The purport of the following paper is to show that corrosion of its
banks and deposition of sediment constitute the legitimate business of
a river. If the bed of the Mississippi were of adamant, and its
drainage slopes were armored with chilled steel, its current would do
just what it has been doing in past ages--wear them away, and fill the
Gulf of Mexico with the detritus.
Many thoughts were suggested by Mr. S.C. Clemens, erstwhile a
Mississippi pilot, and by Mr. D.A. Curtis. Both of these gentlemen
_know_ the river.