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The Water Power of Texas. 
47 
frame work, the upper brace of which is inclined at an angle of forty-five 
degrees, while the lower is nearly vertical. These posts are bolted into 
the bed of the stream and the upper face is covered with planks. To 
sustain the water pressure the upper inclined purlin posts are braced with 
a short brace a few feet above the bottom. The north, end of the darn 
terminates in a substantial masonry bulkhead that serves to prevent cut- 
ting around the end in times of high water. The power plant is on the 
south bank of the river and consists of a mill. The fall is ten feet, and 
the power is developed by a turbine. 
The Salado river rises in the famous Salado springs, in the town of 
Salado, nine miles south of Belton, Texas. These springs are similar in 
source, behavior, and. character of water to those of San Marcos, Del Rio, 
etc. The discharge was measured in December, 1901, at the site of the 
old stone dam in the town and a discharge of thirteen cubic feet per sec- 
ond was found. The stream below the town is often rather deep and 
resembles in all its characteristics, except magnitude of flow, the San 
Marcos. At present there are four power plants on the Salado. Two 
miles above the mouth is located Summer’s mill. The dam is built of 
stone masonry, is 175 feet long and ten feet high. The power is gener- 
ated by two Leffel turbines, thirty and thirty-two inches in diameter, 
respectively. The head is ten feet and the gate opening is one-half. In 
the winter the mill is operated twelve hours per day, and in the summer 
twenty-four hours per day. A twenty horse power steam engine is kept 
ready in case, of necessity, but it is seldom used. 
Six miles above the Summer’s mill is located the Stinnett’s mill. The 
three foot dam is one mile above the mill and is used merely to deflect 
the water into the mill race. The power is generated by a 23-inch Mc- 
Cormick turbine under a head of eighteen feet. The mill has all of the 
water privilege and it runs the entire year. Between these two mills there 
are two cotton gins operated by water power. In addition to these plants, 
there are four possible locations where power plants could be located. 
At J onah, Texas, about ten miles east of Georgetown, is located a flour 
and corn mill, owned by McDonald & Bruce, and operated partially by 
the power derived from the San Gabriel river. The dam is about 300 
feet long and is constructed of timber frame work with a top- sheeting of 
2-inch planks. It is triangular in section and is made up of a row of 
6"x6" upright posts, on the down stream face, let into the bed rock of 
the river a few inches and about twelve feet or fifteen feet apart; a cap 
of 6"x6" timber rests upon these posts and supports one end of the string- 
ers, to which the top plank sheeting is spiked. These stringers slope 
up stream at an angle of about thirty degrees to the horizon, and the 
other end rests upon the river bed. Two-inch planks are bolted to these 
to form the up stream face of the dam. A head of nine feet is obtained, 
and the power is derived from one 36-inch Samson turbine, and it is 
