The Osceola times., 1875-09-11

TO the mouth OF the st. Francis,
and on the east side Of the river
from Memphis down to Island 100,
some thirty miles above Vicksburg,
and by so doing you relieve the
the river OF millions Of cubic fost
Of muddy water. This would, ~
IN tho case Of tho 'outiets' below,
drop tho mud, filling up the
swamps and low places, aud pass
On back into the river perfectly
clear (Which bear IN mind by the
drawing OIL of tho waller below
has been prepared to receive III
thus relieving the mouth Of tho
river Of millions OF mud, and st tho
Same time converting into high
lands the sw.mps Of the 81. Fran
Gus, the fxzoo, all louisiana and
Arkansas most of tho Arkansas
and Mississippi river bottoms to
New Orleans, and increasing the
fall or relief ut and above Cairo.
IT all this may not be sufficient
without damage or danger tO those
below from tho accelerated waters
precipitated by cutoff system,
which will then be sensible and
practical, by which means the river
to some extent, may DO straight
ensd, and shortened fully two hun
drsd miles from Na:ehsz to Cairo,
and kept so by 4 system OF piling
or wing dams, that will bs necsssa.
ry 10 coniins tho water ia single
channels, by which means fully 20
feet may BE- secured from Memphis
TO New Orleans ut the lowest stage.
Ills will draw Of the waters from
above, and complete the grand sys.
TEN by which the entire valley vi
the Mississippi (and tributaries can
be reclaimed without q foot oil leves
from Cairo 10 New Orleans. This
| assert can be done, and challenge
General Humphriss, chief Of engih
eers, 10 retnte, who said fifteen
years ago, that cutoff systsm
was PERM cious, for although all
abOvs them would be relieved, all
those below would 10 to the samo
sxtsn, submsrgsd.' '
HIS subs. to-day say the same
thing, and from their very scienti
fic stand point Of beginning At ths
upper end and never reaching the
lower end OF the river 10 correct.
About as sensible as was the fellow
who tried to get a patent TO bui.d
brick chimney by beginning 4.
the top. BY the plan that l pro-
pose, which is based on eomoa
sense, by beginning at tho bottom
or lower end and working up, by
first preparing the lower section to
receive The accelerated waters from
above.
l contend that this is q practical
and not a scientific question; that
is, if 10 be scientific means disre-
gard OF common sense, which be-
llev. is the cnsc, if these wonderful
engineers are right. Next in great
ness to this grand assumption of
theirs is the assertion that outlets
will not relieve the river ofIts food
tides. Any person who 10 not n
candidate tor tho lunatIc asylum
knows that whenever a break in
the levss takes place Of any con.
siderable size the river at once
falls. But TO persons who know
anything about these matters, and
think a little for themselves these
silly baldiaced assertions Of these
scientifics have about ss much
weight a. do their wonderful dec.
larations as to how much water pas
sss Cairo or any other gwen point
has to do with preventing overAows
which come and 20 ns il these sci
entities and their wonderful calcu-
lations had never been made.
A class of Port Gibson school
boys with their teacher, in
1909, went down toGrand Gulf and
mea ured tho river and told him
how much water passed thero IN a
given time. But it had no moro
effect in controlling subsequent
floods Of that day than has Mr..
Humphrics and all his scientific
talk, and ! will say unfortunate
book Of report had in controlling
the flood water OF the present day.
Tie great trouble with these
scientihcs, who only now and then
como out to the Southern aud
Western provinces to take look,
they have no practical experience
and do not know how to deal with
the great river, which requires a
lifetime 10 comprehend ITS peeul;-
aritIes, the magnitude OF which is
so great there are but few, whose
lives have been spent or ITS ever
changing banks, can and 60 come
to correct conclusions, and all this
lesds Legislators into crror. Atthe
same time the majority of people
who have but luie knowledge OF
the river cannot be made 10 under.