The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-05-11
OUR LEVEES.
BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF LEyEEs ANE
JETTIEs ON THE NAVIGATION
OF RED RIVER.
Letter to Capt. Aiken from Hon. Z. w
RObertsOn-sOmetl thing About the
New Orleans Press.

The following is from a letter addressed by
Capt. Aiken to Hon. E. W. Robertson chair
man Of the Levee Committee:
Red river from Shreveport La, TO Its mouth
distance about 500 miles. was. previous to, the
building of levees along its banks, a shoal
stream. h wing a rise and fall of from eight to
twelve feet oyerfi owing its banks during every
high water and inundating the country for
miles on either side AS the country became
settled the planters built legees to protect their
year 1860 these levees, from Loggy Bayou to AL
exandria. distance 300 miles. had become con-
ken line on each bank, 1t was soon found that
the concentration of the water and increased
current. caused by the leyees. was washing out
and lowering the bed Of the river, and the Of
feet has been so great that along this section of
the river the rise and fall is now as much as
twenty-five to thirty feet. and the lands have
not been inundated for years. There are leveeS
standing to-day four feet high above their base.
that the highest floods have not touched for
extended above Loggy Bayou to ,Robinsons.
distance about twelve miles, and the same
deepening or lowering of the river bed has been
From Robinsons to Shreveport, distance
about ninety miles. there are outlets on either
side; the levees are not continuous and con-
| nected as they were below the lands still over
| flow and the river Is gradually shoaling. Below
Alexandria the river is In about the same con-
viz: no perfect system Of leveess. no lowering of
! its bed, open outlets and annual overfows.
| Red river runs its entire course below
respects to that of the Mississippi. There can
| be no disputing the facts as to the Red river
| levees having lowered the river bed and deep
| ened the channel as above described. There
| are thousands OF people living on its banks to
testify to the truth of this statement, and as the
spects except as to the volume of their waters.
| 1t seems reasonable to expect that perfect sys
tenn of levees on the Mississippi would deepen
| that river and improve its navigation. In fact
| it Is known to old Mississippi seamboatmen
that the permanent depth of water on the shoal
est bars had been increased by several feet
| along the sections OF that river that had been
leyeed and that since the breaking of the levees
| this deepening process has ceased. 1t Is also
known to them that bars form opposite and the
river shoals below any permanent break or Gre
vase In a leyee.
AS to the effect OF jetties on river bars we state
that Shaggy Point bar. on Red river, seventy
five miles above its mouth. and Alexandria bar
three miles below the town of that name. had
| always. until recently. been almost impossible.
| these seasons having depths over them Of more
| than fifteen to twenty four inches. During the
low water season of 1876 the New Orleans aud
Red River TRANSCRIPTION Company placed jetties
made Of willow mattresses on Shaggy. and in
less than fifty hours the depth Of channel had
increased from twenty inches to five and half
feet. After the high water of the following year
had subsided. the jetties were found intact and
the channel SO deep and we'll defined that not q
place throughout the entire season (fall of 1870.
| which was one of unusual low water. During
the fall OF 1877 this same company placed lett1eS
on Alexandria bar when there was but sixteen
| inches water, and boats had, after putting off
all cargo. found it impossible to, pull over; The
| channel Immediately deepened, and although
the river continued to fail for several weeks af-
| terward there was at no time throughout the
| season less than four and half to five feet
water Freight charges by the boats were low
| cred one-third at once in consequence Of this
| improvement. JOS A. AIKEN.
On receipt of above Col. Robertson writes
as follows to Capt. Aiken:
WASHINGTON D. c.. May 4. 1878.
Capt. JOS. A. Aiken. New Orleans. La:
Dear SU-Your favor Of the first instant is
Just received. consider the testimony of Capt.
| Leathers before the committee as of very great
Importance, and would ask you to urge upon
him to carefully reduce it to writing. and send
| 1t on. as you have stated In your letter. The
abuse of the New Orleans papers seems to me
entirely out of place. not that care. but they
are inJuring the cause and Oppo- ing any meas
ure that might be introduced which would be a
benefit to our people. If the DEMOCRAT, Pea
upon q bill aud send it on here, / will introduce
it for them, and let the House take vote on it.
The great trouble in this whole question is, that
nobody Is agreed as to the best manner of pro-
tecting the alluvlal lands and improving the
navigation of the Mississippi river; hence it Is
| of great importance that commission, such
as that recommended by the committee. should
be appointed. when | think something will be
provement on the river. shall offer my
| amendment to the House. which proposes to
appropriate three millions eight hundred and
seventy odd dollars to close the creyasses and
| raise and strengthen the levees and to get that
bill through think it is as much as our people
can ask. for the present: If it fails, will still
have the commission at the next session OF
Congress. and perhaps be able to secure a suffi-
| cient appropriation to make the Improvement.
| Very truly, your friend,
V i. W. ROBERTSON.