The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-04-16

I
brushes down into Il compact mass. and
the surface is held by bermuda :-r1SS
On tn top of the leVer there is usually
! WAGON road. This parthcn wall il
all that protects the plantations an"
the towns along the lower Mississippi
from the terrific force Of the water 1T
flood tide.
From season to season Wctk spot
develop in the leyec from vuriou,
causes, and for the purpose Of prompt.
| ~ repairing these the United States
| government keeps Il number OF p%tlH'
| boats on ia" river which carry ssir
| plies. The boats are very pOW"r5n
and are equipped with pile drivers ans
large crews of lab0rerS. They ar" vi
der the direction of United States "u
gineer officers stationed in this City
and at NickSburg and New Orleans.
Breaks in the lcvees are Of tN1H
kinds the sudden giving way Of a SOD
den bank, turned to mud by the grad
ual slop" Of the water. and the slow
but insidious mining of craWtish, Iii"
greatest enemy the levee has because
it is impossible to combat them.
There is always d certain amount Of
seepage going on in the earthWOrkS.
and if the interior of the levee is open
it begins to cave, and the shell gives
way. The tremendous pressure of thu
rushing waters instantly carries the
walls away, and the river ruSheS
through. Nothing can withstand til"
flood if it gets beyond the initiatory
break, and no force that man can
readily apply can close the gap until
an enormous amount of damage has
been done. Some Of the earlier build
ers left large tree stumps in the earth
of which the Ievee is composed. These
gradually rot and leave a hole which
begins to cave, and the seepage lin
ishes the work of destruction.
The conflicting interests of the plant
ers along the banks of the river ar"
a menace to the integrity of the levee
Naturally every planter would rather
see a break occur below than aDOV"
him. If it occurs below, his river
frontage is at once relieved of The
pressure of the water, and if his leyec
happens to be weak in any spot j.
may be saved by break below aud
not only his plantation, but the lives
of himself and the members of his
family. be preserved. This is the sourr"
of temptation in times of stress that
makes men sometimes SO far forget
themselves as to cause a levee to be
undermined.
from the lumbermen in the swamps
back of the Ievee. 1t is manifestiy
cheaper for them to float their timber
out than to haul it. Hence they profit
by a flood.
During the season of high water the
levees are carefully and constantly
guarded. Hundreds of policemen
armed with rifles march along tie
crown of the Ieyees watching eveN
foot of it to prevent its being tam
pered with. Nonerson not autlHsIized or
who cannot give a satisfactory account
of his purpose is permitted to ~
proach If lie persists in hanging aBou
the Ievee OF. is caught in the act OF
damaging Il. he is promptly shot and
tried afterward, 4*a-
A guard patrolling the levee notices
d slight leakage on the inner side Of
the embankment. The crown of tie
ievee sounds beneath bis feet. Pres:
emily small stream spurts from the
inner wall. He knows the sign. The
erawfish have undermined the levee
and one has worked through, MAXIM
q small tunnel scarcely an inch in Ill
ameter, through which the water has
followed from the nest in the middle
of the embarrassment. In a case like this
expediency is the thing. Quick work
may save the levee. An hours neglect
may result in a crevasse, through
which the Mississippi will pour in q
raging torrent
The rapidity with which break iii
the levee becomes a crevasse is one Of
the terrible features of Mississippi
flood. When the guard has discovere
that crawfish has bored through t.
leyee, he first sees squirt Of water
such as comes from leak in fire
hose or a break in a lead pipe in