Arkansas true Democrat., 1860-02-22
From the Memphis Appeal. Letter from the Arkansas Swamp Land Secretary.
SWAMP LAND SECRETARY's OFFICE,
 T.tIo PocE Ian 26. 1860. {


 published a card recently in the Memphis Appeal, which contained the following statement:
 "The Governor of Arkansas or leveo engineer has given contracts to levee rom the high land of Amos bayou to the mouth of Cypress creek, thence across the mouth of Cypress creek and along the Mlsslsslppi to Napoleon, the consequence ot which will be to inundate from five hundred thou sand to one million dollars worth of pro perty. My individual loss will be over fifty thousand dollars'
 My object in addressing you this letteris to furnish you, and all other persons inter- ested, with some official information from the records and files of this office in rela- tlon to the levee contracts referred to Tn your statement above, believing that such information IS necessary to a correct under standing of all the facts as they exist.
 In the official report, made the 29th ot December, 1858, to the Governor of Arkan- sas, by the State engineer, Arnold Syberg, touching his survey of the location for the contracts referred to, he represented to the Governor as follows:
 "To extend the construction of levecs alongt the M s'issippi, from Napoleon down ward, closing the mouth of Cypress creek and connecting with the levee on the Chicot county line, would be ruinous to a part of De5ha county, the whole of Chicot county, and to several of the northern parishes of Louisiana, besides, the land lying very low, the cost of building such levee would be enormous. The mouth of Cypress creek being closed, the drainage of this whole scope ofcountry would have to pass through bayou Mason, a stream scarcely sufficient to carry off the rainwater, and of course, without the assistance of Cypress creek, wholly inadequate to prevent an overflow, should the season happen to be wet. The whole section fcountry above named would be depending on one levee, and the waters of Red Fork, the upper part of Cypress creek and those of the Arkansas river, In case the levce on its banks should give way, could find no other outlet than over the fertile and productive plantations of Chcot county-followin the fall of the Mississippi, very probably destroying the levees in the southern part of the county, and injuring the property of a neighboring State-besides making Q difference, at the lowest valuation, in the products of the county to the amount of $250, 900 to $500, GOO per annum. Taking all these facts into consideration, 1 consider that the closing of Cypress creek would be injurious to all parties interested in the protection of the rich and fertile lands of that part of the State from overflow"
 In the same report the engineer submit ted the following survey and location of a contract, which he recommended to the Governor for his approval
 Commencing at the banks of Amos bayou, which are above all overflow, run ming on an air line to the inlet of Boggy bayou, from Cypress creek, crossing Boggy bayou, running down the south side of Cypress creek and crossing Opossum Fork, !, at point to make a connection with an old levee, which extends to the Chicot county line, connecting there with the State levee-making in all S-1O miles of levee '
 In accordance with the above recommen- dation the engineer, under instructions of the Governor, did, on the 18th day of Jan uary, 1859, let out the contract to con struct levee along the south and west side of Cypress creek, but not to cross Cy press creek, to C. W. Campbell, as a spe- cial commissioner for Chicot county. who thereby became the contractor to build the levee for the State of Arkansas The levce law of Desha county was not then in existence-it was approved the 10th of February, 1859.
 This contract, you will perceive, does not require the levee to be extended across the mouth of Cypress creek, as stated in your card, but provides for its construction precisely on the location above stated Again. 1t appears from the written state ment of the engineer, on file in this office, that his recommendation in regard to lcav- ing the mouth of Cypress creek open was approved and adopted by the Governor be- fore the contract to C. w. Campbell, as special commissioner for Chicot county, was executed. It also appears, by said statement, that at the time of such approval and adoption it was ordered by the Gov en0r that in the construction of the lcvee to be built under the contract of Smith X Hum pnrcy, '" they should not build an embank- ment or levee across Cypress creek, but only to its banks, so that the water might, without obstruction, continue to flow out of the mouth of the creek in its natural channel"
 This contract of Smith & Humphrey $ was made with them by the swamp land commissioner on the 10th day of October, 1856, and expires the first day of April, 1860. Humphrey rclinqushed his inter- est in the contract to his partner, John C. | Q. Smith, who, on the l7th day ot Sep tember, 1859, long after the Governor had ordered that the levee should not be built across Cypress creek, assigned that part of said contract situated in the seventh levee district of Dcsha county, to A. $. | Van Rensselaer,, lcvee inspector for tha' district, who thereby became the contrac l tor with the State to carry out the contract Said contract provides that the lcvec sinai be built according to notes and instruction to be furnished by the swamp land engineer and in accordance with such provision an, the direction of the overnor, Gthe State engineer did, on the 24th day of October 1859, forward to such assignee of the con tract, A. $. Van Rensselaer,, the notes an, instructions for building the levee whicl contain the direction that '' the levee vii stop on the east side of Cypress creek $, as to leave the mouth of Cypress crcel open, and the channel of Cypress creel without any obstruction in it.'
 Thus you see that instead of giving {, contract to levee across the mouth of Cy press creek, as stated by you, the Governo and State engineer have directed from tn first, that Cypress creek should be left open You will, therefore, understand that if Cy press creek has been closed up, it has bee done not only without any authority lror the Governor or State engineer, but | violation of the written instructions fol warded to A. $. Van Rensselaer,, by tn State engineer, which under the contract he was bound to observe. The embark ment across Cypress Is therefore not unde the protection of the laws as a State levef for the State has not built it, but it ha. been constructed .either purely as an in dividual work or by direction of the author ties of Desha county; and if individual | bova haan dama oed tharnhv tho autbor;t;o n