The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-07-27
Big MUDDY'S FRANKS
GROW MORE ALARMING
THE FREAKISH RIVERS LATEST
SHIFT is COSTLY TO THE
MISSOURI FARMERS.
RAY COUNTY GAINS AN ISLAND


Total Loss as Result of Cutoff at
Camden Bend. River Takes Land
From One Gives to Another.
WELLINGTON, Mo.-The Nilsson
ri river has long been known as
practical joker, but probably not
more than once in a century does it
play such trick as it did recently in
this section. Suffering from chronic
insomnia it arose from it's bed one
night during the present month and
started to wander across country.
The next morning farmers west of
town found a full-grown river tres
passing on their property.
A few mornings later they were
aroused by an insistent whistle and
looked out to see a steamer and barge
of the Kansas City boat line gliding
along where a few days before had
been waving corn.
The rush of water is widening the
new channel with such rapidity that
huge chunks of soil are being cut
ava yall the time. The brand new riv-
er is lusty youngster for its age,
and will average several hundred feet
across for the entire two miles of it's
course. The cut off has left the II
miles of Camden Bend a currentless
slough, which already is beginning to
fill up with sandbars and sediment.
| The island formed comprises sew
| eral square miles of some of the most
fertile land in Lafayette county. I'm
der the state law this will become
part of Bay county, on the opposite
side of the river, as soon as the new
course is recognized as the main
channel.
The United States government is
one of the victims of the Missouri's
latest FRANKS. The spot where the
water started through is in the mid
die of a long stretch of revetment
work, which cost $4,000. Even
that part of it which is not being I'M
dermined will be of no use now. Up
in the bend the big feet of boats and
barges which have been revetting the
bank there has stopped work. It's
no use doing river work several miles
from the river
The feet probably will be ordered
out of the bend before the old chan
mel fills enough to bottle it up. 1t
will leave more than a mile of useless
riprapping and over 100000 worth of
labor behind as a memento of the B g
Muddy's misguided sense of humor.
The government engineers refuse to
make any statement as to their future
plans. Nothing will be undertaken
until the river goes down and betrays
something of it's future intentions.
In any event the effects on the
stream both above and below will be
far reaching. The shortening of the
channey by twelve miles has made
fall of eight feet in the two miles of
new channel. Not only does this re-
suIt in a current like a mill race
through it, but it sucks out the water
from above so as to increase the cur
rent noticeably many miles upstream.
It is not improbable that the rivers
restlessness in its attempt to equai1ze
the fall will reach as far as Kansas
City.
The effect on navigation will not
be serious. Already the steamers A.
NJ. Scott and Advance have taken
barges through the new channel with
out difficulty and although neither
| has tried to come back up against the
current no trouble is feared on that
account. AS the new banks are eat
en- away on each side the depth of wa
ter, which now is estimated as 10
feet. gradually will become normal.
The rivers huge joke is no laugh
| ing matter to those whose farms 1t
| cut through. At one time the land
in it's path was noted for its fertility
and value. Now the few acres left
of most of the farms are either rap
idly crumbling into the current or are
left Scared and scanned by the rush
! of water. To many families it has
meant the loss of practically all they
possessed.
A week ago Henry ]. Finch owned
q Cna La