cc.floodtide-第58部分

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hat　truly　captures　the　imagination。
　
　Thanks　to　the　stories　of　Mark　Twain　of　big　side…paddle　riverboats　ing　around　the　bend　with　whistles　blowing　as　they　passed　Huck　Finn　and　Tom　Sawyer　on　a　raft；　and　of　battles　up　and　down　the　river　by　Union　and　Confederate　ironclads　during　the　Civil　War；　the　Mississippi's　past　seems　so　near　that　one　has　but　to　pierce　a　thin　veil　to　experience　it。
　
　〃The　Father　of　Rivers；〃　as　the　Indians　called　it；　the　Mississippi　is　the　only　river　in　North　America　that　ranks　in　the　top　ten　of　the　world。　Third　in　length；　third　in　drainage；　fifth　in　volume；　it　stretches　from　the　headwaters　in　Montana　of　its　longest　tributary；　the　Missouri；　3；484　miles　south　to　the　Gulf　of　Mexico。
　
　Almost　as　fluid　as　mercury；　always　searching　for　the　path　of　least　resistance；　the　Mississippi　has　changed　course　many　times　throughout　the　last　five　thousand　years；　especially　after　the　seas　finally　reached　their　present　levels　at　the　end　of　the　last　ice　age。　Between　1900　B。C。　and　700　B。C。　it　flowed　almost　forty　miles　west　of　its　present　course。　Restlessly；　the　river　shifted　back　and　forth　across　the　state　of　Louisiana；　carving　a　channel　before　migrating　and　carving　another。　Almost　half　of　Louisiana　was　formed　by　the　Mississippi　depositing　tremendous　amounts　of　silt　and　clay　carried　from　as　far　north　as　Minnesota　and　Montana。
　
　〃The　water　looks　quiet　today；〃　said　a　man　in　an　elevated　seat　who　gazed　from　the　pilothouse　of　the　George　B。　Larson；　an　Army　Corps　of　Engineers　survey　boat。
　
　Standing　at　the　control　console；　the　boat's　captain；　Lucas　Giraud；　merely　nodded　as　he　piloted　the　craft　past　the　cattle　grazing　on　the　levees　of　the　Mississippi　River　in　southern　Louisiana。
　
　This　was　Cajun　country；　the　last　outpost　of　French　Acadian　culture。　Pickup　trucks　parked　under　spreading　trees　next　to　tar…papered　cabins　raised　on　pylons。　Nearby；　small　Baptist　churches　rose　from　the　damp　countryside；　their　paint…peeled　wooden　sides　overlooking　cemeteries　with　weathered　tombs　rising　above　the　ground。　Soybeans　and　corn　rose　from　the　rich　soil　between　man…made　ponds　for　the　farming　of　catfish。　Little　hardware　and　feed　stores　stood　across　narrow　roads　from　auto　garages　surrounded　by　rusting　wrecked　cars　half…buried　in　green　underbrush　that　sprouted　through　their　broken　windows。
　
　Major　General　Frank　Montaigne　studied　the　passing　scene　as　the　big　survey　boat　cruised　down　the　river　that　was　textured　by　a　light　morning　mist。　He　was　late　fiftyish　and　wore　a　light　gray　suit　and　a　striped　blue　shirt　with　a　burgundy　bow　tie。　A　vest；　embellished　with　a　large　gold　watch　chain　spanning　the　pockets；　was　displayed　through　the　open　coat。　An　expensive　Panama　hat　was　perched　at　a　jaunty　angle　over　steel…gray　hair　that　flowed　back　from　the　temples。　The　eyebrows　had　managed　to　remain　black　and　arched　over　limpid　eyes　that　were　gray…blue。　There　was　a　polished　look　about　him；　burnished　with　a　hardness　that　you　knew　was　there　but　couldn't　see。　His　trademark；　a　cane　carved　from　a　willow　tree　with　a　leaping　frog　for　its　handle；　lay　across　his　lap。
　
　Montaigne　was　no　stranger　to　the　capricious　nature　of　the　Mississippi　River。　To　him　it　was　a　monster　that　was　condemned　to　move　through　a　narrow　passage　for　eternity。　Mostly　it　slept；　but　occasionally　it　went　into　a　rampage；　overflowing　its　banks　and　causing　disastrous　floods。　It　was　the　job　of　General　Montaigne　and　of　the　Army　Corps　of　Engineers；　which　he　represented；　to　control　the　monster　and　protect　the　millions　of　people　who　lived　along　its　banks　and　levees。
　
　As　president　of　the　Mississippi　River　mission；　Montaigne　was　required　to　inspect　the　flood…control　projects　once　a　year　on　an　Army　Corps　towboat　that　was　fitted　out　almost　as　ostentatiously　as　a　cruise　ship。　On　those　trips　he　was　acpanied　by　a　bevy　of　high…ranking　officers　of　the　Army　as　well　as　his　civilian　staff。　Stopping　at　the　many　towns　and　ports　along　the　river；　he　held　conferences　with　the　residents　to　hear　their　input　and　plaints　about　how　the　river　was　affecting　their　lives。
　
　Montaigne　disliked　wining　and　dining　local　officials　while　surrounded　by　the　pomp　of　his　office。　He　much　preferred　unannounced　inspection　tours　conducted　from　a　workaday　survey　boat　with　no　one　but　himself；　Captain　Giraud　and　his　crew　on　board。　Without　distraction；　he　could　study　firsthand　the　workings　of　the　revetments　laid　along　the　levees　to　reduce　erosion；　the　condition　of　the　levees　themselves；　the　rock　jetties　and　navigation　locks　leading　to　and　from　the　river。
　
　Why　is　the　Army　Corps　of　Engineers　in　mand　of　the　never…ending　war　against　flooding？　They　launched　their　attack　to　tame　the　Mississippi　River　in　the　early　eighteen　hundreds。　After　building　fortifications　during　the　War　of　1812　along　the　river　to　keep　out　British　forces；　it　seemed　expedient　for　them　to　turn　their　experience　to　civil　works；　and　the　Military　Academy　at　West　Point　had　the　only　school　of　engineering　in　the　country。　Today　the　organization　almost　seems　like　an　anachronism　when　one　considers　that　civilians　who　work　for　the　Corps　outnumber　Army　officers　by　a　hundred　and　forty　to　one。
　
　Frank　（his　birth　certificate　read　Fra^ois）　Montaigne　was　born　a　Cajun　in　Plaquemines　Parish　below　New　Orleans　and　spent　his　boyhood　in　the　French　Acadian　world　of　southern　Louisiana。　His　father　was　a　fisherman；　or　to　be　more　exact　a　crawfisherman；　who　built　a　floating　house　in　the　swamp　with　his　own　hands；　and　made　a　great　sum　of　money　over　the　years；　hauling　his　catch　and　selling　directly　to　the　restaurants　of　New　Orleans。　And；　like　most　Cajuns；　he　never　spent　his　profits　and　died　a　rich　man。
　
　Montaigne　spoke　French　before　he　learned　English；　and　his　classmates　at　the　academy　called　him　Potpourri　because　he　often　mixed　the　two　languages　together　when　speaking。　After　a　distinguished　career　as　a　bat　engineer　in　Vietnam　and　the　Gulf　War；　Montaigne　was　rapidly　promoted　after　receiving　several　academic　degrees　in　his　spare　time；　including　a　Ph。D。　in　hydrology。　At　the　age　of　fifty…five　he　was　appointed　mander　of　the　entire　Mississippi　Valley　from　the　Gulf　up　to　the　Missouri　River　where　it　joins　the　Mississippi　near　St。　Louis。　It　was　a　job　he　was　born　for。　Montaigne　loved　the　river　almost　as　much　as　he　loved　his　wife；　who　was　also　a　Cajun；　the　sister　of　his　best　boyhood　friend；　and　his　three　daughters。　But　mixed　with　his　love　for　the　flowing　waters　was　a　fear　that　someday　Mother　Nature　would　turn　violent　and　wipe　out　his　efforts；　sending　the　Mississippi　raging　over　the　levees　and　flooding　millions　of　acres　while　cutting　a　new　channel　to　the　Gulf。
　
　Earlier　in　the　morning　just　before　dawn；　the　Larson；　named　after　an　Army　Corps　engineer　long　deceased；　had　eased　into　the　navigation　locks　that　were　constructed　by　the　Army　Corps　for　flood　control　and　to　stop　the　Atchafalaya　from　capturing　the　Mississippi。　Giant　control　structures　that　are　basically　dams　with　spillways　were　built　fifty　miles　above　Baton　Rouge　at　an　old　bend　hi　the　river　where　a　hundred　and　seventy　years　before　the　Red　River　once　entered　into　the　Mississippi　and　the　Atchafalaya　flowed　out。　Then　in　1831　a　steamboat　entrepreneur；　Captain　Henry　Shreve；　dug　a　channel　across　the　neck　of　the　bend。　Now　the　Red　River　bypassed　the　Mississippi　and　flowed　through　remains　of　the　bend　that　became　known　as　the　Old　River。　Almost　as　if　it　was　a　siren　enticing　an　unwary　sailor；　the　Atchafalaya；　with　only　142　miles　to　the　Gulf　versus　the　Mississippi's　315；　beckons　the　main　river　into　its　waiting　arms。
　
　Montaigne　had　stepped　out　on　deck　as　the　gates　swung　and　closed　off　the　water　of　the　Mississippi　and　watched　as　the　walls　of　the　lock　seemed　to　rise　toward　the　sky　while　the　survey　boat　descended　to　the　Atchafalaya。　He　waved　to　the　lockmaster；　who　waved　back。　The　waters　of　the　Atchafalaya　run　fifteen　feet　lower　than　the　Mississippi's；　but　it　only　took　ten　minutes　before　the　west　gates　opened　and　the　Larson　moved　out　into　the　channel　that　led　south　to　Morgan　City　and　the　Gulf　beyond。
　
　〃What　time　do　you　estimate　our　rendezvous　with　the　NUMA　research　ship　below　Sungari？〃　he　asked　the　Larson^　captain。
　〃Around　three　o'clock；　give　or　take；〃　answered　Giraud　without　indecision。
　Montaigne　nodded　at　a　big　towboat　pushing　a　s