The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-07-12

and Seventh street, Consult the autographed town
plat for these locations) It looks as young bur
ricane had been carrying devastated forest in
southerly direction, but had grown weary when 1t
reached Cairo and dropped its load.
Report on tho Crevassss- Destruction ef tho
Mr.E.H. Anpamar' who was appointed to inves-
tigate the effect of the overflow from the two Gre
vases in st. Charles Parish La, has made his re-
port, which VIC find in the New Orleans papers OF
the I'd instant. This examination embraced the
parishes of Jefferson st. Charles ST. john st. James,
Assumption and LAfourche, in which he shows
certain loss by the food of AZ 500 hhds of sugar
compared with the crop of last year. The report
What cane is not under water yet, is protected,
on the swamp side, by levees built some distance
from the woods in the fields; but the back water rs
ing steadily, some of these evees are breaking every
corn destroyed by the flood is daily increasing. The
back water has been rising regularly for the last six
weeks at the rate of eighth in twentyfour hours
Since the opening Of the second crevasse at st.
Charles on the 10th of June the daily rise is little
over one inch and half the breach is widening
every day, and the natural consequence will be that
the water will rise at the rate of two and three inches
in twenty-four hours. If such be the case, scarcely
any cane or corn will be saved this season.
With the exception of three or four plantations
there is no crop that levees and draining machine
will save, il the back water be allowed to rise two
or three feet moreandI am sorry to say that 1t is
unless the be stopped at once, the whole
that rich basin bounded by the Mississippi, the
Bayou Lafourche and the Gulf will be under water
within twenty-five days from now-and the reasons
for fearing such calamity are, that the Mississippi
must fall twelve feet before the water will cease to
rush in through the crevasses; it cannot begin to
fall before ten days from now, and it cannot fall
twelve feet short Of twenty-five days; hence, very
plausible fears arise of general and complete
overflow of the parishes now affected by the Gre
vases.
But however disastrous be the results Of the over
flow to our sugar planters; however enormous the
losses brought upon them daily, nay, hourly, it is
yet nothing if we compare it to the ruin, the Attic
ton, the sufferings and starvation brought on
seven or eight hundred families of poor and small
farmers living in the prairies and brulees back of
the river and tine Lafourche. They are now driven
away from their homes by the flood; their houses
and their fences being foated away; their tobacco
cotton and corn patches destroyed; their cattle
drowned or strayed away; and their poultry--in
fact, their whole substance being destroyed. They
throwing themselves on the hospitality and
generosity of their neighbors living on the river
begging for shelter and food. What will become of
these homeless people? They will have 10 be pro-
vided for at great expense. Should the crevasses
be closed at once they could 60 back to their homes
in few weeks put their little farms in order again.
provide for the winter months and try to recuperate
from their losses.