The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-10-05
TEMPESTUOUS TIMES.
ANOTHER STORM VISITS THE Low ER
COAST, IsFLlCTING FURTHER
DAMAGE AND DISASTER.

A Fierce Gale at the Passfs and a salt
water Overflow en the Coast.
Your reporter in former article, published in
the DEMOCRAT OF September 90, endeavored to
give ab approximate estimate of the extent Of The
dsmsge inf cted upon the cane and rice crops Of
the lower sst by the heavy gale Of September
| 18th and 10Th. 1t was then supposed that the
rice crop had suffered severely, while the injury
done the cane was trivial II amounting to any
thing.
Accepting 81 invitation from Capt. O'pry, the
courteous commander of The Isabel, your re-.
porter left the CITY on his boat on FRIDAY and
travelled through the greater part Of the sugar
region below The city. He spent several days in
| that part of the eouDtry; and in riding over, or
by, many cane fields saw that all cane which had
| been prostratsd BY The STERN had risen high
enough TO pr went loss by rot or sproutng, while
the crop was everywhere growing finely. The
largest estimste Of the damage inflicted, made
by planter was q loss If fva per cent, Will
many of the planters expressed them selves 10
the effect that not the Il ast injury had been sus-
tanned.
| The damage done to the rise crop by the first
storm il pr baby greater than was supposed, as
the yield from rios cut after this storm had fallen
off greatly from hat it was before. In some
fields rice VIII Oh had b en- yielding fifteen barrels
| TO the acre of portions cut previous to The gale.
gave less than len barrels aftprward. Numbers
| Il similar in tsliees of pruportionats reduction
| in the yield sJud be ei'ed.
In the beauifnl spell OF weather which sue
ceeded the blow OF aep'. 49, . considerable pro.
portion Of tbe rice crop had bsen gathered from
the Helda, but there was still lsrge amount left
| standing uueu., or in stacks, up to last MONDAY
How 1t has fared since then the planters them.
selves can state more exactly, but your reporter
| can form some idea OF the damages it felt.
On SUNDAY morni < sttf ssst-nortbeast gae
act in. but died away 30 o moderate breeze bv
| midnight. Un Monday it commenced tn blow
very hard agln until by evening the wind got to
| be fierce gale. which wHs particularly sewers
along the coast FIR about sixty miles above the
| mouth Of the river. FDs storm, which fairly
commenced on Monday AT daylight. blew until
| late Tuesday night, when it backed up to The
north, and. ii Ia stated bY residsnta just above
the forts. that he blow was heavier thsu that
which occurred two weeks ago. Ali tho towbost
and pilot heebs with the shipping around the
pssses wers compelled to go into harbor Mon
day. Il In rrpnr ed on goo authority thai one
schooner nH the passes could not work in and
was wreck Il.
| Before The storm had reached isa highest point
t1e delta strips along the passes aud on both
sides of the river we're eonpl3teiy submerged by
|
salt water commenced sncfoacbing on the east
| bank Of the river above Fyrt st. Philip, and con
| tinusd TO rise uu5il it eached considerable
depth at the river ievse inst opposite Buras 5st.
| tlsment The east bank Of the river for twel ve
miles abovs the forts almost entirely sub
merged by the storm tide of the gulf. Fifteen
| miles above the forts tea water came up to wit b.
in five acres of tbs river, and your reporter WAS
informed that jnst bslow Ponte-s-a- Hachs,
| seventy miles above the mouth of the river the
| gulf water driven the cane fields of b.
| beufs plantation, and ut P9iDte.ala III ache into
| the yard OF the Empire rice mill.
Capt Btsset, who was able only to run one of
his mail STEAMERS below during this storm, aud
| who ron thr Ugh the lower mail route during the
heaviest part of the obsr blow, states that the
| last gale Was much more severe and more disas-
trnns in its effect than was The frat. so far no
| loss of human life has been reported. However.
| the overflow played sad havoc with thou uaands of
| rabbits and her smsli gams which were killed
| or found drowned, aud offsrsd for sale in large
| quantities to the vessels and pae kets below by
negroes who had thoug 1t it must be an i'll wind
that blows nobody good.
These two storms have completely imp1ver-
ished some of he farmers in the settlements
| above The forts. caused an rreparable loss 10
many Others, and considerably diminished the
| rice crop OF the state.
| The cane Wa nowhere injured by the recent
| gale, except on Bohemih plantation, whose folds
we're partially fl tpdsd by salt water, Ouly two
| OF tho sugar places on the lover coast were sit
| uated n that section over which swept the
| heaves5 part of tns laet storm.