Reports of Explorations and Surveys; To Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean Volume 1 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1855 edition. Excerpt: ...the water's edge, and being from ten to forty feet wide. After the Yellowstone, the principal tributaries of the upper portion of the river are the Moreau, the Cannon Ball, and the Shaycnne; they are only navigable for canoes or buffalo-boats. The following general facts were principally furnished me by persons who appeared to be well acquainted with the Missouri: However difficult to find it, there is always a good channel in the river. In consequence of the diminished effects of the current, the channel, though not so deep, is less changeable, and more safe for navigation by steamboats of light draught in low than in high water. As steamboats descending the river proceed with nearly treble the speed they would have in ascending, they find in sand-bars a much more formidable obstacle in the former than in the latter case; it is often necessary to unload in part before they can be relieved after encountering the bar in descending. Along that portion of the river where it flows through the great prairies, the frequency of storms, generally from the northwest, is a very serious impediment to the navigation. This was found to be true during the voyage of our steamboat, except that the storms were not generally from the northwest. The Missouri is affected by two annual floods, which greatly facilitate navigation by the larger steamboats. The first and lesser flood is caused by the melting of the snows on the prairies, and generally takes place in May; the second arises from the melting of the mountain snows, and occurs in June. Steamboats, heavily freighted, and bound for the Yellowstone, should leave St. Louis about the middle of April, in order to have the full benefit of the June rise. The river above Council Bluff city is closed by ice...