54 KANSAS Academy of jscience. 



in each case where a depot exists; and the elevations have been carefully figured to 

 a thousandth of a foot in all cases, not to indicate that the track is everywhere so 

 true to its original grade, but in order that my results, and any work that may in 

 future be based upon my results, may be correct to the extent of the information at 

 my command. My elevations east of the Continental Divide I have figured from 

 Atlantic "mean tide," and are based upon a United States bench on the face of the 

 south abutment of the Hannibal <fe St. Joseph Railroad bridge, over the Missouri 

 river, at Kansas City. The elevation of this bench was taken, 428.29 ( St. Louis Di- 

 rectrix, by James T.Gardner, in "Elevations of Datum Points," 1875) +341.394 

 (furnished me by Wm. B. Knight, City Engineer of Kansas City, Nov. 2, 1882) =769.684. 

 My elevations west of the Continental Divide are above Pacific "mean tide" at Guay- 

 mas, Sonora, Mexico, taken as 0.625 feet below Guaymas " mean high tide," (from 

 data furnished by T. J. Seely, Asst. Gen. Manager Sonora Ry., Feb. 9, 1883.) 



The following checks, numbered 1, 2, 6, and 8, were obtained before the comple- 

 tion of the profile, and the others are the result of later investigation: 



1. Elevation carried from Kansas City to Atchison via Topeka compares with 

 elevation taken from U.S. bench at Atchison Union Depot, -(-0.006 of a foot. Length 

 of circuit, 173 miles. Length of railroad levels, 116 miles. 



2. Elevation carried from Kansas City to Emporia Junction compares with eleva- 

 tion carried from Kansas City via Topeka, North Topeka and Junction City, over 

 the Union Pacific and Missouri Pacific railroads to Emporia Junction, -|-0.180 of a 

 foot. Length of circuit, 196 miles. 



3. Elevation carried from Kansas City via Albuquerque and the Atlantic & Pacific 

 R. R. to the Colorado river compares with Southern Pacific elevation brought from 

 San Francisco, ( based upon Fort Point high-water datum, and corrected, — ^1.790 feet; 

 per data furnished by the Signal observer at San Francisco, Oct. 22, 1883.) — 2.040. 

 Length of railroad levels, 2,115 miles. 



4. Elevation carried from Kansas City via Albuquerque, Mojave and Yuma, over 

 the Atlantic & Pacific and Southern Pacific roads to Port Ysabel, at the head of the 

 Gulf of California, compares with mean tide at that point, — 1.03 feet, (-|-2.80, S. P. 

 reading at Port Ysabel per Geo. E. Gray, Ch. Engr., — 2.04 per check No. 3, — 1.79 

 S. P. correction also given in check No. 3.) Length of railroad levels, 2,149 miles. 



5. Elevation at East Pueblo crossing of A. T. & S. F. R. R. and D. <fc R. G. Ry. 

 compares with elevation carried from Kansas City to El Moro and thence over the 

 D. <fc R. G. Ry. via South Pueblo, —0.580 of a foot. Length of railroad circuit — 

 Pueblo, La Junta, El Moro, Pueblo — 246 miles. 



Note. — I have no less than six checks upon Pueblo via Denver, coveriug a range of 26 feet. The 

 indefinite way in which these have been reported to me destroys uiy confidence in them all, especially 

 as none of them a^'ree with my results, while my check No. H proves the correctness of my results upon 

 the Pueblo elevation witliin 7 inches. 1 must quote here from (iariliiei-'s " Elevations," (page G'M): " I 

 am satisfied that the important errors in our railroad and canal profiles are not so much due to imper- 

 fect instrumental work as to hasty and careless combination of the results." It would also be proper 

 to state here that I have cheeked upon the St. Louis A San Francisco Railroad, at Augusta Crossing 

 and North Wichita .lunctiou, their elevations being carefully given to me by James Dun, Chief En- 

 gineer, and my results comparing with his at those two points, — 7.212 and —7.882 respectively. Eleva- 

 tions of both roads being based upon the same elevation of St. Louis Directri.\, and the results being 

 therefore independent of the absolute height thereof. I should also state that Chief Engineer Perris, 

 of the California Southern Railroad, has carefully reported to me two checks of his road upon the 

 Southern Pacific Railroad, as follows, ( Nos. 20 and 21 :) 



20. Elevation carried from San Diego over the California Southern Railroad to 

 Waterman by location levels, compares with Southern Pacific elevation from San 

 Francisco +1.801 feet. 



