The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1897-06-12
me Courtableau and BAYOU TGche

t;o,ae we nave heretofore published ar
tic'es commenting on the pronosrd
dammlng of the Courtableau. and the
placing of locks on the Bayou T1che
ana we have found diversity of onn,
IONS as to the propliety of doing so.
AIter considerable reflection we have
reached the conclusion such works can
inardiy lEJure the people of st. Landry.
living on the Courtableau. Such is the
typography OF the country below Port
natie' tlat no reliance can be placed
oh Tue sufliclency OF any work that can
m 70 aohe on the COurtableau at Little
Dosn. heihoVo one obstruction to
navigation and another will present it,
self, for the waters in cases of tInods
are as uncomfortable AS the waves of
the ocean For all the years of Our ac-
Iuiahtance with the navigation of the
Conrtableau, the raft and mud deposits
at Little Devil have been found there.
anu VIII De found there in spite of all
that Congress can do, after every re-
currence OF high water. The immense
drltts OF fallen timber in the swamD
above it must float down through that
gateway, and when there is added to
thls, the influence of back waterin the
Atcllafaiaya IN seasons of high water,
titTe can be no escape for lafts There
always has been,and always must be,
deposit OF silt where water is stag
nant. This place has ALWAYS been q
very serious obstacle to tho navigation
OF the Contradictory, and in our opinion
there Is no power in the government
thaL can permanently remove it.
we must give some attention to the
opinions OF scientific men in such mat
ters The commerce of that section of
the country Is not of such Importance
as to justify the Federal Government
IN expendlng large sums of money an
nually in futile efforts to make the Ba-
you navigable at that point
But in addition to this, observe that
the use Of it to that point will not be
destroyed by the proposed works, and
1t more reliable outlet can be secured
by them, why not secure it? 1t is said
1t will force boats to go Il greater dis
tango to reach the Mississippi. This is
anitrror, it we are not to have tie use
OF the Bayou Plaquemine, and the re-
mOval OF the obstacles at Little Devil.
The opening OF the Plaquemine would
ne OF little advantage to us, it the raft
and silt at Little Devil are not kept out
or tie way OF navigation, for boats eau
not reach that point without going
through the T6che. If this be true, the
opening of that Bayou becones a ne
cessty. Suppose boats will have to go
through it to Brashear and mp the At
chafaaya TO Red River Landing, would
iU not be better than not to reach the
Atchafataya at all, because of tiie OBJ
structioBs at Little Devil
.1ss~s matter stands, the avisation
or the Courtabieau is impossible, aud it
those obstructions were removed it
would not Gbviate the necessity of GO
ing up the Atchafalayis to old River,
thence to Red River landing, before the
Mississippi could be reached, unless the
Bayou Plaquemine he opened, and kept |
so for navigation. If this were done
and the eimpediments Is at Little Devil CON
tinued, there would be no possible aa-
vantage to the navigation Of tho Cour-
tableau. Taking this view of the stu
ton, we are forced to conclude that the |
proposed works are possibly advisable. |