New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-07-10
NAy1sAr1oN OF UPPER RED RIVER.

Many of our readers may not be aware that
project is on foot for the purpose of permanently
improving the navigation of upper Red river.
company has been formed composed of the kouns
Bros, and Capts. Moore and Alban, under the
title of the g Upper Red River Low Water Naviga-
tion Company which promises, by means of the
natural bayous and lakes and canals, when ne
cessary, to open the navigation by new route
from Shreveport to Red river, above the raft.
II is believed by those who are competent to
Judge that eventually the route proposed will
draw off from Red river the large body of water
now forcing its way slowly through the raft, and
make this new route the real river, and by this
means reclaiming large region of the country,
now useless swamps. 1t is a matter in which all
doing business in that region of the State are
largely Interested We shall properly refer to this
matter hereafter more at length; for the present
we invite attention to the following letter from
Capt. Thos. Moore:
SHREVEPORT, June 2S, 1850.
Messfs. G.. L. Koums DE- Bi.o.--Gentlemen: /
have lust returned from the scene of operation in
| the raft region, and for your information | refer
to my journal for the items of interest connected
up from your city with my outfit and crew of
hands on board the Era No. 8. Il believe favor
ite of your own) We had a long, tedious trip of
over six days; hot and disagreeabe.
Arrived here on the morning of the 18th instant,
shipped my outfit for the works and crew on two
small boats, and left for the scene OF operations
made Albany derry McLeland1 at P. Nj. !;
/ camped for the night comfortably. On the 14th,
\ proceeded through the lakes and bayons and
passes noting necessary Improvements OF vital i'm
! portanee to navigation, to be made alone with
good work, and best to be superlntended by those,
| as myself, who have suffered by those obstruc-
| tions such as stumps, trees, bush and zigzag
| points and bends; took bee-tree on the bank of
Black Bayou @ gallons honey camped at Irwin s
Bluff after that hard days work found good well
water. On the 10Th, arrived at our destination !;
| commenced cutting timber off the banks and out
of the channel of Stump Dam Bayou; commenced
| my survey, and ran through to the head Of cur
route, where the deep cut or canal VIII pc made;
4 on the l6th returned to camp; all hands sick and
/ done out and beat out; various estimates were
| given, by opinion, of the worth of cutting the
timber out of the route; from 500 to 5000 per mile
| was the range for the work in different sections.
| On the I7th; Sunday, rested from all our works, to
| start fresh: On the 18th, surveyed the Eastern
route; found the distance from Stump Dam to the
river at the Scott Shed, the head OF our route. Is
| miles the length of the canal to be exeayated 263
yards long and feet deep, giving side section to
be dug out of GA yards. The fall through the cut
will give 4 feet at low water and about 2G inches
in high. There is one point in Scott Shed which
will require digging feet deep and l60 yards
long, and covered with thick growth Of small
timber. ! find the route entirely available, and
o most eligible substitute for the old route.
For the information of the community interested
Red river and its connections, address the follow
ing notes, which embrace the project and pros
poets of constructing good route of navigation
for small steamboats, round that interminab BILE
harrierfthe raft) in the channel of Red river-and
to the interest and welfare of that extensive fertile
region above, embracing large portion of Texas,
Arkansas, Ghoetaw Nation, and u small portion OF
our own State. 1t is wellknoWn fact that the
welfare and resources of this country above the
raft has been held in check for want of navigation
for twenty years past, and is that number OF years
behind what it now would be ii it had enjoyed the
facilities of navigation which the waters oil the
river were capable of affordng had a system of i'm
/ prOvements been adopted and applied, at the
proper time and place-what or which remedy fol
the evils existing none could definitely conjecture
The previous navigation round the raft, through
bayous lakes, swamps and oyerfi0wed wilderness
where boat-stock has suffered, and poor boatmer
struggled and died, and valuable commerce saeri
feed, for want of a iudcious expenditure of q few
thousand dollars by some helping hand, by whcl
O good, safe substitute for the open river channe
could haYe been in use for twenty years past, AM
but little Inconvenience experiences: but not
dollar has been expended with view OF improve
ment of this tortuous, stumpy, shallow, bush.
| route: aud now this miserable substitute is close
by mile and a-half Of raft, formed above it
/ junction with the upper river, shutting up 600
bales of cotton, and more than its equiVaien
return commerce below, to be hauled, packed o
what not, to its destination. Cotton is now bein
flatboated to the head of the raft, and hauled t
the point (Shreveport) at cost for hauling 81 an
4 90 per Udte, anu sHppeu W NeW oFietIs on ION
water boats at the same cost 81 to s5 and Caiifo
nia-like, they shut out from the world below
(where is Gen. William Walker, here's field fc
enterprise.1 Government refuses aid private ente
prise within the secluded Territory fails to efat
> an abatement of the evil $4,000 bales of eetto
has passed through the bayous annually. for twent
r years, andits equivalent value in return commerc
:. besides an equal amount, or more, has found i
way to and from the same region by other route
3 and eonyeyanees-showing the amount of intere
c involved, also the comparatively small increase
J., the surplus for many years consequent and charl
able to the delays and risks through this preearo'
a navigation Another great and crying evil
l. chargabIe to this state Of things: Large tracts
d valuable lands, capable producing bale to ha