420 AMERICAN FORESTRY 



more active within recent years, and that After quoting No. 2 as far as is 

 these changes have all occurred long given above, he adds : "I will not go 

 since 1830. When his attention was on with the rest of that." If our curi- 

 called to this point by a member of the osity is again aroused as to why he did 

 committee, Captain Johnston replied not go on, and we read on, we find a 

 that he had no argument to make. Very second bar mentioned under that head- 

 naturally ; there was none to make. An ing, and then the statement : "The ob- 

 examination of this same upper section structions on both [i. e., bars] consist of 

 of the river was made by army engi- rocks at the bottom, mostly loose. * * *" 

 neers in 1893, and the report was pub- That is, the bars were mostly of loose 

 lished, and while this is sixty-three years boulders, but Captain Johnston quoted 

 later, even it does not describe present just far enough to leave the opposite 

 conditions as the annual reports of the impression that they were firm rock 

 army engineers in the last few years give ledges. 



them. If Captain Johnston is as familiar Back in 1830, although there were 

 with the published reports of his office some gravel bars on the upper river, 

 as it is fair to presume him to be, and they were doubtless stable, and re- 

 as the committee was given to believe mained so until within very recent 

 at the outset of his testimony, why did years, when old ones began growing 

 he dig up an old 1830 description of and new ones forming, as may be seen 

 the river and try to have the committee by reference to the recent annual re- 

 take it as an accurate description of ports of the army engineers. In 1830 

 present-day conditions? Why did he most of the obstructions probably were 

 not at least come down sixty-three years rock ledges, and much of the money 

 later and quote from the 1893 report? spent on the river in open channel work 

 Or, better still, why did he not quote has been for building training walls and 

 from very recent annual reports — for dams, but in recent years an ever- 

 much change has occurred since 1893— increasing proportion has been spent in 

 if he desired to really enlighten the dredging, and three dredging plants are 

 committee on present-day conditions now maintained on the river, one for 

 there? each of its three sections. As to the 

 Let us, however, look somewhat magnitude of the gravel bars on the 

 closely at the testimony he does ofifer. upper river, the 1893 report describes 

 He begins his quotation from the 1830 a number that vary in length from 2,500 

 report with the following: to 7,000 feet each, and a number of 



gravel bars with occasional ledges of 



No. 2. Lyons Shoals. These shoals are rock that run up to 15,000 or 20,000 



created by an extensive rocky bar, etc. feet each in length. Captain Johnston 



told nothing of these and did not quote 



It will be remembered that he is min- from p. 1705 of the 1908 report that 



imizing the gravel and loose material, the dredge on the upper river had been 



and magnifying the solid rock ledges, doing such heavy digging that after 



If we are curious why he did not begin only a few years' use it had to be en- 



with No. I, instead of No. 2, and turn tirely rebuilt. 



to the 1830 report, printed in 1875 as As to the middle section of the river, 



House Exec. Doc, No. 167, Forty- he next quotes from the report of a sur- 



third Congress, Second Session, we will ^^^y ^^ the Tennessee River from Scott 



read: Point to Lock A, made in 1901, that 



"there is little or no bar-making ma- 

 No. I. Knoxville Shoals. * * * They are ^^^'^^ traveling downward in the river 

 occasioned by a gravelly bar extending quite bed," and "that there is little or no 

 across the river. * * * " moving material in the bed of the 



stream." He failed to tell the com- 



_ Ihis was opposed to the view he de- mittee that this same report, in direct 



sired to impress upon the committee, conflict with the statements he did quote 



and so was very conveniently left out. from it. shows that, in this distance of 



