CHAPTER XVII 



THE POWER BEHIND THE ENGINE 



171. Small boys soon learn the power of running water; 

 swimming or rowing downstream is easy, while swimming or 

 rowing against the current is difficult, and the swifter the 

 water, the easier the one and the more difficult the other; 

 the river assists or opposes us as we go with it or against it. 

 The water of a quiet pool or of a gentle stream cannot do 

 work, but water which is plunging over a precipice or dam, or is 

 flowing down steep slopes, may be made to saw wood, grind 

 our corn, light our streets, run our electric cars, etc. A 

 waterfall, or a rapid stream, is a great asset to any community, 

 and for this reason should be carefully guarded. Water.power 

 is as great a source of wealth as a coal bed or a gold mine. 



The most tremendous waterfall in our country is Niagara 

 Falls, which every minute hurls millions of gallons of water 

 down a 1 63-foot incline. The energy possessed by such an 

 enormous quantity of water flowing at such a tremendous 

 speed is almost beyond everyday comprehension, and would 

 suffice to run the engines of many cities far and near. Numer- 

 ous attempts to buy from the United States the right to utilize 

 some of this apparently wasted energy have been made by 

 various commercial companies. It is fortunate that these 

 negotiations have been largely fruitless, because much devia- 

 tion of the water for commercial uses and. the installation of 

 machinery in the vicinity of the famous falls would greatly 



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