Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-03-28
Atiseellaneulls geading.
THE MISSISSIPPI FLOODS.
Far Less Danger Than People GEN
orally Suppose.

THE MISSISSIPPI FLOODS.
Far Less Danger Than People Gen.
orally Suppose.
M. ]. Sanders, president Of the New
Orleans Progressive Union, has issued
a protest against the stories sent out
d, from New Orleans and other points to
the northern papers about the damage
said to be done by the high water In
the Mississippi and the great danger OF
overflow. These stories, he says, are
greatly exaggerated. Whether his pro-
test can stop the circulation Of such
stories is another matter.
It seems utterly impossible for per-
sons outside Of the lowlands Of the
Mississippi to understand the situation
here. To persons accustomed to rivers
having great fall instead Of one Of one
tenth of an inch to the mile, as is the
case with the Mississippi, the condition
of affairs along this river must seem
threatening. AS a matter Of fact the
conditions here do not greatly differ
| tlloSS diOhS lhS ANhSb "ASAS SAA>
flood Is the greatest agricultural event
of the year, fertilizing and renewing
the soil.
If it were possible to allow the Mis-
sissippi to overflow it's banks as the
Nile does, It would prove almost as
good a fertilizer. Unfortunately, the
Mississippi flood occurs at season
when it Is desired to plant the crops
and cultivate them. If the high water
ended in March instead Of beginning
then, levees would be abolished, for
the people would insist upon having
the river overflow it's banks 80 as to
raise the land and fertilize it.
The Mississippi had only partly COM
pleted its work when the lands along
its banks were first settled, and had not
yet filled up many lowlands and
swamps. It's tendency is to do the
work now, but the levees prevent it and
force 1t to discharge its billions Of tons
Of fertile soil into the gulf instead.
Even when the river or its tributaries
L
good than harm, unless the overflow oc-
ours at time when the crops have
been planted. Thousands Of acres have
been added to the cultivable land along
Bayou Lafourche by crevasses in the
last half-century. When a few years
ago an ugly crevasse occurred In the
Myrtle Grove sugar plantation, in Pla-
quemines parish, 1t figured in the news
papers as a'great loss, but when the
water went down it was found that the
river had added several hundred acres
Of land to the plantation, thus paying
for all the damage it had done.
A good instance Of the effect Of Gre
vases was shown in the last days of
the recent session Of congress. The
matter was brought to the attention Of
congress by Representative Lessler, OF
New York. who introduced a bill d.
lrecting the secretary Of the treasury to
sell at public auction or private sale the
IS, 900 acres of land belonging to the
United States situated On the Missis-
sippi river and Grand Pass. about nine
ty miles below New Orleans. and
known as the jump"
Sixty-five years ago the Jump was
narrow strip Of land between the Mis-
sissippi and the gulf, less than third
of mile wide, extending from the riv-
er to Oyster Bay. AS it saved a trip
Of forty-odd miles, the fishermen drag
ged or jumped their boats over this
narrow strip into the bay, and the place
became, in consequence, known as the
Jump.
| Their dragging Of boats from the riv-
er to the bay gradually wore road In
the land. and in 1887, when the river got
livery high, the water started through
the Jump with great force and cut a
crevasse there. The mud and sand of
the Mississippi river swept through the
newly made canal into Oyster Bay,
gradually filling it up with sediment.
The land, originally only a third Of a
mile wide, Is now fifteen miles wide,
all made by the Mississippi in g. gen.
Grafton. It Is alluvial, rich and pro-
ductive, and upon it have sprung rice
fields, orange groves and truck farms.
Some Of the property is owned in New
Orleans, some in New York, but the
bulk remains in the hands Of the
Federal government.
| The Lessler bill was introduced in
order to enable the New York colony
to buy these lands and increase their
holdings. The Jump Is below the frost
line and is specially adapted to the
growth of tropical fruit such as or
anges, figs and bananas. It is also one
of the finest hunting areas on the
coast.
Here Is a sample story Of the So
called damage done by a crevasses
along the Mississippi. Unfortunately,
it is not possible to let the river over
flow, as the land Is already under cul-
| tivation. Levees have accordingly
been built from Memphis down on the
east side of the Mississippi and from
Missouri down on the west bank. The
levee system has been gradually ex-
tended and the levees raised and
strengthened.
This year, for the first time, the
banks Of the Mississippi on both sides
were lined with levees throughout. The
high water of 1897, the highest ever
known, was taken as the maxim that
could be reached, and the levees were
raised three feet above that level. The
only two breaks in the line Of levees-
one along the st. Francis river basin
and one at Bougeres near the mouth
of Red river in Louisiana-were closed
The st. Francis basin has always
heretofore been open to inundation'