Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1895-12-12
GRADE N-LESSON "

WHY THE MISSISSIPPI ONERFLOWS. /
Every spring the Mississippi river,
swollen by the melting of the snow i'll the
Rocky mountains and by the abundant
spring rains, threatens with inundatlon
the loWlands of Mississippi and Louis
lana. Not infrequently it breaks through
the bonds " eh contine its course, and
spreads its muddy waters over thousands
of square miles of that fertile region, de-
stroying the fields of young cotton and
cane, and burying the soil beneath layers
of river mud.
Those who read accounts of these in
undations, of their widespread destruction
and of the immense areas covered by
them, may be at loss to understand how
the mere fact of this river overlooking its
banks can lead to such extensive floods.
These bottom lands are a peculiar re-
gion-originally a shallow arm of the
gulf, they have been filled by deposits
from the river. Even at present nine
tenths OF the region is marsh covered
with grass or cypress forests, through
which flows the Mississippi with its
branches, and which is intersected by
countless bayous, forming an intricate
network Of water-courses All the
streams, with scarcely an exception, flow
upon the tops Of ridges. These ridges are
low, rising from ten to twenty feet above
the intervening areas OF marsh, and rang
ing in breadth from few rods up to
perhaps four miles. The stream bed is in
a notch upon the summit.
These ridges have been built by the
streams. In former times, before the
streams were confined to their beds by
levees, they overlooked their banks with
every high ''tide," as the flood is called.
The river, always muddy, is i'll time OF
food heavily charged with sediment,
brought perhaps from the high plains
and the Rocky mountains. Where the
stream is rapid it has no difficulty in bear
ing onward its load of sediment, but
when its velocity is checked, as it is when
the stream is suddenly broadened, 1t Is
forced to deposit some of it. When the
stream overhows its banks it becomes
thus broadened, its velocity is checked
and it consequently deposits some OF its
load, the coarsest material first, the finer
material later. BY this process of over
flow have the rivers and bayous built up
the ridges on which they flow.
The only habitable and tillable parts of
this region are the gentle slopes of these
river ridges, and upon these, which form
but trifiing proportion of the entire
area, the inhabitants are congregated.
The roads commonly follow the river,
running Immediately at the foot of the
levee, and it is along these roads that the
houses are found. The plantations stretch
in narrow strips back from the river.
The levees, which are built continuous
Nv along both sides of the river and prln-
eipa bayous of this region, are some
times ten or twelve feet in height, and in
time of the flood the river is frequently
full up to the top of the levee. One may
ride along he road under the levee with
the water of the river five or six feet
above his head.
When the river is in flood the levees
are patrolled night and day by the lnhab-
itapts watching for the slightest indica-
ton of weakness. A thin stream of
water the size of ones finger breaking
Though the lower part of the ieVee may
in an hour, if unchecked, develop into
break, or crevasse, which cannot be
closed, and which may involve loss OF
millions of dollars to the neighborlng
country. Such breaks are often caused