The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1880-04-07
THE DANlSG bP OF THE Ia
INQUIRE.
AN EXPERIENCED ENGINEERS PROTEST
AGAINST 1T.
CHENEYvILLE, ]
March 90, 1880. I


a notice headed by the signature o.
our Representative, Mr.. j. G. Wise
for the purpose of daming up Bayou
Lamourie. In my profession and as
owner of the r. r. r. R., and from
constant experience from 1887 to
1852 in using it, and from my pres
ent home and interest on Bayou
Beuf, 1 feel it my duty to object to
this act, 80 injurious to me and every
landowner and taxpayer on this
Bayou, and much more so to those on
Bayou Robert. In building the R.
R. with the Co. mill and hands, and
no money to pay for crossties, rails
and mudsills, ] had to dam up Bayou
Lamourie and Bayou Beuf on the
now Polk place, to raft down the
lumber from the mill to the r. R.
crossing of Lamourie, after ditching
out bar about 10 feet wide back Of
the Chambers place, to get my RATS
through drawing only 8 inches. My
dam on Lamourie was perfectly tight,
80 that Mr.. James H. Parham, living
below, demanded water to keep his
stock from dying. I bored 8 inch
augur-hole through my plank dam to
his satisfaction. My dam at the
Polk place was not quite SO tight,
but nearly so.
suppose the object of this notice
is to make our Bayou navigable at a
low stage; for right now and two
weeks past locks on this Bayou
would have been Instructions and
nuisances, and the passage of three
or four times the quantity through
Lamourie, than comes this way,
saves the overflow of Robert, as well
as this Bayou. Comparatively the
Lamourie has only 4 or 5 miles to
run before wasting into swamp s
or 9 miles wide; the Bout about 100
miles in confined banks. 1t would
be nseleas to tell the old citizens Of.
Rapides that my business compelled
me, once week, to 60 from Alexan-
dria horseback to the sawmill on
Bayou Beuf, across either the Over
ton, Prescott or Baltic places, where
rain water, at times, met me before
leaving the open field, and not foot
of land sighted for about three miles,
till l came to the pine hills west Of
the Beuf; but as many of the chill
dren ill their places, / think of them
and ask: Can you stand two or three
times the rain water you will get by
daming up Lamourie2 Do you think
itjust TO spend Parish, State or indi-
vidual funds, 80 injurious to all after
hard rains, and so useless to anyone
in dry weather.
AS to my capacity to make the as
sertions / have and do make; when /
came to this Parish and before the
care of property chained me TO it,
the Bearcreek place, below on this
Bayou, was owned by Mr.. Campbell,
whose son, Wm. S. Campbell, was a
schoolmate of mine, and, at his death,
filed the Office of Engineer Of the
New Orleans Gas Co., an accom-.
plished Civil Engineer. As spoke
to him cursorily of locking the Beuf,
he replied: 'lf you do, it will ill
up" Mr.. Campbell was an assistant
Engineer on the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal about 1928 or 9, when / |
was one on the Baltimore and Ohio
Rail Road, and those works, by order
of Court, were located in conjunction,
by the Engineers of both companies,
from the Point of Rocks to Harper's
Ferry; and both Of US were in the
class of Professor E. F. johnson, at
Captain Patridge's Academy, Mid
dletown, Connecticut. Mr.. John
sons father was an, able Engineer on
the great old Erie Canal, New York,
and taught his son practically; so
our early start in canal study and la.
ter experience, and our personal in
terests in Bayou Beuf, ought to.
make our opinions satisfactory.
There is an old law, now obsolete,
against the digging Of bitches to-
drain into the Bayou. If this could
be enforced, it would be the only
help we can. give it, as suppose it
would be useless to try to have the
old ones filed up. Right now it is
more expensive to get an empty boat
up than a loaded boat down, and a
dam would add to it.
The old canal rule is ] inch fall to
the mile, which makes perceptible
current to fill locks, sc. From the
able report Of Mr. Boyd on this SUBJ
iact in uonr DrsxonnAm af Ma.aL Q |