OCR Text |
Show ( "We We ) regard it as 208 obvious that in the western half of the State the river is not susceptible of being used in its natural and ordinary condition as a high way for commerce ; and there is no evidence that in fact it ever was so ( med imed ) . That section embraces t1w receivership area . it Directing its attention to that portion of the river in the eastern half of Oklahoma , the Court says ( p . 589 ) that , although light draft boats daring one period carried ( mer- mer ) chandise upstream to the mouth of the Kiamitia and other points in that vicinity and took out cotton and other ( pro- pro ) ducts on the return trip , such boat trips ( "occurred occurred ) only in ( periods peHods ) of high water , and was accomplished under ( diffi- diffi ) culties . " It then adds that in ( "very very ) exceptional instances boats went to the mouth of the Washita , where some had to await the highwater of the next season before they could return . " At page 590 the Court refers to appropriations made by Congress in 1886 , looking toward the making of a ( navi- navi ) gable channel , and to the fact that the officer in charge of the work ( "several several ) times ( recommended recornmended ) that it be discontinued , . because not likely to result ( in 'in in ) any commercial navigation ; and in 1916 that officer , the division engineer , the Board of Engineers and the Chief of Engineers concurred in ( recom- recom ) mending that the project be entirely abandoned , their reasons being that the small ( ( high-water highwater ) ) commerce of an earlier period had disappeared ; that the characteristics of the river rendered it impracticable to secure a useful channel ( ex- ex ) cept by canalization , the cost of which would be prohibitive ; that the expenditures already made were practically useless , and that there was no reason to believe conditions would change in such way as to bring better results in the future . " At page 591 , the Court concludes its observations with reference to the navigability of the river in the eastern half of the State as follows : ( "While While ) the evidence relating to the part of the river in the eastern half of the State is not so ( con- con ) clusive against navigability as that relating to the western section , we think it establishes that trade and travel neither do ( nor -nor nor ) can move over that part of the river , in its natural and ordinary condition , , ( ac- ac ) cording to the modes of trade and travel customary on |