The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-11-29

Louisiana Is an example of how much in
jury can be done by persons, unaequainted
with engineering and photography, interior
ing with our natural water courses. Tones
! Bayou was lately an evidence of this. Here
was the Federal govern ment called on for O
large sum of money to repair the damage
done by some one cutting ditch years age
from the Red river to Bayou Pierre, and the
trade of a large section of country seriously
ineommoded and interfered with by a wild
engineering freak.
| A similar canal has wrought even greater
damage in the western portion Of the State
A number of years ago Mr.. Ursin Leblanc
| dug a ditch to connect the waters of Bayou
| Vernilion with the Teehe. This ditch has
since grown into a fulLAedged canal, and
now carries off O large amount of water
| toward the Teche. It has no opening in the
Teehe, however, and this water from the
Vermilion, instead OF pouring into that
stream, is emptied into the basin lying be-
tween the two bayous and extending to Lake
Tasse, in Iberia parish, where it remains until
1t evaporates or filters away. These sub
merged lands are situated In the parishes of
st. Landry, Lafayette and st. Martin, the
latter being the greatest sufferer. More than
five hundred citizens of that parish have
their lands under water: their crops have
been destroyed their cattle drowned. their
houses washed away or undermined. But
this is far from all the damage from this
water. Having no outlet, it remains cover
ing the ground until it Is evaporated by the
sun. It becomes in the meanwhile stagnant
and generates chills and fevers of all kinds.
Unless, therefore, the work already COM
menced on u canal for the redemption of this
portion of the State from overflow is carried
out, it will eventually become an unhealthy
swamp. Very little money is needed, the
Attakapas Sentinel says, to complete the
Fuller canal, which will drain this valuable
and fertile land.
The Fuller canal was begun before the war.
It's original design is perhaps too expensive
and grand for us to carry out nova days,
but even were the work done on smaller
scale it would greatly benefit this submerged
district. 1t Is beyond the power of its inhab-
itants to dig the canal; they are already ruined
by the damage the overflow has brought upon
them 1t remains with the police jury of the
parish or the Legislature to finish this work.
" ".
Martin is well disposed to act OF this measure,
but think it somewhat unjust that the people
of st. Martin should be compelled to perform
this work for the benefit of two other parishes,
Lafayette and St. Landry. Even were st.
Martin to take this burden on itself, it would
still need some State aid, as the enterprise Is
beyond the parish resources.
A bill on this subject has already been pre-
pared by several citizens of st. Martin. to be
presented to the Legislature. This bill pro-
poses that the levee tax paid by st. Martin
be specially reserved for the digging of this
canal and the redemption Of these submerged
lands.
At the same time it would be well to prevent
the possibility of such occurrences in the
future by prohibiting this wild digging of
bitches and canals which have SO often
brought floods and destruction On our low
lands