New Orleans daily crescent., 1866-05-21
Intercepted Correspondence or Vyalr.
from the Na.chss Courier.

& H0f 4
4 NAroHEz, April 25 1866.
Dear 6tdnluAYou have never seen the great
Father of Waters. He is so long that he could be
coliea around your island home several times, and
yse nave some length tospaEe. A country woman
i once, IN going through the PHILADELPHIA market
\ was struck with the quantity of egg.plants that
lay piled up like vegetable ammunition all around
her : Bless me- said she, A / wonder where an
AS she continued her walk however She was.
equally ast9nlshed at atsmeeting such a vast crowd
/ OF people. Bless me, said she, / wonder
Where All the yictnals come from to feed so many
peoples" Thus It is with the great Mississppian
rake map and look at the vast area that sweens
from the peaks of the Allegheny to the Deals IF
the Rocky Mountains, up to the great lakes Of the
Sottn. Ihs ~ great rain shed s drained by the Mis-
slsslppt- Ths wonder is how such vast volume
OF water can pass through such narrow funnel
" ere ~ all to come at once it would be a delupe
indeed; but, fortunately it comes by degrees
Besides this, nature has wisely provided other
checks. As the rain falls the thirsty earth drinks
up what she needs, while the 81 unwearied ann
from day to-day sends down his invisible water
baskets ana draws the surplus back TO heaven
again. This absorption by Che earth aud evapora-
ton by the sun, keep the waters as it were IN
equilibrium. The river gets its supply, the earth
hers, and the upper air keeps on hand sufficient
deposit upon which other issues may be made.
In spite, however, of this admirable adjustment
the old mississippi will occasionally overfun his
BANKS disastrous war has cut the levees on both
banks and many are now submerged, and many
There have been four great floods in the last
eIght years-lS5S, 1853, 1862 and 1865 In the wear
1855 the river attained its highest point here on
the I7tl Of June. IN the year 1859, on the ID Of
May. In the year 1852, between the middle of NAV
aAd fhe Ist oI June, Ia the year 1866, between
Taking the above data, it would seen that May |
was the dangerous month"; and the chances are |
month.
. You win think It strange when I tell you that
he relative height in the channel of the river at
1000 TIME and the swamps. i not always the same.
or instance, in the year 1862 the water wa higher
y the channel and in the back sWamps than was
ever Known before, except the traditional report
q the year lsS but il the year 1865, the water in
atieast one foot higher than it was in 1852 while
L was not as high inthe channel by eighte eninches
as i was in 1862
rms phenomenon would seem to falsify the law
y physlesy that water will find its level. / will
w 70 explain the cause. By looking at tha man
y!on Wisl see below the mouth of the Arkansas
lseI mat the aliuvia Of the west bank ia Louisiana
aalgas s[sa t ny many streams that empty them
sglsss sg5 into the Red River which flows into the
NJ h pl az 2 place near Morganza All along
NV DalAs q the river within this region crescent
sAs levels en- the outer skirts Of the
sS aaAe5 providence, St. Joseph Concordia
aaa others are so many dapghters ~ tbe SIss;s
fagpii. "a the natnral state the water at 1ood |
through these outlets from the
nat v5rS thro,S I, b 'sa rom thence spread like
waters ot the Eensas river na1na5 r'so ~ il
oI lualans VINO once inhabited the eonnfrs, 1 ga
5roih tlenSs lnlo ked The natural outlets op side
doors of the river were closed by leyeaa a,5 NJ a
water forced down the main channel 5 .u r, e,as m
Grant commanded the Federal army III ny5ar ~ q l.
possible, TO avoid Yieksburg he atlempted to cnt
z enamel through Lake Providence to the pansasI 4 Il
slVer he cut wide canal which failed as 4 miIi' il
,ary measure. At the breaking out OF the SVas ~
ihreat was made, Z Gut the dykes and alroyyn Az
ebels4 Through this Lake Providence canal and
lther breaks in the levees an immense volume
u water poured. The water that had passed /
oWn the man channel of the river when the
eyees were up, NOW that the vents were opened
n otner words, the deficiency OF the eighteen
aches N theEchannel of the river in 1855 was owing
Q the fact that so much water was transferred to
le Iensas through Lake Providence canal ana
liner breaks IN the contiguous leVees. The mill
irP blunder has Heeded large tract of country
he IRE, the sword and the water have played
aYoc with q country richer than the Nile and {
ooner or later the United States will find that IN
estr9ying the Southern people they but killed the
oess that laid the golden egg. The Federal
oYernment has attempted to close the Providence Z
allal sels season. and as an economical question =
Monld pc wise for il to repair the levees that 2
AVE been destroyed 4
a hen the great river is at food height il ia ter
isy 2 y , From the highlands Of the Misss-
~ 7, - ahs highlands of the Macon and thence ia
" Veaenltas fon0uneHd Washita1 a 1istanoe ~ 4
y h 'hfty miles, the earth is one vast sheet
'swsser sv,s1 water everywhere, and many drop 81
You can form no conception Of ts, ,zs;.a ,,osn as
Z the scene, mingled as it is with iesoiatien Tb
mes ana trees covered With foliage look like fairs
I0eeoess lhe water loses the muddy Mississin6si ~
ues aHd becomes comparatively peiIncia Il y y
ises Ia the swamp not with the roar III 4 t. = y
'as suehlly' noiseiessly and stealthiy, like the q