The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-05-24

PLAoUEMINE, May 10Th, 1874.

| PLAQUEMINE, May 10Th, 1874
To tho Editor OF the Morning Star:
| The'water in the river at this point has be-
gun to 60 down in manner that indicates
that the fall from above has reached u.s. Just
| above here the crevasse water has receded
| from its highest, about seven inches (the fall
in the river being in all about four feet), while
at the Indian Village on Bayou Plaquemine,
| nine miles below, it has fallen three inches,
and on Grand river, ten miles lower, quarter
of an inch is all SO far "by the mark"
If this flood of destruction spread so far
and wide, would go fast Ms it came, our
people might yet make crops of corn and po-
tatoes, but it will be a month or more before
the water will be gone from The greater por.
ton of the interior now covered. 1t will be
too late TO plant any quantity of seed of any
kind while most places will he found without
fences. In many sections the want of fences
will not be such serious drawback for the
reason that the few stock left will be easily
prevented from depredati"g upon the newly
planted crop. The want, in fact of stock will
in some places, be seriously felt, for many have
been lost and their owners have no means of
replacing them.
1t is said trouble will come o us soon enough
without our going half way too meet it, but,
Ava N4i toh'b tbO tuoHSu'lul Dust look lDGO the
future aud those of our people who do, zee
little TO encourage them. Their prospects for
this year-and- they were generally magnif-
cent-are gone, aud those who were planting
sugar cane cannot, inside of two or three
years get started again, even with a moderate
amount of means and not one in ten is SO for
tunate as TO have that at his control IL il
indeed not surprising that cur people should
look &c homes else
gone, and others will surely follow.
The great question is, will the levees be
built This is serious question for the peo-
Lafourche and the Atchafalaya rivers, in fact
from the Lafuurche TO the Teche-comprsing !
the whole of the parishes of Pointe Coupee !
and West Baton Ronge and great, if not the |
greater part of the parishes of st. Martins,
lbervile, IBERIA st. Mary, Lafourche, Assump-
ton, Terrebonne, and a portion of Ascension |
and St. Landry.
We may well ask, will the evees lie built
We fear there is little hope, judging from the |
past, aud, in that event, many must leave |
scenes that are dear to them for new friends
and new homes in lands they know not.
Those who have experienced one flood never |
care to see another, especially one that came
With the rapidity and that has been attended
with the widespread calamity of the present.
In a former letter told you of the devastation
caused 20 the plantation of Mr.. Dan Hickey
hy 'a~ low celebrated Hickey crevasse. At
M0rgHHa am told, the same thing occurred
TO til" Morgan place-the dwelling and build
ngs being carried away. In the interior the
hood was not frightful, but the r9in and
lesolatl0p are as great, perhaps greater except
70 the Saildings, for the country people found
themselves suddenly in water without boats
'r means, or time to their stock by dri-
ing them III any direction.
Az acquaintance. living in the bower part of
ray Oh Crosse Tefe, some seve4 eight miles
n the rear of Hickey's crevA-se, told ME that
IL Thursday evening (rhe 0sevasse took place
.srlH Thursday mornipg) tie water was even
With the top OF the bank. They retired to
Jed, aud on getting up U.flS the next morning I
ney found their Hoor, - hiCh war nearly four |
=, 81, III the gI"u, 4. within - lew inches Of
ne ~HIei! Tbs lad il skin aud prepared to
move here al once y'heir stack they had for
"natelJ sen h~F- few days befurel hut bt-
ore they c"nld get breakfast and pat the.r
"r.iture in the urpet story aud pack MP their
othes. Ire water WAS foot deep over she
!" r. II is needless to say that II was a mat
.r almost of impossibtlity to move stock any
distance under such circumstances even where I
hey were gathered up and in hand, while
hose on the ranges generally had but one
ate.
In eO@o localiIies Lhe geRtle stock we've put 1