The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1888-03-03
B4TOT

Major W. H. Heuer, L. S. Engineer
stationed at New Orleans, in his re-
port to the rivers and harbOrs commit
tee of the House of Representatives,
condemns the work of improving bay
on TerrebOnne from ThibodauN to
HoulDa as unworthy of prosecution.
We are acquainted with tue reasons up
on which this ~unfavorable report is bas-
ed and seriously doubt whether any va
lid ones exist.
Bayou Tcrrehonne has been drcdge,l
cut from below up to Houma at small
expense to the general government
and to the incaleulable benefit and adj
vantage of that section Of the country
through which it winds its course.
Not only does it afford excellent facili-
ties for drainage but it also offers
cheap transportation for the products
OF the country.
From T~liibodaux to Houma. a dis
lance OF sixteen miles. the bayou run
through a section Of county which was
famed in antc-hellum times for its
wealth and refinement. Rich sugar
estates and splendid residences firing
cd the bayou on either side and the
fertility OF the soil was unsurpassed
D.; any III the State. 1t was Il favored
garden spot which bloomed like the
rose.
But 0 Il gloomy change has ccme
over the face OF nature. All along the
bayou to Houma almost nothing but
the ruins OF former Splendors greet the
travellers eye. Ruined ~sugarhouses.
dilapidated residences. forsaken fields.
every where present a dreary scene of
desolatlOn. And what is the cause of
this transformation 7
Certainly, the rayages of the late
war have left their marks but they
alone cannot account for the change.
Other parts of Terrebonne have been
as sorely visited and have suffered as
severely from the invasion of the Fed
eral army but they have ~recuperated.
But want of drainage here tells tile
tale. AS a consequence of the wide
spread ruin of the war, bayou Terre-
bonnie has been neglected and has
gradually filled and become choked
up with bull rushes. Its bed, in some
places. is almost on a level with the
land. 1t has ceased to act as a natu-
raj drain for its valley. the fertile
lands of which have in consequence
become %valueless. Dredge ont the
bayou, retsore to this naturally fertile
section its former natural drainage
and You will make it to bloom again
like the rose. Cookie burrs and rank
weeds will give place to waving fields
OF corn and cane and the steam wills
tie Of the factory will drown the
weird crOaking of the bullfrog which
now infests the stagnant waters of the
bayou.
Besides, a good water course will be
reopened to Terrebonie, which will
materially reduce the present exhor-
bitant, nay, almost prohibitOry,
freight rates under which the com
meree of that parish now groans and
fingers.
An Improvement which will confer
such blessings upon a whole commu-
nifty ought certainly to merit the soli-
citude OF the general government. 1t
Is worth the cost and expense which it
demands. That cost will be very
small i'll proportion to the good to be
accomplished. Let our people bestir
themselves and they may yet obtain
recognition.
Now Is the time to register if Won
want to vote for >traightout Democracy.
THE HNTGR TTDN EDNTEN