The Louisiana Democrat., 1866-06-20
The Inundation.

we resume publication to-day after an
interval of two weeks Our last issue had
scarcely been distributed before the water
commenced running over the levee above
she town and by the evening Of that day
Wednesday, the 30th ult.--the back water
had made its appearance in the front part
of the town. At about two o'clock the
next morning the levee gave way at the
head of the street which runs between the
Ice House Hotel and Goodman's Saloon and
our people awoke on Thursday in the midst
of lake varying in depth from one to four
feet, whose limits towards the South were
beyond the reach of the naked eye. The
lsvee broke also very early in the day on
the upper side Of the hotel, in front of
Henarie's, the old Court House and VIII
iiams' Warehouse, within the limits of the
town, and at the bridge near the little
bayou above town, at the head of the
plank road and the mouth Of Bayou
Robert. All the lowlands were Of course
soon under water.
The damage to the town was very great;
two hundred Thousand dollars would not
cover it. With the exception of dozen Or
40 every house in town was under water,
10 depth varying from three inches to
two feet. Early on Thursday the walls Of
Goodman's new and fine Saloon were un-
dermined and fell; as also part of the walls
of Henarie's, John Wells, Irving's brick
house opposite the Town Hall. and in fact
nearly every brick house in town. The
Ice House Hotel, which was in the midst
of a strong current all the time, stood re-
markably well, only the Northwest corner
wall cracking off for ten or tifte IN feet
Mr, John A. Williams Warehouse was
washed entirely away, and the stores of
Messrs. Sullivan and j. Walker have sunk
considerably out of plumb. On Thursday
night the horrors of the scene were in
creased by the conhagration of house in
the Southern part of the town, which, for
time threatened to spread to no incon-
siderable distance.
From the country we have not received
% much intelligence of the disaster as we.
could desire. All the lower part of the
Parish, between the river and Bayou
Beuf was undoubtedly under water, and
all the crops in that section, as well as
many on the Island above Bayou Rapides,
are destroyed. And even on those places
not overhowed the incessant rains have
well nigh ruined the standing crops At
the outside we do not believe that five
thousand bales of cotton will be raised in
the Parish this year. !.
How we are to recover from the disaster
we have not sufficient foresight to under
stand. With bankrupt town and Parish
treasury how are we to repair the levees
and improve the town? Alexandria now
presents succession of deep gullies and
lofty sandbars; how are these to be
brought back to their former position p
How are o,ir poor merchants to rebuild the
houses, which took their all to erect, or
our poor planters to recover when they
threw all on the chance of making crop
this year Sadly has our Parish been al
fiicted; war, fire and high water, all in two
years, to which perhaps may be added pes
thence and famine before the summer is
ended.
Our people can do much toward ai,evia-
ting the snferings of each other by dis
pensing those little charities which may be
in the power of some who have not been 80
unfortunate as others. We would par
ticularly impress upon creditors the neces-
sity of abstaining from unnecessary prose-
cution OF their claims in the present condi-
ton of the country. It is no time now to
grind your unfortunate neighbor to pow
der by attempts to collect debts that are in
arrears. Let there be mutual kindness,
generosity and forbearance, and we may
yet recover from all our troubles. We
have seen darker days, and yet the dark
ness was turned into light.
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