The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-03-29
uREVAssEs.

night a break occurred in the levee front
ing the plantation of Mr.. Philemon Gut
dry, on the right bank of the river in st.
James parish, about mile below St. James
post-ofiee. The crevasse was due to that
fruitful cause of such disasters, an old rice
fume. This fume was located in an old
levee, seven feet below its junction with
| new levee. and as the breach widened, the
rushing waters undermined the elbow Of
the new embankment and caused a second
| crevasse, the first break attaining width
Of twenty feet and the second about sixty
five feet. Measures were taken to protect
the ends of the broken leyees as much as
possible from the wearing action of the
water and proved entirely successful. AS
soon as the right kind of material could be
procured forces of men were put to work at
each break, with Messrs. Gentil and Darton
directing the operations at the larger gap
and Messrs. L. E. Poch6 and Landry at the
smaller. These gentlemen were relieved
and assisted by others whose names we
have not yet ascertained. The ferryboat
Bella Israel went down from Donaldson
vile Wednesday evening, taking Capt. OAR
tons pile-driver and quantity of lumber
along. Twenty five thousand sacks were Or
dered from New Orleans and arrived Thurs
day night, together with a large quantity
of lumber, giving an ample supply of
material for the work in hand. During
Thursday night we learn that portion of
the cribbing gave way, but the damage was
promptly repaired, and this morning we
receive the welcome intelligence that both
breaks are under control and will
doubtless be closed before this is
sue of the CHIEF is printed. Messrs.
Kock Bros. and other Assumption planters
assisted those of st. James in providing
means for stopping these orevasses, and
the Police Jury of Assumption appropria-
ted $500 for the purpose and placed it in
the hands of Mr.. P. Klopman of Donald
sonville for disbursement.
About half past II o'clock yesterday a
crawfsh hole in the leyee of Mr.. Beirne's
Ascension plantation, five miles above
Donaldsonyille, on the right bank of the
river, led to break about twenty feet in
width, through which the water poured in
a stream three Or four feet deep that soon
flooded the greater portion of the place.
Responding quickly to the alarm that was
raised, the planters of the neighborhood
gathered an adequate force of laborers and
supply of lumber and sacks and set about
the task of closing the crevasse. Fortunate
ly there is wide batture of hard ground in
front of the broken levee, and as the water
is very shallow, the construction of crib
around the gap has progressed as rapidly
as could be desired and the work has shown
no tendency to give way. When we heard
from there this morning there was every
prospect that the creyasse would be safely
closed at an early hour of the afternoon.
A large number of new breaks have oc-
Cured on the right bank of the river, in
Guiding thirteen gaps in the Lake Concor-
dia levees, a big one at Waterloo, in Pointe
Coupee, where two young men were
drowned, and one at the Australia place,
lberville parish, about six miles above Pla-
quemine. The last named may be closed,
but the others are beyond control, and it is
now apparent that the area of country that
will be overaowed will equal, if it does not
exceed that of 1882. Half dozen breaks
are said to have occurred on Bayou La
fourche this week, but two or three of them
have been closed.
Adyices have just been received that the
crevasse at the Ascension place was closed
at p. M. to-day. The larger break at the
Guidry place has also been closed and it is
considered certain the smaller one will be
stopped by tomorrow morning.