Letter
BELKNAP, Secretary of War to Hamilton Fish, November 25, 1870
The Secretary of War to Mr. Fish.
War Department, Washington City, November 25, 1870.
Sir: In compliance with your request of the 7th instant, I have the honor to furnish herewith an estimate prepared by the Bureau of Engineers, of the cost of surveying and determining, by a joint commission, the boundary line between the United States and the British possessions, between the Lake of the Woods and the Rocky Mountains.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
WM. W. BELKNAP, Secretary of War.
The Honorable the Secretary of State.
Estimate of probable cost of a commission for surveying and marking the boundaries between the, United. States and the British possessions.
| Organization: | Per year. | |
| 1 | commissioner, $4,000 | $4,000 |
| 1 | secretary, $2,000 | 2,000 |
| 1 | chief astronomer, $3,000 | 3,000 |
| 1 | surgeon, $2,000 | 2,000 |
| 1 | quartermaster and commissary, $2,000 | 2,000 |
| Two astronomical parties— | ||
| 2 | assistant astronomers, at $2,000 | 4,000 |
| 4 | sub-assistants, at $1,500 | 6,000 |
| 12 | men—2 at $75, 10 at $45—$600 per month | 7,200 |
| 2 | cooks at $50—$100 per month | 1,200 |
| 8 | teamsters at $45—$360 per month | 4,320 |
| 4 | mess-men at $45—$180 per month | 2,160 |
| 50 | pack-mules, or 8 wagons and 36 mules. | |
| Two surveying parties— | ||
| 2 | surveyors, at $1,800 | 3,600 |
| 2 | assistant surveyors, at $1,200 | 2,400 |
| 20 | men—4 at $75,16 at $45—$1,020 per month | 12,240 |
| 2 | cooks at $50—$100 per month | 1,200 |
| 4 | teamsters at $45—$180 per month | 2,160 |
| 4 | mess-men at $45—$180 per month | 2,160 |
| 30 | pack-mules, or 4 wagons and 20 mules. |
Seventy-one persons; 430 rations per month, at 50 cents=$1,065 per month; 56 to 80 animals; forage cannot be correctly estimated.
| Recapitulation: | For first year. |
| Pay of officers and assistants | $29,000 |
| Pay of employés | 32,640 |
| Subsistence 71 persons, at 50 cents per day | 12,000 |
| Wagons, mules, and forage for transportation of parties in the field | 9,500 |
| Camp equipage, (25 tents, cooking utensils, axes, &e.,) | 3,000 |
| Instruments, (depends upon the number on hand,) pay | 3,000 |
| Transportation of supplies from depots, (conjectural) | 9,000 |
| Traveling: expenses of individuals, (conjectural) | 2,000 |
| Miscellaneous | 2,000 |
| 102,140 |
Notes
1.
No. 248.
Topics
Sources
FRUS u2014 Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress with the Annual Message of the Pr
View original source ↗
U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress with the Annual Message of the Pr.