Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1903-06-11
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surface. Barnard.
The Boyer River, by deposits,
has been filled from four to six
feet and tributaries from six to
eight feet and subtributaries
from eight to ten feet; now, in.
view of this state of facts, and
the opinion of river engineers
reached after years of investi-
CATION, would it not be wise to
have the water of each stream
confined to it's respective chan
mel?
The length Of the Mississippi
River between the mouth of
the Ohio and the head of the
Passes is 1880 miles, while tho
actual distance in a straight
line is about 500 miles. The
plan to straighten the Missis-
sippi River as a remedial agen-
cy in time of floods, was next
considered and rejected for the
following reasons: exact OBJ
servations upon the Pc, the
Mississippi, and on ether rivers,
have established the fact that
the effect of a cutoff relieves
the country above at the ex-
pense of the country below; if
if a series of cutoffs were to be
made extending to the mouth
of the river the heights of the
floods would be regularly de-
creased from a point near mid
way of the series to the upper
end, and regularly increased
from the same point to the
lower end"
The slope of the Mississippi
River diminishes as it APP
proaches the Gulf. The slope
of the Boyer River diminishes
as it approaches the Missouri
River; therefore, it seems inn
possible to apply the straight
ening act to the Boyer and it's
tributaries, without limitations,
and escape flooding the lower
portion of the Boyer valley,
especially that part on the
Missouri bottoms. The levels
recently furnished show the
average slope per mile of the
Boyer valley, for thirty miles
in the hills, to be in round
numbers, three times the slope
per mile of the Boyer valley on
the Missouri bottoms. If the
Strengthening act with levees
could be applied to the Boyer
on the Missouri bottoms and
then the levees continued up
the Boyer to a point where the
river ceases to overflow its
banks, this would prevent over
flows and deposits and give a
greater capacity and an in
creased velocity. When the
floods rise above the banks of
the river and are restrained by
properly constructed levees the
shorter bends become obliter-
ated by the overflow and the
course of the stream is not only
shortened but Strengthened
without disturbing the equi-
librium of the river.
"The subsistence of an over
flowing flood is much retarded
as compared with one which
has been restrained within
either natural or artificial
banks. I" Suter, Comstock, Nit
chell, Harrod and Taylor. Mem
bers of Mississippi River Com
mission.
"The greater the quantity of
water retained in the channel,
the greater the velocity and the
more rapid the scour;; and the
greater the quantity of water
the less the slope Of bed and
surface required for it's dis
charge" Bayley, Member of
La. Levee Commission.
"1'he same laws govern the
flow of water in the largest
rivers and in the smallest
streams" General A. A. Hum
phreys, Ex-Chief of Engineers,
U. S. Army.
A board of engineers was APP
pointed to pass upon the pro-
posed plan for the reclamation
of the overfowed lands of the
Lower Mississippi River and
that of it's tributaries. This
board met and was in session
four days. The session was de-
voted to a general comparison
of views, and to dividing the
work of collecting information,
thence to the scene of action.
The South arose to do their
bidding. Federal, state, coun-
ty and municipal officers and