The Portland daily press., 1874-04-24
THE FLOOD.
THE WATER STILL RISING.
Hundreds of Poor Families
Drowned Out.
The People Fleeing to the High.
lands.

NEW ORLEANS April 23-The State author
tiles receive letters daily srom persons in the
overhowed sections asking for provisions, etc.
The following extracts are fair specimens. A
letter dated Simms Port, Anayells Parish, ad.
dressed to the Governor, says:
please send me some supplies as have
large family of nine chidrenato keep up and
feed. The water is three feet deep in my yard
and all over my place. 1t IS utterly impossible
for me to get anything for my family to eat
for pity sake do not fail to send me some sup
plies by return steamer
A letter to the Governor, dated Big Bend,
Anayells Parish, says: ''The whole of the
entirely overfowed. All of us are bankrupt
We have no money and no credit. The COM
mission merchants have all shut down on u.s.
and we have no provisions, many of us are
starving. The water is all over the country
and is still rising. The cows that are not
drowned are dying for want of food. Sheep
and hogs are drowned by hundreds. Take this
matter into consideration and see if something
cannot be done for u.s."
A lettet from Charleston, St. Marys Parish,
says that among the many sufferers by the re-
cent overflow are those who have lived on the
east side of Bayou Teche. on Cheney Bayou
Pigeon. On the shores of Grand Lake and
Lake Chicat, all of which districts are now
submerged leaving some three hundred fami-
lies in state of utter restitution.
General jeff Thompson, Chief State Engi-
neer, returned to-day from the upper coast He
states that the storm which commenced on
Thursday of last week and continued until
Sunday caused the crevasses on the vast side of
the river to increase rapidly in width.
The crevasse near Port Hudson at the Long
wood and Virginia plantations is now three
fourths of q mile wide though only about three
feet deep. The levee being very small one,
heretofore reported in Muganza Bend, below
the new Texes landing, is IN what is known as
| the Van Pelt Morganza levee between the
original Morganza leveee and the grand levee.
The break is now about 1000 feet wide in the
new levee, which was about thirteen feet high9
In the old l.vee are four breaks aggregat-
| ing about 800 feet.
The hickory crevasse below Baton Rouge, is
now 1000 feet wide and seven feet deep, the
WAFER passing through at a velocity of eight
miles an hour.
| Gen Thompson reports another crevasse at
LAKE Side Plantation Point, Conpee Parish.
ne says about twenty sugar plantations have
Deen covered by the water from Hickeys, and
mat hundreds of poor families living on the
Brayon have been drowned out. The Bonnet
Cane .revasse is now 700 feet wide and four
feet deep IN the centre where the levee is en-
tirely gone, and the water is cutting a channel.
A gentleman who reached this city to day
| from the flooded parish states that the Lang
| phaoo, Tickfaw and Amite rivers were swollen
by rains from Thursday to Sunday completely
overhowing their banks and spreading over the
| country on either side for miles. The people
are fleeing to the highlands. 1t is estimated
that the water is three feet higher than ever
known before. The Amite river rose yery ran
IDLY Several children are reported drowned in
the streets Of Port Vincent which was over
flowed. ""'
=, The fiat country of St. Helena, Livinston,
IEangipaton, Washington, St. Tammany and
feIclana parishes are flooded for miles,
line McCullen crevasses below Baton Rogue
VIII probably be closed in few days, though
these breaks are comparatively small, water
from them has already covered many large
plantations and driven out the poor people liv-
ing behind them.
Inc Times says gentleman from the upper
coast gives most appalling description OF the
condition of the people who live in the district
oVerhowed by the Hickey crevasse. He says
that not less than twenty splendid sugar plan
tatons have been submerged from that source
already. That, however, was nothing compar-
ed with the sufferings of the people on Sunday
last. This gentleman witnessed large num-
per OF persons wading out of water which pass
ed through the break. Among them were wo-
men III water up to their armpits holding their
infants above their heads, and it was reported
some had been foated away on the rushing tide
with their little ones in their arms.
Bayou Crosse Tell advices state that there Is
now from three to four feet of water on the
east side of the Bayou, and it is expected the
water will overflow the west side. The water
Is backing up Bayou Plaquemme as TAR as Dur
dremer's plantation and will probably reach the
town OF Bayou Gonla on the Mississippi river
The rains continue, and there are floods In the
Ouchita and Red River valleys.