The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-06-21
The Mississippi "Jetties."

1t is no new thing to state that the
Mississippi River is one of the grandest
water courses on the face Of the glob-.
And yet the grandeur of this wonderful
stream can be but teebly comprehended
by any generalizing statement of which
followed all its winding way, and wit
messed it's manifestations Of mighty
power over the land along all its devious
course, it communicates some concep.
tion Of its own majesty and vastness.
Unlike other rivers, this dominates the
land, instead of the land controlling the
river. With other rivers their waters
are the vassal held in restraint by their
paramount shores; but with the Misss-
sippi, the land is the subject and the
mighty river the monarch. Its power
is indisputable and undisputed. No
mountain mass rears its rocky barriers
against its sway. 1t rolls its silent sol
emn floods against the yielding shores
and they submissively crumble at their
touch. Its own will seems to fix it's own
course. And, as though conscious of its
sovereignty, its ample volume goes roll
ing on with innate force, silent but re.
ward but unchallenged. Instead OF
turbulence under restraint, not wave
breaks its majestic movement; uncon-
scious OF confinement, nota ripple ruffles
ifo coInmn diunitv nf acpant MiIlinnr
OF boiling eddies come rolling up to be-
speak the volcanic forces innate within
its turbid depths, but not bubble bab-
bles Of the toiling mysteries below. Un-
like the ocean to which 1t runs, it is moi
a"waste OF waters;" but is rather, like
the forest through which it runs, a aoilder-
ness of eodters. Through hundreds Of
leagues those forest growths of vivid
gPeeu seem serpentine walls of verdure
enclosing labyrinth of streams whose
willIul windings no sagacity can trace,
no geometry can measure, no chart nor
compass define. On all this round
world there is no other river like unto
the Mississippi River.
Flowing through an alluvial region for
two thousand miles, and fed by tributa-
ries also flowing through alluvial regions
for thrice two thousand miles, this vast
stream must needs carry in its bosom
whole mountains of sandy detritus
washed from the inner basin of the con-
tinent that it drains. On its meeting the
ocean this tribute from the land must be
yielded up, and there this burden OF
floating matter is finally deposited, and
an immense delta is formed.
All this is the work OF Nature. To
change this, and open an unobstructed
channel to the ocean, is the work of Man.
1t would seem that all the appliances
that man could devise would be but fee
BILE forces when arrayed against such
power as this. And yet man, working
BY the same powers Of nature, bids fair
to accomplish this end, 80 long a desid-
sratum Of the Nation. The Ocean, as ii
Jealous Of the Great River, had, by its
currents and denser waters, thrust back
these deposits and reared an alluvia
dam at the rivers mouth. To cut a
channel through this obstruction, suta.
ble for sea-going vessels OF the largest
tonnage, was the problem for science
and engineering skill to solve. To the
solution Of that problem the now famous
OWL Engineer, Capt. EADs, addressed
himself.
To this end Capt. Eads visited Europe
TO Inspect the works done for like pur-
poses at the mouths Of the Danube and
the Rhone; in the construction of which,
Dir. Hartley, now SIR CHARLES HART
LEY, had so distinguished himself as to
receive from his Sovereign the honors
OF Knighthood. After rigid scrutiny OF
those works and close estimate OF the
forces there employed, Oapt. Eads re-
turned and sat himself down to the
work Of adapting those principles to the
still mightier work Of controlling the
outlet of the Mississippi, a stream vast.
ly greater than those European rivers,
and carrying out thousand times more
Of the silt held in Its waters than did
those streams.
The prfnoiula uDon which the work il