On building a canal around Celio Falls

From the annual report of N. Michler, Corps of Engineers, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, in a section entitled "Improvement of the Upper Columbia and Snake Rivers, Oregon, and the Territories of Washington and Idaho"
 

The sections of the two rivers to which reference is particularly intended comprise those portions from above the "Dalles," on the Columbia, a succession of falls and rapids cleft through deep canyons, and extending over a distance of fifteen miles up to Priest's Rapids, in Washington Territory, on the main fork of the river; and up its tributary, the Snake, to Lewiston, in Idaho Territory, at junction with the Clearwater.  These are the principal tributaries of the Columbia, draining an immense extent of country, from the north, east, south, and west.
The distance from the head of the falls, at Celio, to Priest's Rapids is one hundred and ninety-five miles, and to the junction of the Snake and Clearwater two hundred and fifty.  From the foot of the falls and rapids, at the town of Dalles, to the sea, is two hundred and twenty-five miles.  Along this portion but one serious obstruction exists, and that at the Cascades; the latter, a series of rapids, with a fall of 37.3 feet in a distance of five and three quarters miles, is now passed by a railway portage, the cars being drawn by locomotives.  A survey has been made for the purpose of ascertaining the practicability and cost of constructing a canal and locks at this point, a seperate report of which, with plan and profile, was submitted during the year.  The length of the proposed canal is 2,600 feet, with a total rise of 21 feet.  To overcome the difficulty at the "Dalles," a canal, with locks, will have to be constructed around Celio Falls, at the head of it; a total fall of 36 feet in 4,500 has to be overcome.  As in the previous case, a survey has already been prosecuted, with similar objects in view, and a report submitted.  The improvements for the fiscal year were confined to two localities, between Celio and Wallula, the Squally Hook Rapid and the Umatilla Upper Rapid.  The working season is a very short one, being generally confined to the winter months, during which period the river reaches its very lowest stage, and the water is rendered extremely clear.  The rocks below the surface are then more readily exposed, and the workmen operate to much greater advantage.  The temperature becomes extremely cold, the thermometer (Fahrenheit) not unfrequently indicating 25 degrees below zero; the river becomes ice-bound above and below the rapids, thereby preventing any floating ice from impeding the progress of the work.  The days and nights are always clear; very little snow ever falls, and the men soon become habituated to the extreme severity of the weather.  The one great difficulty to contend against is the force and duration of the prevailing winter winds.  The commencement of the annual spring-rise of the river, bearing down upon its waters the accumulated ice of the more northern regions, early necessitates the suspension of all further operations for the season.  The following is a resume of the nature and quantity of the work accomplished during the fiscal year, and which continued until the limited appropriation became exhausted.

N. Michler, Corps of Engineers, Messages and Documents of the War Department, 1875-1876, Volume two, Page 772-773