, 1881-01-07
TIE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

The Mississippi River Is tic nlast gigantic
parasite known to men. Thu lenst possible
cstlltato, computed from tlatn In lland, sllnws
TINT tho f,l,n'tnl averngc fur the last thirty
years of money expended OH It for improve
ine'its, mid lost tlltagli Its deprcdatinns, ex-
ccetls s7,0oo+00o. Fully ouc-thirl Of Ibis sum
IL used by tho Government, Stutcs. and prt-
vaso individuals to keep ths stream md It's
tributaries i1 MI "ilnproyrd condition." Tho
table will show tho nyeraEo Of expenditures
obtained for tic Inst thirty years:
! Expenditures Ut tho Stntes ut Mis-
slssirn!. LGt,fs,,,a, and Arkansas
rspenScS scaS hy s,!'ee so SS s,oycrnt o, sioooo
| ..prlyhtn 1yhunls-rstIuntp ...... t0,D0O,Od0
| DnnnHn by Hoods. Icc. .HarKest etc, 10
lovecs, property, iilc, cto.......'... so.toa,ooo
rotal;, s=a o9o, ,oco
l. To hts iia}' tbo HdHcd n, 7i.:.;.H acrcs
bytho Government III 1871, the vnuo ...
being hbOtit SIG pcr ncro.......... et7,T
Avcrs,go i'er ycaf, siaoo6' <'''''''
Only those vito nte acquainted with the
strealn aid its pcc1lfarltcs lave nh idea how
nninanageabc It IL. Tho unstable condition
VI tile soil OF the country through which It
flows rctlcrs it MI object Ut dlstrust to tho
inhabitants Of its border Such Is the trench
ero''s condition of Its relations Tint for sixty
Two years the Ingenuity Of man llas contriyed
it0 check OH Its action. Tho cn,,scs Of this
condition of things nro found partly in the
riyer-bed., The sed1mcntnry deposit varies
from 10 to 100 feet III depth. It Is generally
cotitr0seh Of silt, with mixture Of clay and
santt, Which, ''nying becil deposited by tic
river Is at Its tsposnf to lie still or be shifted
abont. 1t Is evident that 1,o ordinary ca,,-
struct'on can long stand unless It has
Foundation penetrating this l,ed to a rock
stratum. Tho great bridge ut St. Louis, for
instance, lns Its piers rcstlng OF tic lime
stonc bedrock, under IL sed,nen.ary deposit
Of seventy feet. Tile railway bridge Mt tic
luu1tll Of tho Minnesota River l,as its piers
lodged on Il slender stratum OF hard e,rtll
Sixty tect beneath tic rivers botton. 1t IL
further admitted that iii boring through this
stratum Il soft layer was struck, wlicl, would
not uphold tho rods weight. At Cairo, ILL.,,
III 1877, the United States corps Of engineers,
iii der Lieut.. D. ". Lockwuo,, mule boripgs
to n depth of eishiy-sayen feet without en-
C6t1f!teFfn2 any stratum harder ttlan sand
AT this point tlla machinery broke down uWl
epgitnti9iis i M were suspended. At Il depth of
,@SiS11'11sG 1t: tsgt tl MEET penetraten cot
eonclusycy THO faciilty With Witch tic rlycfi
makes Its uwn he'd. Al thu same pncn it Il
ssa1td s,,ato o!' EooH autority that plies oo on
Mh1%AEkt AatfE OEGtt III lfSil ~ NED[Il III
feGt without eneo,ntcrlnE o rocky stratum.
The story Of Its EreMtt width Is even ,noro
re1,arEabe. ,,ena!a' Near Cairo, ILL.,, tho river
i!toVea n ll,ile out Of its course fn one year,
Still more remarkable ase Tic operations of
the Missouri River. at otte time Council
.nit,lls rn5oyGtl It's pressnco III tho Immediate
proximity, ant Tho benefits Of It's commerce,
game the terminus for Western RAILWAYS
IT preference TO DmahB, three times It's
sze; Thess s, rallroa.ls ersctet lepots mid
se sens Gsss sis 0t Ts Fse Ga,Sn Mssfff cs pes sd
common With '''r' o,har rallWaSys' llSs' bait a'a u
!inion depot Mt tic, Bluffs, NJ. sooner
,S;olri performed the rare fcat Of moving
~ course to Omaha, three miles, awny.
Iliere Is no end tD Instances Ut this kind on
A.; smaller scals. 1t may be safcIy asserted
Mississippi varies to twelty miles in
width. 1t is no wonder, tlIon, TINT the
present eiNbaIklncnt. system IL fna.leunnte
ApGsoRrintlons ars only asked at present for
evident. however, TINT tho setinHntary bed
extends nearly to the source nf tie M!ssls.
sppl, pIsl tl'at ot onl y must tho l,li0 niles
t,,, TRIM H.! Scw Orleans TO cniro he eb,bnnkrI,
ter city On both this river md tho. Missouri
M explanation of tho frequent destruction
% % ttesess, tc t'aI i1;gs and : :eibanklaeHs il !nnn
a s ssG Ses t thsr s a rs Msn nss
err nae sS @ Of t2 iytFsa is t ,s ins hak tL; Is ra
gieers proceed to build a dixie. to resist the
strMctGtl which eonsists IT u rift covered
will. long poles placed crasswiao III altcr-
natc layers. This Is lon.led With heavy
stones tones n..,l sunk pear the ;slIolr. Dutslsla of
~ or thirty feet, n1ltl sometimes 10 twicu
thesU dcptlIs. 1}r>,sh md SHINES ,lre