New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-05-28
4 NEW CUTOFF IN THE MISSISSIPPI
WORK OF TIE RIVER AT WATERPROOF LA.
A FLOOD OF WATER FOLLOWS THE LINE OF DITCH
DUG TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGo-rHE hooiH
FOR STEAMERS SHORTENED TWELVE MILES.
IRY 1ELEGHArH THE TRIBUNE.I

VtCKsBURG. Nav 27.-Lieutenant Smith ,.
Leach of the Engineer Corps of the Army and CV lii
cueer John Ewcns arrived in this city at an early ho
this morning board the Engineer ooips
steamer Patrol. having completed survey
OF the new cutoff the Mississippi River
has made from Waterproof La, to LArgent.
The maximum depth of water found in the eut-on was
1O2 feet The bed stratum found TO be composer
largely of blue clay, fact which accounts paray Ior
the long delay OF the river in making this cutoff Inc
deepest sounding IN a section just below the cuton III
the main river was seventy-eght feet, and the deep
est sounding found in section just aoo'e
the cutoff was sevcnty-nne feet The maximum ve'oe
itv of the water at the middle of the cu-oh
was found TO be 900 feet per second Inc
caylng in Of the bank Is IN progress at Nv
right hand at the upper mouth OF the cut on anu
along the entire left bank of the cutoff The rate Is ~
present thiry-one feet in about thirty nours Duo 'n'
rate Is increasing daily Fairchld Island, directly op
poste the lower mouth of the cutoff, cavng rapidly,
and the river will doubtless oblitcraie the lsidiu
completely III short time. Levels '"Aon
in the river inst above and below the cut-oh
show the fall to be 123 feet. When the river broke
through the food surface above the break
was lowered about % feet, who the
> feet The rise below was visible until distance
of about six miles below the cuon was reached Above
this point the river practically sta iOnay Aer thc
outlet at the lower extremity was 1900 feet td6
at the middle 100 feet; az The upper extremity liVO
feet The length the cutO was 1904 ieet Inc ac'lo
of he water in passing through the c Is natural except
at tbc extremity the lower left bank where theio Is
Tremendous eddy that extends some distance Ou 0 th
main river There is also strong eddy en the fign pShA
of lie main river below the cut. This eddy eNle i1
considerable distance below EArgent and i' about ouo
feet wide. II is caused by the detection 0f IN wafer
from Fairrhflds Island over TO the right bank.
The river BEGAN make this cut-of on the evening
OF MAY = and developed itself III regular river chahel
on the evening of May Q, on which date there was an
abundance for any steamer that mas ever Oern
on the Mississippi For long time before the hnal eeut
fbc water was turbulent and filed with boiling eddrs.
The first intIdation the people IN the immediate ycny
lad of the rivers triumph the caving IN
Landing. For two days after the river
had made it, way across the neck the current
was terrific. The 1r-i that attempted 10 90
M through the cutoff tpc ity OF IaZOo on way -
but the attempt unsuccessful The hist steamer 20
pass up was the Mississippi on May 10, ut nOon lhe
John VI. Cannon the hrst steamer TO pass qoWh
through the cutoff May IL The cutoff was made d.
rectly through the ditch that was dug heaty
ditch quaTlgs wa, dug at that hat time to make
cut off, the money expended being raised by suosctp-
tions secured in two contiguous parishes Inc work was
never colnpleted account OF an injunction lhal WIS
served bv parties who would have suffered damages II
The cut OF had made. 1he cut on saves distance
of twelve miles. " 10 seems strange s1ld EDkherI
Ewens that where but few months ago ran transit
through the Brnetts cotton field the largest seamDodlS
on the Mississippi River can now cross IN saIc'y.
Engineer Ewens predicted this cut on some months
ago