The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-09-09
LOCAL TOPOGRAPHY.
what an old Map or the City of New Or"
leans RHaOwss

A city contemporary In endeavoring to cor
rect certain statements of the New York Her.
ald relating to the location OF the infected
districts" says: "Tho reservoir and hot~bed
of the disease Is the low and badly drained
and badIy cleaned, but comparatively new
quarter between Magazine street and the
river"
When such assertions are made by news
paper published in the city Of New Orleans 1t
Is not to be wondered that the Hernld, pub
lished 1900 miles away, should make the
egrcgrious and unaccountable errors con-
tained In Its issue Of the third instant.
The truth is, that's the entire section of oul
city lying between Magazine street, uD town,
and Royal street, down town, and the river,
is the highest north of the Metairie Ridge,
the fall being from SIX to eight feet Tor moro
from the crest of the levee to the streets
named.
It requires no theodolite to establish this
fact. We have under our eyes an old map,
the property OF Surveyor q 'Hemecourt, signed
January, 1929, by Fras. b. Ogden, and dedi-
Gated to "Gen. jackson and his brave COM
paniors," that gives natural criterion with
which to substantiate what we have said.
A short time prior to the date OF the map,
there occurred q crevasse at or near Carroll"
ton, on the place Of j. b. Macarty, fi!llng the
"'AN@
tho river.
On Mr.. Ogden's map, the points reached by
the "hacking' water are traced from oOrapuru
street down to the lower boundary OF New
Orleans.
The limit Of the overflow Is indicated by q
line corresponding to the following:
STARTING
from Sorapuru street, between PIaquemine
and Prytania, down Prytnnia, across St.
Mary street into Nayades street or st. Char
les Avenue on the river side Of the Avenue
down to and through the centre OF Iivoli Cir
Gle: thence along the lake side OF St Charles
street to Julia street; thence crossing over tc
the river side of st. Charles street and TO tht
centre of Lafayette square; thence feceding
diagonnally across to about the centre OF the
block comprised between Poydras, Perdido
Carondelet and ST. Charles streets.
The direction of the line OF overflow l.
thence from the corner Of Perdido and st
Charles streets to the corner OF Canal ana
Old Levee streets, the point reached nearest
to the river The line nov refGdes ina in drefi naei
streets; thence advances to the corner o.
Bourbon and Orleans, back to Dnuphine and
Dumaine, and to st. Philip street, up again
to Bourbon and UrsulincS 1t now mas o re-
ceding direction to the corner Of Burgundy
and Barracks, whence 1t shoots, almost per,
pendcularly. to the centre OF the, bloct
| bounded by Esplanade Barracks, Chartres
| and Royal streets, and falls back In q curyt
| linear direction to Gfeatrnen street, OH th'
river side, down to the lower limits OF tht
city along q line parallel to Casacalyo street
| This evidently shows that all that portion
OF the city lying on the river side OF st
Charles street, in the First and Fourth DIS
tricts, OF Bourbon street In the Second, ant
| Greatmen street In the Third District, by fa
the highest, and which has resisted the en-
croachment of the vastest overflow that has
ever afflicted New Orleans.
Since the compilation of the map referred
| to there bas been no material change, unless
for the BETTER of the grade of the streets near
est the river All doctrines specially connect
ing the fever with filth, low lunds, bad drain
age or particular locality have, In fact
seemingly been exploded during the presen
epidemic.
Foc of the disease may be found in tn
cleanest, the best drained, the best con
structed localities and those inhabited by tn
better classes as well as In the lowest ant
worse quarters Of the city.
Indeed, with one exception, Orleans street
the inhabitants along the drainage canals
and the vicinity of the draining machines ap
pear to be privileged class, at least In so ia
as the death roll is concerned, II not In pom
of healthfulness; and thus far the rear OF tn
city, where no paving exists, has suifere'
little comparatively from the fever.