REPORT OF BOARD
OF

CACHE RIVER DRAINAGE
COMMISSIONERS
OF ILLINOIS

1905

COMMISSIONERS.
W. A. Wall of Mound City, Ill., Chairman,
Andrew Davisson, Metropolis, Ill..
Hugh H. Copher, Marion, Ill.

Illinois Printing C o m p a n y
Danville, Illinois
1905

C A C H E R I V E R D R A I N A G E COMMISSION.

W. A. Wall, Mound City, 111., Chairman,
A n d r e w Davisson, Metropolis, 111., Commissioner,
H u g h H . Copher, Marion, 111., Commissioner,
Chas. M. G a u n t , Mound City, 111., Clerk.
A r t h u r H . Bell, Bloomington, 111., Chief Engineer,
William N. Moyers, Mound City, 111., first assistant engineer,
J. G. H a r e , Bloomington, 111., second assistant engineer,
J o h n H . Sharp, Simpson, 111., special assistant engineer,
William Martin, Metropolis, 111., special assistant engineer,
J a m e s B. Wall, Mound City, 111., teamster,
W . W. Browner, Villa Ridge, 111., chainman,
D. W. Tarr, Mound City, 111., chainman,
T h o m a s H o o p p a w , Pulaski, 111., a x e m a n ,
F r a n k Bernard, Cypress, 111., a x e m a n ,
B a r t o n Hale, Grand Chain, 111., cook.

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF CACHE RIVER

DRAINAGE

COMMISSIONERS OF ILLINOIS, 1905.
The history of the Cache River Drainage Proposition dates back a
great many years.
Under the Swamp Land Act of Congress, many thousand acres of
low lands fell to Pope, Massac, Pulaski and Alexander Counties. With
the proceeds of the sale thereof some efforts were made at drainage,
but, owing to the great extent of the territory affected, and the lack
of concerted action and well-directed effort, little immediate benefits and no permanent benefits were effected by the expenditures.
This was back in the '50's or '60's wlien fine unimproved ridge lands
were abundant and cheap. Swamp lands were passed at twenty-five
cents an acre. Nothing remains now to tell of those early efforts at
drainage but the records, a few choked-up ditches and the recollections of the "oldest settlers. "
As early as the '70's or '80's some Chicago capitalists became interested in the swamp lands in the vicinity of Belknap and Post
Creek. Under their direction, a survey of the Post Creek Cut-off was
made to ascertain if that route were feasible as an outlet for the waters
of the Cache Basin. For some reason the scheme was abandoned
and nothing came of the project. Other private surveys have been
made of some small sections and some local drainage has been attempted.
Four drainage districts of small area, three in Pulaski and one in
Johnson, have been organized under the Farm Drainage Act of the
State; but owing to the lack of sufficient speedy outlet for the water
as a whole all these efforts at drainage have met with only partial
success.
Some prominent citizens and land-owners, realizing that a survey of
the entire Cache system was of first importance, have, from time to
time, within the last twenty years, agitated the question of private
subscriptions to pay for such survey, but without success.
These same citizens, together with those of all other classes, have
kept the crying need of State aid in this matter constantly before our
members of the Legislature. Responding to this demand, Trousdale
of Massac tried to get a bill before the Fortieth General Assembly,
and Martin of Pulaski again before the Forty-first, both without success. Hon. Chas. M. Gaunt, member of the House of Representatives
from Pulaski, in the Forty-third General Assembly secured the passage
of the following:

2

R E P O R T OF T H E BOARD OF CACHE

RIVER

An Act creating a -commission consisting of three persons to be
appointed by the Governor of the State, whose duty it shall be to
employ a competent engineer or engineers to ascertain the cost of
straightening and dredging Cache River and make appropriation
therefor.
WHEREAS, A large area of land is overflowed by the waters of Cache
River, to-wit: 250,000 acres or more, lying along the course of said
river, which flows through the counties of Alexander, Pulaski, Massac,
Johnson and Union; and,
WHEREAS, This vast area of land is overflowed by the waters of said
Cache River and its tributaries six to eight months of the year, thereby cousing the land to be worthless, making it impossible to clear and
till said land; and,
WHEREAS, The waters of said Cache River, during the wet period
of the year, leave the bants of said river and its tributaries, and cause
destruction of roads in the low lands adjacent thereto; and
WHEREAS, Said back waters stand for the greater part -of the summer season in sloughs and ponds and become stagnant and injurious
to the health of the inhabitants of said territory and vicinity; and,
WHEREAS, The dredging and straightening of the channel of said
Cache River would confine the waters of said river to its banks and
thereby drain and reclain the large area of lands above described as
being overflowed by back-waters from said river, making said lands,
which are practically worthless, valuable and desirable property,
cheapening the costs of maintaining the roads of the counties through
which said river flows, and immeasurably benefiting the sanitary condition of said territory. The successful accomplishment of the work
proposed will add to the wealth and taxable property of southern
Illinois ten million dollars valuation, and open a new field for the investment of capital and the development of one of the most fertile
sections of our great State.
Therefore, for the purpose of making estimate of the cost of straightening and dredging said Cache River,
SECTION 1.' Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly: That it shah be the duty of the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint
three persons, residents of this State, who shall constitute a Board of
Cache River Drainage Commissioners, who shall hold their office for a
term of two years and who shall receive a salary of $500 per annum.
SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of said commissioners so appointed, to
secure a sufficient corps of competent engineers to survey said river
and make a plat of same together with the territory affected and
ascertain and make an estimate of the cost of straightening and dredging said river, so as to confine its waters within its banks at all seasons
of the year and thereby reclaim said territory for agricultural and
sanitary purposes.
SEC. 3. That, to carry out the provisions of this act, there be and
is hereby appropriated the sum of $10,000 which shall be used by said

DRAINAGE

COMMISSIONERS

OF I L L I N O I S .

3

commissioners who shall have authority to draw upon the State Treasurer from any appropriation made, in pursuance of the purposes of
this bill, as the same may be required to defray expenses incurred,
and who shall report to the Governor of the State all and singular,
the items of such expenditures, together with the business transacted
under their commission, such report to be made on or before the commencement of each fiscal year.
APPROVED May

16,

1903.

In pursuance of this act, Governor Yates appointed the following
named persons as members of this Commission on the eighteenth day
of August, 1903: W. A. Wall, Mound City, Illinois, Andrew Davisson, Metropolis, Illinois and H. H. Copher, Marion, Illinois.
On the twenty-second day of August, 1903, the Commission met at
the courthouse in Mound City,. Illinois, and organized, and elected
W. A. Wall as chairman, Hon. C. M. Gaunt of Mound City, Illinois,
clerk. On the sixteenth day of September, 1903, Mr. Arthur H. Bell,
a civil engineer of Bloomington, Illinois, was employed as chief engineer at a salary of $15.00 per day to make the survey contemplated
by this act.
Mr. Bell is a graduate of a Philadelphia school of engineering, was
one of the promoters and the first president of the Illinois Society of
Engineers and Surveyors, and is now city engineer of Bloomington,
and county surveyor of McLean County, Illinois, and has had large
experience as a drainage engineer where large territories were affected.
On the twenty-eighth day of September, 1903, Mr. Bell with his
assistants began the field work.
The engineers were furnished with all needed assistance. Two
chainmen, one of whom acted as rodman, the other as flagman; two
axemen; a teamster, with team and wagon, and a cook. The party
was furnished by the Commission with tents and complete camping
equipment. The camps were located near Mound City, in Pulaski
County; at Unity and at Tamms, in Alexander County; at Ullin, in
Pulaski County; at Belknap and at West Vienna, in Johnson County,
and at Riley Hindman's in Union County (the latter being a farmer,
stockraiser and capitalist and who furnished the engineers and their
help with a comfortable building during the cold weather in December,
<L903, and to whom the Commission is therefore under obligations).
On November 28, 1904, the chief engineer submitted the following
report of the work as completed to that date. Also plats and profiles
which see.

4

-

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF CACHE RIVER

REPORT OF CHIEF ENGINEER! CACHE RIVER DRAINAGE COMMISSION.
NOVEMBER 28, 1904.
To the HONORABLE W. A. WALL, ANDREW DAVISSON, H. H. COPHER,

Gentlemen.—Having been employed by you to make the necessary
surveys, plans and profiles, as provided by an act of the General Assembly to that effect, and said work being now completed, I have the
pleasure of submitting my report upon the same. The survey was
commenced on the twenty-eighth day of September, 1903, and was
prosecuted at intervals since until the same was completed; the bulk
of the work, however, being done in the fall of 1903. The present
location of the channel of the Cache River was ascertained by running a meander of deflection survey of the same from its outlet on
the Ohio River to what is known as the Old Saratoga Bridge near the
village of Saratoga, and about eight miles northeast of Anna. In
connection with this survey of the channel, levels were taken along
the line both of the general surface and the bottom of the river thereby giving data showing the relative fall of the ground and the river
throughout the entire length of the survey. Cross-sections of the
river were also taken at various points; also cross-sections of the bottom land adjacent to the river were taken which will show the extent
and lay of the land at those points. Surveys and observations were
made to ascertain the lay and the extent of the exterior boundaries of the
bottom land adjacent to the river, thereby enabling us to approximate its area. We have endeavored so far as possible to ascertain
its character, conditions, present and prospective, and report to your
honorable body what means and methods can best be employed for
its future development and improvement. The survey of the river
was conclued as specified near the village of Saratoga in Union County
from the fact that from there up the river the bottom land is quite
narrow and limited in extent, and the fall is heavy * not justifying
consideration from a drainage standpoint any further up the stream.
The result of our work has been carefully, and we trust very accurately, portrayed upon the various maps, plans, profiles and estimates which are herewith submitted and referred to and made a part
of this report. They will give in themselves a vast amount of detailed information which I could not well and intelligently set up in
this report.
The entire survey of the river is platted on a scale of one thousand
feet to the inch and on ten separate sheets of paper; and each sheet is
numbered consecutively in the order of the survey, sheet No. 1, embracing the lower end of the Cache and its outlet into the Ohio River.
The maps give the location of the river and its relative fall, also various topographical features, such as boundary line of bottom land, or
land subject to overflow, railroads, towns, etc. There is also located
thereon a new proposed route for the channel of the river in case it is
determined to deepen and straighten the same. This is shown by
means of a red line. The station numbers along the line of the
survey are all given in red ink. The elevation of the surface of the

DRAINAGE

COMMISSIONERS

OF

ILLINOIS.

5

ground at the various points is given in green ink and that of the bottom of the river in blue ink. Reduced scale: 3,500 feet to one inch.
There is also another map drawn on a scale of four thousand feet
to the inch that shows the entire survey of the river and gives a more
comprehensive view of the situation at one glance. The ten sheets
drawn on a scale of a thousand feet to the inch are intended ,to show
the situation more in detail and for the working plans of the future.
There is a continuous profile showing the contour of the land along the
line of the survey. There is also a plat and profile of each of the proposed "cut-offs," known as the Black Sta^gh and Post Creek "cutoffs." Also estimates of cost accompanying each. In this connection I will add, it has been suggested upon various occasions that it
might be practical to deliver the waters of the upper Cache and Black
Slough into the Ohio river at points much above the present outlet of
the Cache, thereby relieving the lower territory of this burden. To
this effect a survey was made along the lowest land from the Cache
River in the vicinity .of Belknap to the Ohio River at a point about
one mile west of Joppa, in Massac County. A similar survey was also
made from the Cache River directly south of Belknap to the Ohio
River by way of the lowest land along the Post Creek bottom. The
latter route is unquestionably the one to pursue, having every point of
vantage over the former, besides being about $50,000.00 less expensive.
The total length of this cut-off (Post Creek route) will be about 25,500 feet or four and eight-tenths miles, as against nine miles on the
Black Slough route. Along the entire Post Creek route there is but
about one mile of what might be termed heavy cutting, ranging from
16 to 41 feet maximum. The maximum cut of 41 feet as will be seen
from the profile, only extends a short distance—probably 100 feet—
when it falls off very rapidly in both directions. There is fixed upon
the profile of this survey a grade line, commencing two feet below the
bottom of the Cache River and having a uniform fall of two-tenths of
a foot to the one thousand feet, or about one foot to the mile, all the
way to the Ohio River. I have planned numerous dredge boat ditches
of this character and fall, which give very satisfactory results.
The dimensions of the ditch here proposed is to be thirty feet bottom, having slopes on the sides of 1 to 1. Nineteen thousand (19,000) lineal feet of this ditch, where the cutting does not exceed sixteen feet, I have estimated at ten cents per cubic yard. The balance
6,500 feet, is estimated at twenty cents per cubic yard, making a total
of $95,325.00, which I regard as ample to defray all expenses of its
construction. In this connection, I desire to say somewhat more concerning the Post Creek cut-off for the waters of the Upper Cache River and the Black Slough territory, being now quite familiar with the
whole stiuation involving the development of the Cache River bottom lands. This is to me the solution of the whole proposition, substantially, and as the only course to'pursue to arrive at the effective
reclaiming of this vast body of land. The topography of the country
is such that the waters of the Upper Cache and the Black Slough
country can not be successfully taken care of along the line of the present channel of the Cache River. Between the towns of Belknap and

6

R E P O R T OF T H E

BOARD OF CACHE

RIVER

Ullin there is but slight fall, while from Belknap up the Cache River
the fall is quite heavy. The country around the Upper Cache region
is hilly and precipitous, hence in times of freshets it precipitates immense quantities of water into this lower and flat region which then
becomes a reservoir. Could this sudden volume of water be delivered
into the Ohio along the Post Creek Route it would relieve the whole
situation. I feel that I can not put too much stress upon this important feature of the matter in question. With this accomplished, a
comparatively small channel, straightened and deepened, would take
care of the Lower Cache (from Belknap down) and prevent its overflow from the waters of its natural watershed. Between Ullin and the
Ohio River I know of no means to prevent its overflow from the Ohio
in extreme high water of that river. But I am advised upon numerous occasions by the natives and land-owners along the line that it is
not the back-water from the Ohio River that imperils so vast a body
of this bottom land, so much as the water from the Cache River. The
latter is so long in coming down and comes so frequently that it keeps
the bottom land overflowed and too wet for any practical use. The
action of the Ohio River can be contemplated and figured upon, while
the Cache is always an uncertain quantity. It is my opinion that the
bottom land of the lower Cache between Ullin and the Ohio River
would become available for agricultural purposes under all ordinary
occasions if the proper means were provided to deliver the water of
the Cache rapidly and uninterruptedly. I am fully convinced that
even in this region the Cache River is causing more trouble than the
back-water of the Ohio River. A careful inspection of the levels as
given on the detail maps (Nos. 1 to 10) will make my statements somewhat more clear.
In regard to my basis of levels on all this work, I endeavored to
start out with the same datum plane as used by the Government along
the Ohio' River. My start was made from a bench mark (reliable, as I
believe) along the levy at Mound City. The levels were then carried
down the Big Four railroad, Cairo and Danville division, to the mouth
of the Cache River, the starting point of our survey. All levels are
continuous and based upon the same datum plane. Hence water elevations along the Ohio River can be referred to in this survey direct.
It will not be necessary for me to go into detail extensively on the
levels of this survey, as the plats show this better than I could in a
report. Incidentally it may be stated that-while at places the fall is
light, yet there is no place along the line of the Cache River but what
there is sufficient fall to give good results in a new channel, such as
would or could be constructed with a dredge boat. No grade line is
fixed on the profile of the main Cache River survey, from the fact that
it is only intended to show the contour of the surface, and in case work
of construction was carried on, the ditch would have to be staked out,
setting stakes every hundred feet and taking the levels thereat. After
such survey the necessary profile would show the grade line.
For general reference and consideration, the following synopsis of
levels (surface) is given.

DRAINAGE

C O M M I S S I O N E R S OF I L L I N O I S .

SURFACE

7

ELEVATION.

Mouth Cache River
Near Beech Ridge
Point east of T a m m s
At Ullin
At Big F o u r Railroad south of Belknap
South line Township 13, Range 2 east
Point southwest of West Vienna. . . .
Old Saratoga Bridge, t e r m i n u s of survey

.

19 20
40 70
53 .24
. . . 58 70
59 24
71.30
89 40
153 02

It will be observed that there is very little fail between Ullin and
Belknap. While this is true there is some perceptible current in the
river, giving evidence that with a clear and straight channel the
drainage would be effectual that way, that is, to take care of the watershed in that region but not to take the water from Upper Cache.
This should be cut off by the Post Creek route as previously stated.
Just here it might be well to speak of the general character of the
present channel of the Cache River. A general inspection of the detail map will give you the best impression of its alignment. While
there are some stretches of comparatively straight channel (noticeably below Belknap), the greater part of the river is exceedingly
crooked and winding in its meanders. To demonstrate this in a
measure, the total distance we measured on the meander survey from
the mouth of the Cache to the Old Saratoga Bridge was 98.2 miles;
while the distance along the proposed ditch line (new channel, red
dotted line) is 66.2 miles. This would shorten the distance the water
has to travel by at least thirty-two miles. Possibly a careful reconnoissance on the ground might shorten it much more than this.
But in plain words, it is very crooked and hence offers great resistance to the flow of the water. There are other obstructions of a still
more serious character. The stream is clogged with drift wood a
greater portion of its way. In many places this amounts to absolute
dams through which the water* can only trickle at a very slow pace.
The stream varies in its cross-sectional area from 200 feet wide to
about twelve feet in places. Below Belknap in what is known as the
scatters the stream, the real channel, is scarcely to be defined, being
divided up into scatters of ten and twelve feet cross : section and possibly two feet deep. Its depth also varies very materially, ranging
from two to fifteen feet.
TOPOGRAPHY.

The nature of the soil in the bottom land is very similar to that
found in most all river bottoms throughout the State. It is a rich,
black, loam soil, no doubt exceedingly productive for agricultural
purposes. It is pretty generally covered with timber, which, however, is being rapidly removed, owing to the great demand for almost
any class of lumber. Classifying the entire growth of timber on the
bottom lands o,n a basis of 100, the following is an estimate of the various varieties.
Oak
Gum
Elm
Hickory

10%
10%
8%
8%

Sycamore
Birch
Willow
Sassafras . . . ' . . .

4%
4%
2%
2%

Walnut
Cottonwood
Ironwood
Wild Gherry

2%
2%
1%
1%

8

Cypress
Beech
Ash.
Maple
Poplar

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF CACHE RIVER

8%
8%
5%
5%
5%

Mulberry
Persimmon
Catalpa
Locust
Pecan

..

2%
.2%
2%
2%
2%

Crab-apple...
Papaw
Haw :
Box Elder
Hackberry . . .

1%
1%
1%
1%
1%

The area and extent of the bottom lands adjacent and tributary to
Cache River embraces some 90,680 acres of the richest land of the.
State. Owing to the magnitude of the territory affected no combined
effort has ever been made to re-claim this land from overflow and
render it fit for agricultural purposes. There is one instance in
the immediate vicinity of Belknap where an effort is now being made
to levy out a small portion of land. This may prove successful so
far as it goes, but in my judgment the levy would be of no avail in so<
large a territory as is here affected. The dredge boat and the straight
deep ditch is the only solution of the problem. I can see no 6bstacle
in the way of its successful execution from an engineering standpoint.
From experience in some fourteen other enterprises of a similar character, I have no doubt whatever concerning the practicability and
feasibility of reclaiming this bottom land from overflow, save possibly
that portion near the mouth of the Cache River and subject to overflow from the Ohio River, and even this area would be greatly benefited by furnishing means for the waters to pass off immediately
when the Ohio receded. That the benefits throughout would far exceed the cost, there can be no question. So far as my observation has
extended the best land of Pulaski, Massac, Union and Johnson Counties lies in the bottoms of the Cache River and its tributaries, idle and
undeveloped, save for the timber that is being harvested therefrom.
This land that should be worth $100 per acre in the State of Illinoishas but little market value. All you need is dollars and cents and execution directed in the proper channel. In a short time the conditions would change. The benefits to * the individual land-owners, the
community, the counties and the State at large would no doubt be
greater than what at this time can be realized by the most sanguine.
From a sanitary standpoint alone the benefits would be of great import. The condition of affairs now existing in these bottom lands
can not but be detrimental to the health of the community and of this
your engineer had ample evidence while engaged in the work of t h e
survey.
RECOMMENDATIONS.

For the reclaiming of the bottom lands tributary to the Cache River, and to prevent overflow and give ample drainage, the following
recommendations are submitted. Commencing at the Upper Cache
region, I would suggest a dredge boat ditch to commence at Station,
marked 1247 in section 14, township 12, south, range 1 east, on Detail
Plat No. 10, and extending down Cache River along the red dotted
line to Station No. 640 in the northeast quarter of section 8, township
14, range 3 east, in Detail Plat No. 6. Said ditch to have a bottom
width of twenty feet, bank slopes of 1 to 1, and an average depth of
ten feet.
From said Station No. 640 to Station No. 594, in the northeast

DRAINAGE

C O M M I S S I O N E R S OF I L L I N O I S .

•

9

quarter of section 14, township 14 south, range 2 east, on page six of
Detail Map, I would recommend a ditch along the lines a there indicated of the following dimensions: Bottom width, 30 feet; side slopes,
1 to 1; and an average depth of 10 feet. At this point (Station 594)
the Post Creek cut-off enters the Cache, which I would recommend tobe constructed as shown upon the plan and profile herewith submitted.
Commencing at Station 578, immediately west of the Big Four railroad and southwest of Belknap (page 6 of Detail Plats), I would recommend the construction of a dredge boat ditch from there on down
to the mouth of the Cache at the Ohio River and along the general
line indicated 6n the maps by red lines. The dimensions of said
ditch to be as follows: Bottom width, 30 feet; side slopes, 1 to 1;
average depth, 10 feet. If the Upper Cache is cut off at Station 594,
no additional channel will be required between that point and the west
side of the Big Four railroad at said Station 578. If the above recommendations were carried out, I am of the opinion that it would
bring all this bottom land into suitable condition for agricultural
purposes, and protect it from overflow.
ESTIMATES. -

The following estimates are submitted, wherein excavation is computed at eight cents per cubic yard.
T h a t portion of t h e ditch as previously described
between Stations 1247 a n d 640 (Upper Cache)
$ 45,000 00
T h a t portion between Stations 640 a n d 594 . . . ;'
19, 733 00
Post Creek Cut-off
95 ,325 00
Station 578 t o Station 0, Lower Cache, m o u t h of river . . 2 2 0 , 8 7 2 . 0 0
T O T A L COST

,
-

•

....$380,930

00

In the prosecution of the field work I have been ably assisted b y
Messrs. J. G. Har,e, as transit man, and W. N. Moyers, as level man,
appointees of the Cache River Drainage Commission. In closing I
desire to thank your Honorable Board for courtesies and assistance
in the prosecution of this matter, which altogether has been an undertaking of considerable magnitude.
Respectfully submitted,
A. H. BELL,

Chief Engineer Cache River Drainage Commission.
On January 18, 1905, the following supplementary report was presented which is self-explanatory. Also plats and profiles as shown
elsewhere.
SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT.
To the CACHE R I V E R DRAINAGE COMMISSION.

Gentlemen.—We, your Assistant Engineers, beg to submit the following report of a supplementary survey made of the Cache River
tributary known as the Black Slough or the Pond, which tributary
extends from Cache eastward entirely across Massac County and several miles into Pope County through townships 14 south, ranges 3,4,,
and 5 east.

10

R E P O R T OF T H E BOARD OF CACHE

RIVER

We began work on the eleventh day of November, 1904, at the
wagon bridge crossing the arm of the Black Slough known as the
Hurricane, near the quarter corner between sections 22 and 27, township 14 south, range 3 east of the third principal meridian on line previously surveyed for Black Slough or Joppa cut-off. This point is
sixty-five feet above low water at Cairo. We finished the field work
on November 26, 1904, or in fifteen working days.
The weather was dry and pleasant. The water, although it was
the driest time of that year, there was a great deal of water in the ponds
rendering it impossible at many points to cross them, thus hindering
the most desirable work, it being necessary to keep on higher ground
than we would have liked.
DEVELOPMENTS.

1. This region is the continuation of the low level bottom extending from near Ullin to near Belknap, known as the scatters. Indeed,
they are parts of one and the same basin. This basin is of an average
width of three miles and is about thirty-three miles in length. It extends from the east side of section 2, township 14, range 5 east, in Pope
County, entirely across the' north side of Massac County, and to the
west side of section 16, township 14, range 1 west, in Pulaski County.
It is of the same general character and level throughout, being a system of ponds with low (usually sandy) ridges between them, with the
difference of surface elevations of less than six inches to one mile.
East of the range line between township 14, 3 east and 4 east, the
ponds are divided into two groups, those to the north and those to the
south with a pronounced ridge between.
2. This basin is cut-through and drained by the Bay Creek at the
easterly end, and by Cache at the westerly. The general slope being
toward the west, and the bottom of Bay Creek being higher than the
bottom of the Cache River at Belknap, the overfllow water from the
Bay finds an outlet through this Basin and the Cache. Also it is certain that at extreme high water, the back waters from the Ohio River
have overflowed the Bay, and through this basin and Cache reached
the Ohio again. These facts complicate the question of drainage for
this basin and the lower Cache.
3. East of range 3, the tributaries from the north accumulate in
the ponds north of the ridge, while those from the south accumulate
in those to south of the ridge. This renders two main ditches necessary through this section.
RECOMMENDATIONS.

We recommend:
1. That Bay Creek be so improved as to take care of its own waters, and that a levy be built to separate the waters of the two systems, Bay and Cache.
2. That one main ditch be constructed from Cache at the point
where the Black Slough enters it southeastwardly to a point in section
25, township 14 south, range 3 east, near the range line, a distance of
about six miles. (Shown in profiles No. 1, at Station 38.)

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COMMISSIONERS

OF

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11

3. That a ditch (profiles Nos. 2 and 3) be constructed from Station 38 to Station 217, on the south side of the ridge through the basin nine and a half miles long.
4. That a ditch (profile No. 4) be constructed from Station 38 to
Station 28 (main line No. 2) five and seven-tenths miles long. Total
length 21.2 miles for dredge boat work. Such ditches will accommodate all the waters properly belonging to this system. The soil
throughout is of an open porous nature, no stones, no, hardpan, and
the work should be done for the minimum cost.
AREA BENEFITED.

Without the means of exact information, we feel safely within the
limits to state that the area directly affected by this drainage is
35,000 acres. More than 15,000 acres of this is at present drowned
lands and is absolutely worthless in its present condition for agricultural purposes.
COSTS.

• For estimates see profile.
The 21.2 miles of ditch recommended equals 638,273 cubic yards.
Mr. Bell, your Chief Engineer, estimates the same character of dirt, with
the same depth, to cost ten cents per cubic yard which would equal
$63,827.30 which equals $1.82 per acre. At seven cents per cubic
yard, cost equals $44,679.11, which equals $1.28 per acre.
NOTICE.

These estimates and recommendations anticipate that the Joppa or
Black Slough cut-off will not be made.
Respectfully submitted,
W M . MARTIN, Metropolis, 111.,
W. N. MOYERS, Mound City, 111.,
Assistant Engineers Cache River Drainage Commission.

SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT No.

2.

In regard to the reputed overflow of the waters from the Ohio River
through Bay Creek into the Cache Basin, we offer the following figures and deductions.
According to a recent survey of the Ohio by Bixby, U. S. Engineer,
the total distance from Pittsburg to Cairo is 965 miles with a total
fall of 419 feet, and twenty-five feet of this at the Louisville Falls.
This leaves 394 feet to divide by 965, which equals T4A ft. for the
average fall per mile. Louisville to Cairo is 366| miles, with a total
fall of 94 feet, or an average of A5o ft. per mile.
Paducah to
2
Cairo is 50 miles with a total fall of ten feet, or an average fall of TOO
°
ft. .per mile.
There is no gauge at the mouth of the Bay Creek, nor is there a
record, so far as we know, of the elevations of either the low-water

12

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF CACHE RIVER

line, or the high-Water line, at that point. However, if we multiply
twenty-miles, the distance from Paducah to the mouth of the Bay,
"by TOO-, the maximum rate per mile, we have eight feet, the greatest possible difference between the low-water lines of those two
points. If to this we add ten feet, the difference from Paducah to
Cairo, we have eighteen feet as the elevation of the low-water line at
the mouth of the Bay, above zero of the Cairo guage.
The highest recorded altitude of the high-water line at Cairo is 52.5
feet, in 1897. If the altitude at the mouth of the Bay equals 52.5,
then the high-water line at that point is 70.5 feet above zero at Cairo.
The altitude of the high-water line at different points along any river
is not a constant quantity, but varies with the conditions at those
points.
,*
In all our level work on the Cache survey, zero of the Cairo guage
was our base. Hence the above deductions at the mouth of the Bay,
and the following quotations from our levels in the vicinity of the
Bay, near Reevesville, have'the same zero, or base.
Elevations at—
a.

REEVESVILLE.

1. On Railroad
2. Surface
b.

82 feet.
80 "

MCNOEL.

1. On Railroad
2. Surface
3. Under Railroad:
N o r t h of depot
South of depot

:

...

80
76

"
"

71
72

"
"

80
69

"
"

79
69

"
"

•c. C O R N E R OF J O H N S O N , MASSAC AND P O P E C O U N T I E S .

1. Surface
2. B o t t o m of B a y
d.

CLANAHAN B R I D G E .

1. Surface
" 2. B o t t o m of B a y
(N. B.—These figures are quoted to t h e nearest whole foot.)
X)EDUCED E L E V A T I O N AT T H E M O U T H OF B A Y C R E E K

70. 5 feet.

A comparison of these figures shows at a glance:
1. That the backwater from the Ohio may reach a point near
Reevesville on the bottom of the Bay.
2. That to reach the surrounding surface in that vicinity would
require an additional eight feet of water at the mouth of the Bay,—
an altitude of 60.5 feet, or an elevation of 78.5 feet—an entirely improbable condition.
3. That an increase of one foot to three feet over the Cairo altitude would let this backwater into the Basin through some swales,

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13

as under the railroad above and below McNoel—a very probable condition.
If our deductions are correct, a levee beginning near Reevesville
and following the general course of the Bay to the ridges which connect with hills to the south of the Basin, would be an effectual barrier
Against the waters of the Ohio River ever entering the Basin west of
such levee.
• This levee would need to be about four miles long,—four and a half
extreme length,—two feet and six inches average hight, with ten foot
crown, slopes one to one. This, at the extreme length would be approximately 27,500 cubic yards, which at fifteen cents per yard would
cost in round numbers $4,000.
W. N. MOYERS, Assistant Engineer,
Mound City, Illinois,
W M . MARTIN, Assistant,
Metropolis, Illinois.

Before entering upon any general discussion of these reports, we
desire to call attention to some fact with regard to the territory affected which lies outside of the province of a drainage survey, but are
most.important as showing the need of a survey and of drainage, and
of State aid.
GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY.

With no desire or effort to speak in geological terms we offer the
facts and conditions as they are. The Cache system is divided into
three very distinct parts or divisions. Traversing Union, Johnson,
and Pope Counties from west to east, is a range of hills, the highest in
the southern part of the State, and are the spurs or shoots of the
Ozark Mountains. These hills for the most part are underlaid with
rock, blue limestone and sand rock forming the great bulk. About
the south line of Union and Johnson Counties these rock-bearing hills
break off abruptly, forming bluffs in many places abrupt or overhanging. These bluffs expose great faces of stratified rocks. The
*' dip " of these strata suggests that these hills were formed by the unequal cooling of the earth's surface. They were surely the first dry
land to appear south of the Illinois River in the State, when the
''waters receded. " They were dry land covered with forests when the
great coal fields of the State were yet submerged. They form substantially the southern terminus of our coal fields. But little coal is
found as far south as the summit of this range of hills, and none is

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REPORT

OF T H E

BOARD OF CACHE

RIVER

found south of them. They are covered with a deep, rich lime soil, t h e
results of centuries of disintegration. They were once covered with
an immense forest of hard woods. There have been sea shells, fossilsand petrifaction found along the southern bluffs. Evidences that
these southern bluffs were once washed by mighty waters are abundant throughout their entire course.' They have, as a whole, a somewhat semi-circular form, the concave side facing the south. Belknap
is near the center of this semi-circle, Thebes is near the westerly end,
and Bay City the easterly. From three to ten miles within this is
another range of hills, convex toward the north, but of entirely different formation, doubtless many centuries younger or newer. They
are not rock-bearing but are underlain by a thick stratum of gravel
at a depth of twelve to eighteen feet, and by non-stratified sandstone
at a much greater depth. These hills have the appearance of having
been formed by the action of winds, waves and tides. Remains have
been found far beneath their surfaces suggesting that they are not the
results of upheaval, but of upbuilding. Between these two ranges of
hills is a stretch of low land known as the lake, the scatters, or the
basin.
We might have dispensed with any discussion of the "Hills" in
connection with this drainage problem, but for the purpose of calling
especial attention to this basin. Into it flows the Upper Cache and
out of it the Lower Cache. It extends from a point somewhat east of
Temple Hill, in Pope County, to a point somewhat west of Ullin, in
Pulaski County, a distance of thirty-five to forty miles. It has a great
many inlets or feeders/and two outlets.
•When the original United States Survey of this section was made,,
1806-9, this basin was variously quoted "The Lake," " A Pond,''
"Drowned Land, " " Inaccessible, " etc. In later years, different parts
of it have been designated by different local names, "the Ponds," in
Pope; "Black Slough," in Massac; "the Scatters," in Pulaski. From
a drainage standpoint it is all one continuous basin or reservoir.
At no distant day in the past this basin must have been a lake, or a
deep bayou. The Indian of that day might have called it "Lake
Cache," or "Bayou Cache." The notes of the United States Survey
quote "An Old Trail" skirting the northern banks of this basin. An
evidence that the Indian knew the region, whether as a lake, a bayou
or a river, we can not guess.
In Pope County are some long ponds trending in the general direction of this basin, suggestive of old river or bayou beds. In Massac are these same long ponds, and besides them two very distinct

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lakes, Long Lake and Fish Lake. The latter is owned by the Marion
Gun Club and maintained as a fishing resort. In Pulaski are Long
Reach and Eagle Pond, near the westerly end, and at the lowest point
of the basin proper, strongly suggesting the idea that this was once a
lake of which they are the remains.
The Engineer's report shows the basin to be almost level—a slight
fall towards the west—and at an elevation of about sixty-four feet
above low water at Cairo. The Upper Cache, which is the principal
tributary, enters this basin near its middle point from east to west.
Mill Creek enters nearly exactly at the westerly end, and Bay Creek at
the easterly. The lower Cache, the principal outlet, enters the Ohio
River about four miles above Cairo, and the Bay Creek, which drains
the easterly end of the basin, enters the Ohio near Bay City. These
two outlets are about seventy miles apart measured along the Ohio,
and about the same distance measured along the Lower Cache, the
Basin, and the Lower Bay. It is evident that many decades ago the
overflow waters from the Ohio found free outlet through the Bay into
the Basin, and through the Lower Cache to the Ohio again. That is
known to have happened no longer ago than 1884. This outlet for
the Basin was then an inlet. The overflow waters from the Upper
Bay find outlet down the Basin and Lower Cache instead of down its
own channel, which is insufficient in its present condition, even when
the Ohio is at low stage. Bay Creek, George's Creek, Clifty, the Upper
Cache, Cypress, Big Creek, and Mill Creek all feed the Basin from the
North, each draining a large and precipitous water-shed. There are
numerous smaller inlets, some of them pouring broad sheets of water over
stony precipices.
On the south are Bearrough, Maple, Hurricane, Post Creek, Kitchell's Slough, and smaller feeders. These have smaller water-sheds,
and are less precipitous. In the course of time, these tributaries,
obedient to the laws of erosion, and carrying powers of running waters,
have been filling the Basin with sediment. Each has formed across
the Basin its own little "Whaleback." Numerous sandbars have
been formed.
By this process the general elevation of the Basin has
been increased. Many acres of it have been for centuries above the
line of overflow, are fertile, and covered with forests. But this uneven filling has had the effect of forming ponds or "scatters." The
watershed, the total amount of water, drained into this Basin has not
been decreased, consequently the gradual elevation of its surface has
had the effect of elevating the high-water line, and consequently of
broadening the flood plain. If we could afford to wait some centuries

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R E P O R T O F T H E BOARD O F CACHE

RIVER

yet the waters might solve this drainage problem for us by their own
leveling processes. Formerly, Bay Creek waters might have found
free outlet, after jumping through the hills at Reevesville, either down
the Basin, and through the Lower Cache, or down the Lower Bay,
owing to the direction in which the higher waters lay. But after helping to form the McCammon Ridge and forming a little " Whaleback"
from Reevesville toward Big Bay, it confined itself to its own present
channel except at overflow.
The waters of the Upper Cache leaping through the bluffs abo*ve
Belknap, laden with sediment from the hills of Union and Johnson
Counties, might have had free course through the Lower Bay or Lower
Cache, until the Upper Bay formed its own "Whaleback," and confined the Cache to its present outlet. Depositing its load of sediment,
the Upper Cache formed the semi-circular plain contained within the
Belknap Drainage District, and made for itself its present channel
around it, with a strong tendency even to this day of going east through
the Lower Bay, instead of west through the Lower Cache. In the
meantime Big Creek and Mill Creek were busy building up Butter Ridge and the adjacent high bottom lands. They changed their
own channels often, the old bed of Mill Creek being still discernable.
They have not only changed their own channels, but have forced
Cache itself to change its channel until it now lies against the south
side of the Basin, practically from the mouth of one to the mouth of
the other. This Big Creek "Whaleback" forms practically the western terminus of the Basin, while the Bay Creek "Whaleback" forms
the eastern.
T H E SOIL AND VEGETATION.

Between these two ranges of hills, being all filled land, is a soil of
unknown depth and of inexhaustible fertility. This is true not only
of that portion which still lies below the flood plain, but of that which
has for centuries been above it. A soil can be judged not so well by
the kinds of timber growth as by the rapidity of that growth. There
are large sections which thirty years ago were covered by immense
cypress groves. These groves have been depleted by the woodmen,
and in their stead today are forests of Tupola eighteen inches in diameter, which many of these same woodmen have lived to help harvest. The old stumps and fallen trunks of the cypress forest are not
decayed until another marketable forest takes its place. This is within the flood plain, where the conditions for growth are the most favorable, and the timber a rapid grower. On a higher bench, two good
crops of timber have been cut within the memory of one man. The

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same land is now being cut off again. There are several varieties of
soil. The ridges are largely sandy, with a deep, rich loam mixture,
decayed vegetation, and will produce abundantly any crops grown in
this latitude. As -much as 110 bushels per acre of corn, 451 bushels
per acre of wheat, 65 bushels per acre of oats, and six tons per
acre of timothy hay have been known to grow upon this bottom land.
Many of the fields where it is not too wet have been planted in corn
continuously for more than thirty-five years, and the quality and
quantity of the crop does not seem to diminish with time. The same
may be said of other crops. Potatoes grow almost without cultivation in great abundance.
The bottom lands are of two classes: the black bottoms, which
are unsurpassed for corn, wheat, oats, potatoes, etc., and the gray
bottoms, which are the finest timothy lands which we have ever seen
in Illinois. Tobacco and small vegetables grow to great perfection
when it is "not too wet;" Cotton, broom corn and alfalfa have
recently been tried as experiments and grow to great abundance, and
pay well.
Many cane-brakes were quoted by the old surveyors, 1806-9. The
early settlers stock and forest fires had well-nigh destroyed these.
Since the enactment of the Stock Law, 1896, these are replacing themselves.
The luxuriance of the wild grass and vegetation in summer reminds
one of a picture of the tropical regions.
Being situated between two large rivers, the Ohio and Mississippi,
drougths and crop failures from that cause, are almost unknown.
For classes and ratios of forest trees, see Engineer's report. We
will add that^several'species there mentioned are not natives of Southern Illinois. They have been transplanted here from higher latitudes by way of the Ohio, when its overflow many years ago found
access to this Basin. We mention two well-known species, the birch
and two species of catalpa. The presence of these foreign woods furfurnishes powerful proof that the waters from far up the Ohio once
found ready ingress. The presence of sandbars of uniform trend, of
ponds resembling old river beds, of deeply buried shells, and partially
decayed wood, all strengthen this supposition. That this was once a
bayou from the Ohio, or possibly the principal channel of that stream,
we believe there is no doubt. We put stress upon this fact as it tends
to show the wonderful depth of soil and the nature of the drainage
required-

18

R E P O R T OF T H E

BOARD OF CACHE

RIVER

EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND SETTLERS.

The United States Survey, 1806-9, is the aerliest written record of
this section of- the country. At that date there were a few "cleared
fields" on the hills south of the Basin, near the Ohio River. Few
references were made to settlements in this survey. For the subsequent early settlements we rely upon tradition and the recollection of
the "oldest inhabitant." As early as 1835 some tracts of land were
entered and settlements made along the immediate borders of the low
lands. The settlers were largely from the Southern States and originally came to " h u n t " and to "log." Saw-mills came early as the
50's, and from that date until the present, "logging" has been one of
the occupations of those who wished to work, and "trapping" of those
who do not care to work. This constant timber-cutting has decimated
the once gigantic forests. The remaining inferior soft woods are being
rapidly marketed although there is much good timber yet standing on
these lands. Many of the loggers have turned farmers and their
clearings have pressed close upon the borders of the Basin. Of recent
years, the large influx of German farmers, the increased value of hill
lands, and the hope that drainage is near, have pushed the agricultural area far out into the Basin. Dry years, these low lands produce
phenomenal crops; wet years, however, they drown out. These persistent wet land farmers frequently lose two crops in succession.
Floods as late as June very greatly damage field crops, and as late as
July are fatal. With proper drainage, this is the finest agricultural
section in Southern Illinois. For corn, hay, wheat, potatoes, watermelons and vegetables it is equal to any lands of Illinois or Indiana.
To the loggers, the water is an advantage, being a cheap means of
transporting logs from romote corners. They oppose drainage. A
dam was once built across the mouth of the Black Slough near Belknap to maintain the floating stage of water. For many years a dam
has been maintained across the Cache just below Ullin, in order to maintain a deep log boom for the mills at that point. This dam is about
four feet high, and backs the water some five miles up the stream.
The farmers are now largely in the majority. The farm products
are annually worth many times the timber products. The American
idea of "the greatest good to the greatest number" demands that
these wet lands be now drained. A large recent influx of farmers
from Central Illinois, Western Indiana, and Southern Ohio has greatly increased the popular demand for drainage.
ROADS, HOMES AND HEALTH.

Near the easterly end, in range 4 east, the Basin is crossed by the

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OF

ILLINOIS.

19

Metropolis and Vienna road; near the center, in range 2 east, by the
Grand Chain and Belknap road; toward the westerly end, in range 1
east, by the Caledonia and Jonesboro road; and again, at Ullin, in
range 1 west, by the Olmstead and Ullin road. Each of these roads
are public highways under the law, and are to some extent graded and
graveled, but neither of them is above high water. They are of an
average of six miles apart. Each is about three miles in length across
the Basin. Owing to the great difficulty and expense of road-making,
few other roads have been attempted, though more and better roads
has become a crying demand. This would come with drainage at far
less expense of construction and maintenance.
There are fewer homes within this Basin than should be. Some of
the owners live on the adjacent hills and travel from one to five miles
to till the bottom fields, hauling out their crops at harvest. Formerly this Basin was a great breeder of malaria, and residence therein was
somewhat dangerous to longevity, but of recent years there have been
enough clearings opened up to very greatly help the sanitary conditions, which can, of course, never be permanently cured without draining the ponds and bogs which breed the malaria bug, and still frequently cause * * fall chills."
If good roads could be made, and healthful homes built within this
vast fertile region, the benefits accruing, not alone to this region, and
to the immediate surroundings, but to the State as a whole, would be
almost incalculable. There is room for a thousand happy homes of a
hundred acres each. This means five thousand wealth-producing,
surplus consuming, tax-paying citizens for the State. It means five
thousand more horses and mules, many thousands of cattle and hogs,
thousands of dollars worth of farm machinery and household goods,
and a land value equal to the present value of the whole Basin multiplied by eight, upon which to assess State, county, municipal and
other taxes.
This increased taxation would soon return to the State all the expenses of drainage. And as the improvements would be a permanent or perpetually greater tax-payer, the benefits to the State would
be accumulative.
A thousand homes with roads connecting them, schools and churches
accommodating them, the increased health, wealth, happiness and
intrinsic value, not only of the reclaimed section, but of all Southern
Illinois, must be taken into account in making up the total of benefits
to be derived from this proposed drainage.
All of the interests affected and all who would be benefited if a

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R E P O R T OF T H E

BOARD OF CACHE

RIVER

drainage district was organized, including all the land within this Basin in the five counties in which it is located, under the drainage laws of
the State, could not be reached by special taxation for drainage purposes, for the very obvious reason that the lands in this Basin if
drained would jump in price at once to not less than $100 per acre and
thereby bring up the price of all lands in Southern Illinois, thus benefiting all adjacent farm lands very materially, but with no right to
tax them for drainage purposes.
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES.

Lying at the junction of two of the largest rivers in America, the
Mississippi and the Ohio, transportation by water needs no discussion. Three great railroad systems, the Illinois Central, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis (Big Four) and the Frisco (C. &
E. I.) cross this Cache Basin. The Illinois Central main line at the
west end, and the Carbondale and Paducah branch at the east; the
Big Four (Danville and Cairo branch) near the center; the Frisco,
from Marion to Thebes traverses the westerly part, and the Joppa
branch of the latter,road crosses near the center. Each of these roads
maintains a heavy grade across these low lands. With better conditions for highway building, good shipping facilities are abundant.
But under present conditions, phenomenal as it may seem, many localities are sometimes cut off from river or rail for a few months of
each year.
CLASSIFICATION OF LANDS AND BENEFITS.

This Board recognizes the two general divisions of benefits, agricultural and sanitary. The sanitary benefits can neither be classified
nor estimated. Whatever malaria to which the inhabitants are still
subject is necessarily bred in the swamps and ponds. The disease is
carried to the adjacent hills and is more or less prevalent thereon as
it sometimes is in these bottoms. If the lands in the Basin were
drained, the breeding places, the nests in which the malaria is hatched,
would be destroyed and hill and valley alike freed therefrom.
As to the lands to be drained we recognize three classes: viz, those
lands which are, first, directly affected; second, indirectly affected;
and third, remotely affected. There are no very well-defined lines
dividing the three classes, nor is there a difference in the degree or
quality of the drainage sought. We have made the classification for
purposes which will appear later in this report.
The lands directly affected are those lands within this Basin, and
along the Upper and Lower Cache, which are subject to overflow, or

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OF ILLINOIS.

21

are surrounded by that overflow. Of these there are eighty to ninety
thousand acres as shown in the Engineer's report.
The lands indirectly affected are those along the tributaries whose
outflow is hindered by the congestion within the basin. Of these
there are fifty to sixty thousand acres, not shown in the Engineer's
report.
The lands remotely affected are those of the sub-tributaries and contiguous flat lands, whose drainage is good when the waters are out of
the Basin, but bad when the Basin is full. Of these there are thirty
to forty thousand acres (not shown in the Engineer's report). The
drainage of these remote lands has not been attempted to any considerable extent for lack of sufficient outlet.
T H E WATER-SHED AND RAINFALL.

The water-shed drained into and out of this Basin embraces more
than a thousand square miles of territory, nearly three quarters of a
million acres, practically all of the six southern counties of Illinois.
More than two-thirds of that water-shed lies along precipitous hills,
consequently the rush of waters into the Basin is terrific. While the
inflow is rapid, the movement through the Basin, owing to the lack of
fall, is very slow, and the outflow is less rapid than the inflow. There fore a large percentage of the waters reaching the Basin remain until
removed by evaporation.
The annual rainfall, according to the Cairo weather bureau, is 42.8
inches. This means a million gallons or twenty thousand barrels to
the acre, thirteen million barrels to the square mile—ran immense volume
of water to be poured into this Basin with no adequate rapid outlet.
That part of Illinois lying south of the rock-bearing hills described
elsewhere, has always been regarded as swampy, and avoided upon
that account. We wish to call attention to the fact that all of those
swamps are included within, or closely connected with, that part of
the Cache system designated in this report as " t h e Basin." With
the drainage of that Basin all those swamps will be drained and no
part of '"Egypt" will be longer considered swampy.
Similar lands in southeast Missouri are being drained by a great
timber syndicate. We are sorry to say there is no such syndicate in
existence here so as to drain the Basin.
Having thus described this Cache Drainage System and its related
interests, together with the Engineer's report, we wish now to call
attention to that report as a whole, and in parts. For brevity we
refer to, section and township numbers as shown on plats elsewhere.
An inspection of plats 5, 6 and 11, and exhibits C and F will show a

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R E P O R T OF T H E BOARD OF CACHE

RIVER

long stretch of nearly level surface, with a slight fall toward the west,
and in sections 14 or 15, township 14 south, range 2 east, enters the
Post Creek. This seems to be almost as low a point as any within
this level stretch. Plats 6 to 9 and exhibits D and E show a splendid fall for the Upper Cache.
The estimates show that the entire Upper Cache can be drained
down to Station 594 for a maximum of $64,733, and that the entire
Black Slough region, called East Branch of Cache in notes of the
United States survey, can be drained to the same point for $63,827—
a total of $128,560.
From this point the water can be taken to the Ohio by either of two
routes, by the Post Creek cut-off at a cost of $95,325, or by the present
route at a cost of $220,872. If the former route, Post Creek, be selected, the total cost of bringing the water from the Upper Cache and
from the Black Slough, and emptying it into the Ohio, is $223,885.
By the old route the cost is $349,432, a difference of $125,547.
An inspection of the water-shed will show that if the Post Creek
cut-off be made, sixty percent (60%) of the water which now reaches
the Ohio through the mouth of the Cache, would then enter it by the
cut-off. Of the remaining forty percent which would still find outlet by the mouth of Cache, one half is added from the mouth of Mill
Creek down, and five-eights from the mouth of Big Creek down. By
inspection of plats 4 and 5 and of exhibit B, it will be seen that Big
Creek enters Cache at a point (section 16, township 14 south, range 1
east) from which there is considerable fall. This leaves about eight
miles of the west end of the basin into which less than fifteen per cent
(15%) of the total water-shed empties direct, or laterally, and through
which there is but little fall. This remaining eight miles of the Basin
is comparatively narrow and straight, and is sharply defined. It
would fill with water then as surely as now, but much more slowly.
And being relieved of the great pressure of water from higher up the
Basin, it would also empty much more slowly. It would still need
dredging, but that could undoubtedly be done at far less expense than
if all the upper waters are to go through it as at present.
It will be noticed also that Post Creek cut-off drains about sixty
percent of the total low land area, if we count the three classes of
lands benefited, direct, indirect and remote. The construction of the
Upper Cache ditch would throw the waters of that section into the
Basin with great velocity. (See exhibits D and E.) The Post Creek
ditch would throw them into the Ohio, a distance of four and onehalf miles, with equal velocity. The Black Slough ditches would re-

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lieve that section less rapidly but with equal certainty. This means
the reclaiming of all the land above the mouth of Post Creek, and the
relieving of the congestion of the Basin below that point, at a maximum cost of $223,885. If the State should construct these main
ditches, the citizens could then organize general drainage districts,
with the necessary subs and minors, and completely reclaim this entire fertile section. With the relief of the Lower Cache from this
sixty per cent of the present congestion, the enterprising citizens
would hasten to complete its reclamation.
Respectfully submitted,
W. A. WALL,
ANDREW DAVISSON,
H. H. COPHER,

Commissioners.

24

REPORT

O F T H E BOARD

O F CACHE

RIVER

ITEMS OF EXPENDITURE.
Below are the items of expenditure in full since the work of this
Commission has begun.
P A Y R O L L FOR S E P T E M B E R , 1903.

A. H . Bell, engineer, 3 days a t $15 per d a y
W. N . Moyers, assistant, 3 days a t $5 p e r d a y
G r a n t H a r e , assistant, 3 days a t $5 p e r da*y
Calvin Wise, cook, 5 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
David Tarr, chainman, 3 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
W m . Browner, chainman, 3 d a y s a t $1.50 p e r d a y
J. B . Wall, teamster, 5 d a y s a t $3.75 p e r d a y
Thos. Hooppaw, a x m a n , 5 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
F r a n k Bernard, a x m a n , 5 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
L. G. Caster, a t t o r n e y
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense for 4 meetings
Andrew Davisson, commissioner's salary 43 days
H. H . Copher, commissioner, expense 3 meetings
H . H . Copher, commissioner, salary 43 days
W. A. Wall, commissioner, salary 43 days.
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 43 d a y s
M. F . Browner, m e r c h a n t , for camp outfit
TOTAL

$ 45 . 0 0
15 . 0 0
- 15.00*
7 . 50
4 . 50
4 . 50
18.75
7 . 50
7 . 50
25 . 0 0
12 . 0 0
59 . 72
17 . 70
59 . 72
59.72
43.00
100.00
$502.11

P A Y R O L L FOR O C T O B E R , 1903.

A. H . Bell, engineer, 27 days a t $15 p e r d a y
W. N . Moyers, assistant, 27 days a t $5 p e r d a y
J. G. H a r e , assistant, 27 days a t $5 p e r d a y
J. B . Wall, teamster, 31 days a t $3.75 p e r d a y
L. C. Wise, cook, 31 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
David Tarr, Chainman, 31 d a y s a t $1.50 p e r d a y
F r a n k Bernard, A x m a n , 31 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
Thos. Hooppaw, a x m a n , 31 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
W m . Browner, chainman, 31 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 p e r d a y
H. H . Copher, commissioner, one m o n t h ' s salary
H. H . Copher,'commissioner; expense, fare $3, hotel $2
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
W. A. Wall, expense, hotel $5, fare $1.15, livery $6
J. F . Connell, printer
TOTAL

$405 . 0 0
135 . 0 0
135 . 0 0
116.25
4 6 . 50
4 6 . 50
4 6 . 50
4 6 . 50
4 6 . 50
31.00
4 1 . 67
5 .00
4 1 . 67
4 1 . 67"
12.15
4.00
$1200.91

P A Y R O L L FOR N O V E M B E R , 1903.

A. H . Bell, engineer, 25 days a t $15 per d a y
J. G. H a r e , assistant, 25 days a t $5 p e r d a y
W. N . Moyers, assistant, 25 days a t $5 p e r d a y
J o h n H . Sharp, assistant, 3 days a t $5 p e r d a y
J. B . Wall, teamster, 30 days a t $3.75 per d a y
David Tarr, chainman, 30 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
W m . Browner, chainman, 30 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
F r a n k Benard, a x m a n , 30 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
Thos. H o o p p a w , a x m a n , 30 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
L. C. Wise, cook, 4 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
B a r t o n Hale, cook, 24 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y . ,
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 30 days a t $1 p e r d a y
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary.
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
H. H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, expense meeting
W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
TOTAL

$375 .00'
125 . 0 0
125.00
15 . 0 0
112. 50
45 . 0 0
45 .00
45 . 0 0
45 . 0 0
.
6.00
36.00
30.00
41.67
3 .00
41.67
5 .06
41.67
$1137.5*

DRAINAGE COMMISSIONERS OF ILLINOIS.

P A Y R O L L FOR D E C E M B E R ,

1903.

A. H . Bell, engineer, 27 days a t $15 p e r d a y
J. G. H a r e , assistant, 27 days a t $5 per d a y
.
W. N . Moyers, assistant, 27 days a t $5 p e r d a y
J. H . Sharp, assistant, 5 days a t $5 p e r d a y
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary.
H. H . Copher, commissioner, expense m e e t i n g . .
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
David Tarr, Chainman, 31 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
F r a n k Bernard, a x m a n , 31 days a t $1.50 per d a y
W m . Browner, chainman, 31 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
Thos. Hooppaw, a x m a n , 31 days a t $1.50 p e r d a y
J. B . Wall, teamster, 31 d a y s a t $3.75 p e r d a y
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 p e r d a y
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, paid for moving c a m p 3 times
B a r t o n Hale, cook, 31 days a t $1.50 per d a y
TOTAL

r

$405 .00135.00135.00
25 . 0 0
41.67
5 .48
41.67
3 .00*
41.67
46 . 50
4 6 . 50
46 . 504 6 . 50
116.25
31.00>
10. 50
46 . 50
$1223.74

P A Y R O L L FOR J A N U A R Y ,

1904.

A. H . Bell, Engineer, 20 d a y s a t $15 per d a y
J. G. H a r e , assistant, 20 d a y s a t $5 p e r d a y
W. N. Moyers, assistant, 20 days a t $5 per d a y
H. H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary.
H. H . Copher, commissioner, expense meeting
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary. . .
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting.
W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Chas. M. G a u n t , Clerk, 31 days a t $1 p e r d a y
David Tarr, chainman, 25 days a t $1.50 per d a y
W m . Browner, chainman, 25 d a y s a t $1.50 per d a y
F r a n k Benard, a x m a n , 25 d a y s a t $1.50 p e r d a y
Thos. Hooppaw, a x m a n , 25 days a t $1.50 per d a y
B a r t o n Hale, cook, 25 days a t $1.50 per d a y
J. B. Wall, teamster, 25 days a t $3.75 per d a y .
J. B . Wall, teamster, moving c a m p
TOTAL

$300.00
100. 0O
100.00*
41.67
5 .00>
41.67
8.35
41.67
31.00
37 . 50
37 . 50
37 . 50
37 . 50
37 . 50'
93.75
3 . 50
.$954.11

P A Y R O L L FOR F E B R U A R Y ,

1904.

A. H . Bell, engineer, 25 d a y s office work a t $15 per d a y
H. H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H. H . Copher, commissioner, expense meeting
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 29 days a t $1 p e r d a y
TOTAL

.$375 . 0 0
41.67
4.50
41.67
3 .00
4 1 . 67
29 . 0 0
$536.51

P A Y R O L L FOR M A R C H ,

1904.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H. H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H. H . Copher, commissioner, expense meeting
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
Chas.-^ M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 per d a y
TOTAL

25

$ 41.67
41.67
41.67
6. 50
3 .00
31.00
$165.51

26

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF CACHE RIVER

. PAY R O L L FOR A P R I L ,

1904.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 30 days a t $1 per d a y
TOTAL

$ 41.67
4 1 . 67
41.67
3 .00
30.00

':

$158.01

P A Y R O L L FOR M A Y , 1904.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary.
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 per d a y

$ 41.67
4 1 . 67
4 1 . 67
31.00

TOTAL

$156.01
P A Y R O L L FOR J U N E ,

1904.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
A. H . Bell, engineer, 2 days' office work in March, 1904,
a t $15 p e r d a y . . .
,
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 30 days a t $1 per d a y
TOTAL

30.00
30.00
$458.01

P A Y R O L L FOR J U L Y ,

1904.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, expense meeting
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 per d a y .
W. N. Moyers, surveyor, 6 days a t $5 per d a y
W. N. Moyers, surveyor, expense, board a n d lodging for 2 m e n
J . B . Wall, teamster, 6 d a y s a t $3.75 p e r d a y
TOTAL

$ 41.67
4 1 . 67
5.50
41.67
3 .00
31.00
30.00
7 .40
22 . 50
$224.41

P A Y R O L L FOR A U G U S T ,

1904.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H. H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
W. N. Moyers, surveyor, 12 days a t $5 per d a y
J . B. Wall, teamster, 10 days a t $3.75 per d a y
J. B . Wall, teamster, board a n d lodging for t w o m e n
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 per d a y
TOTAL

$ 41.67
4 1 . 67
41.67
3 .00
60.00
37 . 50
5 .80
31.00
$262.31

P A Y R O L L FOR S E P T E M B E R ,

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
W. A. Wall, commissioner, expense meeting
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H. H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
A. H . Bell, engineer, office work
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 30 days a t $1 per d a y
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, expense meeting
TOTAL

$ 41.67
4 1 . 67
41.67
3 .00

1904.

$ 41.67
3 .00
4 1 . 67
4 1 . 67
50.00
30.00
3 .00
$211.01

DRAINAGE COMMISSIONERS OF ILLINOIS.

P A Y R O L L FOR O C T O B E R ,

27

1904.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H. H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 per d a y
W m . Martin, surveyor, 6 days a t $5 per d a y
W m . Martin, surveyor, b o a r d $4.75, fare $5, livery $5
W. N. Moyers, surveyor, 7 days a t $5 per d a y
W. N. Moyers, expense, board $4, fare $1.60
W. A. Mclntire, 6 days w i t h t e a m a t $4 per d a y .
Clifford Litherland, laborer, 6 days a t $2 per d a y
Richard W a t k i n s , laborer, 5 days a t $2 per d a y
B a r t o n Hale, laborer, 5 days a t $2 per d a y

$ 41.67
41.67
41.67
6.20'
31.00
30.00
14. 75
35 .00
5 .60
24.00
12 .00
10.00
10.00

TOTAL

.$303.56
P A Y R O L L FOR N O V E M B E R ,

1904,

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Less proceeds sale camp outfit
H. H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
H. H . Copher, commissioner, expense meeting
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 30 days a t $1 per d a y
J. B . Wall, teamster, 15 days a t $3.75 per d a y
J. B . Wall, teamster, expense, board a n d lodging.
W . N . Moyers, surveyor, 15 days a t $5 per d a y
W". N. Moyers, expense, board a n d lodging
A. H . Bell, engineer, office work
A. H . Bell, engineer, 5 days Post Creek survey a t $15
W m . Martin, surveyor, 15 days a t $5 per d a y
W m . Martin, expense, board lodging a n d livery
A r t h u r Cochran, laborer, 2 d a y s a t $2
Thos. H u r t , laborer, a t 2 days $2
Larken Colley, laborer, 2 days a t $2
H e n r y Hines, laborer, 2 days a t $2
F . M. Jones, laborer, 12 days a t $2
J o h n Mesker, Sr., laborer, 6 days a t $2
J o h n Mesker, Jr., laborer, 6 days a t $2
J o h n Rienking, laborer, 6 days a t $2
Walter Baker, laborer, 2 days a t $2
Allen J a m e s , laborer, 4J days a t $2
Alvis Purtle, laborer, 4J days a t $2
E d g a r Williams, laborer, 1£ d a y s a t $2
v
E d Johnson, laborer, 3 days a t $2

$41.67
15 .00

,

$ 26. 67
41.67
41.67
6. 60
5 .00
30.00
56.25
13 . 70
75 .00
10.85
50.00
75 .00
75 .00
28.15
4.00 :
4.004.00
4.00'
24.00
12 .00
12 .00
12 .00
- 4.00
.
9 .00
9 .00
3 .00'
6.00

TOTAL

$642.56
P A Y R O L L FOR D E C E M B E R ,

1904.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, expense meeting
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 per d a y

$ 41.67
41.67
2 . 70
41.67
SI .00

TOTAL

$158.71
P A Y R O L L FOR J A N U A R Y ,

1905.

W. N. Moyers, surveyor, 7 days drafting Black Slough survey,
a t $5 per d a y
W. N. Moyers, expense, board $5 fare $2
W m . Martin, surveyor 6 days drafting Black Slough survey,
at $5 per d a y

$ 35 . 0 0
7.00
;

30.00

28

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF CACHE RIVER

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Gopher, commissioner, expense meeting
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting.. .
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 p e r d a y
TOTAL

,

$ 41.67
41.67
5 .00
41.67
6.75
31.00
$239.76

P A Y R O L L FOR F E B R U A R Y ,

1905.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 28 days a t $1 per d a y
TOTAL

$ 41.67
41.67
4 1 . 67
28 .00
. .$153.01

P A Y R O L L FOR M A R C H ,

1905.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
W. A. Wall, commissioner, expense t o Springfield, fare $15,
hotel $10.50, paid t y p e w r i t e r $7
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
H. H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, expense meeting .. . .'
< ..
W .N. Moyers, surveyor, 9 d a y s ' office work a t $5 . .
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 d a y s a t $1 per d a y
TOTAL

$ 41.67
32.50
41.67
2.70
41.67
5 .00
45 .00
31.00
$241:21

P A Y R O L L FOR A P R I L ,

1905.

A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
W m . Martin, surveyor, office work
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 30 days a t $1 per d a y
TOTAL

$ 41.67
2.70
4 1 . 67
41.67
12 .00
30.00
$169.71

P A Y R O L L FOR M A Y , 1905.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
L. G. Caster, typewriting
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 per d a y
TOTAL

$166.21
P A Y R O L L FOR J U N E ,

1905.

W . A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
W. A. Wall, commissioner, expense t o Springfield .
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, expense meeting
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davission, commissioner, expense meeting
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 30 days a t $1 p e r d a y
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, expense t o Springfield
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, per diem, 3 days a t $5 per d a y
TOTAL

$ 41.67
41.67
2.70
41.67
7 . 50
31.00

$ 41.67
15 .40
41.67
4.50
41.67
2.70
30.00
17 .60
15 .00
.$210.21

DRAINAGE

COMMISSIONERS

OF I L L I N O I S .

29

P A Y R O L L FOR J U L Y , 1905.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, expense meeting
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 p e r d a y

$ 41.67
41.67
• 5 .00
41.67
2.70
31.00

TOTAL

$163.71
P A Y R O L L FOR A U G U S T , 1905.

W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary. ..
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, expense meeting
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting.
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, 31 days a t $1 p e r d a y

$ 41.67
41.67
5 .00
41.67
3.20
31.00

TOTAL

$164.21
P A Y R O L L FOR S E P T E M B E R , 1905.

A n d r e w Davisson, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
Andrew Davisson, commissioner, expense meeting
H . H . Copher, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
H . H . Copher, commissioner, expense meeting
W. A. Wall, commissioner, 1 m o n t h ' s salary
C h a s . M. G a u n t , clerk, 30 d a y s a t $1 p e r d a y
Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk, for express a n d postage

$ 41.67
2.70
41.67
5 .00
41.67
30.00
25 .00

TOTAL

$187.71
SUMMARY.

P a y Roll for September, 1903
P a y Roll for October, 1903
P a y Roll for November, 1903
P a y Roll for December, 1903
P a y Roll for J a n u a r y , 1904
P a y Roll for F e b r u a r y , 1904
P a y Roll for March, 1904
P a y Roll for April, 1904
P a y Roll for May, 1904
P a y Roll for J u n e , 1904
P a y Roll for J u l y , 1904
P a y Roll for August, 1904
P a y Roll for September, 1904
P a y Roll for October, 1904
P a y Roll for November, 1904
P a y Roll for December, 1904
P a y Roll for J a n u a r y , 1905
P a y Roll for F e b r u a r y , 1905
P a y Roll for March, 1905
P a y Roll for April, 1905
P a y Roll for May, 1905
P a y Roll for J u n e , 1905..
P a y Roll for J u l y , 1905
P a y Roll for August, 1905
P a y Roll for September, 1905
B a l a n c e Appropriation u n d r a w n
AMOUNT APPROPRIATED

$

502 .11
1,200.00
1,137.57
1,223 . 74
954.11
536. 51
165 . 51
158.01
156.01
458.01
224.41
262 . 31
211.01
303 . 56
642 . 56
158. 71
239 . 76
153 .01
2 4 1 . 21
169 . 71
166.21
210.21
163 . 71
164. 21
187 .71
9.21

'.$10,000.00

$10,000.00

30

STATE OF ILLINOIS, 1
PULASKI COUNTY,
J
The undersigned, Chas. M. G a u n t , clerk r
of t h e Cache River Drainage Commission, does hereby certify t h a t t h e above isa t r u e s t a t e m e n t of t h e expenditures of the said Cache River Drainage Commission.
D a t e d this thirtieth d a y of September, A. D. 1905.
C H A S . M. G A U N T ,

[SEAL]

Clerk, etc.

EXHIBITS
•A, B, C, D, E AND F.
PROFILES OF BLACK SLOUGH AND PONDS
AND
PROFILE OF BLACK SLOUGH CUTOFF.

DETAIL MAPS, AND ONE SHOWING THE
ENTIRE SURVEY OF THE RIVER.

RANGE 2 WEST

RANGE I WEST

B O T T O M O F R I V E R I N I T A L I O FIGURES.
E L E V A T I O N OF T H E S U R F A C E O F G R O U N D I N R O M A N

FIGURES.

RANGE I EAST

RANGE I WEST
SCALE S.SOO FEET TO ONE INOH.
STATION NUMBERS IN RED FIGURES.

BOTTOM OF RIVER IN ITALIO FIOURES.
ELEVATION OF THE SURFACE OF GROUND IN ROMAN FIGURES,

SCALE B.BOO FEET TO ONE INOH.
STATION NUMBERS IN RED FIGURES.

(TALIO FIQURES.
ELEVATION OF THE SURFACE OF GROUND IN ROMAN FIGURES.

RANGE 3 EAST

RANGE 2 EAST
S C A L E a.soo F E E T TO O N E I N C H .

B O T T O M O F RIVER I N I T A L I C F I G U R E S .

S T A T I O N N U M B E R S I N R E D FIGURES.

E L E V A T I O N OF T H E S U R F A C E O F G R O U N D I N R O M A N FIGURES

TOWN 13 SOUTH

RANGE 2 EAST
80ALE B.SOO FEET TO ONE INCH.

BOTTOM OF RIVER IN ITALIO FIGURES.

STATION NUMBERS IN RED FIGURES.

ELEVATION OF THE SURFACE OF QROUND IN ROMAN FIGURES.

RANGE I EAST
S C A L E 3,500 F E E T T O O N E INOH.
8 T A T I O N N U M B E R S I N R E D FIGURES.

RANGE 2 EAST
B O T T O M O F R I V E R I N I T A L I O FIGURES.
E L E V A T I O N O F T H E S U R F A O E O F G R O U N D I N R O M A N FIGURES,

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RANGE I WEST

SCALE 3,500 FEET TO ONE INOH.

BOTTOM OF RIVER IN ITALIO FIGURES.

STATION NUMBERS IN RED FIGURES.

ELEVATION OF THE SURFACE OF GROUND IN ROMAN FIGURES.

RANGE 3 EAST

RANGE 4 EAST

RANGE 5 EAST

SCALE, 5 0 0 0 F E E T T O I I N C H .

PROFILE; POST CREEK CUT OFF

60.28^

S

9

10

11

12

&

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

<*-

TOWN 15 SOUTH

BOTTOM OF RIVER IN ITALIC FIGURES.
F .EVATION OF THE SURFACE OF GROUND IN ROMAN FIGURES.

TOWN 15 SOUTH