The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-03-13
THE CREVASSES.
LATE IMPORTATION FROM THE SCENE
OF THE BREAKS.
The Extent of the bangor Threatened.

The Extent Of the Danger Threatened.
The several creyasses, caused by the fear
ful blow which visited the southern portion of
our State on Saturday evening, threaten with
overflow and ruin the most productive fields
In the sugar and rice region.
These noted breaks were at Jesuits Bend
Myrtle Grove and Point Michel, on the right
bank and near the Pointe-a-l la Hache Court
house, Oh the left bank of the river
That on the Myrtle Grove plantation oc-
CURED on Saturday night, and was stopped
on Sunday morning by the Messrs Wilkin-
son, with their full force. The break has been
permanently closed and q new firmly revetted
levee built around the crevasse and the weak
est points in the broken levee. Information
from reliable sources states that the break at
Point Michel has also been closed and to date
the only crevasse left open on the right bank
is at the Jesuits' Bend, twenty-five miles
below the city. There for the extent of near
ly one-half mile, the levee is washed away
and cut into gaps, through which, on Sunday,
poured vast volume of water, which, If it
had been unchecked would have submerged
the fields along the right bank of the river for
thirty miles. The river had been raised by
fell on Sunday several inches, being lowered
by the westerly wind then prevailing Hence
by Monday theointlux OF water was greatly
reduced, and the probabili Y Of closing this
crevasse at apoeary date much greater. If
this weak point, however, remains open, no
advantage will be gained by closing the other
two on the right bank.
The sugar plantations threatened by the
Jesuits' Bend crevasse are Live Oak Grove,
Sarah, Cedar Grove, Oak Point, Concord, Cou-
cessiOn, st. Anne and Belle Chasse above and
Trial, Star, Reussite, Alliance, St. Resale,
Celeste and Woodland below, or nearly every
sugar plantation in section which, in 1876,
produced 1900 hogsheads vi sugar and $4,000
barrels OF rice. Several Plantations on the
destruction by the break ut Jesuts' Bend.
The Pointe-a-la-H Hache crevasses are only
dangerous to one sugar plantation, butif they
should not be closed will entail heavy losses
on the rice interest by ovelhowng q majority
of the rice fields on the east bank of the river.
which fields i'll 1876 yielded more than 5000
barrels of rice
Unless the river continues its rise it is i'm
probable that it will be long before these
breaks are closed but should it in the present
week reacn as much as one foot over it's pres
ent height, much trouble may be anticipated,
aud it will be difficult to ward off a disaster
which, at any time, but particularly in the
present, would be i'll the nature of q terrible
calamity
It is fortunate that such large amount or
labor is ready and available for closing these
breaks0 Ii they are needed, the planters can
put at work on the most important ones sew
eral hundred men, and with corresponding
exertions and outlay in furnishing boats and
material on the part OF the proper officials,
(which we learn have already been com
menced) the threatened danger might be
soon averted q
The levees now broken were considerably
Mt has h<yt
storms Of last September. Since that time
numbers of planters state that they have
urged upon the proper officials the importance
of repairing the levees SO injured but without
much success. Private capital was employed
in rebuilding new levees and repairing many
of the old ones SO broken but it was impos-
sible to accomplish all the work needed with
private means alone. Hence the appeals, |
and while no extraordinary dffidence was
manifested in the matter OF collecting the
Ievee taxes, a strange reluctance was dis |
played to applying any OF the suppositlous
revenues collected ostensibly for levee pro-
lection to the purposes for which they were
At all events the Ievees In the section at
present threatened with overflow were not |
prepared to meet the usual spring |
rise Of the Mistslsso2i river river On whom the
may be an open question. But the terrible
are the main open questions before |
the people in the threatened section at pres
ent, and it il, to beGSloped that they will soon
be closed. without entaiIing a tithe of the de- |
Struction and ruin which are imminent
LATER.
Information received from parties who ar
rived in the city from the lower coast yester-
day, is to the effect that the crevasseS in that |
v
On Sunday, the small farmers who were in
hn finta thf,I tf,t
break accomplished nothing toward stopping
the crevasse, but apparently waited on the
sugar planters to commence work with their
plantation hands. The force of Live Oak
IrOve and Of other plantations near was set
10 work as soon as sufficient material for q
start at the necessary repairs could be col
ected On Monday the work of closing the
trevasse had not progressed very far and at
that time the water had submerged the sur
farms and plantations.
l he depth Of the water flowing in ~gyas in
various places from one to three feet. but
loWhere was it too deep to prevent the driv-
ng of pies and stakes It is thought that
~ vigorously pushing operations the most
dangerous part Of the break Can be closed by
saturday night.
1t is stated that the breaks at Pointe- la
1ache extend along the levee for nearly 8
nile, and were OF such q nature as to com
'Ietely destroy that length of the levee The
nfl wing volume was, however, not SO deep
s. that in the Jesuits Bend crevasse 4 citi-
Ell Of Point"a- a-Hache states that on Mon
lay the water in the courthouse yard was
waist deep, and that the nelghborng rice
eds were submerged.