Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-14
WANDERING BIG MUDDY
is WORRYING ST. JOSEPH
AFRAID STREAM WILL GIVE IT
THE GO BY
Missouri River, Changing Its Bed,
May Leave Town High and Dry.
Canal May Be Cut to Keep
Stream

Special to The Herald.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo-, July 13.-Unless the
United States government steps in ana ties up
the Missouri river that eccentric old stream
will soon leave this city high and dry and
will go wandering across the Kansas prairies,
miles and miles west of this place
Col j. b. Quinn. United States engineer IN
charge of the Missouri river, together with his
engineering corps, has been here for the past
two weeks trying to figure out plan whereby
the river may be kept in its place,e but as yet
nothing definite has been decided upon. And
i'll the meantime the muddy waters OF the
Mad Missouri" hunting for new chan
mel for themselves, far to the west or the
peninsula just across from this city.
1T will take practically every cent of the
recent appropriations by congress for the i'm
provement of the Missouri to protect st. Joe
from the threatened ISOLATION" says Col. Quinn.
Il find that the river is cutting away the
tenk very rapidly about five miles above St
Joe. Even at low water the bank Is con-
tinually falling in 1t is hard matter to
say just how long 1t will take the water to
eat it's way across the neck of the big horse
shoe bend at the head of which st. Joe lies
but do not believe it will take very long, as
1t has less than one mile to go now.
River Often Wanders
Many times since the advent of white men in
the Missouri valley has the river eaten away
more than a mile of ground in twenty -four
hours, and a repetition of what has already
occurred may leave st. Joseph without river,
and with S2O0O.000 worth Of bridges spanning
a sluggish lagoon instead OF the most rapid
river in the west
The chief engineer is not yet ready to make
his recommendations to the war department.
as several of his assistants are still at work
making surveys. AS soon as these are COM
pleted the plans for revertment will be laid
before the department with the request that
something be done Immediately.
If the Missouri is permitted to leave st.
Joe on lagoon instead of occupying its pres
ent place beside the main stream the loss Will
be enormous. Besides the steel railroad bridges
mentioned, which will be rendered practically
worthless, alone will be several million dol
lars. Arrangements have been completed for a
steamboat line between Omaha and st. Louis
and IT has been the expectation of the boat
company to do a heavy business with st. Joe,
but this will have to be abandoned If the river
decides to move.
Previous Performances
And when the Missouri river starts to aban-
don any course over which it has been flowing
there is trouble for whatever stands in its way.
Two years ago 1t decided to leave Nebraska
City off to ore side When the citizens went
to bed one night it was there At 1 o'clock
that night the pumps for the water works be-
gan pumping air instead of water, and when
tn. engineers ran out to see what the matter
was there wasn't any river in sight. After
daylight the next morning search revealed
the runaway flowing three miles to the east
ward of the town, just as If 1t belonged there
L: took thousands of dollars and months OF
work to induce the Missouri to come back
home.
over at Decatur, Neb., the river has been
encroaching the town and the citizens have
been lighting for six years to prevent the en-
tire town from being washed away. Slowly the
river is getting the better of the people and
gradually the town is going down the river
The houses are being moved back to the hills
little by little. One planning mill has beer
moved sixteen times in the last six years
and now the water is cutting under one cor
ner of the building.
At Blair, Neb, the Northwestern railroad
has been fighting for year trying to keer
the Missouri running under its 81, 600 00(
bridge. But the river is determined to take an
other course and by and by that bridge will
have to be moved
If the Missouri wants really to get away from
the vicinity OF st. Joe and its wful-smellins
packing houses 1t will eventually succeed il
doing So 1t has never yet failed to do JUS
as 1t pleased, and unless St. Joe can induce
Il to change its mind and let well enough alon,
lit is only question Of time when st. Jo,
will be without O river.