The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1888-06-23
VcrlniliOn and Other R.--
new IBERIA, La, Febrno,u 90

oo's Nosehloer I'D was r.
cclved some time since, but =.
having had the time to answer lo1
been deferred until now. Ya ~
question regarding the depth Of W.
waterways in this country. Inv I'M
answer to the best Of my knovled.s'
| have not been s~ailoring on s.
coast for several years, and storms mo
and the tides may have affected ~, I.s
channels more Or less, since I o ,%e
sailoring: l will begin at Calcas.; s.s
river. The channel at that bar vss
from three to sig feet, since then !,
has been dredged and | do moi knon
the depth. Mermentau river Ia. !.
from two and a half to five fe.,
mean tide four feet following H.
coast eastwardly we come to tho
Southwest pass Of Vermilion hnr
outside in the gulf there Is tvelys
feet, inside in the bay there IS eighe
feet; very low tide six feet. Ess,'
wardly again We come TO Co,e
Blanche bay, where there is eirht to.
nine feet. Eastwardly again !.
Bayou Sale bay with from i've 70
seven feet Of water. Eas,war,ly
again is Morrison's cutoff, which s
an outlet into Atchaialaya bav Win
a depth Of eight to ten feet. itchaf.
alaya hay has a depth of seven to
nine feet. We come neat to Al.
cllaialaya river, which leads Direct
to Morgan City, with plenty Of
wafer. From the Atchata1aya river
through tho AtohalaIaya bay 10 the
gnlf is a dredsed channel made by
the Morgan steamship line.
While speaking Of channels and
outlets from this part Of the country
to the gull, let me call your s,,en.
ton to one thing: The whole coun.
try from Calcasica to Vcrmilicn boy
is .intersperscd With lakes and
bayous, upon which lies a great deal
of fine cuItivatabIe lands, {iu fact,
with a little drainage, oil can be cul-
tivated). Now, If tho Messrs. Wat.
kins & Go. had some Que Who kew
the country as / do, he could cut .
canal from the Calcasieu river 10
Vcrmilim bay in a very short time,
thus opening those fertile lands to
Immigration and giving 4 way for
those already there for shipping
their produce. As three.fourtIw Of
the proposed canal is alread, open.
ed by natural lakes and hayous. yon
sec it would only require dredging
from one to another until We arrive
at VermiIion bay, where it is open
to Morgan City. There are a great
many farmers aud others who live
too far from q railroad, anxious to
have this canal made, giving them
a chance to get their produce to
market.
From circulars received from yoa,
l infer you aro trying to have PEG.
pie immigrate to this country, and
you praise it in the highest terms, 10
which | not only agree but can add
to. Here ! was born, raised, and
have had my being for more than
fifty.iive years (exceptinga visit 10
Cuba, and a short stay in South
and Mexico), yet / feel as
young and agile as a boy-seldom or
never sick--to which hundreds Of
others can testify, which certainly
proves the healthfnlness Of the coun'
try. | see hundreds of people here
from different parts Of the North,
and they unanimously say they sui
fered more from heat in the North
than here. How can it be other
wise. when we have, during the
summer, a n~ever.ceaslng
breeze from the gulf, which, laden as
i. always is, with the fragrance q
many flowers, makes this place . 1t
abode for the gods. Now, at this
season, the 2sth Of February, our
gardens are filed with the lines.
vegetables; We have, and have fad
the winter, cauliaower, cao-
bagc, beets, turuips, celery, green
peas, and many other things, AL
grown in our open gardens. "e
grow most of the fruits Of the troP.
les and nearly of those Of the more
States. In fact, this Is inc
country of countries, and all
wants is men to develop it's resour-
ces.