The Russellville Democrat., 1877-05-17
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THE DANUBE.
Tho Great River which Flows Through
 the scfns CT the Eastern War.

Tho Great River which Flows Through
 the sefns CT the Eastern War.
 The Danube, from it's source to it's
 mouth, in an air line, is 1920 miles. but
 the stream is SO tortuous that it's actual length is 1920 miles, and it traverses nearly P degrees of latitude and 5l of longitude. The Danube and it's tributa- ries drain an area of 30,000 square miles.
 At Belgrade, the capital of Servia, 1t receives the water of the Save, and then pursues an easterly course, constituting the boundary between Austria and Servia until it reaches the Pennsylvania or eastern CarpathiaDs, at the extreme western end of Roumania.
 Its course through this range is eighty miles, and the pass offers great obstacle to navigation. The river is narrowed to less than half it's breadth above, and in seven different places there are rapids and whirlpools, of which those in the so- called Iron Gate, below old Orseva, are the most violent. At this point, opposite the small village of Ticheviztha, the stream is narrowed from a width of & mile to about one hundred and eighty yards, and with depth, as far as can be ascertained from the violence of the cur. rent, of from eight hundred to one thou- sand fathoms. The mountains on either side are very lofty, nearly five thousand feet high, those on the Austrian side being one thousand feet higher than those on the opposite bank. The mountains rise nearly sheer for about three thousand feet above the stream, and where not perpendicular, rather overhang the wa ter. When the river is low. the sharp, craggy points of subaqueous rocks begin to show themselves above the stream, and between these the passage is most mar row, winding and shallow, and, in fact, can only be passed by steamers especially built for the purpose, of light draght of water, four paddle wheels and immense power, and even these steamers make use of channel cut through the ledge. At the breaking up of the ice in the spring of 1876, the floating ice became damned among the crags in the Iron Gate, which caused the stream to back up until vast tracts in Hungary were under water. Such deluge was unpre- cedented, and it suggested at the time the feasibility of producing similar effect by artificial means as measure of war. The blowing up of the precipice of Mount Schireber, on the Austrian side of the pass, would bring down many millions of tons of rocks across the Iron Gate, and long before the Instructions could be removed, vast part of eastern Europe would be turned into an inland lake.
 Having passed the Carpathians, the Danube takes a southerly course, form ing the boundary between Reumania and Servia for short distance, and then be- coming throughout the rest of it's course the boundary between R0umania and the Turkish province of Bulgaria. Be- low Widen it takes turn to the east, which it pursues until it reaches point only thirty-two miles from the Black sea. Then it takes sudden turn to the north, flowing in that direction for one hundred miles, to the junction with Sereth, near Galatz. Then it turns again to the east, receiving the waters of the Pruth, which marks part of the Russian frontier. After flowing east about forty miles in the vicinity of Ismail and Tultcha, it is divided into several branches. These wind sluggishly through the low and dreary alluvial country known as the delta of the Danube, and empty the waters of the great rivers into the Black sea by three principal channels the Kilia, Sulina and St. GeOrge-and four lesser ones. The most northerly of Kilia-is the boundary at this point between Bulgaria and Rou- mania, and is only about twenty-five miles distant from the Russian boundary line.
 The rapidity of it's current in it's upper course, it's tortuous winding, the shallow ness of the water in the portion which flows through Hungary, and in the out lets into the Black sea, and the reefs, rapids and whirlpools which mark it's course at many points, have rendered the navigation of the Danube so difficult that its commercial use has not yet been fully developed. The introduction of steam in 1880 inaugurated new era in it's history. By the convention of No vember ', 1857, between the states through which the river flows, vessels of all nations were allowed to ascend the Danube from its mouth to any point above, but navigation between the differ ent points was reserved to the subjects ot the countries along it's banks. The 
 treaty of March l3, 1871, authorized the levying of provisional tax on all com vessels for paying for the re. moval of the remaining Instructions ef the Iron Gate, in case that work should be undertaken. An Austrian company, which almost monopolizes the through traffic of the river, has a very large fleet of steamers and transports Its vessels make the voyage from Vienna to Con- in seven days. This com pany employ one hundred and fifty ves- sels en the lower Danube, and these are now all laid up by the impending hostil- ities.
 NIGHT before last tired, discouraged man out on North Hill went home and flung himself down on a lounge, and said "he wished he were dead, dead, dead" In two hours he was writhing in a pre- mature and unreasonable attack ot cholera morbus, and howled, and prayed,
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