The Opelousas courier., 1904-06-11
i5quemine Locks and the Atcha-
y falaya River.

n T falava River.
4 Inheritance of the egrly completion O Me
IaiLOcks at PtdQueG1iRe and the Improve
Time of naUigatioR so that steamboats,
Hssdrawing sic feet of oUater arN hare q
htcertain and reliable communication
nwih the Mississippi Riuer and NeM
n Orleans at all seasons Of the gear, and
III the diU0rcing of the Mississippi from
n the Red and Atchafalaya Rivers.
Both of these measures arc of vast
Importance to the State of Louisiana
and the city of. New Orleans, and will
do more to reclaim from overflow the
vast body Of lands lying on the west
bank of the Mississippi, from the Ar
kansas line to the Gulf OF Mexlcn,
amounting to 13,470,000 acres, accord
ing to the report OF the MISSISSIPPI
River Commission. or this vast body
of land there has been reclaimed, I'M
proved and put in cultivation only
| 1,6O6, 48O acres, principally by ievees,
assessed value 1885,, 456, $40, leaving H.
S62, SIT acres OF heavily timbered. over
flowed and swamp land not improved
nor in cultivation.
The value of the crops, not used on
the farms and plantations. according to
the u. S. Census Reports for 1901:
For cotton and cotton seed, 375, 800 ~
bales, at $35 per
Cotton seed, zoos $50 tons, at S13 per
ton 3,loo'Soo
Rice (estimated) 100000
Sugar, molassas and syrup, crop OF
1898, an average crop year ---------- 24,29l,o46
Making the value Of the total crop. .s24, 291 SAG
Taking the cotton crop Of 1908, it
would be 500, 023 ,658, or more than 90
per cen of the ca&Stal invested.
Now take the II 1865, 81 acres of swamp
and overlooked lands not in cultivation
and let us say that 100000 acres could
be protected, and eventually improvedj
and cultivated, how much would it adS.
to the wealth and resources of the St9bsSI
], 606, 4S0 acres produce crops to the gfJ7Ee
Of $50. O23, 659, then 5,000,O 600 acregSYMfe
would produce STA, 1909 yeaNA4Erop
value, with a capital investigate of
1906, 6O4. 657. In addition to w,s, there
is a world of wealth in timb1 on these
lands, for they are generalIEery heay-
lily timbered, the most Of Vhich is suit
able for manufacturing purposes.
l have gathered thesY statistics and
made the calculationsR prove the II
mense %esOurce and @ealth we have
when once developed. The question at
once suggests itself: The quickest, the
HIUSL e8DGultkOuS III CbSUPSoc -"
of retaining these lands from the floods
of the Mississippi river. 1t has been
demonstrated that the river can be CON
trolled by ~levees. W. have an unbtoken
line of levees from Arkansas to the Cult
of Mexico onsits west bank, with the
exception of 26 miles above the mouth
Of the Red. Why this gap has been left
open | car see no reason, except 10
throw the flood waters of the Mlssls-
sippi into the Atchafalaya and make OF
the latter river an immense outlet 10
the former. The necessary result of
this il to back up the waters of the Red
river, and the numerous streams and
bays that drain that extensive section,
up to the Arkansas line, interfering
with the drainage of the lands already
in cultivation, and causing It's numer-
Gus outlets in its basin to flood that
also. Without a break in the levees,
the floods from the Mississippi caused
this whole valley and basin to be over
flowed, with the exception OF the upper
part, where they have high levees.
There can be no doubt that the vol
ume of water coming down the Atcha-
faIaya, from the Mississippi, is con-
stantly increasing, and there is danger
of the Mississippi taking that route to
the Gulf, for the distance is one-thlrd
of what it is by the present channel. en-
dangering ten Of the most productive
parishes in the State and leaving the
city of New Orleans without q river.
The remedy is to entirely divorce the
Mississippi from the Red and Atcha-
falaya rivers, and let the Atchafalaya
drain that section of the country.
The completion of the locks at Plaque
mine will give the Red river boats and
the whole of western Louisiana a GER
tain and reliable communication with
the Mississippi at all seasons OF the
year, and n that is % miles shorter
than the present one. When this ls
done you will reclaim at least 100000
acres of the richest land in the world
from overflow. Its settlement and Gull
tivation will speedily follow. 1t is the
only way it a be done, for, with the
exception of the upper Atchafalaya,
there ia no continuous stream through
cut up with rivers, bayous and lakes,
and no levee system is possible. ! am
confident that the Red can never flood
the basin Of tire Atchafalaya, for the
outlets are too numerous and large to
permit it.
The Mississippi River Commission has
foreseen this danger and has tried to
prevent it by sinking mats in the At
chafalaya near its head, where, | am
informed, it is 100 feet deep and 500 or
900 yards wide. They may possibly
stop it's deepening, but that does not
lessen the volume of water coming |
down its channel.
In the month of April a large raft of
mats came down the A~tchafaIaya, went
into the Grand river and lodged at the
Travers flats, completely blocking the
channel to navigation. The citizens of
were put to much laboran
expense in opening a passage for boats
through it.
I'm view of the immense advantages,
| have shown, it does seem to me
all parties should join in an effort
TO secure immediate completion of the
P~laquemine Locks, the improvement
of the navigation of the contiguous
and the ultimate d%ivorcing of
the Mississippi from the Atchafalaya.
L. further seems to me that our Gov
ernor and Legislature, our Senators
and Congressmen, and the Progressive
Leagues and Unions could not do more
TO develop the great resources of our
State than in advocating and securing
The accomplishment of these measures,
and others like them, wherever needed,
so as to make u beautiful State the
wealthiest in the Union. E. t. KING.
Thrown From a Wagon.