The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1881-07-02
A Wonderful River

The Mississippi Is wonderful river,
saws Mr.. Banvard. aud, although | have
Travelled through the four quarters Of the
globe. | have never seen its eomPeer The
Nile. so famous in history, is insignificant
/ in comparison. The Mississippi Is sai gen
eris. Its restless current Is constantly
making changes 10 us hydrographieal iea-
lures. The working Of the currents and
their changes are unobsrryed BY the ordi-
nary traveller who ploushs his way over
the turbid surface on q swiftly moving
steamer All are hidden from bin. Il
requires a residence Of years 90 its banks
10 rightly understand the peculiar philos-
ophy Of is moving waters. This l atien.
lively studied during fifteen years ! was
trading in hatboats smoug the Indians aud
settlers along its banks 10 my early life,
Ouc Of the most striking peculianiies Of
the river is The uniformity Of its mean
ders, or bends Some Of these are So uni
form and regular that they have the ap-
poarauce Of having been described By the
sweep Of compass, and consequently the
course ofthe stream is very sinuous. The
bends are consequently doubling on them
selves and forming what are eallsd "eut
offs, aud the river is travelling about 10
the alluvium, after changing its bed many
times, as well as its form.
The Red river bend swept around some
fourteen miles, Walkers bend sixteen
miles. The Red river bend broke through,
cutting of It's extent Of fourteen miles
The State afterward set men to work to
cut of Walkers bend into Tuniea bend,
thus reducing apparently the length Of the
river sixteen miles or more, 4 total ia the
two cut-offs Of about thirty miles, which
entirely changed the photography Of the
stream aud gave it this form instead Of the
very crooked one it had previously.
This also brought the mouth Of the Red
river some ten miles lower down than its
original position in the bend When
these "cut-offs' occur, the channels Of the
old river, or rather the opening Of the old
river into the new, closes, or, as the peo-
pie call it, grows up, and in 4 few years
the old river is shut completely out Of
sight aud forms lake back in the forests.
These lakes or "old rivers" are traeeable
all along the lower river. This growing
up is another popularity Of the Missis-
sippi and would not be noticed by an or
binary traveller, unless bend or island
that was undergoing this process was point
ed out aud the philosophy explained to him.
The explanation is this: When a bend
breaks through an eddy is formed directly
under the point of the "old river. In
this eddy sand bar forms and on this
sand bar, in a short time, the alluyium,
held in suspension by the waters, Is pre-
eipitatcd, when Immediately the young cot
tonwood trees begin TO grow. Every year
a new line Of trees makes its appearance,
and so on year after year and shuts the
old river out from view. The rows Of cot
tonwoods in their growth are so exceed
ingly uniform and regular that they have
the appearance of having been set out by
human hands to ornament park or plea
sure garden. The different growths, year
after year, can be counted in regular gra-
dation from the sapling of the present year
up to the most magnificent tree of the for
est of five or six feet in diameter.
GLOW do you like the Episcopalian SER
vice." asked Jones. "Never heard it,
replied Fogg; II dropped in at one of the
churches last Sunday 1t was quite early,
and so l began reading the service. l
didn't read far though before | found that
it would never do for me. So l came out.
Why, what was the trouble p "Too many
collections" "Too many collections ?"
'Yes, on almost every page it said collect.
One collection is all | can afford to re-
spond to- Must be awfully expensive to
be an Episcopalian. Boston Transcript.
If there is any person to whom you feel
dislike that is the person Of whom you
a a. I