American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1859-08-18
Marveis OF the Mississippi.

The difference Of level between higi.
and low water mark at Cairo is fifty itet
The width and depth Of the. river from
Cairo and Memphis to New Orleans is not
maieria'ly increased, yet immense aadi-
foDs are made 10 The qusntity Of water 10
the channel by large streams from both
eastern and western sides OF the Mississip-
pi. The question naturally ARISES. what
becomes Of this vast added voluma OF
water? Ii certainly never reaches New
Orleans, and as certainly does not evapo.
rate; and Of course il is not confined to
the channel OF the river, for it would rise
far above the entire region sou'h Of us.
Ifawell is sunk anywhere in the Ar
kansas bottom water is found as soon as
the water level OF theMisslssippi is reached.
When the Mississippi goes down the water
sinks accordingly in The well. TIE owner
Of saw mill. some 60 miles from the
Mississippi. in Arkansas, dug well to
supply the bcilers OF his engine, during
the late flood. When tie waters rece6ed
his well went down, till his bose would no
longer reach the water, and finally his
we'll was dry. He dug a ditch to 40 ad-
tjacent lake, 10 let water into his well; the
lake was drained, and the well was dry
again. having literally drank ten acres ol
water IL less than a week. ThesinfereDce
is that the whole valley Of the Mississippi,
from its banks to the highlands on either
side, rests on pourous substratum. which
absorbs the redundant waters, and thus
prevents that degree OF accumulation
which would long since have swept New
Orleans into the Gulf but for this proviss-
ion OF Nature, TO which alone her safety
is attributable. In fact If the allGEial bot
toms Of the Mississippi were like the shores
Of the Ohio. the vast plain from Cairo Il
New Orleans would to day be part ant
parcel of. the Gulf Of Mexico, and the who'll
valley fresh water arm of the sea-
Were the geological character Of the vale,
different The construction of levees conin
ing the water of the Mississippi to its chan
mel, would cause the rise in the river Il
become so great at the South that no suf
fcient levees could be built. The cuTren
would be stronger and accumulation o
water greater as the levees are extended
, north of us.
Such results were. reasonably enough
anticipated; but the water instead Of break
ing the levees. pcrmeates the pourous sol
and the overflow is really beneath the sui
, face of the swamps. Such, it seems to vi
, are he wise provisions of the naturl
laws for the salty and ultimate reclamatio
OF the rich country south of us. We be
/. leve that tie levee systemm will be sue
cossful, and that the object Of it's adoptio
= will be attained. The poirousnsss Of ii
4 materials used in making them has cause
9 most If not all the crevasses. Men ma
: deem it a superhuman task to wall. in II
Mississippi from Cairo to New Orlean
o but our levees are the work of pigmi,
e when contrssted with the dykes OF HollAn
q The country to be reclaimed by our leve
, all of which will not for Fifty years CO
the people as much as those Of the DutC
S when originally built--would make OF
i hundred such Kingdoms as that over viii,
3 Boneparte once welded tie ceptre.-
!. Memphis Avalanche.