river. The scenery of the river at the falls and beyond them is very
attractive, and in many cases so beautiful as to be beyond verbal
description. In many other parts of the river the scenery is grand,
though occasionally there are long stretches of flat country which are
inclined to become monotonous and barren of poetic thought.

Of the entire river, Mr. L. U. Reavis writes enthusiastically:

"The more we consider the subject," says this author, "the more we are
compelled to admit that the Mississippi is a wonderful river, and that
no man can compute its importance to the American people. What the Nile
is to Egypt, what the great Euphrates was to ancient Assyria, what the
Danube is to Europe, what the Ganges is to India, what the Amazon is to
Brazil--all this, and even more than this, the Mississippi River is to
the North American Continent. In an earlier age men would have worshiped
the Mississippi, but in this age we can do better, we can improve it. To
this all our efforts should be directed, and we should continually bear
in mind that no other improvement, ancient or modern, relating to the
interests of commerce has ever commanded the attention of men equal in
importance to that of the Mississippi River, so as to control its waters
and afford ample and free navigation from St. Paul to the Gulf of
Mexico."

During the last few years, the agitation in favor of river improvement
has assumed very definite shape, and from time to time large
appropriations have been made by Congress for the purpose of keeping the
river navigable at all periods of the year. As long ago as 1873, the
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation Routes censured the
Government for neglecting to thoroughly improve the big rivers. A
quarter of a century has nearly elapsed since then, and, in the opinion