The Opelousas courier., 1884-12-20
The Atohafalaya River.

alton writ en- by the grea'
civil engineer, Capt. J. B. Eads
IL t1e Times-D Democrat, and il
reply to an editorial in the Plea
vrne. the reader will find thu
most lucid and satisfactory ex
nlanation of the Atchafalays
problem we have yet seen IL
print
The Red River unites Will
the main river in a bank OF the
latter, long since forsaken by
fhe Mississippi in consequence
Il 8 cutoff" which occurred
afty- three years ago. A few
niles below the mouth OF the
Red. in the same bend the out
IA II the Atchafalaya is loca.
IA. Between the head Of the
Atcbafalaya and the present
channel Of the Mississippi there
I s distance of six miles, which
constitutes the lower end of this
ala bend. This is called " Old
riyer,n and through it, until re-
Gently, the Red river discharged
INTO the Mississippi. The bottom
"a Old river at its Atchafalaya
md. was on the 10th of last
month just. about level with the
Calf Of Mexico. Now, let it be
fsmembered that the bottom of
fhe Atchafalaya, where it recei-
YES the discharge from Old river,
il at last seventy-two feet below
fbe surface of the Gulf of Mexi-
10. while the bottom of the Mis-
sissippi river at the other end
of Old river is about sixty feet
below the Gulf level, then. the
startling fact will appear that
barricade or submerged dam
u aIluVial deposit only six miles
aa0ss, separates the Mississippi
fiver from a ehasm 1850 feet
vide and oyer seventy feet IN depth
soU the sea level which leads
aifectly to the level Of the Gulf
Mexico at Grand Lake, by a
mute more than 270 miles short
! than that which the main riv-
Il pursnes to the Gulf
Across this alluyial barricade,
nR cut down almost to the sea
Fe, Old river discharges the
issippi waters into the Att
Safalaya chasm. The Red
dFer also discharges its waters
as0 the same channel.
With the law commanding the
usmmission to defect the wa
hEs Of the Mississippi from the
~chafalaya, it is now actually
a8avoring TO deepen the chan
I'll across this unstable
baEricade, by means of dredge
beats, and brush wing dams,
which have rapidly increased its
aspshi
When the river is in food it's
face slope from Old river is
than one and seven-eighths
If al inch per mile to the sea,
hile the surface of the Atcha-
alsya isnearly fonrtimes great
on the 10th day of last
Aonth, when the Mississippi
Nas thirty-fve feet below high
Fafermark at Old river, the sur
slope of the waters between
md the Atchafalaya was near
fifteen inches TO the mile, aud
current was rushing across
aliuyial barrier eight feet
with frightful velocity.
flis year the Atchafalaya car
sa more than one-quarter of
ae Mississippi water TO the Cult.
that remains to prevent the
ire river from taking this
bort and steep cut to the,sea is
aliltvial dam, composed of.
Unstable deposits of the riv-
Itself. the commission re-
amended III. its first report
silIing Of the Atchafalaya to
it's enlargement when it's
arge was only one-third as
This sill, The report sta
could be constructed for
1900. One year later it re-
mended siIling the Missisip-
end Of Old River, leaving the
hafalaya uncontrolled. In
fourth annual report it says
trying to = secure informa-
Necessary for the prepare
an of d plan for the permanent
ElA pavement of the junction of
three rivers And now,
four years ofstudy and OBJ
ration acting. upon neither
Ita three suggestions, il IS
pening Old river and cutting.
' The only barricade which
@Ans the remaining 10 per CEN
s'la of the Mississippi waters