Rivers and their mysteries

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

Introduction ix

I. The Romance of Rivers .... i

Chapter I

JUST as the vast ocean awes one with its majesty and resistless power; just as some untrod isle, rising upon the rim of the sea, lures one with its mystery and charm, so a river, flowing silently, steadily, ceaselessly, thrills the beholder with its romance. Whence does it come, we wonder; through what strange scenes has it flowed; in what far-distant mountains is its source; what manner of people dwell along its banks or navigate its bosom; what tragedies and mysteries may not be hidden in its depths; what wealth untold may not its sands conceal? Cast upon its shores, drifting slowly along upon its surface or swirling about in the grasp of its eddies, are bits of flotsam and jetsam, — branches of trees, fragments of fences or of buildings, — perchance a boat or raft, — the toll of the river brought from no one knows where, to be borne, eventually, to the sea, carried for hundreds or maybe thousands of miles by this greatest and most important of transportation systems. And if a drop of the river's waters could but speak what a story of romance could it tell. What a tale of fascination and wonder! Hundreds, thousands, millions, — even billions of times perhaps, — has the same water made the long journey from source to ocean. Sucked up by the blazing sun from a brassy sea, carried by storm and wind across hundreds of leagues of mountain, hill, valley and plain, to fall at last as snow or rain and add its tiny quota to a trickling rill dripping among fern and bracken; joining with countless billions of other drops to form the little brook that in its course swells to the mighty river that flows ever onward to the sea.

Who has not thought of such matters as he stood upon the river's bank or floated on its bosom? Who has not felt the longing and desire to travel up the stream and track the river to its very source? Who has not felt a thrill as, at the river's mouth, he has thought of the long, long journey the stream had made, only to lose itself within the sea? Even among the most primitive of races there exists a reverence, a feeling of awe, a wonder at a great river and it is only natural that from the most ancient times many races have worshipped rivers and have looked upon them as gods, for, aside from the romance, the mystery and the respect which they inspire, they have always been of the utmost importance to mankind. There is no written history that does not deal very largely with rivers, no legend or fable that does not include rivers, no mythology in which rivers do not play a large part. To simple-minded, primitive man dwelling upon a river the stream was a living, mysterious thing. Its origin and oftentimes its final destination were unknown. It served him well and evidently possessed a good spirit, for did it not carry him safely on its breast; did it not provide water to quench his thirst and fish and other creatures for his food? In times of drought it watered his crops and kept the lands along its banks green and fresh when all else was dry and parched. At times, to be sure, it rose in wrath and swept beyond its banks and perchance injured him, but it was ever repentant and, to pay for its temporary lapse, it enriched his land and left treasures in the form of driftwood and other things for him to gather up.

According to the Bible, the Garden of Eden was situated between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. The Romans worshipped their Tiber and cast offerings worth untold fortunes into its waters. The Egyptians looked upon the Nile as a goddess, as well they might, for without it there would have been no Egyptian civilization. Our Indians considered the Mississippi as the Father of Waters and reverenced it accordingly. To the East Indian, the Ganges is sacred and to bathe in it or drink of its waters is a religious rite. The Germans wove countless fables, legends and poems about their Rhine; and everywhere, in history, in story, in folk-lore and in the progress of the human race, we find rivers playing a most important part. Indeed, much of our civilization, much of man's success, much of prosperity has been due entirely to rivers. What would London be without the Thames; Paris without the Seine; Rome without the Tiber, or New York without the Hudson? So too, what would Huckleberry Finn have done without the Mississippi or would Mark Twain ever have become famous and given to the world his stories had his early life not been spent upon the Father of Waters? And finally, there was the Styx — the imaginary, mysterious, symbolical river over which Charon ferried departing souls, according to the ancients.

And now let us seriously consider what rivers have done for mankind, how they have helped the human race, how they have been such an important factor in the civilization of the world, how they have aided progress and how hopeless and helpless the world would be without them.

Wherever we find primitive man still existing in his natural state we find the strongest, most self-reliant, most progressive and most intelligent tribes dwelling on or near the rivers. And there are many reasons for this. Along the streams, game is always more abundant and more easily secured. Within the waters there is always a plentiful supply of food to be had for the taking. Along the banks, or near them, is the most fertile land, and the man dwelling beside the river possesses many advantages over his less fortunate fellows. To move about, he is not compelled to travel wearily across mountains and plains, through brush and forest. He can move easily, and with little effort, upon the stream itself. Thus, he can see more of the world, he can reap greater benefits from a larger area of country, he can broaden and improve his mind and he has chances to exercise his brains and ingenuity which would never be presented to the dweller of the forest or the plain away from a river. Beyond a doubt, boats first originated among men who dwelt beside some stream, for no man can look across a river and not long to see what lies on the further bank. To the savage, a floating log or branch afforded a means of transportation, if the distance were too great to swim, and from a floating, rolling log to a raft was an easy step. By accident, perhaps, or possibly by a glimmer of reason, the primitive navigator found that a log hollowed on one side was drier and steadier than in its natural state and thus the dugout came into being. Among other tribes a bit of floating bark, — with perhaps a squirrel or a rat upon it — suggested the bark canoe, while some savage hunter, soaking a dried hide in the river before his home, may have discovered that the skin floated and, by a little experimenting, he evolved the skin boat. And one can easily understand how a basket, accidentally lost and drifting down a river, might lead the savage to construct a basket large enough to hold himself and his belongings and which, daubed with pitch and gum to make it watertight, was the original coracle.

Then, once having solved the problem of moving at will upon the river, our primitive navigator was no longer satisfied with discovering what was upon the further shores. His curiosity led him to drift with the current to see what lay beyond the next bend and the next. And as he drifted along he discovered that in his rude craft and moving silently, he could more readily approach and kill the game that came to the waterside to drink or bathe while, in midstream, he could secure more fish than from the banks. Gradually, day by day, he extended his sphere of exploration. He learned to propel his craft up stream against the current; he no doubt found better places for his home and for his crops. He found other men hitherto undreamed of dwelling beside his river, either above or below his own village, and he either fought with them and conquered or was conquered by them, or he found them friendly and bartered and traded with them.

At last, years or even ages later perhaps, the savage mind longed to see whence the river came and whence it went and having become a confirmed riverman he journeyed down stream to the sea, or upstream to the limits of navigation, subduing tribes less strong and powerful, trading with others, until, from source to mouth, the river formed a highway for mankind to travel, — a ready means of transportation and of trade and commerce. And just as primitive man in his bark or skin or dugout boat developed his crude commerce on his jungle-bordered river, so civilized man followed in his wake until the commerce of a nation depended almost as much upon its rivers as upon its ports and surrounding seas. Long before means of land travel were invented or dreamed of, boats plied upon the great rivers and carried the products of the interior to the coasts and distant lands and in return brought goods and products of far-off countries to the dwellers long distances from the coast. Thus we shall find that nearly every great commercial port is situated upon a river, or at a river's mouth, for the rivers are the commercial arteries of the land, the cheapest means of transportation and, with their branches, form a network of water highways penetrating to all parts of the country. So too, as the settlements and villages along the rivers were in more direct communication with the outside world than those at a distance from the streams, such places became more populous and prosperous and more and more people deserted their interior homes and lived beside the rivers, while other places, too important or prosperous to be moved or abandoned, brought the rivers to their doors by constructing artificial streams or canals.

Not only did the riverside towns become more important and prosperous through commerce, but they had many other advantages as well. The streams provided water power to turn mill wheels and develop manufactures and industries, and even if the interior towns possessed streams which would serve this purpose, yet they were at a disadvantage and could scarcely compete with those which manufactured their goods close to a navigable river with no overland transportation charges to pay.

Even in agriculture the riverside settlements had the advantage, not only because they were so close to the flow of commerce, but also because the river bottom-lands were rich and fertile and suffered less from drought than lands further inland. And so, realizing all this, man, whenever able, followed the courses of the rivers when settling or develop-

THE ROMANCE OF RIVERS n

ing a country and, after the coast, the first towns and villages always sprang up along the rivers 7 banks. From them, in time, roads and highways were built into the surrounding country, for mineral wealth, certain farm lands, timber and many another resource were not obtainable beside the streams and from all the surrounding country men sent their goods, their products and their manufactures to the nearest river town to be carried down the stream to the sea and to far-away markets. Of course, with the advent of railways and modern transportation systems, the importance of the waterways decreased somewhat, but despite all this the large rivers still hold their own as commercial highways, their banks are still dotted with prosperous, thriving towns, they are still the cheapest means of transportation, their water still supplies the most economical form of power and in many ways a country's prosperity, wealth and importance may be judged quite accurately by the size and importance of its rivers.

And now if we will look through any geography or atlas and glance at the maps we will find that this is so. It makes little difference whether the country is old or new, whether it is an agricultural, a mining, a commercial or a manufacturing nation. China and India, — the most ancient of civilized lands, — show this. Aside from the coastwise ports, nearly every large or important city of these nations is upon or close to a river, while round and about each of these, the smaller towns cluster, with their size and importance becoming less and less as their distance from the waterways increases.

Look at the map of Europe and we will find the same thing true. Dotting the banks of the Danube, the Rhine, the Volga, the Seine, the Guadalquivir, the Rhone, the Tiber and all the other large rivers are big, important towns and while there are many other famous and large towns in every European nation yet they are far in the minority, and still Europe is so thickly populated, so thoroughly settled, so crossed and crisscrossed with railways and motor roads that the importance of rivers has been greatly reduced and it would be impossible for even a large proportion of the inhabitants to find places to live along the river banks.

Even in little England, with its proportionately huge seacoast, its many splendid harbours, its tremendous ocean commerce and its wonderful system of railways we find the most noteworthy and most important towns and cities along the rivers. London on the Thames, Liverpool on the Mersey, Hull on the Humber, Glasgow on the Clyde, Newcastle on the Tyne, Dundee on the Tay, Bristol on the Severn, Cork on the Tee, and on the Continent Paris on the Seine, Berlin on the Spree, Bordeaux on the Garonne, Bremen on the Weser, Hamburg on the Elbe, Lisbon on the Tagus, Oporto on the Douro, Seville on the Guadalquivir, Turin on the Po, Bologna on the Reno, Vienna and Budapest on the Danube, all are splendid examples of the progress, the wealth, the prosperity and the importance of towns built upon rivers and of the value of rivers to a nation.

In our own country, too, we will find it the same. Throughout New England and the Atlantic States the principal, long-established i 4 RIVERS AND THEIR MYSTERIES

towns that made our country what it is are on rivers. Bangor, Concord, Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Providence, Hartford, and a score of others might be mentioned while along the Connecticut, — New England's longest river, — big busy towns and cities are strung like beads. From New York City to its source the Hudson is fringed with important towns ; through Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and our Southern states it is the same. One can almost follow the march of progress and settlement of the United States by glancing at the rivers and we all know that the Mississippi and its tributaries led largely to the opening up and the settlement of our west and middle west and such towns as Memphis, Little Rock, Cairo, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Peoria, Des Moines, Dubuque, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and many others came into existence and are still of importance mainly because they are on large rivers.

Finally, if we look at a map of a comparatively new or unsettled country we will find this even more apparent. Oftentimes the country appears almost a blank except for the rivers and their immediate vicinity for in exploration and discovery rivers play a most important part and are often the only means by which a country can be penetrated. Especially is this true of the tropical lands where, to penetrate the dense forests and jungles is well-nigh impossible, where one must hew one's way at every step, where the bush is so dense that nothing is visible a dozen yards away and whe *e no survey could be made. But by following the great rivers the explorer, the prospector, the scientist, the surveyor and the colonizer can make long journeys in comparative ease and can obtain a very good idea of the country, its fauna and flora, its resources and possibilities and most important of all, ample outfits and supplies may be carried to provide for trips of long duration. Indeed, in such countries as Guiana, Brazil and many parts of the East Indies and other tropical countries the land away from the rivers still remains unexplored and unknown although great steamships may ply up and down the rivers, big, busy towns may dot the banks and commerce on a tremendous scale may be carried on.

Chapter II

We commonly speak of rivers "rising" and of the "sources" of rivers, but strictly speaking, rivers do not "rise" in any one particular spot and neither do they have any one source. Although it is quite true that if we look at a map of a river we will find that it appears to originate or "rise" at a definite location yet, if we should visit the locality, we would find it very difficult, if not impossible, to trace the river to its very beginning. Of course, as in the case of many things, there are exceptions and many rivers may be traced directly to some pond or lake which might be considered the source. But even then the question arises as to whether or not the lake really is the beginning of the river, for the lake or pond is formed by one or many streams flowing into a depression of land and the real source of the river would be the spot or spots where these smaller streams have their beginnings. It is the same with rivers which are not fed from a lake or pond. As we approach the head-waters of the river we find, as a rule, that there are numerous brooks or creeks of

SOURCES OF RIVERS

1. Source from brooks and springs. 2. Source from lake.

3. Source from swamp.

nearly uniform size flowing from many directions to form the main stream, each of these in turn being formed by many more rills or tiny brooklets and oftentimes it is merely a matter of choice or individual preference as to which of the various waterways is considered the source of the river. Again, a river may appear to start from a bog, swamp or morass which is formed by the drainage of surrounding country and which is fed by many small streams or even springs, and who can say which one of these is the real source of the river? Hence, when we say a river rises in a certain place or has its source in a definite spot we merely mean that it cannot be traced as a river beyond such a location. Indeed, strictly speaking, the source of every river is the ocean and it rises not in one spot, but in many, for a river is not a single individual stream, but is formed or built up by the confluence of myriads of other streams, one or more of which may be as long or as large or even longer and larger than the main river itself.

In fact rivers are merely natural drainage ditches or canals which carry off the superfluous rain which falls upon the country and which, by means of the rivers, is carried to the sea to be again drawn up by the sun and formed into clouds which fall as rain and is once more drained off by the rivers over and over again. Thus, we can judge of the character of a country by the number and size of its rivers as indicated on a map, for where there are few or no rivers we may be sure there is little or no rain and where the rivers are large and numerous we may feel sure there is an abundant rainfall or snowfall. For example, if we look at the map of equatorial South America we find it covered with large rivers and their tributaries, such as the mighty Amazon, the Orinoco, the Essequibo, the Magdalena, etc., and judging from this we would at once assume that it is an area of heavy rainfall, which is the truth. On the other hand, if we study the map of northern Africa, or of our southwestern states, we will find few rivers and, even if we did not already know it to be the case, we would be quite safe in declaring that these districts were dry and desert-like. Many people, however, get the cart before the horse, as the old saying goes, and have an idea that the desert-like areas are due to the lack of rivers and vice-versa whereas, in reality, the lack of rivers or the presence of rivers, is due to the dry or rainy character of the country. Of course, a large river flowing through a barren, desert-like land would add to its fertility and to some extent to its rainfall; but the effect would be very restricted and local for the amount of water evaporated or drawn up from even the greatest rivers is almost negligible and would scarcely be sufficient to fall as rain even in the immediate neighborhood, while the water absorbed by the soil along the river's course would affect the surrounding country for only a very short distance unless artificially carried across the land by ditches or irrigation canals. Indeed, where we do now and then find a large river flowing across an arid district we seldom find the country through which it passes noticeably affected by the stream and if we trace such a river to its headwaters we will always find that it originates or "rises" either in a mountainous country, where melting snows produce streams, or in a rainy, forested area and that the river flows across the arid country merely because it follows the direction and route of least resistance.

Excellent examples of how closely the character of a country may be judged by the rivers are the western coast of South America and Australia. Along the Pacific coasts of South America west of the Andes we find practically no streams of any size, whereas on the eastern slopes of the Andes, large rivers and streams are numerous. So, too, in Australia, we will see that the country is almost equally divided into a riverless area on the west and an area crossed by numerous rivers in the east. Thus we at once assume that the western coast of South America and the western portions of Australia are dry and arid, while the eastern slopes of the Andean countries and the eastern portion of Australia are fertile and with an ample rainfall.

Reasoning from this we can judge still further of the character of the countries and we can safely aver that forests, luxuriant vegetation, rich agricultural land, teeming life and interesting and varied fauna and flora would be met with in eastern Australia and on the eastern Andean slopes, while barren, rocky, or sandy wastes, scant vegetation, dry lands and a limited variety of plant and animal life would be found in western Australia and on the Pacific slopes of South

America, although the only indications of this upon the maps would be the absence or presence of rivers.

As there is a good and simple reason for everything in nature, let us go a little further back and learn why certain portions of a country should be dry and riverless while other portions close at hand should have a copious rainfall and should possess many rivers.

The explanation is practically the same in all countries where such conditions exist, so we may take one example, and as it is always wise to begin near at home let us consider South America.

Blowing steadily across the Atlantic from east to west are the Trade Winds ladened with moisture drawn from the ocean's surface by the equatorial sun and sweeping inland across the vast continent. With no mountain ranges to interrupt its onward way, the damp air moves across the forest-covered interior where a portion of the moisture is condensed and falls as rain until, at last, the mighty barrier of the Andes bars further progress and the sky-piercing peaks covered with snow and ice condense the last of the moisture in the air and bring it to earth in the form of rain and snow. Trickling down the mountain sides in thousands of rills and streamlets the water, borne by the Trade Winds from the far-off Atlantic, gathers in volume and at last forms the mighty Amazon which carries the water again to the sea. As the moisture-laden winds meeting the barrier of the Andes has resulted in a well-watered, luxuriantly forested area with its great river, so too, the forests which have been thus created have added to the rainfall, to the rivers and to their own luxuriance for, protected and sheltered by the forests the ground cannot become parched and dry while, from the vast area of thousands of square miles of damp, cool leaves, the sun draws enormous quantities of moisture which in turn is discharged when the winds reach the Andes. Thus the forests draw rain from the Trade Winds and also give up to take its place moisture which again reaches them by way of the rivers. And now, having learned why the eastern portion of this continent is well watered and is rich in vegetation, let us see why the western coasts are dry and barren. The reason is very simple, for there are no moisture-filled winds blowing inland from the Pacific and thus no clouds drift against the western slopes of the Andes, no rain falls and no rivers are formed and no forests clothe the mountain sides with greenery. But travel a little to the north — to the coasts of Ecuador Columbia and Panama and we will find rivers, dense forests and fertile lands stretching from the shores of the Pacific to the higher portions of the mountain ranges. Why is this, you may well ask. Merely because in this area moistureladened winds do blow from west to east during a portion of the year and drop their precious store of water upon the western slopes of the continent.

So, wherever we find a country with rivers flowing from both sides of its mountain ranges we may feel quite sure that winds blow from various directions, which is the case with a large portion of the temperate countries of Europe and North America. As I have mentioned, when speaking of the Amazon district, the forests have a very great effect upon the rainfall, but the mountains and the prevailing winds were the original causes of rain and rivers in some places or lack of rain and rivers in others. Long ages before our present-day forests were known upon the earth, certain areas were well watered and were drained by rivers, while other areas were barren, dry and riverless, for while it is quite true that forests add to a country's rainfall and conserve the moisture yet rainfall and rivers must exist before forests can grow. But in the dawn of the earth's history conditions were very different from the present time. Then water covered most of the earth, the temperature was much higher; humid, moisture-filled air spread like an enormous blanket over the skies and rain fell almost ceaselessly so that what land that did exist was almost a swamp or vast morass and gigantic forms of vegetation sprang into existence. Probably, in those days, there were no true rivers and it was not until the earth had greatly altered, until the waters had receded and the land with its mountains, plains and valleys had taken on more or less its present form that rivers, as we know them, came into existence and areas of dry riverless deserts and fertile, well-watered, river-cut areas were developed.

Now, having learned something of the origin of rivers and why some places are riverless and some are well watered, let us see how rivers affect the land itself, for in many ways rivers have a far greater influ- ^w ence upon the land that the land has upon the rivers. But even here again we find a sort of involved, endless chain of causes and effects, for the very changes and alterations which rivers produce upon the land are caused by the character of the land through which the rivers flow. If the country is mountainous or rocky the river will follow the valleys or ravines between the hills and will flow swiftly, in the form of rapids, will dash over ledges and cliffs in cataracts and waterfalls and will wear a deep, narrow course for itself. If the stream flows through level land or meadows it will flow slowly, calmly and evenly and will broaden out and travel in a straight course or will sweep in graceful curves and turns while, if passing through a district of hills, or ridges, and valleys, it may form a series or chain of lakes. But no matter whether it dashes noisily through rocky defiles or flows majestically across plains, whether it sweeps onward towards the sea as straight as a canal or bends and twists and doubles on itself, there is always some simple explanation to account for it. Invariably a river flows through the lowest depressions of land in its course and invariably the water follows the way of least resistance, although at first sight we may not think so. Let us first consider a river rising in a mountainous district where the country is composed of hard rock. Here we will find the stream flows swiftly and follows the natural curves and twists of the defiles between the mountains. But we will also find upon a close examination that the rocky sides of the river's course have been cut and worn by the stream itself, that through countless ages the water has carved its own bed many feet deeper than the original ravines and we will find the bed of the stream full of rounded, water-worn pebbles and boulders. These are the tools by which the stream has chiselled its way through the hard rock, for while water alone will in time wear through the hardest granite such action is exceedingly slow.