New-York daily tribune., 1844-07-10
The Mississippt.


Ocr accounts from ST LOUIS are TO the 29th
alt. at which time the waters were subsiding
ION the face of the earth, although they left be
hnd many and deep traces Of destruction and
devastation. Some idea Of the exten: OF the mere
oecuniary loss by The food we have already gIv-
ca: but it is impossible to convey any adequate
impression OF the human misery and suffering
consequent upon its ravages For a region o.
more than thousand miles in extent, along the
Missouri and Mississippi, above St. LOUIS, the
inhabitants have been deprived Of their cattle and
crops and in many instances their houses and
harns also; while the soil itself, for hundreds OF
thousands of acres, has been either seriously IN
ilred or totally destroyed. The city OF ST. Louis,
Itself severe sufferer by the food, has naturally
become The refuge Of hundreds OF houseess, des-
t,tntc and starving creatures driven from their
homes by the pursuing footsteps OF the food; and
me scenes Of want and suffering presented by
ibenl-gathered together IN sheds and rude tents
and fed by the hand Of public charlty-is repre-
ssnted as heartsickening in the extreme. The
citizens of ST Louis, with that noble generosity
or which they are proveIbia, have minlstered
literally to the immediate necessities Of these un
happy beings; and we sincerely trust that sea
son of returning prosperity will afford them
permanent and speedy restoration to comfort and
prosperity. The St Louis Republican OF the
29th says: r,,.
The flood attained its greatest hight on Thursday
,bnur noon, and remained stationary until yesterday
morning. when it commenced recedlng; ana up 10
the presen, time 9 p. NJ. it has fallen about SIX
inches The probability is that il will no" recede
with great rapidly; few days will bring II down
| 10 The ordinary hign water mark.
The Western Belle, irem the Missouri, reports
that the river mad fallen et Weston, up to Tuesday
morning uhout four feet
On Monday night, about an acre OF land ar Lex
ugton tNo ld off into the river, ing on II iive
dwelling aud store houses. Al NashYllie, lMo.I
only seven houses remain IN the town. ne beie
nas.ed several buildings floating down the river.
Two FrenchmeD were drowned at Herman Oh
Wednesday last their names not recolected.
We arc vet to hear of the destructive course OF
the flood for thirteen hundred miles between st.
Louis and New Orleans and we anticipate dis
ssters of the severcst kind when the mighty tor
rent roars through the Louisiana plantatons-the
yarden of the South. There, for two or three
hundred miles, the magnificent sugar plantations
are even in ordinary stages of water, protected
rom the current Of the river only by an artificial
embankmcnt, i'll many places apparently too irail
to withstand for twcnty-!our hours the usual
washing Of the unswoen river. When the I'M
mense pressure of an additional body Of water
thir,y.eight feet deep is thrown whirling against
1t, The consequences must VIC fear, be dread
full. New.Orleans itself lies actually some feet
below the usual level OF the river, and is protected
in the same manner as the plantations, by an
artificial embankment or Levee, in which slulccs
are inserted, so that the water of the Mississippi
is at will let into the streets, and runs off IN a
strong current to the Swamp which bounds the
city on two sides What then, may not be
feared from the visitation Of the tremendous flood
pouring into the Mississippi from the Illinois and
the Missouri, fifteen hundred miles above-'hc
Arkansas Red and White Rivers, and innumer.
able tributaries, many of them Of sufficient size
to become principal rivers any where but IN the
Great Valley