Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-04-29
rAe THAMES ENHANCEMENT.
Wonderful Work Of Engineering. tho
History af Which I. Enrgatten.

History of which I. Forgotten.
As the srnt Of an extensive commerce
and Internal t...lt, Roman London was as
eminent in antiquity rs It IS today. Its
monuments, the memorials Of its great
ness prove ~ prominence. One Of these,
u Ii Is Roman work, which is uncertain,
j. the embaukment Of the river Thames.
This immense work j. quite unegualed by
any OF the labors OF the modern English
engineers. For thirty seven miles along
The course Of the stream lofty mounds
roniine the river within liked bounds and
biIer secure path 10 the navigator. On
zach side the country spreads out far be.
low the embankment and more than once
the waters have broken through, over
spread the lowlgnds aud left desolation
around them The English had neglected
to repair aud streng hen the banks Of the
river. and We're indebted to the skill OF a
Dutch engineer for the restoration OF the
Roman work. "lhe Thames from Rich
mond," says Mr. SMILES, sis an artificial
river"
How many years OF ceaseess toll, OF
acute engineering skill and vast expense
were employed ON this unequaled work no
history relates, no record even suggests
Some authorities attribute the embank-
ment TO the Belgic traders, before the Ro.
man invasion: others even TO the monks
OF the Middle Ages. But there is good
reason to suppose that the true authors Of
the chief improvements on the Thames
were the Romans. similar works on al
most nm equal scale exist in other parts Of
England, and we have the complaint Of
the subject iiritons that they We're wore
out and consumed In clearing the woods
and embanking the fens; not that the
| hatalasu iks
Roman taskmastcrs as harshly AS were the
savaScs Of Hayti and Cuba by the Spanish
discoveries, IBut they have outlvcd thci,
eonqureror
Before these entertainments were mad,
the country below London was an i'm
mensc fen, or marsh, over which the It'd,
flowed inceSsantly. The town could hav,
been only collection Of rude houses seaie,
on the rising ground above the river |
was already seat OF considerable trad
even before the ltoman conquest. But tn
genius and skill Of the Roman engineers
II the Romans built the embaukment, CAV
IL those unequaled facilities for traffic tim
! have secured its commercial supremacy i
: every age. BY the embankment IA
Thames was confined within bounds; man
!, acres Of land were added to the agricu
tural domain. while along the tine high
way OF lhc river u ctstscle~S procession q
} vessels OF every size and form moved u
and down. They came, a. Strabo tells II,
; from the mouths OF the Loire aud ia
Garonne, the Seine and The Rhine.
Some were war ships, moved usually l.
oars, and distinguished by their shar
I beaks of iron. and their crews armed wit
' spears and shields, sone were huge me
9 chant vessels, propelled 10y oars aud sal
i laden with rich cargoes Of eastern mani
o features, with the wines of Italy and Il
2 artistic wares of Greece. Some saiiing dow
u the river from the docks Of London wouI
q carry the tin, lead. furS and the corn an
9 cattle Of the west 70 the ports Of Gaul an
Spain.
Julian found Ia Britain the necessa,
!, supplies for his perishing soldiers ia Cic
: many. and the immense stores he drew fro
e Il when famine prevailed on the cuntinri
Re show the general cultivation and prosperi
4 Of the island. Ills GOO corn ships WEI
r hastily built in the forest Of Ardrun,
4 aud possibly landed only on the southcr
y shore. II we allow them burden OF /
- tons each, they would equal the capaci
r Of At least six Umbrias or Etrurias. az
II the very names OF our modern argosies !
call the Italian teachers OF our ancestors.
De Eugene Lawrence ia ilarper's