The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1874-05-23


to have escaped the flood, and the
country presents a beautiful and pros
porous appearance, painfully con-
trasting with the opposite side of the
stream.
1t may sound Incredible, but we
are informed upon reliable authority
that from the mouth of Red River to
the Arkansas line the Mississippi has
an average width of forty miles On
the Louisiana side the seething flood
has burst through the levee in score
of places and devastated the richest
cotton lands of the State, while on
the Mississippi shore, where there are
fewer levees but higher banks, the
water has risen above their level and
flooded miles and miles of rich bot
tom and lowlands. Thousands of
people have been rendered destitute
who but few weeks since seemed
almost beyond the reach of poverty.
Wherever the eye wanders now, ex-
cepting the hilly portions of Mississ-
ippi, the whole country seems under
water, and in many places the only
strip of dry land that can be seen is
| the leyee. Fine residences, innumer-
able cabins, stores, cotton-gin and
out-houses stand in the food deserted
and silent, and sometimes we proceed
dozen miles without seeing q sign
of human or animal life in the watery
| waste.
We reached Yieksburg at five
o'clock yesterday evening, and the
magnificent view which the city pre-
sents from the river evoked much
admiration from the passengers. The
river is still very high here, though
the decline has begun, and some of
the houses on the street fronting the
river are deserted on account of the
trespass of the flood into the lower
stories. The peninsula point oppo-
site Vieksburg is entirely under water,
and the town of Delta looks like an
embryo Venice from the river.
Our experience on the Howard has
thus far proved very pleasant. The
officers are attentive and kind, from
the Captain down; the passengers are
sociable, the fare excellent. There
is no reason why person of average
disposition should not feel happy and
contented.
| On the first night of our voyage a
lady passenger gave birth to male
infant, and much curiosity has been
aroused with regard to the eognomen
that will be applied to the diminu-
tive stranger. 1t is the general impress
sion that he should, probably, be
called James Howard, in honor of his
birth place and we will suggest that
in case he is ever sent to the peniten-
tiary (which the fates forbid y he be
numbered "a, as in stateroom "a he
first drew breath and squawled ten
hours on stretch. 1--WE are not GER
tain but the " stretch " is our own.)
There is much for lover of scenery
to admire along the river, and the
majority of passengers delight to pass
the greater portion of the day on the
guards. The long green banks of
cottonwood and willow attract uni
yersal attention, while the occasional
hills aud bluffs and piney woods of
the Mississippi shore afford q pleasing
variety that prevents monotony.
A boy boarded the boat at one of
our landing-places yesterday and en-
deavored to dispose of a half-dozen
young alligators, measuring from ten
to twelve inches in length, which he
said wonld make splendid household
pets. They would be unique, at least,
but rather troublesome, we should
think, when they became large enough
to devour the dogs, cats, stray poultry
and small children on the premises.
Another youth exhibited flying
squirrel to the admiring passengers,
but no one seemed willing to pay
three dollars for the pretty little
creature, SO that youth marched dis
mally ashore again with his pet.
Talking of pets, we have canaries,
mocking birds, poodles, terriers, grey
hounds, kittens, alligatoIs and chin
ella monkey aboard the boat. We