Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-08-12
The Levees of the Mississippi.

In Louisiana the levee system is oI
comparative antiquity, having had its
beginning in the earlier years of the
eighteenth century. and the embank-
ments long ago came under the juris.
diction of local and State government
and assumed the dignity of public
works. In Mississippi and Arkansas,
however, the reclamation of the swamp
was an enterprise of much more modern
date, having its origin almost within
memory OF persons now living, and at
first-and, indeed, for long time-it
was exploited solely by individual effort.
The earlier settlements on the river
between Memphis and Vicksburg-
generally wood-yards with small ap-
purtenant corn-felds-were made upon
unusually high spots, which, although
really formed by antecedent inundation,
obtained, absurdly enough, the repu.
tstion of being " above overflow" be-
cause, for number of years, they had
not been actually submerged. They
we're priced accordingly, and the corn
fields Of the wood-choppers were grad.
uallv transformed into cotton planta.
tlons, at first, of course, of very limited
dimensions. Similar elevated spots
were sought out and subjected to cul.
ture, and, before any leveeing operations
had been attempted, the river bank on
both sides was dotted with settlements
OF pioneer planters. who sought to
utilize the fertile soil by cultivation. A
very few years, however, sufficed to
demonstrate the fallacy OF the " above
overflow" pretension; the planters
mind relinguished the delusion that
land should be hight was sufficient
that it should be dry,-and the proprie-
tors deemed it expedient to fortify
against their common enemy. The
water marks left by the flood upon
trees, stumps, and fences were as plain
as paint; these indicated the level of
the water and supplied the want of
engineering science. A make.shift
levee OF primitive style was constructed,
very near the river Lank, because less
land was thereby thrown out, and be-
cause the ground is always highest
upon the margin of the river. slOpinp
thence inland. As the plantations in.
creased in number and approximated
each other, the principal of cooperation
appeared; levees we're built across uu-
occupied lands until there were dis
connected strings ten. twelve, or fifteen
miles long. The construction of these
was far from satisfactory. The opera
tives were generally the plantation
negroes. at that time the Irish ditch.
ers and levee-builders had scarcely
made their appearance in the country.
The colored people are not usually
distinguished for their skill in the use
OF the spade. and cannot at all compete
with the Hibernian. Some years there
was high water, carrying dismay to the
planters heart; some years there was
low water, inspiring confidence and
security: occasionally there was no
" water " at all-the river did not get
oat Ct it, banks "a and i Vas thSsEsstaKs held
Mississippi, having apparently lost all
patience with this persistent intrusion
upon its domains, "spread ITSELF" to
use vulgarism singuIarly descriptive
of the operation, and treated its un-
hidden guests to first.clsss /" big over.
dow," the like OF which had not been
seen since 1928. The river rose early
and went down late; it overfowed the
whole country, and filled up the entire
swamp; ruined all the levees, great and
small, remained at or near high. water
mark week after week and month after
month until late in July, and did not
finally retire within its banks until
nearly the middle Of August.-[Wil-
liam l.. M1rfres, ST., in Scribner.