The Holly chieftain., 1908-12-25
THE MISSISSIPPI.
An ExpIsnstion of How Water Can
Nun Uphill.

b Q legitimate answer to this ques-
ton perhaps to cite the flow OF wa
tsr through . siphon, its capillary
action - in . lamp wick or its up
wssd course when drunk by an ami
Aal The inquiry should be made
marc explicit. Can a river in its
nstural channel, open to the air,
run uphill? Impossible as this
seams, it Is an established fact. In
truth, every river flowing toward
ths equator for q sufficient distance
runs uphill.
The mouth of the Mississippi is
three miles higher than its source
that is, Minnesota, where the Mis-
sissippi rises, is three miles nearer
the center of the earth than is the
gulf of Mexico. In the reason for
this difference in level will be found
~ szplanation of the rivers uphill
Asw.
A. any schoolboy will tell us, the
earth il ball fattened at the poles.
This hsttening, while comparative
" Insignificant, is still sufficient to
mako the polar diameter twenty
eight miles shorter than the equa-
torial diameter. In other words,
the north and the south pole are
fourteen miles nearer the earth's
center than is the equator.
Now, the distance from the north
pole to the equator, measured along
he sarth's surface, is 5000 miles,
and tho distance from the source
10 the mouth of the Mississippi is
about 1900 miles, or one-fourth Of
5000. II, therefore, there is a diff
fsrencs in level of fourteen miles
between the north pole and the
equator there will be difference
in level between the source Of the
Mississippi and its mouth Of one,
fourth Of fourteen miles, or three
and one-half miles.
But the territory watered by the
Mississippi has been elevated some
what BY the action of volcanic or
similar forces, and the actual ex-
cess in height of the rivers mouth
l. reduced to three miles.
How is it possible for the river
thus to run uphill?
When, long ago, the sun had
thrown the earth from its surface
Ike a drop Of water from swiftly
turning wheel, our globe became a
huge ball of molten rock, itself
swiftly revolving in space AS it
gradually cooled it shrank, and by
shrining its velocity increased,
Just q stone tied to string and
twirlsd about boys finger revolves
more rapidly as the string winds
about the finger.
When the centrifugal force had
- increased as to exceed gravita-
Hon . huge mass shot off from the
sarthis equator and became the
moon. Still the centrifugal force
retained ample power to expand the
squstor and to retain it in this
form until cold and rigid.
Nor has this force yet abated.
A. II drew toward the equator the
sazth's material when plastic, it
stin continues to attract in the
sams direction all the fluids on the
sarths surface. In this way gravi-
fation Is partially overcome, and the
0sdssippi river flows steadily un
H. three mile hill to the Mexica.
gA-Chicago Record Herald.
The stoIid Macedonian.
Macedonian natives exhibit some.
ting like stolidIty toward the dangers
that beset them. "An Indian officer
Soesived an answer from a Macedonian
Dulgar that illustrates it well. The
Nen Of certain village were accus-
toned to cut down wood on the noun
tain, but so many of them had been
killed when at work that the officer
asked them why they continued to run
the risk. The peasant replied: Why
should we not continue to cut wood
n We are not killed we shall bring
back the wood"
Il is asserted by the same traveller
that ''the best cigarette tobacco In the
world comes from Macedonia; that the
best tobacco (when it is tobacco at all
n European cigarettes comes from,
Macedonia. and that when 1t does not
come from Macedonia 1t is said to come
nom there
Huge Mexican Lemons.