The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1867-12-14

L. NJ. Gllmer IOS3U - -
j. w Vance 1910 ="
r. Y. Graves > $4,000
j. M. Sandidge $1,000 I" ."
Mrs. P. Pickett g" 1920 ID. e
Those mentioned above as not
yet finished will be fully complet-
ed in a very short time. @'
The only additional work that
seems to me necessary to be done
for the present, along the river
line of ward No. 2, Bossier parish,
is to close "Old River and the
Willow Chute at Buffers. The,
relief would be felt very sensibly,
for long distance below, and, the,
cost not great, to say for about
28.OO0 cubic yards of levee. To
this there might be objections
urged by citizens on the opposite,
or Caddo side of the river, where,
| are no levees.
/ will now try to explain from
| whence comes the danger OF
overflow, and the way of obyiatv
ing it-a matter entirely practica-
BILE as I am most fully pursuad-
ed, and in this i believe all men
here concur with me who know
anything about the matter. The
Raft now extends up the river
very nearly to the Arkansas line,
and has caused the abandonment,
and ruin of nearly all the planta
tions on either side of the river
for fifty miles above-for them the
only relief would be to remove the.
Raft and to make a new river
channel sufficiently capacious to
carry off the water as it came
above. The hills of Bossier parish
striking the river just below the
State line forces all the surplus
waters into the opposite side of
! the valley (seventenths OF the
stream) where it enters and fills
up the largest basin in the valley
of the Mississippi river or any OF
it's tributaries. This basin extends
from Shreveport to Jefferson, Tex
as. and receiving water from above
around the Raft more rapidly
than it can be discharged below
{ gradually fills up, giving facilities
for interior navigation, and pre-
+ senting no dangerous features so
. Iona as the basin Is aOt fGLL-ad.
j vancing beyond that point, its
0 rim (the banks of the river that
+ angle across the valley from the
# Carolina Bluffs on one side of the
r river to Shreveport on the other
s is overflowed with a volume OF
water that has heretofore swept
:. everything in it's course even to
d the mouth of the river. To pre-.
q vent this it is only necessary te
# enlarge the capacity of the outlets
# from the basin-from Soda and
!. Cross Lakes-so that there shall
A. never be such a dangerous accu
y mutation of waters--this done
O. there would be but little need o
,e levees on any part of Red Rive
IF below the Raft.
\ From Shreveport down there ii
d enough of channel, through rive
n and bayous, to carry off the waite
TO safely if let ont of this Great Ba
rs sin something like as fast as
n comes into it. One hundred thou
10 sand dollars would probably suffic
ne to effect this, and in the opinian 9
Ne several eminently scientific me
is who have explored the whole rive
te within the State of Louisiana, j
pt the most easily accomplished {
on any work that could be underti
on ken for the general relief, wit
or fewer, and perhaps ! should sa
all no objections on the part Of an
on citizen Of the State. ! cannot tt
he greatly press this matter upon Il
ch notice Of those who may have
ty. charge the disbursement, or dire
ler [Coneluded On ith page,l a