The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1904-08-06
E0W FLOODS ARE FOUGHT,
COMBINE EFFORTS
AGAINST A COMMON ENEMY.
ea,.s Built Of Earth in Boos-Many
cevices Resorted to for the Purpose
of Civerting the Rush of Water
Weaving a Big Mattress.

The great floods which have proved
10 disastrous in Michigan, Indiana. H.
Ionis and other parts Of the West
are largely due to the formation OF
the country Any one who has tray
eled through the middle West knows
that for miles and miles the railroad
lines are built over prairie and other
land which does not contain piece
of stone the size of a hens egg. The
southern part of Indiana and Illinois,
as well as Michigan, also contain
large areas of lowland swamps or
marshes in the United States. Con-
seouently the beds of many Of he
rivers are composed Of loose material,
which is easily washed out, and the
natural banks offer but little resist
ance to the food currents. This is
shown by the fact that in many places
| the sides of the channels are carried
| away, making great gaps through
which the water flows, inundatinG
farm land and forming inland lakes
Therefore, high water in the West
ern river means far more to the peo-
Die in the vicinity than in New Eng
land, for example, where so many of
the streams flow ever the beds which
have been followed out Of the rock
In some Instances, and Were the
sides of the channels are SO strongly
protected by nature that no artificial
work is needed Only those who
have seen the effect of a flood in the
West realize the ravagcS which it can
cause and for this reason the resi-
dents in the vicinity of water course
which is Liable to break its bank, or
ganize themselves into a sort of COM
mittee of the whole to look out for
breaks and to make repairs. When
the water has reached a height where
it is considered dangerous, the alarm
is given and every man able to handle
shovel hastens to the weak spot. II
the stream is a large one, fat beats
are often used to aid in protecting the
banks If stone of any kind can be
procured, they are loaded with this
material, hauled to the scene of opera
tions, where the volunteer workmen
remove the material and crudely
fashion it into breast works. as they
might be called, along the top of the
bank. Sometimes the stone is placed
in masses of brush wood cut from the
nearest trees, in order to hold 1t TO-
gether more firmly, but as already
stated, the middle West IS country
where stone cannot always be obtain
ed, so the custom which Is followed
by the levee protectors in the South,
Of using sand bags, Is in vogue to a
considerable extent Anything III the
shape of bag which will hold sand,
Hour sacks, cement bags. etc, arc NIL
ed from the nearest sand pit, although
sometimes even this cannot be pro-
cured and ordinary dirt is substituted.
This sort of protection, however, will
resist the force of tic food current
about as effectua,ly as the sand bag
forts have protected garrisons from
the musketry of the enemy. They |
can be filled so easily that a few men
can load a boat with them in COM |
paratively short time and built in walls
three or four feet high they have
often prevented very serious break
In an embankment.
\ The ordinary shovel is also very
effective weapon in flood fighting in
the West, and the residents CT the low
lands are experts in throwing up walls |,
OF earth when their fields and gar |
dens are in danger of being over
flowed. Many a disaster of this kind
mas been only averted by hundreds
81 men working not only all day but
all night, relieving each other in
shifts, raising the natural wall con-
ming the stream as rapidly as the
waters have increased in height. In
cases of emergency convicts are also
Pressed into service, working side by
side win the free men.
Z The Western rivers have a trick OF
eating underneath the bank. and
0metimes have broken from their
bounds in this way before the watch
efs realized that any serious damage
vas being done. Here timber work
comes in very handy if it can be built |
strongly enough to keep from being
washed away. If the stream is not
700 deep. planking can be driven into
tae bottom and packed up with sand
|Dass, brushwood and any other fill
phg' which is convenient. while it is
Piso REINFORCED by beams extending
cfom the earth bank. their shore ends
Eelns firmly imbedded in the bank.
Phese crude Golfer dams, as they
h'eht be called, are often used to
kscp back the water while the en- i
ahkment itself is being raised and
Erengthened. The pile driver is also
great aid in fighting the floods in
lis part of the country. and as on the
lssissippi, number of floating pile
E.Scrs are kept on the larger streams.
zen there is danger of break they
taken to the spot and row Of
ee trunks or branches, or possibly !
us from the nearest fence. II no |
ger timber Is available, are drivon
20 the bottom Of the water course
N hh'.ane a'.setinn from the shore !