Excerpt from Instructions to Special River Observers of the Signal Service The Signal Service has had in operation for many years a system of observations and reports of the stage of water in the principal rivers of the United States, by which the water level is reported daily to certain designated centers, and during hours of danger from oods, or extremely high water, these observations are taken and telegraphed as often as is considered necessary for the public inter ests. In the absence of oods, river commerce demands a knowledge of the volume of water in the tributaries of the principal rivers, to per mit a determination of the future supply for purposes of navigation at points where the depth is sometimes insufficient. To meet these several demands the Chief Signal Officer is charged by law with the duty of establishing special stations at suitable points on the rivers included in the system. At meteorological stations located on rivers the observers take regular daily observations of the stage of water. At other points where readings are desired special observers are selected from citi zens interested in the reports, who receive appointments from the central office at Washington. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."