Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-05-03
THE AroHAFALAYA PHosLya.

The great mass Of the people rasidirg in
the valley of the Mississippi regard the pos
sibility of the Mississippi river pas ling down
10 The Gulf by the AtchafaIaya bayou, in
stead Of by the present channel, as very
bad thing for New Orleans, bnt one that does
not affect them. In that they are mistaken.
Every resident in the valley is interested in
the matter, for the most important intereats
of our trade and commerce are concerned.
The importance of the matter lies in the
question-does the mouth of the Aich afa-
laya afford as favorable passage 10. And
from the sea as the present mouth? The
answer is that il does not. That being the
case, the interest of every resident Of the
Mississippi valley in the Atchsfa
grounds for this statement are Of
fetal and indisputable. Should the
main bulk of the Mississippi be diverted
to the channel Of the Atchafalaya, as that
channel is the shortest and has, consequent
-ly, the most rapid descent of level, not
enough water would pass down the present
-siArnsl for s,>-e-+---- ~ isliin Al, tho
Stacker speed of the water would allow the
sediment it carries to fail TO the bottom, the
passes would dWindle to rivulets, and the
iettiea would become useless. TIE great
Chinese river Whang Ho changed its course,
as the Mississippi now threatens to do, run
ming into the Pacific instead of the Yellow
Sea, when the original mouth was entirely
filled up. II the mouth of the Atchafalaya
could be opened to admit such large steamers
as now come to New Orleans at all, il would
only be after vast expenditure Of money
and toll. Last spring a congressional COM
niittee applied to the Secretary of War for
Information upon the subject, who referred
the answering to Mai. Stickney, of the
United States engineers. The New Orleans.
Times Democrat publishes the major's official
report in reply, from which we learn the fol-
lowing facts. No survey OF the mouth of
Atchalafaya has been made by the United
States engineers. The river itself is in
remarkable stale of transition and
rapidly enlaTging. 1t now receives the
whole OF the Red and a portion Of the
Mississippi river, with fair prospect of
It's taking a very considerable portion Of
the latter. At present there is a deep
channel from Morgan City, extending some
distance in Atchafsyala bay in the Gulf. The
water in this channel shoals TO six feet.
From depth of nine feet inside TO nine
feet outside The bar is eight and one-half
miles, according to the survey of 1873; sinoe
then the shoal has advanced considerably
toward the Gulf. The Morgan Railroad
and Steamboat Company use this entrance,
and it has had to make a cut for its steam
ers for deep water 10 the Gulf. This cut
led into a channel along which
circuitous course of thirteen miles
in run. This could be shortened by
expensive cutting through shell reefs. The
company has to dredge the channel from four
to six months each year. To secure a good
navigable channel probably both dredges
and jetties would have to be resorted to. A
jetty would be probably required 10 preserve
a channel across the bay, extending on the
west side nine miles TO the shell reef. The
shell reef when cut through would require
constant dredging, or double line OF jetties.
To reach the nine-foot contour each jetty
would be two miles long; 10 reach he twelve
foot contour they must be four and one-half
miles long. A nine-foot channel would cost
S3,l05, 425, twelye-foot channel, &, 405, 422,
the amount for dredging not known. Two
or three dredges could keep a channel for
moderate sized vessels open, but if any con.
siderable addition took place 10 the amount
OF water in the Atchafalsys, the increase
Of the sediment would rapidly fill
up, not only the bay, but the comparatively
shallow gulf outside the bay. This
official account will make the reader under
stand that, supposipg the Atchafalsya to
become-the main stream of the Mississippi
10 obtain an entrance for such steamers from
the sea as now come up TO New Orleans
would be much more serious undertaking
than that of the present jetties The jetty
distance would be longer, and the bar to be
removed, being not Of sand alone, would be
harder to cut, and it is higher. The nine
loot water inside the bar was in 1878 eight
and one-half from the same distsncs outside,
and has been increasing ever since. As the
bar ia continually extending itself toward
the 1ulf, and will do.more so as more water