The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-10-16
A Battle with Nature.

A curious story comes from the prairie
States. At q point few miles south of
Omaha the Missouri river has for some time
shown indications of shifting its channel. A
long straight reach OF water driven by a
three knot current. abuts against the Iowa
shore and is gradually cutting its way into
the land. Farmers in the river valley know
what that means. 1t indicates that next
spring, when the freshets swell the body of
river water. the stream will widen and
deepen the cut. while IL eats out for itself q
new channel, submerglng the farms which
lie on the river bank TO avert this disaster
the Iowa farmers acknowledgements at
highland proceeded TO dig canal on the
Nebraska side of the river. to draw of the
stream, and necessarily in so doing to drown
some Nebraska farms. In this case the law
of self-preservation involved the destruc-
ton of t'other party.
The conflict is not new. In the lower
Mississippi the torrental river in spring
often cuts slice off one of its borders and
enlarges the area of the opposite shore. but
it is not remembered that the accidents
have led to lawsuits. When the Mississippi
River Commissioned which the present
President. General Harrison, was chair
man-formulated its plan tor the protec-
ton of the river banks from inundation.
the engineers, with Captain Eads at their
head. carefully abstained from recommend
ing levees. which would have had the effect
of throwing the body OF the steam against
the opposits banks. They felt that both
riparian tenants had rights, and That the
one should not be protected at the cost of
the other. Persons are not always so con-
sidera:e Of their neighbors They usually
act, like the Iowa people. on the principle
that every one must look out Tor himself
and when the work of reclamation is left to
them as much mischief as good is often
done by attempts TO regulate the ungoyern-
able stream. Similar errors used to be
committed in Southeastern France before
Napoleon devised his scheme of dikes and
irrigation canals, aud trouble and almost
civil war resulted.
The regulation of the Mississippi and the
Missouri will eventually be undertaken by
the general Government. 1t cannot we'll be
undertaken by the States. because it must
be conducted on uniform plan, and the
territory affected will extend from Dakota
to louisiana. Canals will have to be con-
structed from points where there is a sur
plus of water in the spring to regions where
there is scarcity. aud entertainments will
have TO be built to confine the river within
given channel. What changes the river
flow makes in the geography of the valley
may DO inferred from the experience of a
recent traveller. Ho proposes 10 write q
history of Grants campaigns on the Missis-
ex-ofiicer who had fought under Grant to
serve as "a Typographical guide.
But they bad not been many days on the
ground before the officer had 10 confess that
he had lost all his bearings. Neither New
Madrid. nor Island No. 10. nor the Yazoo
Valley. nor the bayous opposite Nicksburg
were where he expected TO lind them. They
had changed their places within thirty
years The river had added land here.
taken away land there. obllterated a chan
mel in one place and dug new channel in
another. so that the Typographical maps
which were made when Fort Donelson fell
were Of little value. A river subject TO such
eccentric behavior certainly calls for regu-
lation.
Nothing strikes the traveller more forcibly
than the neglect of waterways which the de-
yelopment OF the railroad system has
caused The Missouri river is one of the
nobest streams in the wOrld-long. broad.
swift with an immense body of water in
its bed But it is neglected by commerce.
IL ought to carry on its bosom the great
bulk of the wheat and corn and beef grown
in Kansas. Nebraska. Iowa and the Dakotas.
The business of which il should be the thor
oughfare has feen absorbed by the rail-
roads. Yet il is an axiom that bulky pro-
perty should never seek railroad Transport
taton when II can get water transportation
Some day the American people. in the strug-
gle for existence which is impending. will
wake mp TO the value of their rivers, and
then riparian owners will not try to drown
their neighbors out ia struggle to save
themselves from drowning.-San Francisco
CALL