Telegram-herald., 1890-06-06

..tara Ha0i1a A-i- 81 "a = cav
Col o n EFRss, - sAs U. S. kr1y.
- solicited f1r s-lsf st4tsasas II
ths Pl4as pFePoasd Aad - tie ona
adopted far tAs so1trol u the Nississ-
tFpi riF4r. al replied a. foll0xs
ll - .ls a1ail rrgak Il ths river. 5elo-
Cairo. 60 @llal tn. attention II u.
p4cll1 las lately csea 1raEn evths rs-
ea4E ofsr19F ID "a 20 ta4t portion u
tls Alsslssi ppl Eaz1 = stassmsas. il or
Ger 90 CO brief. Gust be huitsd.
lls functions or ths river are t1o-
dold = is primarily great dr.ia BRO
Vi16t - Nature - carry oT - tls "a.
the rainfall ef half a continent. See
ondarllY. t Is EFeas naVi gable water
uay. ~Al1h l. ltAizsd ~ nlan as
highway OF soUleEcs n Its avsrars
condition Is serves both purposes vel.
Bat lr Is sublect 70 s1tTeLas stages u
high and loE water.
Tie 1ottola lands Of the MississipDi
below Cairo eonstltlts vast alIuyial
p.ain some atty or sixty miles wide aud
asarlY 90 laIies long. made up Of the
sPolis from high ground which tho
EiFsF hes been bringing down for count
less centuries lhrough this mass OF
debris tho stream uows in tortuous
tIou- The length OF the valley Is lsss
rhan 800 miles tho length OF the river
e. nearly 100 miles. The dimensions
ssr the channel ara those which the river
aas habitually required a. vines when
a. IS most powerful and therefore best
able % eGeag ats channel, that Is 80
ths higher stages. The difference in
level between the highest " ater recorded
Ant ths lowest, - at Cairo, hfty-thres
feet. L0Usr down the 4 tfsrencs i less.
bat stiL very great. At high water
tAs river - a moving ocean, carrying
vast quantities OF silt and possessing
grsas building as well as destructive
pO4sr. As low water the bed -
mSoton0us waste Of yellow sand bars
through which the channel wAnders,
torruous. shallow snd shifting, with
course different from that OF the high
water channel and mueh less direct. is
Is evident shat the higher stages exert
q controlling iuduence upon the shape
OF the bed aud cOnseq uently OF the low
water channel
The quantity ot water flowing at the
lowest stage IS sufficient TO provide for
all the needs Of navigation, but at many
places 10 10 in bad shape, being spread
out In thin sheets a mile or two wide.
I.
exceed 3 900 feet. the depth Is sufficient
and the navigation Is gCod. The plan
cf Improvement adopted by the Govern
meat c0ntemplates the concentration
Of all the water az low stage IN chan
mel having a surface width OF about
!. COO feet. In doing this the building
power Of the river Is utilized, new
banks boing built mp closer together by
means OF cheap stlt-catching devices,
aud large areas being reclaimed from
tho river bed At the same time
ia securing power Is utilized by
concentrating ia dow over a moderate
width. Bat as ths low water channel
is often obliteratsd at high water, and
moreover, as the greatest securing
power upon which the deepening of the
channel depends ia found at high
water, 10 Is not sufficient % control the
river az low water Only. The width AZ
Lirh water also must be reduced and
the general location Of the high and low
water channel must be made 10 more
nearly coincide than they do in nature.
To aid Ia the protection from over
dow sn1 - supplement the levess, two
plans have been proposed, but both
have been condemned by the great ma
iorlty Of engineers who have considered
the question One Is TO store up tho
hood waters in great artificial lakes or
reservoirs. The food discharge Is about
1000. 00O cubic feet per second or l20,- p
90. 600 cubic feet per minute. That -
square mile Of water Al feet deep flows
out every minute. and a square milefof
water 260 feet deep every hour. Every
day there flows out y mass of water
which would cover p squsre miles POO
feet deep. The capacity OF the reser-
voIrs required 20 store any important
part OF this how must Dc enormous.
The country does not provide any loca-
tion where sthey can be constructed
The other Il what is known as the
Outlet System, sia which 10 is proposed
O. open additional outlets % tha sea
through new openings 70 Dc made a.
various points m the lower portion OF
the river The theory that water
wiu fow of more rapidly II
additional means Of exit be provided IL
a plausible ore and would be true II
the additional means were really sddi-
tonal. though sven then the relief
would be local and not general But as
hss baens explained the river has
moulded its cwn bed It carries great
quanr5ties - solti matter with which
o. hll no and re-acs ae dimensions OF
its trench 1wberevsr these exceed its
habitual need TO divide the river into
two. by taking ofl.snY Considerable p0r-
tion ~ its rolums through sn outlet.
would - 90 rsduc- is habitusl require
mspts below tls outlst proDortionstely
and w0uf4 fnftiliov res1lt IN partial
6llinx no of she bed Nothing can -
more certain than shat the final result
of che outlet system would BE 90 raise
ths dord-.evsl Of ths river instead Of