Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-10-19
NAVIGABLE RIVERS.
How the Volume of Water is Consumed
by the System of Irrigation.
Theory of Denudation Of Mountains OF Their
Trees Does Not Acc unit for the Fall.
ing on Of the Water.
Special to the Gazette.

Special to the Gazette.
KANSAS CITY. Mo-, Oct. ls.-Prof.
Richard Meagher, who has been study
ing the irrigation system of the West and
its effects for some months, is in the
city, and makes some very startling pre-
dictions regarding the ultimate result OF
turning aside the water courses Of the
Northwest.
The professor is preparing very elab-
crate series of papers to be submitted to
the government and TO various scientific
societies. which will demonstrate the
fact that the diversion of the water of
the mountain streams will eventually
cause the loss of the larger rivers to nav
igatIon. He predicts that within ten
years the Missouri river will be so re-
duced that even the smallest steam craft
will be unable TO ply its waters. In
proof of this he cites the present condi-
ton of the river In comparison with that
of ten years ago. At that time boats
were running regularly up the river to
its headwaters, while now only two are
IN the trade and they only run to Kansas
City. These Two boats are built with
such shallow draught that they can run
In twelve inches of water, yet they haNs
already been withdrawn from the trade
on account of low water. During the
old boating days the vessels ran until
they were forced out by the heavy ice.
1t Is a well known fact among river men
of this vicinity that the water was always
at better stage ten years ago than II 10
now, Notwithstanding the fact that the
government has spent hundreds of thou
sands of dollars in making dykes and re-
vetments
TO COMBINE THE CHANNEL.
Various thories have been advanced by
scientific men of the country to account
for the falling off of the water supply the
most PLAUSIBLE and most generally &C.
cepted one being the denuiatiou of the
mountains of their trees, which has
caused a smaller average rainfall during
the year. This theory has been accepted
simply because the men who have wanted
a theory have been satisfied with it with
out taking the trouble to examine it and
prove its deductions. Professor Meagher
SAYS that IL anyone will only stop and
think moment he will, readily see that
the denudation theory is utterly unten-
able.
The professor has made an exhaustive
research of the meteorological reports of
the government over period extending
back ten years and finds from the charts
and data furnished by the signal service
Office, that in that time the rain and
snow fall IN the mountains, whence
comes the water supply of the rivers, has
been much larger than ever known be-
fore in the same region. Not only is
this q fact but he shows from yolumin-
GUS clippings from papers from the West
that during the last few years there have
been unprecedented falls of snow, and 1t
has been general fact that every
spring there have been predictions of ex-
sive floods along the upper Missouri river
on account of these SHOWS, while 1t Is
ealso true that none of these floods have
ever come. The professor thinks that
these two facts when taken together
effectuslly do away with the denudation
theory, while at the same time it is
shown that the water in the Missouri
river and its tributaries has steadily
fallen until the mighty river is hardly
navigable for the smallest craft.
He said in substance: 81 first had my
attention called to this subject while in
Denver few years ago. 1 was out in
that city twelve years ago and at that
time Cherry creek was mountain
stream which meandered through the
city very quietly until it was swollen by
the melted SHOWS from the mountains
and then it was raging torrent. Then
il would come down and sweep every
thing in its path. The long heavy
bridges looked odd during the periods of
low water. but when the creek was
flooded these same bridges were swept
away while the rivulet was turned into
raging river. Bridges, houses and dams
were swept away
LIKE so MUCH CHAFP.
At one time heavy iron safe was