Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1881-05-03
NO. 1O4.
4 Wonderful River.

| The Mississippi is a wonderful river. says
I Mr.. Bonvard, and. although | have travelled
through the four quarters of the globe I
have never Seen its compeer. The Nile. SO
famous in history. is insignificant in compar-
i>ou. The Missippi is sHi geaeyrs. Its rest
| less current is constantly making changes in
its photographed features. The working Of
the currents and their changes are unohserved
hy the ordinary traveller who plows his
way over the turbid surface ON swiftly NOV
ing steamer. All are hidden from him. Ii
requires residence of years on its banks To
rightly understand the peculiar philosophy OF
its moving waters. This at,entively studied
during the fifteen years was trading in flat
boats among the Indians and settlers along
its banks in my early life
one of the most striking pcculiaritieS of
the river is the uniformity Of its mcanders. or
bends Some of these are so uniform and
regular they have the appearance of having
been described by the sweep of compass.
and consequently the course of stream is
very sinuous. The bends are consequently
doubling on themselves and forming what are
called 'cut offs, ," and the river is travelling
about in the alluvium, after changing its bed
many miles, 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 its extent Of fourteen miles, The State
afterward set men To work to cut off Walk
er's bend into Tunica bend. thus reducing
apparently the length of the river sixteen
miles or more, u total in the two cut-ofis of
about thirty-miles, which entirely changed
the photography of the stream and gave il
this form instead OF the very crooked one il
had previously.
This also brought the mouth of Red river
ton p,tlas ln,r,r down ban tfs 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, rs the people call it. grows up"
and in u few wears the old river is shut COM
petcly out of sight. and forms lake back in
the forests. These lakes or ''old rivers" are
traccablc all along the lower river. This
growing up is another pecularity of the
Mississippi and would no, be noticed by an
ordinary traveller. unless h bend or island
that was undergoing this process was pointed
out and the philosophy explained TO him.
The explanation is this When bend
breaks through, an eddy. is formed directly
under the point of the cold river" In this
eddy sandbar forms and on this sandbar, in
short time, the alluy ium, held in suspen-
sion by the waters, is preciptated. when inn
mediaiely the young cottonwood trees begin
to grow. Every year new line of trees
makes its appearance and so ON year after
wear and shuts the old river out from view.
The rows of cottonwoods in their growth are
so exceedingly uniform and regular that they
have the appearance of having been set out
by human hands to ornament park or pleas
urc garden. The different growths, wear after
year, can be counted in regular graduation
from the sapling of the present year up to
the most magnificent tree of the forest of five
nr six feet in diameter