The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1881-06-04
A Wonderful River.

The Mississippi IS a wonderful river,
says Mr.. Bonvard, and although I have
travelled through the four quarters of the
globe, | have never seen its compeer.
The Nile, so famous in history, is insight
ticant in comparison. The Mississippi is
SUI gencyis. Its restless current is con-
stautly making changes in its hydrograph-
ical features. The working of the cur
rents and their changes are unobserved by
the ordinary traveller who plows his way
over the turbid surface on swiftly mov-
ing steamer. Al are hidden from him.
1t requires a residence of years on its
banks to rightly understand the peculiar
philosophy of its moving waters. This l
attentively studied during the fifteen years
l was trading in fatboats among the In
dians and settlers along the banks in my
early life.
One Of the most striking peculiarities
of the river is the uniformity of its mean
ders or bends Some of these are so uni
form and regular they have the appear
auce of having been described by the
sweep Of compass, and consequently the
course Of the stream is very sinuous. The
bends are consequently doubling on them
selves aud forming what are called "eut-
offs, and the river is travelling about in
the alluyium, after changing its bed many
miles, as well as its form.
The Red River bend swept around
fourteen miles;W Walkers bend sixteen miles.
The Red River bend broke through, cut
ting eff its extent Of fourteen miles The
State afterward set men to work TO cut off
Walkers bend into TGniea bend, thus re-
reducing apparently the length Of the river
sixteen miles or more, a total in the cut
offs Of about thirty miles, which entirely
changed the hydrograPy Of the stream and
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 10 the bend. When
these ecu, offs occur the channels Of the
old river, or rather the opening Of the old
river into the new, closes, or, as the people
call it, grows up, aud in few years the
old river IS shut completely out Of sight,
aud ferns a lake back in the forests.
These lakes. or "oli rivers, are traceablc
al along the lower river. This growing
up IS anoiher peculiari,y of the Mississip-
pi, and would no, be noticed By an ordina-
~ traveller, unless bend or island tha;
was undergoing this process was pointed
out aud the philosophy explained to him,
The explanation Is this When bend
breaks through an eddy is formed directly
under the poiat of the -old river. In
this eddy sandEar forms, and on this
sandbar, in a short time, the alluyium,
held ia suspension By the water, is pre-
cipi;a,el, when immediately the young
cottonwood trees begin to grow, Every
year i new hue Of trees makes its appear
auee, and SO on year after year, and shuts
the old river ont from view The rows of
eo,,cawoods in their growth are so exceed
iBsly uniform aud regular that they have
the appearance Of having been Sc. out by
human hands to ornament park or pleas
urc garden. The different growths year
after year can be counted in regular gra-
da,ion, from tbe sapling Of the present
year up to the mos; magnificent tree of
the forest, Of frc or six fee. in diameter.