Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1912-12-13
AkERICA'S GREAT RIVER
Some Interesting Facts About t
Father Of Waters

The longest voyage possible from
New York to any European port via
one body Of water, the Atlantic ocean,
is less than 1000 miles, writes Fran
els Perry Elliott Of st. Louis. "But
an American may make a longer voy-
age via one body Of water and never
leave our great Mississippi river, which
is 1900 miles long.
cit is a wasteful river; enough good
soil is elected annually from it's mouth
to make great many farms. If it
were possible to collect and compress
this sediment it would make block
200 feet high and one mile square at
the base. Or think Of it as being a
quantity Of rich soil sufficient to plas-
ter six inches deep 300 farms Of 1000
acres each.
Great Volume Of Water
"And water! Stand on the level
bank at flood time anywhere below
the mouth of the Ohio and for every
pulse beat there passes before you
100000 cubic feet Of water or $780,
100000 every minute.
- Curiously enough, this vast mass of
water flows up hill to the gulf, for it
has been found that the mouth Of the
river is much farther from the center
of the earth than it's source. It is the
so-called centrifugal force on inertia
produced by the rotation Of the earth
that keeps the stream moving toward
the equator.
"The water is acted upon somewhat
as it is when you rapidly swing a pan
about your head. If the old earth
could stop rotating the Mississippi
would flow north: as it is inertia throws
it southwark.
'EThis is not the only curious effect
for which the rotation of the earth is
responsible. Another most queer thing
is that the right bank wears more than
the left one; owing TO westward in
ertia, produced by the earth $ motion
eastward.
Variety Of Climates
ssIn the world there is no stream
that traverses such variety of eli
mates as the Mississippi. I have left
it's upper reaches near st. Cloud, MIMI,
when they were fast bound in ice and
snow, and travelling by train to Louisi-
ana, have stood on its banks again,
two days later, and watched its waves
lap lazily against grassy leaves in the
warm sunshine - leaves that lead
through green forests Of magnolia and
live oak; scented gardens and orange
groves.
s'The area drained by the Father Of
Waters is over 1,245,000 square miles,
or, think of it in another way; think
of it as an extent of rand that is not
only the heart of the country, but is
almost the country itself, for it is only
a trifle less than three-fourts Of it.
FViewed from the standpoint Of the
farmer, it comes near being the whole
thing, for the % states and territories
from which the Mississippi valley
claims tribute Of drainage contain 80
per cent of all improved farm land
in the United States.
GAS to coal, precious little Of it is
obtained outside Of the Mississippi val
Icy area, for it furnishes SO per cent
Of the country's whole output. So this
is practically all, and the same POI
centage applies to iron. The rate Of
petroleum is SO per cent.
"Thus the greatest river in all the
world is flowing southwark through the
greatest valley-one containing 10 ,o00,-
900 people-on down into the great
est gulf in the world.0