Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1876-05-13
The Levee SyStem-A Few Sug-
geStiOnS.

Louisiana, if agriculture cannot be
successfully pursued in the State with
out it. then it is certainly time that
the people were considering the qucs.
ton as to the adoption of some feast
bic plan for the accomplishment Of
this end and it is for this purpose
that we propose to throw out few
suggestions, with the hope, that if
they are considered impracticaLle,
they will at least call forth from some
one something more feasible. 1t is
clearly demonstrated, by the yearly
ovcrfows which inundatc this country
and destroy thousands Of dollars
worth of labor, crops and stock and
deprcciatc the value of the lands, that
something muSi be done if we would
secure any degree ofprosperity. These
ovcrhows also prove beyond con'ro-
vcrscy that we must lock I" some
other meaGs Of protection than our
present levee system and we can
hardly hope for the relief from the
Federal Governmen; for which we
have 50 long asked in vain.
Again, it does not require phlloS-
optical argument TO prove that it Is
harder to coniiue water TO a narrow
channel than it is to keep it of Of
elevated spots in the country over
which it spreads during highwater.
Indeed, to see the immense quantity
Of water that spreads over this coun-
try, when the Mississippi is at its
highest, one naturally concludes that
it is impossible TO conflne all this
water within the banks Of that stream.
There never has been, and we doubt
if there ever will be, levees built high
enough to do this if there are no OUT
lets for the water to flow through, for
it cannot run off Fast enough between
the levees to prevent its rising to q
fabulous height.
In view of these facts and sapposi-
tions-fur we do not assert the latter
us q positive fact, but a reasonable
conclusion-thc most feasible plan
that suggests itself to us is, that each
proprietor Of O farm or piapt alton
build q lcvee that will protect the
ridge upon which bis farm is situated
and nearly all are on ridses-and
where several are situated upon one
ridge, that they combine for the same
purpose, providing themselves at the
same time with draining machine
or pump with which to draw of the
cipage ard rain water where this can
not be effeetually accomplished by
bitches, and let the low lands, which
are, as general thing, useless for
anything except the timber aud pastu-
rage, 60 under. We know of large
scopes of country, several miles IN
extent, that could be protected in this
way by one or Two short leyees, the
building of which would not cos, the
inhabitants of these districts as much
as they lose annually from the over
flow
Of course, to adept and carry into
rlcct this system, protective legisla-
tioE is necessary, for many people
entertain the erroneous opinion that
tho lcvying Of neighboring ridge
will necessarily raisc the water higher
on theirs, and will, consequently. cut
private levecs unless protected by
law. While this is true in some
instances, it is bY no means necessarily
so, and in fact it is rarely ever the
the case, condiditions being necessary
TO produce such result. One of the
districts of country referred to above
is that lying south Of this place
between B,euf river and Little creek.
But" say some, we are not able
10 build and keep Up these levecs."
Then the State is not able to do so,
for it is all the same if they are built
and kept up, you will have to pay for
it in taxes and we arc satisfied that
it will be found TO be he surest and
cheapest means Of protecting The tilla-
bic land of the country from overflow.
and we hardly believe it ever will be
olfectually done any other way; for, as
we have before remarked, we know Of
no time, when The Mississippi reached
the neighborhood Of the bigb.water
mark, that the levees did not give way
somewhere and the water inundate
some portions of the country. If there
ever was q time that such was not
the case, we would like to be corrected
by some one who can name the time.
These suggestions are not thrown
out upon 1.-The spur of the moment"
without reflection. but they presented
themselves 10 Us several years ago.
an'l we have pondered them OCCASION
ally ever since !; still We do not claim
positively that the plan 10 the only
ieasable one, and would like to- see