The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-02-26

Iot spirits" If Shake had livet IN 81 Loui'
about this time he'd be surprised at the mum
her Of cxtrcmities Whereabouts. But as every
body has heard of what bad dty St. Louis
is, and knows al, about the cro,keds As well
as its big bridges &C. and as Ills is all can
say for ST. Louis stop and preoare for new
departure, and leave the wicked city to lis
fate.
A Journey of two or three Kindred miles
by water in mid winter might )e considered
trough undertaking" by thos' living north
of the King of Rivers, but onceon board one
of those floating palaces on thelower MisSis-
sippi, all such fear vanishes and as our
"craft" glides slowly and with carcely per
ceptible motion down the genly thr "bbing
current, we give ourselves upto the luxury
of the occasion. 1t was long past bedtime,
but wakeful and pacing tie decl, We note the
blinking lights of the ferries behind US as
they fade IN the distance; the passing tug
boats drawing after them morster trains OF
barges; and with the cherry light OF the
'torch baskets discover the moke coored
houses on the banks.
AS in an ocean voy age, breakfast, dinner
and supper succeed each othr 50 quickly
that one regrets the rapid Gghiof hours; and
when evening comes, the blaze of chande-
Tiers, the luxuriantly furnished cabin, and
the long promenade hall, together with the
various dances, colored ba,d paying tasteful
airs, and firtations about DE moonlight viii.
derness of decks is all thatcoul be asked for
and the very luxury travel. Morning dawned
and we found ourselves nearing Cairo or, as
1t is sometimes called, "Cgyp." Cairo re-
minded NE CT early piety and the stories l
used to read about the Arb. As the steamer
glided along on the might current, | could
see families pcrched in the second stories of
their house. gazing grizzly )ut upon the
broad ocean" that surrounds item. AZ one
point man was sculling Penthouse TO barn.
yard with food for his stock While at anoth-
er the COWS and swine stood On knoll dis
consoately browning; i'll anoher direction
inmates was preparing tdvacate on raft,
sail away Such was thu condition OF the
Carioitcs When the raiIs have swollen its
tributary rivers TO more tan heir ordinary
volume the Mississippi 8 gand, terrible,
and treacherous. Always subtle and serpent
| like IN its mode of stealth, upon its prey, 1t
swallows up acres at once-sYeeping them
away from their firm holdon he main land,
while on the other 1t coves plantations with
slime, broken tree trunks nd other rubbish,
forcing the frightened Inhabitants into the
second story of their cabir, and driving the
cattle high and dry upon ;nolIs to s,arve or
perhaps to drown. 1t ays waste levees
which cost immense sumsand goes bubbling
and roaring through the cevices, distracting
the planters that dwell Uon its shores, and
sending dlsmay 10 thousaIs Of people in a
Single night One day itpromises a fall,
while the next 1t rises so addenly that the
adventurous woodsmen haN hardly time to
flee for their lives Out ofmany a small
town set too closely by its dge, it makes
pigmy Venice, or floats it ofaltoge,her.
| The river Is forever making land on one
side and tearing away on the oter, the bends
in its course not permitting tie current 10
wash both banks with equal fore; and some
of the old pilots say that that section btow
ST. LOUIS should have been called the Nils
souri, rather than the Mississippi TheMi
souri,, they CLAIM, give to the Father of Wa.
tiers most of its characteristics which denim
ate it until It has been reinforced by the Ohio
and other rivers.
The farmer on the alluval b)ttoms secs
with dsmay his co,ton-felds diminish year
by year, acres slipping into the dirk current,
but the ease with which cotton, corn and 81.
gar are raised along its banks such that
they willingly run the risk. Tie stream is
so crooked that twenty miles sail by water
Is sometimes necessary where tie distance
across is not over half mile.
[. sometimes happens that in al hour the
planter is doomed TO see thousands OF acres,
which have been carefully prepared for
| planting, covered with water two or dlree
feet deep; then the country round abou be.
comes a swamp, The roads are rivers, the
lakes are seas Yet the foundations do not
come with alarming frequency, and bui on
two occasions IN seven years. In 1869 the
! lowlands were overlooked, and in 1S74the
confusion and distress was terrible to witrcss
Starvation has stood at the doors Of thus.
ands, and only the hands OF charity have
saved hundreds from misery and death In.
der the slave system, the planters on the Dw.
lands were able 10 guard against ruin by va.
ter by elaborate preparations and vigilance,
which they cannot summon now; and il is
believed that nothing but grand national
work by the general government Will ever
secure 10 the delta that immunity from min
so desirable for people already Frustrated by
war and political knavery.
A. the Mississippi valley north and suth
will in future hc one of the most ponuDus