The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1899-01-14
THE CHICAGO RIVER
An Open Sewer Nayigable for Vessels for II;
Sixteen Miles Lenght

An Open Sewer Nayigable for Vessels for 1T
Sixteen Miles Lenght.
The smallest and busiest river In
the world. Where do you think 1t Is
Theodore Dresser locates it in Chicago
and has this to say about It: The frs
popularity of this little stream is that
It is the smaller river doing the lars
est business in the world, or in othel
words, the busiest river in the world
In the next place, it has the greatest
depth for the narrOwest width Of any
known river In the third place, it has
the largest number Of bridges span
ming it Of any river or equal length OF
greater length, barring the Mississippi
"a total Of fifty-two bridges. All these
are draw or swinging bridges and car
ny a traffic of their own overhead al
most as important as that which pass
es below. Next, this river has little or
no current to speak of, and flows up
ward instead of down. 1t is the only
known river whose current has been
turned round and made, as it were, to
flow the other way Lastly, is is a
sort Of an orphan river, for whereas all
rivers and harbors are owned and
cared for by the United States govern
ment, the Secretary of War. whose
province it is to care for these things
will have nothing to do with it, and
Chicago repairs it only sufficient for
its now needs, but lays no claim to the
right Of way.
In this strange predicamentthis little
stream flows wretchedly backward
loaded with the largest and most val
liable collection of vessels that ever
crowded an inland sea. 1t is one tn.
multuous highway, far more exciting
than Broadway and somewhat less
charming than the Hudson. The city
uses 1t as an emptying place for its
sewers and the Street Cleaning be,
partment as a dumping ground for its
waste, and yet it is the most valuable
factor in the life of Chicago, and the
one more than all else that has made
the city what it is to-day. No other
river in the wide world possesses or
pretends to the appearance of this pc
culiar stream. In its busiest hours II
is sight for gods and men. A moro
creek, it struggles with the burden Of
an ocean The great decp-draught
prOpellers tear the water into splatter
ing fragments. Their huge stacks
often hide the entire stream from view
with great clouds of smoke. The in.
going and outgoing vessels quarrel for
the righ5 of way with all the vehe.
mence inherent in gongs and whistles
Tug pilots handle their craft with
skill that would put to shame the
manners of the heavy teamsters in
crowded New York lane.
The longest branch Of the river to.
day is more than ten miles in length,
and the total length of all branches is
sixteen. At It's mouth it is no mora
than 200 feet wide, and the fact thai
it is tine same width a mile or two ND.
stream is due to the fact that 1t was
made so by excavation and dredging.
At one time t1S69) it was 200 feet wide
at Lake street, 175 feet wide az Ran.
dolph, a block further on; 165 feet al
Washington, 175 feet at Madison-ail
these but single blocks apart-and SO
on until it became unnavgable by
boats drawing ten feet of water. In
that year, however, it was. dredged
and made uniform width of 200 feet
in the south branch, and it is kept
that width by the walls Of the i'm.
mense buildings which have now en-
to the very waters edge, and
which in most cases form the only
banks visible.
1t is interesting to note the peculiar
tiles Of this poor little stream. No
where along its shores within the
great city limits is there a foot Of un.
occupied ground where a tree may find
root. No branch or blade Of greeu
graces its shores. No bountiful springs
rise from point to point and feed IT,
Its tributaries are dark, stone-arched
sewers which empty their subterran-
can blackness into it in continuous
stream. Its banks are for the most
part sheer walls of red brick. Where
an open space occurs railroad tracks
skirt the waters edge so closely as to
stir a fear for the safety of the cars
which line them. Lumber yards raake
up other portions. and groups of belch-
ing smokestacks, sooty black, rise in
numbers at regular inter
walls. No single space but has some
wharf or freight shed. factory or
filling up the last available
neh, stock yards. lumber yards, rail
-oad yards. stone yards, coal yards
-hese interspersed with docks. eleva-
tors, manufactures and breweries
make its banks interesting if not
beautiful.
A London medical paper has been
solemnly warning its readers not TO