The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1910-04-28
NOAH COULD HAVE
PREVENTED FLOOD
HAD HE UNDERSTOOD HYDRAU-
Lie ENGINEERING HE COULD
HAVE AVERTED DEUCE.
BIZ is it Happens He Didnt-De-
scribhion of the Geography of the
Delayed Region.

If Noah had understood hydraulic en-
cheering instead of boat building an i'm
portant chapter of history might have
been written very different. A complete
survey cf the scene of the great flood
has recently been completed, which throws
an interesting light on it says the New
York Times.
The skill of modern engineers, it has
been found, could readily have prevented
the foundation. The early engineers,
although they brought great energy and
perseverance to treir tasks knew nothing
of hydrostatics.
The recent survey of this region of the
valley of the Euphrates was made by the
new Turkish government, which purposes
building great system of irrigating canals
throughout the historic region. The coun-
try was surveyed by Sir William Will
cocks, K. c. NJ. g., assisted by IL civil
engineers.
ably the seat of the Garden of Eden has
been carefully measured and plotted 1t
cient canals, or at least their courses, and,
by extending them and introducing modern
engineering methods, to irrigate large
area of land which has been neglected for
thousands of years.
The peculiar formation of the rivers of
this area is accurately described in Gene
Sis, and the surveys have confirmed the
records of the Bible. Exactly the same
problem is faced by the modern engineers
which confronted Noah.
This region was visited by Herodotus
and Xenophon at later dates, and their
detailed description are amply confirmed
by the recent Investigations. For the stu
dent of either sacred or profane history
or from the view point of the engineer, the
present enterprise holds a peculiar interest.
The ancient wealth and productiveness
of this valley, is of course, famous. 1t
is traversed by the Euphrates and Tigris
rivers and their tributaries, which from
the earliest recorded history were impor-
tant highways. The land was productive
and means cf communication easy. This
traffic helped to build up the greatest cities
the world had seen-Babylon, Nineyeh and
many smaller centers of population. Much
of the valley was naturally dry and arid
in the early days, as it is at present, and
a series of canals and a remarkable system
of irrigation were prepared to render the
valley productive.
After the fall of Babylon these artificial
waterways were neglected, and in the
course of centuries the sand covered the
orce fertile fields. Fer hundreds, even
thousands of years, great part of the
valley has been a marsh or an arid desert
only fit for sheep pasturing. The new
by the Turkish government will restore the
region to It's ancient fertility and prosper
ity. 1t is believed that the first series
of canals planned will be completed in
three years.
The geography of the valley is extrem-
ely simple. The course of the flood and
its course may be traced with remarkable
accuracy.
The garden of Eden, or the cradle of the
human race, is supposed to have been on
the banks of the Euphrates, near Hit,
above the point where the Euphrates and
Tigris So nearly join. 1t probably occu-
pied position near an outcrop of hard
rock above the reach of the highest floods.
This country, along the Euphrates, has al
ways been very fertile. 1t has changed
very little in all this time, and doubtless
the fruits and flowers which grow there
today were familiar to Adam and Eve,
with the exception of the rice, which is
of recent date.
The Euphrates had the habit of rising
after the spring rains, even the earliest
times, but its full force was only felt
below this section in the valley or delta
Of the two rivers.
Further down stream, near the point
where the Euphrates and Tigris approach
enc another, the country is flat and at
the mercy of the flood Near this point
the Euphrates divides into several tribu-
taries, some of which actually reach the
Tigris, although the main channels of the
rivers are well apart. 1t is recorded in
Genesis that tout of Eden came river
which watered garden, and from thence
it was parted and became four heads.
The four heads have been definitely traced
by Sir William WilIcock.