The Opelousas courier., 1899-07-22
The Danger That Threatens New Or
leans and the Most Productive
Parishes of Louisiana.
NEW IRERIA

sion" 1t seems from reading tho ar
ticle that the writer was laboring undo
many mistakes and errors in regard t,
the Red, Old and Atchafalaya river
problems and | beg the use of your col
ums to correct them. He calls the pres
ent outlet of the Red, Old River. Thi
is a mistake. The Old River is til,
channel to the north of Turnbull islant
that existed long before the present out
let was created. The present outlet wa
created by Capt. Z. w. Fuller and my
self in the summer of 1862. At tina
time we were ordered to go there OF
the gnnboat Music, a cotton-clad steam
boat armed with u 12-pound gun anC
two six-pOunders smooth bore, with 2N
men, to guard the mouth of the Red tt
prevent the escape of steamboats, ant
COMMUNICATION with the fleets and gun.
boats of the UIited States Government
which then held command of the rivel
up to Vicksburg aud at the same time tt
bring from Acklen's plantation suci
arms and supplies as were needed to or.
ganize the army on this side and alst
to aid and assist in the crossing of bee
cattle to the other side of the river
W. did this ia spite of the fact that the
United States fleet and gunbOats were
passing up and down the river. every
day.
Upon examination we found that there
was an arm of Old river that ran up to
near the main channel, but thickly
grown up with willows. If we could
open up a passage through this route, i,
would give us Il good and secret harbol
near the river, give us protection from
the enemy's gunboats and greatly aid us
in crossing cattle and bringing back
supplies and persons. We went to
work and with great labor succeeded in
opening up IL passage just large enough
for our steamboats, to pass through,
which we used through the summer
and fall that we were stationed there.
This work was done during high water E;
when the water began to fall it washed
out and caused the present Old river
channel to form. Previous to that time.
of TurnbulI island. That channel,
which Col. Derby designates as sugar
house shoal, has filed up and been
abandoned, leaving only the one we
opened to the south of the island.
These are facts that a easily be sub
stantiated, and | call the attention of
Ahe historical society to them, so that
people will not be deceived, as Col. Der
by has been, and that justice be done to
Capt. E. w. Fuller, his officers and men.
Mai. Eads knew of this and his plan
was to divorce the Red from the Atcha-
falaya by placing mats between them.
80 as to force the Red to take its old
channel to the north of Turnbull's L.
land. This proving a failure the mats
were removed. This threw the whole
volume of water into the mouth of the
AtchafaIaya, and it began to enlarge
and deepen at such rapid rate, that to
check it mats were placed across the
Atchafalaya, as Col. Derby states, some
twenty or more years ago.
The question necessarily arises: have
the mats accomplished the purpose for
have not, why is it necessary for the
River Commission to change it's plans
and put more mats there to prevent
the Mississippi from going down the
Atchafalaya. If the two mats have
failed, what guarantee have we that
one or two more mats will not also prove
faiIuresa ] am confident that when
they come to look for the old mats they
will find that they have been swept
away by the rapid current of the Atcha-
One thing l am certain of is
there is no diminutiOn of the@cnrrent
or the rapid enlargement of the Atcla-
and l am confident it has dis
one-fifth of the waters of the
Mississippi river during the floods of
this winter and spring.
What is said of the current Of Old
River is true whenever floods from Red
river and crevasses from the MISSISSIPPI
pi above meet those in Old River, as
was the cas- in 1897 and 1898. The
and its tributaries being al
ready full and gagged by the previous
foods OF the Mississippi could not dis
the enormous volume of water
and it was forced into the Mississippi,
the extraordinary floods of
those two years. The present year
there has not been any floods from the
Red or any ~crevasses, so that the Atcha-
taiaya has acted as an outlet to the
| have watched the river
lie first floods came down there was a
of from two and Il half to three
Eeet between Red river landing and
a distance of only seven
niles-mOre than double the fall of the |
Mississippi, and the fall was equally as
great down the Atcbafalaya to Melville.
10 1897, the high water mark at Bar
orec was SO feet ; at Melville, thirty
niles below it was 81 feet, showing a
all of Is feet. With such a great fall in
short a distance. will not any fair and
man say that there must have
,een al immense current from the Mis-
issippi into the Atchafalaya and
here has been a fall of from II to 81 feet
or whole seasons, and there could not
been any time any current from
he Red into the Mississippi In view of
these facts, is there not great danger
the Mississippi taking that route to
he Gulf, leaving New Orleans high and
Try and at the same time not only food
ng the entire Atchafalaya basin, but
many Of the richest parishes Of the
tate.
The city of New Orleans is constantly
ppealiDg to the general Government
Or deeper water at the passes and is
Ow demanding twelve or fifteen mil
IOns OF dollars for the purpose. of jetty-
1g and deepening southwest pass. the
T able to furnish the regular depth.
Dr. the closing Of the crevasse and an
has been made to close it.
it had hardly been done and
to Maj. Quinn, when
broke and will probably require as
lnch more to close it, il that be DOS
BILE. Notwithstanding all these facts.
he supinely looks ON and does moth
lg to prevent the whole river leaving
Or aud coming down the Atchafalaya,
'OpardizinR the most beautiful and pro :
uctive portion of the State aud food
lg millions Of acres of the richest ,
'nds in the State and forever render {
q them worthless, when they can all
. reclaimed by simply divorcing the
ed aud the Atchafalaya rivers from !
le Mississippi. This is the only way {
ho d0n0 EAn H.. AlEl- 4