Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1877-06-06
..The Beautiful BIue Danube''

s.The Beautiful Blue Danube''
The Danube, from its source to its
mouth, in an air line, is 1000 miles, but
the stream is so tOrtuOus that its actual
length is 1870 miles. and it traverses
nearly % deg. of latitude and 81 deg. of
longitude. The Danube and it's tribu-
taries drain an area of 100000 square
miles.
AT Belgrade, the capital of Servia, it
receives the waters of the Save, and
then pursues an easterly course, cOnsti-
tuting the boundary between Austria
and Servia, until it reaches the Tran
sylvania or Eastern Carpathians at
the extreme western end of ROumania.
Its course through this range is eighty
miles, and the pass offers great OBJ
stacie to navigation. The river is mar
rOwed to less than half its breadth
above, and in seven different places
there are rapids and whirlpools, of
which those in the sO-called Iron Gate,
oelow Old OreOva, are the most violent.
AT this point, opposite the small village
of TicheviZtha, the stream is narrowed
from a width of a mile to about $50
yards, and with depth, as far as can
be ascertained from the violence of the
current, of from 500 to 1000 fathOms.
The mountains on either side are very
lofty, nearly five thousand feet high
those Oh 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
water. When the river is low, the
sharp, craggy points of subaqueOus
rocks begin to show themselves above
the stream, and between these the pas
sage is most narrow. winding and shall
low, and, in fact, can only be passed by
steamers especially built for the pur-
pose, of light draught of water, four
paddle wheels and immense power, and
channel cut through the ledge. At the
breaking mp of the ice in the spring of
1876, the floating ice became jammed
among the crags in the Iron Gate.
which caused the stream to back up I'M
til vast tracts in Hungary were under
water. Such a deluge was unpreceden-
ted, and it suggested at the time the
feasibility OF producing similar effect
by artificial means, as a measure of
war. The blowing up of the precilice
of Mt. Schireber, on the Austrian side
of the pass, would bring down many
millions of tons of rock across the Iron
Gate, and long before the distractions
could be removed vast part of eastern
Europe would be turned into an inland
lake.
Having passed the Carpathians, the
Danube takes southeIly course, form
ing the boundary between Roumania
and Servia for short distance, and
then becoming throughout the rest of
its course the boundary between Rou-
mania and the Turkish province of Bull
garia. Below Widin it takes a turn to
the east, which it pnrsues until it
reaches point only thirty-two miles
from the Black Sea. Then it takes a
sudden turn to the north, flowing in
that direction for 100 miles, to the June
ton with the Sereth, near Galatz. Then
it turns again to the east, receiving the
waters of the Pruth, which marks a
part of the Russian frontier. After
flowing east about forty miles, in the
vicinity of Ismail and Tultcha it is di-
vided 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 river into the Black
Sea by three principal channels-the
kilia, SulIna, and st. George-and four
lesser ones. The most northerly of
these-the Kilia-is the boundary at
this point between Bulgaria and Rou-
mania, and is only about twenty-five
miles distant from the Russian bound
airy line.
The rapidity of its current in its up
per course, its tortuous windings, the
siallOwness of the water in the portion
which flows through Hungary, and in
the outlets into the Black Sea, and the
reefs, rapids and whirlpools which
mark its course at many points, have
rendered the navigation of the Danube
SO difficult that its commercial use has
not yet been fully developed. The in
PRODUCTION of steam in 1890 inaugurated
new era in its history. By the con-
vention of NoY. Z, 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 different points was re-
served to the subjects of the countries
along the banks. The treaty of March
Is, 1871, authorized the ievying of a
provisional tax on all commercial YES
sells for paying for the removal of the
in case that work should be undertaken.
An Austrian company, which almost
monopolizes the through traffic of the |
river, has very large fleet of steamers
and transports. Its vessels make the
voyage from Vienna to ConstantinOple |
in seven days. This company employs |
$50 vessels on the lower Danube, and !
these are now ali laid up by the im-
pending hostilities.
How The TuiIerfes Were Named.