The independent. (Harrisonburg, La.) 1853-18??, 1859-03-09

The MAssfssippt Levee Tux.
We bespeak for the following commnn'-
cation, from prominent citizen OF our par
Ssh, an attentive perusal. The writer, it will
be seen, is among those who have no faith
in the efficacy of levees to couiine within its
the waters'of the Mississippi during
foods Of that river. This
opinion is far more general than many sup
pose. 1t Is, in our humble notion, the cor
rect view Of The matter; and we think 1t
high time that this sentiment should. in
some organized form, be brought to bear on
the subject and to have its proper weight IN
til councils of the land.
ITO the Editor cfthe Independent.
Sicily ISLAND, Feb. %, 1859.
STA lin your last number l perceive
criticism on the proceedings OF public
meeting lately held in the parish Of Carroll.
in regard to pe:itioning the Legislature 10
tax the overAewed lands of our Parish, be-
cause they receive at times some incidental
protection against overflows by the levees Of
Madison and Carroll parishes. There is no
doubt THAT you have expressed the opinion
of the parish, when you protest against tax
ing the parishes of Franklin aud Ca.ahouia
for such purposes. The ievees on the Mrs
sissippi have not been located with an eye
10 the protection Of the lands on Tensas,
Black and Little rivers, and the interest OF
our parish has not been consulted in their
R,,k ho
have been located wherever the caprice or
cupidity Of the front proprietor has dictated.
and very often are located SO near Il caving
bank, that they are annually caving into the
river. Should we be held responsible for
their acts, when if we had been consulted,
they would have been located where they
would have been secure =? Under existing
circumstances, the proceeds OF the sales OF
the Swamp Lands donated by Congress for
that purpose, if judiciously man. ge,'' vii af
ford an ample and Increasing fund to assist
the rive: parishes in extraordinary emergen
c!a-, In repairing the crevasses that always
have, and will continue 10 occur, as the con-
sequence Of extraordinary floods. l heartily
agree with you IN the opinion, that it is tie
most extreme folly to attempt TO contine the
Mississippi at such periods, to its present Ca
pacity, and within the limits Of the levees
rs they are now located. Let US cast an eve
over the map Of the Mississippi valley, 5000
miles in width, from the sources Of the Ate
ghany and Monongehela, in the mountains
Of NewYork and Virginia, to the sonvces OF
the Missouri in the snow capped Rocky
Mountains of Oregon, and from $500 to
5000 miles from the Balze, to the sources OF
the upper Mississippi. In this vast valley,
The Mississippi has 1900 tributaries among
them, are the Ohio, Arkansas and Missouri,
that in many places are mile and a halt
wide; they are not, however, so deep as the
Mississippi, which at Natchez, is aboutthree-
quarters Of mile wide.
In flood stages OF the river, after making
duea ilowance for the reduction Of this sea Of
water by Transportation through the sub-s,ra
tum of sand, which is generally twenty feet
below the bank of the river. and also for its
waste by evaporation, which, will be reduced
as the breadth of the evaporating surface i:
reduced, there viii! still be left a much greater
volume of water, that the present capacily
Of the river can discharge without over
flowing its banks. If, as some suppose, The
river can be made wide enough and deep
enough. bv the concentration of its waters
to discharge the united floods of its tributa
res, it will be when the levees shall hav.
been located much farther back from tn,
river, and when the private interes: OF the
front proprietor, shall not have been the onl!
interest consulted. Then it will be tim,
enough to tax US, after we have had a voice
in their location and construction.
In conclusion we trust that the Legisia
ture will not saddle upon US tax, tina
under the circumstances, is unnecessary an,
unjust, but will leave our venerable old pa,
ish 10 pursue the even tenor Of her way j,
the management of her domestic affairs AM
allow her to prosecute her rural pursuits
without needing the dctation of her voting
prosperous, but in this instance, otf!ciou
sister Carroll. Very Respectfully,
Your friend, HENRY J. PECK.