Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1890-05-06
Letter From MissisgIpIpf.


where the trout, CAV. white perch. buffalo and
numberless other varieties of the. fnnv tribe
| sport In profuse abundance of vast forests
where Tue glnnt cottonwoods and groves of
cypress reur their towering tops to meet the
1 clouds; impenetrable cane 'hrillies, whore the
nimble deer and black bear roam unmolested
| save an occasional chase before pack of fieet-
| footed hounds. The land have pictured to-
i you was that of the ''heroe's harp, the lovers
| Lutte" where gentle zephyrs Gained the rest
less spirit of man, and the sweet scented mag
nolias perfnmed the air with their delightful
| aroma. Such, Mr.. Editor, were the impress
sions 1 conveyed to you on former occasions,
such were my convictions then, and though
the time may come again when the great Delta
| l must confess that the present outlook is not
conducive to a poctical view of her future des-
| tiny. 1t may surprise you To know that am
writing these lines in great inland sea that
extends from the 'hills" of Mississippi to those
of Arkansas; from Tennessee to the rice coast
of Louisiana, with water two feet deep under
and around the house in which am domicil-
ed, covering land that no inhabitant ever saw
oEer1owcd before. To thoroughly understand
| the effects of an overflow of tie lower Missis-
\ stppi tits first necessary 10 know something of
the topography of the Delta regions. The
banks of the Mississippi, unlike those of al
| most every other stream, arc higher than tho
country through which It flows. Tho geoligi-
cal reasons for This phenomenon is that atone
time the whole Delta regions, is supposed to
have been shallow inland lake. supposition
bnsed on fts general Topography. The tram
sition from the . bottom" to the bills in
many places is made abruptly by pcrpendicu-
l0r cliffs. The sediment or salt washed down
from the upper tributaries gradually filed up
the bed of the lake until there only remained in
low water asingle channel. The annual over
flow from this channel deposited the heaviest
sediment nearest the river thereby raising its
| banks higher than the country farther back,
| so that ut the present time all drainage in the
| Delta region is from the river; hence when the
river gets high enough to overflow its banks,
ftHa h0f
/ of the water. and Us the river recedcs into it's
banks Cncc more those plantations nearest the
| levees pass off the water first The water from
\ the "breaks" ON this side crosses the counties
of Bolivar, Washington, Issaqueeua. and parts
| of YaZOo and goes into the YaZoo river. which
/ streom at the present time affords the eXtraor-
binary spectacle. apparently, of water flowing
up stream. The history of the present flood
the great rainfall in the Mississippi basin, the
unusually mild winter; the carly rise of the
great river about December LIST, when it came
out of its banks. aud the gradual rise to about
two feet above the Hood height of 1882 to the
/ final going away of the levees will afford in
valuable material for the engineers in building
| i'll the future leTees that will insure perfect
security from an overflow and induce spirit
of industry that will make the Delta once more
4 to blossom as the rose. Even as the SO over
| flow afforded fine Opportunity tn study the
whirns md caprices OF the treat Mississipni no
| less tickle than those of maiden's heart. so
will this food with all the misery it brought,
fortunes it swept away. Industries it disabled,
be theme long to be discussed by engineers,
planters lawyers rnilrOud officials and all that
class of humanity 1t so materially affected
But, Mr.. Editor. it is more my intention to pic
ture to you what has been, rather than to spec
u'ate on what Will be- The breaks Mt offutts
i'll Washington county, at Huntington and EaS-
ton in this county, had inundated all the lower
counties. filled up lake Bolivar and overlooked
all the low lands ON this.aud adjoining plalta-
tons. Excitement had run to u high Pitch
Every breeze brought on its wings news of
| fresh breaks and fresh disasters. Rumprs and
counter rumors followed close on each other
| All work. except on the lcvecs. was suspended.
| IhcmOre thrifty negroes. those who Ind passed
through times as arlnons these. were max
4 ing dug-onts. moving their corn to places of
safety and making such other changes as the
occasion demanded. The more shifticss ones
who largely prcpondurated in numbers. pro-
cceded to extGrminate the few remaining par
| tridges and rabbits that had congregated on
the higher places. Every boat brought news
of more water and more misfortuucs. The
night of April Srd was one long to be remcm-
bered. was awakened about II O'clock bv Il
conricr saying the levec had broken miles
below this place; however paid no attention
to the warming. IT being an almost nightly oc-
ciITrancc- About o'clock another courier ar
| rived confirming the FIRST report / walked
out on the front gallery. Nothing could lie
| heard but the creaking and rustiug of the
craggy tops of the cypress us they were swayed
| to and fro by strong southern breeze. The
| air was saluhriOus. The stars looked calmly
down. and right sadly too thought for at that
| very moment houses were being torn asunder
| fences washed away. men. women and chill
dren battling for their lives in frail batteaus
dug-onts aud skitts; mules and cattle drown
| ing. aud all within miles of whore | stood
| BY daylight negroes could he heard hammer
| ing away and tearing up the flooring of their
cabins making battcRus in which to save their
| scaTty effects Women could be seen with
babies in their arms. men on mules driving cat
tie and other mucs o tho Levre. the only place
of safety left. Batteaus loaded down to the
waters edge with bed clothing. cooking uten-
sis, and dOgs-for though a negro don't mind
loosing baby or two, he will always try to
save his yellow coon dog-all bonnd for the
same haven of security. Onward the water
came! Pandemonium rcigned supreme. Cat
tic and hogs congrcgated in clusters on little
knobs, and US the water rose. inch by inch
covering the ground on which they stood they
would swim to higher places. The occasional
! plaintiff howl of forgotten dog the below
faces of women. would send thrill to the
most obdurate heart. The hours dragged
wcarily on. The, water still rose. No one
could tell when 1t would stop. It began to
pour over Kentucky ridge in a cataract four
| miles long. The roaring Of tho waters added
| to tho general confusion. Talk of war it is
civilization personiied compared with an over
flow. The one falls on men, the other on
women. children, babes, domestic and wild an
finals and even the birds of the air, to say
nothing of my humble patches of onions, peas,
lettuce and other products of the garden. The
one impoverishes the government, the other
the people. But to return. l started in a
| skiH to the main scenes of disaster On nv
way there we passed u lot of drifting debris on
which sat little black dog-somebody's dar-
ling no doubt-how happy he looked when he
saw us ! how gladly too he barkcd aud whin1-
pered and wagged his tail at the sight of hui
man forms but when we passed him and left
him far behind. how lonely he looked, and
that sad. dismal, plaintiYc cry which he ut
tered stu Vtbrates in my memory. Oh, don't
wish had saved that dogl No doubt some
huge greeneyed monster of the deep enjoyed
rare repast. Picture to yourself, Mr.. Editor.
a river 1000 feet wide, having an average
depth of ten feet. flowing with such q velocity
that yawl with four expert oarsmen in it
cannot pull up it's current and you have some
idea of the break as saw it, and some idea of
the vast ocean of water that is Overlooking the
unhappy people of Mississippi. The break oc-
Cured almost opposite the residence of Mr.
Connolly, one of the fuest plantation dwellings
in the county. AS the current gradually un-
dermined the house the chimneys first went
out of sight, and finally the house disappears
broken fragments such as door, a piece of
weather boarding, piece of framing. and
to finally disappear altogether. The owner
had Just just few days before ago buried
his wife. And even the raging waters invaded
the peaceful slumbers of the dead. The coffin
was washed up from its resting place and be-
ing caught by slIiff was dashed securely to n
large pecan tree. An old negro and two chill
dren were drowned before any assistance could
reach them. But why pursue this painful his
tory farther Those unhappy wards of the
Nations are gathered with all their possessions
they could save ON the levee, covered by gov
eminent tents. refusing to work on the levee
because they believe the government will feed
them. In the meantime living on the charity of
the whites and whatever they can catch in the
And must confess. Mr. Editor. that for fine
first time since trOd the sail of this npurro mr.