The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1882-10-28


garding mere patches of overflow,
is to prevent the building Of any
more bars in the channel, by shut
ting the river ont of the great ba-
sins over which at high water it
now spreads, aud confining it TO
the space between such basins on
the one side and the hills which
wall in the valley on the other, as
shown by the accompanying map.
Where the bars in the channel are
isolated and far apart, this could
be accomplished by single line
of levee along the river front,
which would answer the double
purpose of levee and jetty-of
leuee, in preventing any continu-
ous outflow from the channel,
which builds bars, and of jetty, in
concentrating water upon the chan
mel, so as to remove the bars and
make the river seour out its bed.
Where these bars, which have
been years in building, and are
miles in length, stand to dam and
shallow the current for long rea.
ches in the river, rendering it i'm
possible to remove them by throw
ing the waters of a single food
upon them, all attempts to confine
the river very closely by levees
Immediately upon its banks are a
mere waste of money, so far as
channel Improvement is concerned
Until these distractions are re-
moved, the river in time of food
must have moro room than the
channel between its banks affords.
If ii fail to sweep them away, it
will spread and go round them.
But as the river fall is mostly con-
centrated at these dams, their re.
moval would lower its flood and
bring the river into one channel,
when the levee system could be
completed so as to confinc it as
closely as might be desired, when
It could be made to scour out its
bed to any requisite depth.
A single overflow or break in a
levee would not only replace the
dirt that had been removed from a
bar, but it would build new bars,
which might shift or divide the
river, so that it would cease to
flow in the channel that had been
improved. Any attempt to i'm
prove the channel of the Missis.
sippi river, however simple OF
however elaborate, prior to stop
ping overfows, is to doctor the
symptom and not the disease
Lcvees, therefore, must first be
built to prevent overflow, in order
to make the channel improvement
; impossible. And they must be sc
constructed as to exclude the pos
sibility of their breaking. Per
: manency is the first essential.
During this period when the
river is gradually securing away
these shoals, with the aid of sucl
additional appliances as you will
devise to concentrate its waters
: upon them, in obtaining such uni
formity of depth as will make itl
constant confinement to one chan
mel practicable throughout its en-
tire course, building levees yer,
near the banks, except at the lowe,
part of the river, where there ar,
but few bars, would result in ele
waiting the river bed AID spreadin,
its waters.
! In the present condition Of tb,
/, , river bed the only system of con
fining the waters of the Missis
4 sippi is, as has been already stated
. in connection with the hills oppo
. site each of the great basins, b,
building one line of levees in sec
: tions on the west side of the rive
J. from the jetties to Commerce, Mis-
: souri,, along the fronts of the AT
! chafalaya, Tensas and st. Franci
! basins, and on the east side fror
I the jetties to Baton Rouge, an,
;, along the front of the Yazoo basin
making, with the walls of the va
i ley, a permanent and continuou
Q levee or jetty system on both side
of the river, which, as the rive
D bed was secured out, would serv
+ to reinforce levees, If require
J Immediately on its banks.
o OF these levees which have frs
!, to be built to make river improve
l. ment possible or permanent, til
+ one in front of the Yazoo is th
: shortest, most important, and mos
q difficult to maintain.
# Against the front Of this basi
G the st. Francis, White and Arkal
y sas rivers pour their floods, t.
h gether with the great volum
e. which overfows from the Missil
1 sippi into the st. Francis aboy
/ Memphis, and which is again +,
-