The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1890-09-06
BAYOU ~LAFoURCEE.
How Shall 1t BE Improved
|

II.
The late Capt. Eads to whom we
owe about all we know OF any i'm
portance upon the subject, was, if not
the first to discover, certainly the
first to scientifically apply the prinei-
pies governing the transportation of
silt by flowing water. The jetties
are at once a monument to his genius
and a yindication Of the soundness of
his theory which was so vehemently
combatted in congress and in the pub
lie prints. Another great but less fa-
nous work of his was the securing Of
the channel Of the Mississippi in Plum
Point and Lake Providence reaches,
and this work being identical iii char
acter with that which would be neces-
sary III the Lafourche upon the plan
we are considering, a brief statement
of the results attained then will not
be Improbable. Plum Point reach
20 miles long and Lake Providence
reach 80 miles long had respectively a
low water channel of 5 aud & feet.
The effect produced by the first fiocd
was simply marvellous. The low
water depth was increased through
| tllC Id 10 x lCGd uuu IuiOtHIl tIt
second to Is feet.
The method by which this wonder
ful change was accomplished is so
simple that every man Of average in
telligence is astonished that he him
self had never imagined it. and con-
sists merely in the contraction of the
hood-channei to an approximately
equal width throughout the length of
the section to lie operated upon. This
contraction was effected by means of
artificial ~perneahle banks formed of
RATS (''mattresses@l OF willow poles
sunk upon the line of the proposed
bank uuder loads of stone. one raft
upon the other until the desired height
was reached. This contraction of the
channel by til cooperation of tie la VS.
governing hydraulic forces increased
the swiftness and i'll a certain ratio,
the silt bearing capacity of the cur
rent. Evasion (scouiingt Of the beoot
the stream immediately begun and
continued until an equilibrium OF force
and resistance was again established.
Capt. Eads declared by this system,
not only a nayigable low-water chan
hel could be secured ont fIon Cairo to
the gulf, but that the entire
t1ood->lope would Thereby be per-
manently lowered, the entire allavial
basin be ..lifted above overflow aud
levees rendered unnecessary. Since
bayou Lafonrche is practically ii part
of the Mississippi, it is naturally row
erned by the same laws and any sys-
tenn of improvement adapted to one
is equally practicable on the other.
The second plan for the improve
mcnt of the Latoufche is much more
simple. and consists merely in shut
ting off the flow from the Mississippi
and dredging ont the channei where
required. Here no ahstruse problems
of ..frictionai resistance extent OF
"witted perimeter' ,r ratio of silt
bearing power to velocity are con-
cerned. It is simply q question of
Transforming the Lafourche for a part
of it's length into q canal. Siplilar
works are i'll operation all over the
world. ana there are two canals open
ing into the river by means Of locks
near New Orleans, one Of which has
been i'll use many years; so there can
UC iIb dcuOh aN ~ iio th1tS pilStIto
bility and safety of the scheme. Its
advantages over the Securing plan
are many and striking. The chief
ones are: LIST, an all-the-year round
channel Of reasonable capacity End ),
that at least two additional short and
councillors ali-water routes to New
Orleans could at once he cheap1y
opened; Sd, entire immunity from over-
flow from the Lafoniche. and 4til.,
greatly, enormously increased facili-
ties for drainage the whole length OF
the bayou. Each one of these benefits
carries with it il host Of minor but
still important oBes wliic!l viii rcadi-
ly occur to any reflective person.
Who would pretend to estimate the
prosperity Of the Lafougelie parishes
when they shall have not only one,
but several ali-water routes to mar
ket, when danger frcm overflow is re-
dueed practically to zero. and when
they shall be a5!e to GRAIN at Sigh.
expense their vast areas IF swamp and
floating, prairie and thus fit them for
cane field or pasturee S. G.
EArEEpnee~ E3ssan rs Fs.ut,,s