St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1859-04-07
G5e yntelIiecnter.
A River TO the Mountains.

Under this heading the st. Loui
Democrat breaches a magnificent en-
tcrprisc, which is nothing less thar
to mite the waters of the Upper Ar
kansas, the South Platte, and the Kan
sas rivers with one stream to fill tn,
| bed of the latter, and make from these
inCOnsidcrablc aud almost useless
streams, one broad, deep, navigable
river, that would open the far West
country clear to the base of the noun
tains, and into the new aurifcrous re-
gions, whittier emigration is now
powerfully attracted. The river thus
created would be equal to the Mis-,
souri, in magnitude. The plan Of the
Democrat is as follows
The Kansas (Caw) is "a stream at
present navigable to boats of light
draught for a short distance once or
twice year. Its sources, however,
reach the high table land at the base
Of the mountains, and the two long
arms, the Smoky Hill and Republican
forks, thread their way through AN al
most unbroken descending plain until
they unite at Fort Riley. Those who
will glance at map Of that section
Of our country will notice that almost
parallel with the Smoky Hill Fork of
this river runs for several hundred
miles the Upper Arkansas, and that
almost parallel with the Republican
Fork of this river runs for a like dis
lance the South Platte. Let us treat
of these, one at a time. The divide
which separates the waters of the Ar
kansas from those of the Kansas, is a
mountain spur, that soon subsidies and
is lost in the plain.
The distance across from one stream
to the other as far down as Bent's
Fork, is not more than forty miles
and the distance from the Arkansas to
the point where drainage into Smoky
Hill Fork begins, is not more an
fifteen miles. Again, the strip of Ia
bic land that separates the South Platte
from the Republican Fork, is not more
than thirty miles wide, and from the
former to the point Of divide, is not
more, in some places, than eight miles.
Now it is evident that were the Upper
Arkansas turned into the Smoky Hill
Fork, and the South Platte turned into
the Republican Fork, and both pour
their mountain floods down the Kan
sas, we should there have Il river sec
und to but one on the continent and
far up each branch for Il
large class of steamers.
The Arkansas is, after issuing forth
into the great plain, stream some
four feet in depth and 300 yards i'll
width, with current SO strong that a
man can scarcely stem its force. The
South Platte is Of about half that size
and volume, with an equal rapidity of
flow. The discharge Of water from
each is immense, and greater than or
binary rivers of twice their apparent
There could be no diff
Guilty then on that score. They would
make, when combined in the valley OF
the Kansas, another Missouri.
The feasibility of piercing these
narrow divides with proper s'uiCcs, is
then discussed at length, and made TO
appear unqucstiOnable.
The divides are stated to be mar
row. of light and easily worked for
and in no part of any great
elevation The article concludes by
suggesting another motive to this
startling enterprise, besides the de-
mands of commerce.
Both the Arkansas and Platte are
gold bearing rivers, that have been
washing down the glittcring PARTICLES
and dcpositing them amid their sands
for thousands of years. Their bot
toms are placcrs. Turn them aside
and You lay bare to the energy Of the
who are already tiocklng
in that direction perchancc the richest
diggings the world has ever known.