The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1874-05-01


brick-yartls, and all theindustries, in
short, came to halt.
Wood, so plentiful in dry weather,
suddenly assumed value unknown
before, and even the cook was ready,
for once, to make one stick answer for
two.
These are only minor matters, mar
rated to impress upon the reader, by
familiar things, the real character of
the disaster.
OF course house room became great
object. It was mainly colored people
who were overfiowed. They came to
town glad to get any kind of shelter.
AS we write, we look across the street
and the novel spectacle grects us of a
group OF little darkies playing about
the courthouse, and beds all through the
building, in which six families are
living. In short, in whatever direction
ono may look he sees some object, if
not a dozen, to remind him of the over
flow.
Gossip.
Father Enaut and Messrs. Filhiol,
Gerspach and Robinson went up the
river in a canoe, to view the break ut
the Pargoud levee. They ventured
near the break, and in a twinkling
their boat was drawn in, and they
found themselves fifty yards in the
field. The boat, fortunately, went in
bow first, and the navigators returned
home from the rear.
! DIR. Ably and some friends went gum
ming in the overflow. In field on
Bayou DeSiard the Doctor dropped his
gun overheard, in five feet water. Next
day he revisited the spot and was lucky
enough to recover his gun.
On Sunday, the Goth in the afternoon,
the Rev. Mr.. Evans held services in the
Methodist Church for the colored peo-
pie. They filled the house. Perhaps
not one in fifty of the congregation had
ever been in this Church before. Their
own place of worship was three feet in
the water.
Mr.. Mealy, the artist, took four
one from the top of the Monroe House;
and Mr.. s. w. Bennett made Il very
fine crayon sketch of DeSiar1 street
beyond the railroad.
Mr.. Mealy has taken also three
, splendid photograph views of Trenton,
, from the foot of Claiborne street.
When the flood was at the very high
est and people We're all in fear of still
greater disasters, it was a strange look
ing sight to see the State Tax Collectors
deputy perambulating the streets issu-
ing blanks for the assessment of proper
ty. Three-fifths of the territory of the
city, at the time, was under water.
Young's bayou is the city boundary
on tho east. When Young's bayou
spread to Five Points there was ques-
ton raised whether Or not the city
limits were not curtailed to that extent.
This is a question for our learned neigh
boris judicial mind.
At Trenton.
Crossing the river to Trenton, or more
properly not crossing the river at all,
the task of the reporter is greatly SIM
plified. Just imagine q town, fifty feet
from eight inches to eight feet deep,
and you have the groundwork of the
picture. From Crosley's residence up
to the rear Of the business houses at
the upper portion of town, Il distance
of a-half mile, or more, and back from
the river for nearlya mile, Noah's
dove would search i'll vain for more
than one or two little patches of dry
ground. The main street, which had
been raised since all other overflows
eighteen inches on tho river bank, went
under there at least seven inches. To
cross Claiborne street, one had to get a
skif, except ut a point near tho bank
where the water was about ankle deep;
to get out the Claiborne road, nothing
but n boat, or II life prcscrvcr would
suffice.
At Col. StanuifCr'S and Mr.. Heads
residences, the water was two feet deep
, in hn