
confer upon the State, and of the means at hand,
and time required to complete it:
81 have thus detailed all the various works
which recommend combined series sufii-
Gent to secure slack water navigation from the
mouth of the Des MONIES river to Raccoon Fork ,
The distance by the meandcrs of the river is two
hundred and four miles and sixty-eight hum
dredths, and by the line of the Improvement as
designated by the blue line on the map, one
hundred eighty three miles and sixty eight hun
canals, of twenty -onc miles. Including the ca
nal now nearly finished, at the lower end of the
improvement, we have proposed eight canals:
the aggregate length of all being 81 miles.
There are % dams, and two intermediate locks
on canals; making 80 locks on the line of i'm
provcment. All the canals arc carefully located
and the center cut or fill marked on stakes driy
en- every hundred feet. The estimates have been
made at higher rates than the average contract
prices of the lower or first letting, because ap-
prehend an increase of the price of labor and
provisions as the work progresses. have CIV
en- the items Of the work at each point, so that
prices may be tested by persons residing in the
vicinity, and are familiar with the cost of stone.
timber, &c.
When completed according to the plan here
proposed, it will be seen, that by the improve
ment, the distance from the mouth to the Rae
coon Forks will be, in round numbers, one hun
dred and eighty three and half miles. The
mouth of the river according to M. Nicolet, is in
N Latitude 40 deg. 81 min. and 43 and in
Longitude 81 deg. 80 min. 80 sec. The Rae
coon Forks are in Latitude 41 deg. 80 min A
sec.-and Longitude 93 deg. 81 min. scc-
These observations show that Fort Dcs Moincs
is l24 and half miles West and 70 miles North
of the mouth of the Dcs Moines; and the straight
line from the mouth to Raccoon Forks is there
fore l44 miles; which determines the difference
between the straight line and the line of our
improvement to be 80 miles. The road gener-
ally travelled varies almost the same, and railroad
which may be located on the ridge running par
allel to the river, would not save much in the
Distance compared with the river Improvement
Steamboats, pass the improved locks on the Ken
lucky river, Monongahela and Muskingum in
less than eight minutes, the time therefore re-
CURED for passing 80 locks on the Des Moines
Improvement may be safely put down at 300
minutes, or and half hours. Boats can run
on the pools faster than they can on the Mssis-
sippi, and therefore think at the rate of Is miles
an hour, which for the whole distance of pools
and canals would be less than thirteen hours; add
two-thirds of an hour for casualties and YOU
have my estimate of the time required for pack.
ct boats to pass from the mouth to the Forks
10 hours. Lockage time on such an improve
ment, is not lost time; because landing passen.
gers and freight can always proceed during the
same time, and business will assume such form
as to apply every moment of the lockage time to
the business Of commerce. The time, therefore,
which will be required to pass this improvement,
will be sufficiently reduced to compete with
stage travel by the road, and the business and
travel of the Upper Des Moines country will
justify the employment of a line of packet boats
between st. Louis and Fort Des Moines, as soon
as the improvement can be completed Steam.
boats Of 500 tons burthen run on the Muskin.
gum improvement where the locks are much
smaller than those we are constructing on tho