The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-11-10

Htchafalaya. It's volume. added to that Of the
main river. would increase the volume t so an y
lower the slope from Red river 70 sne sea y!
least one fourth inch per mile. rms Woulc
lower the floods from Cairo to Red river over
six feet. -. a,ono far tho same
reason that they divide the volume into smaller
streams and increase the friction; me Woe
expanses which are so l for thew aso Increase
the friction. BY bringing these 10 uniIormlty
4 Of width corresponding TO the narrow parts OF
mel where it is divided by Islands, Mr.. Eads is
confident the food slope can be lowerd suff-
cientIy TO render levees unnecessary
nv Dpplying the principles laid down in the
theory Of Capt. Fads at the beginning, It will be
saen that the wide, lake-lke places in, the river
are the cause of nearly all the troubles which
beset both navigation and agriculture through +
out the alluvial basin. When Hood occurs the
current is very rapid in the narrow, places. and
consequently, highly CHARGED with sediment.
takes place extensively in the latter. and great
Shoals result, which are infested. with snags.
The water after passing t out 81 .hese Waae
Its speed and loads up again from She BED and
banks of the next narrow part, and carries the
spoils taken here to he next wide place. This
cieates the caving banks. the cut offs and rapid
changes in the stream. The shoals are simply
efforts of the river to build UP the bed and pro-
duce sleeper slope to restore the normal cur
BY q uniform width of the river banks uni
form depth would be secured; this would pro-
caving OF banks, and it would lower the food
slope below the surface of the lands. because it
would remove the excessive FRACTIONAL resist
ance created by the wide river-bed. 1t only
needs the one-fffth part Of one inch per mile Of
reduction Of slope from Cairo to Red River to
lower the floods i21z feet at Cairo.
The narrow parts of the river below Cairo sell
dom have q less depth than thirty feet in low
water in them, and Capt. Eads Is confident that
reducing the river to uniformity of width
would give uniform depth from Cairo to the
sea, during the lowest water, of at least twenty
feet. NO Strengthening OF the river is recon-
The plan of Capt Eads is thus shown to be
widely different from that of the United States
engineers. while 1t will involve but little more
outlay OF money and require no more time for
Its execution. One plan incoses between enor-
nous levees the present bed Of the stream, with
all of the wide places which are shown to be the
cause OF Its, caying banks, and 1t contemplates
previous flood levels. 1t leaves the terrors of
anticipated crevasses to depress forever the
value of the lands, and involves constant
mainlain u control of the floods which will be
uncertain at best; while the plan of Capt
Eads proposes to remove the causes OF the
which viii LIT. a. It were, the Whole
alluvial basin. a territory much larger than the
State OF Indiana. absolutely above overflow for
navigation into the. very centre Of the republic,
along coast line of 1900 miles OF the borders of
six OF the largest States In the Union. and will
thus open up the interior of the country to the
commerce Of the world. by one of the grandest,
safest and most inexpensive highways on the
fertile lands in existence, equal to that of five OF
the New England States. is of itself something
stupendous to contemplate, but the results
which. would flow to the whole country and to
mankind. from the cheapening of transporta-
ton alone. If the Mississippi were made navi-
gable for ocean vessels to the mouth of the
would follow the subjugation of the floods