National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1871-05-19
The Mississippi CreraEaN.

Aesis'dnt Sthte EhRlneer nhtcn,
Mississippi, writing from Bonnet Carr
Z Crevasse, says "rhe Crevasse is MOI
from 600 10 600 feet wide, and vas
volume Of water PUSHES through with
roar like thunder, piling itself up in tn
middle in the form Of an arch, OF whic
the centre is five or six feet higher tina
the sides. The torrent has cut its chan
mel through the front batture 80 feet
while steadily foot by foot, the grea
levee crumbles INTO its boiling waters
) The closing OF this crevasse is beyon,
the range of possibilities so the next hes
thing Is to prevent. il possible, tn
J widening Of the breach. A continuou
body of water extends from here TO LAX
Pontchartrain, and for many miles abov
and below. The disaster is great AM
deplorable, and is beyond the reach o
remedy. as every one who has seen
admits.
Careful inquiry reduces the number o
crevasses from which imminent DANCE
is anticipated TO four-at Poverty Point
Wallace Plantation, and Bonnet Carr
above the city, and the Moraro Planta
ton below. Bonnet Care is 40 mile
above New Orleans, and ut the point n
which the Mississippi makes neares
approach To Lake Pontchartrain. Ii hai
always been point of great danger ane
should be watched with the greatest care
Instead of that it has been studiousl,
neglected II was twelve hours befor,
the fact Of the crevasse was known to the
State Engineer, forty-eight hours befor,
an attempt was made on any adequat,
scale to check it. 1t was then too late.
The waters of the great river are rush
ing through an opening 700 feet wide,
with a rushing, roaring deep sound
audible for miles, blowing n channel sc
feet deep far into the vacant lands
while the levee rapidly crumbles into
its boiling waters. Piles four feet deep,
driven 20 feet into the ground and pack
ed with sand bags, are swept away like
reeds. No rts can now close the
crevasse, and as soon as the food has
cut its way into the lake the latter will
overflow the whole rear portion of the
City of New Orleans. Thirteen years
ago crevasse occurred at the same
point. In lS49, New-Orleans was con
verted into transatlantic Venice, the
water being in some places four and
five feet deep in the street. The dam
age already done to property amounts
to hundreds of thousands of dollars,
and it will be still greater.
The following is from the official re-
port of the Chief Engineer of Louisi-
ana
Upon my return from Bonnet Care
Crevasse this evening, l found very lin
tied news from the other crevasses-
nothing definite or worth publishing by
kilograms. | learn the river has fallen
three inches at Vicksburg, two and half
inches at Baton Rouge, and is now eight
feet eight inches below the high water
mark of 1867 at Vicksburg, and 10 inches
below the high water mark of this year
at Baton Rouge.
feet wide, to-day, but the current and
waves had decreased in proportion as the
back land had become filled with water
and the surface of the river lowered
High-water mark at Logue's is almost
% feet above the level of Lake Pom
chartrain The levee beyond is II feet
high. The natural surface of the ground
at Parches where the crevasse began, is
but ten feet above the level land. To-
day the river had fallen and plantations
covered with water to the base of the
level. Therefore, | repeat that the cur
rent through the crevasse has decreased,
and probably no more water passes to-
day than yesterday. | am indebted to
Col. Walton, for calculation of the vol
lme of water passing. that he made this
ina Iu.f, arrival w II
$50, 600 cubic feet per second, or one
sixth of the whole volume of the Miss
issippi at that point. The work of saw
ing the ends of the levee is proceeding
slowly on account of the want of skilled
labor and the changing conditions of
the field of operations The steam pile
driver got hard aground away from its
work, aud the hand pile-driver only is
working, and doing good service at the
lower end. The temporary works at the
upper end were washed away, and the
end is now exposed to the current, and
caving gradually. Financial arrange
ments must be made to prosecute the
work with systematic concentrated la
Dor, or what we are doing will simply be
thrown away
In my opinion it is utterly useless to
attempt to close the crevasse, for prepa-
rations could not be made before the river
falls, and the damage yet to be done is
question of months duration and not so
much of extent.
Engineers who came down from the
cribbing, report that Walkell's Swamp
is wholly submerged with water coming
into the fields around Kemmerville, and
that the swamps back of city are COM
mencing to fill up from water backing in
from the lake.