Houston Texas Sept 25^th 1871

E. J. Davis
Governor State of Texas

Governor.

            I have the honor to inform you
that in obedience to instructions from your office I
have made a careful examination of that part of
the Houston Great Western Rail Road lying between
the terminus on Buffalo Bayou and mile post number
twenty five (25), and find the following amounts of road
between the above points; viz:

            From the terminus on Buffalo Bayou to station
number nought (0), five thousand five hundred (5500) feet.
From station number nought (0) to station number twenty
five (25) there are twenty five (25) miles of road. Near stations
nought (0) and seventeen (17) there are five thousand nine hun-
dred and fifteen (5915) feet of turn outs, (For authority to
include turnouts see Paschals Digest Par #4956) which to-
gether with the remainder make twenty seven and 143/880
(27 143/880) miles of road.

             Within the limits above described there are seventy three
(73) spans of Trestle, sixteen (16) feet long each, supported
by oak piles not less than twelve (12) inches in diameter
driven in pairs for the better support of the superstructure.

            Across Spring Creek there is a Howe Truss bridge
of seventy five (75) feet span supported by oak piles of not
less than twelve (12) inches in diameter and driven in
gangs of six (6) under each of the four corners of the