The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-05-01
BROKEN LEVEES.
FLooDIN POINT CoUPEE AND
TENSAS PARISHES.
DEVASTATION ON EVERY. HAND.
Plantations Under Water Stock De-
stroyed-Hug.ian Life Endangered
People Homeless and Des-
titute.

\ New ORLEANS, La, April PA special
TO the Daily States from Bayou Sara says:
Won board of the steamer Dacotah. The
steamer has at last reached the real point
Of distress. The boat had a stormy pas.
sage up the river and after many delays in
furnishing assistance to weak and breaking
levets in West Baton Rouge reached
Bayou Sara yesterday evening. She
has made trip to Point
Coupee \ and has come back
to Bayou Sara. Her arrival was a God
send to the people whose lives were in
jeopardy for she has not only already
saved an incalculable amount of property
but a goodly number of lives.
The real condition of things in the over
flowed district is just coming to light. No
pen is equal to the task of picturing the de-
vastation of the country or the restitution
of the people. The entire front of Point
Coupee is under water. Most of the levees
have gone and the entire stretch of eighteen
miles of frontage has not been swept away,
but the crevasses are so numerous and are
eating away so rapidly that the situation
is about as bad as it possibly could
be. All that remain now are strips
above the flood. The water back of the
levees is so deep now that hundreds of lives
are in danger Small stretches of levees
still standing are crowded with men,
women and children, side by side with
horses and mules and cows. At the CAL
casieu place, several miles above Bayou
Sara, the water is waist deep. At the
base of the levee, in an old raised gin
house. 500 negroes were found huddled
together while hundreds of heads of stock
were standing in water up to their necks
| The condition of the unfortunate blacks
was pitiable. The water was gradually
rising and their horror knew no bounds.
They were afraid of their lives and were
| piteously begging to be taken to some place
of safety.
The Texas and Pacific boat e. B.
| Wheeler succeeded yesterday in saving 200
people from the back country around
| Morganza.
Ruin and desolation meets the eye on
every side in Point Coupee parish. Desti-
tuition is complete, not a plantation is left
above water, not levee unbroken, while
| hundreds of families are homeless, thou
sands of stock have been drowned, and
from meagre reports received from the
| interior it is quite probable human life has
been sacrificed to the flood.
The Dacotah is busy boat. After dis
charging her lumber and other maCerial at
Grand Bayou she proceeded directly to
Old River and rescued 200 head of cattle
that had been in the swamp for four days.
Coming down stock and people
were picked up everywhere and
when the Dacotah reached Bayou Sara she
had 1000 head of cattle and nearly 100
people on board. They were landed and
the boat Immediately started on her return
voyage. The Dacotah is doing noble work
and not only is she blessed on every side,
but the corporation which sent her as well,
FROM TENsAs PARISH.
United States Engineer Douglass tele.
graphs that Point Pleasant levee, Tensas
Parish, gave way this morning. Point
Pleasant is twenty three miles below Vicks-
burg and the levee there is one of the most
important on the Tensas front. The water
from il. will no doubt overflow the greater
part of the parish. Capt. John A. Grant,
superintendent of the Texas and Pacific
railroad, speaking of the Morganza Gre
vase, says
| This is one of the worst calamities that
could have befallen the residents of this
State, and yet it could have been avoided
if the people had only made an etfoit.
They are to blame for it. Now they are
creating big hubbub about sending relief
| up there and all that sort of thing, while
before the disaster occurred they seemed ut
| terly unaware of impending danger.
| If need be they should have raised $500, 900
| to hold that levee, and it could have
| been done too and been well invested. AS
there is $20,0O0,0 600 worth of property that
will be now irretrievably damaged, which
little display of energy would have averted."