Mississippi Democrat. (Carrollton, Miss.) 1844-18??, 1846-04-01

~A~SA N'S mourning NAtACutf 410 - Il
fiom rushing too madiy towards the ocean.
But the stream does not always tamely cir
cumscribe these bends gathering strength /
from resistance, it will form new and more /
direct channels and thus it is that large /
tracts of country once on the river. become
inland, or are entirely swept away by the /
current; and SO frequently does this hap /
pen, that ''cut'ofl's" are almost as familiar /
TO the eye on the Mississippi as its muddy |
waters. When the Mississippi in making
its " cut OFFS" IS ploughing us way lhro'
I the virgin soil, there float upon The top ii
this destroying tide thousands OF tees. I
that covered the land. AMI lined is cursing
banks. These gigantic wrecks Of the pri-
mitlve forests are tossed about b. the invi-
sible power Of the current, as If they
were straws and they find no rest, until
with associated thousands they are thrown
upon some protesting point If land.
where they lie roiting Tor miles, their dark
forms frequently shooting into the air liSe
wrlihlng serpentS, presenting one Of the
most desoiate pictures the mind can con
ceive.
These masses Of timber, are called
"rafts." Other trees become attached to
the bottom of the river, and vet by some
elasticity ofthe roots they are loose enough
to be affected by the strange AMI powerful
current, which will bear them down under
The surface; and the tree By is Own
strength, will come gracefully up again,
to be engited and Thus they wave up
ward aud downward with a gracelulneSs at
motion which would not disgrace a beau OF
the old school. Boats frequently pass
lover these "sawyers,n as they 20 down he
stream, pressing them under by iheir
weight: bur lei some unfortunate child of
the genius Of Robert Fulton, as is passes
up the stream, be salutcd by the visags Of
one Of these polite gentry, rs Il rises ten
or more feet 10 the air, and nothing short If
lrrepaTable damage, or swift destruction.
ensueS, while the cauSe Of the disaster, az
ter This conclusion, will rise above the rl-
in as if nothing had happened, shake TIE
dripping water from ltS forked limbs, and
sink again, as if rejoicing in It's strength.
Other trees will ias;en them>elye :, The
boltom Of the river; and their lnug trunks.
shorn Of their limbs, present the most for
, mdabe obiectS TO haragation. 4 rick
, Itself, Snarpened und set hv art, could be
I no more dangerous than these Dreaded
+" snags" Let the bows of the strongest
vessel come in contact with them. aud the
t conclusion will drive through it, .imbers
I as It they were paper; and the noble craft
5 will sometimes trembie Tor moment hike
! thing Of life, when suddenly struck 10 lis
J vilals, and then sink into lis grave.
Such are the "cnt-oli'S," "rafts,n s'Saw-
yers," and "snags" of the Mississippi:
: terms significant to the minds IL the
: western hoatman and hunter. OF Qnali,ies
: which they apply 10 Themselves and their
(, heroes. whenever they wish u express
t themselves strongly, and we presume the
! beau ideal Of a political character with
: them, would be one who would come at
+. the truth bv a "cut-otI." separate and
4 pile up lalsehood for decay, like the trees
of :" raft" and do all this with the po-
. likeness Of sawyer" and with princi-
5 plies unyielding as " snag."
Fl The vas. extent Of the Mississippi i al
4 most beyond belief. The stream which
r may bear YOU gently along in midwin,er
: so far south that the sun is oppressive. finds
: lis beginning in a country oi eternal snow.
0 Follow II in your imagination thousand,
n of miles, as YOU pass on from us head va
: tiers to lis mouth, and you find il flowing
e through almost every climate uCder hea-
ven: nav more, the comparatively small
O stream on which YOU look, receives within
: itself the waters of four rivers alone: Ar
e kansas, Red, Ohio, and Missouri: whose
e united lengths, without including their tri
# butaries, Is over eight thousand miles: ye
: this mighty flood is swallowed up By IN:
o Mississippi, as II possessed within ilsel
e the very capacity of the ocean. and lis
If dained IN lis narrow limits to acknowledge
y the accession of strength.
/ The color of this tremendous food O
ST water is always turbid. There seems No
is rest Tor ii that will enable it To become
?, quiet o. clear. In all seasons, the sans
Is muddy water meets the eyes and this
5 strange peculiarly, associated with ms
character and form of The banks, strike.
sr the mind at once at the dark sedimen
10 which has for centuries settled upon tbs
a rivers edge, and thus formed The = ridges
le through which it runs; or in other words
IS it has confined itself: and in this we be
ut hold one OF its most original features
q, Ga the Mississippi We have no land slop
K lag down in gentle declsitieS. TO tie va
q ter's edge; but bank Just high enough
ns where it i washed by the river, 10 prosec
of the back country from inundation, in III
d, ordinary rises OF the stream; tor whenevei