﻿Ill] 
  Shrkveport 
  Area: 
  The 
  Raft 
  169 
  

  

  a 
  time 
  the 
  tops 
  of 
  the 
  dead 
  trees 
  were 
  broken 
  off 
  by 
  the 
  winds, 
  

   leaving 
  the 
  unsightly 
  stumps 
  as 
  silent 
  witnesses 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  

   catastrophe. 
  

  

  A 
  peculiar 
  ox-bow 
  shaped 
  depression, 
  being 
  below 
  the 
  level 
  of 
  

   the 
  banks 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  at 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  Twelve 
  Mile 
  bayou 
  was 
  

   filled 
  with 
  water 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  forming 
  Clear 
  lake. 
  

  

  Origin 
  of 
  Black 
  bay 
  on 
  swamp. 
  — 
  The 
  Black 
  bayou 
  stream 
  

   valley 
  being 
  higher 
  than 
  the 
  Cypress 
  baj^ou 
  stream 
  valley 
  was 
  

   not 
  so 
  deeply 
  inundated 
  by 
  the 
  daming 
  of 
  Twelve 
  Mile 
  bayou. 
  

   Still 
  it 
  was 
  low 
  enough 
  * 
  to 
  receive 
  a 
  little 
  water. 
  Cypress 
  trees, 
  

   being 
  fitted 
  by 
  their 
  peculiar 
  knees 
  to 
  grow 
  in 
  such 
  a 
  situation, 
  

   soon 
  converted 
  the 
  land 
  into 
  a 
  cypress 
  swamp. 
  

  

  Formation 
  of 
  Silver 
  lake 
  ayid 
  Posto?i's 
  lake. 
  — 
  Silver 
  lake 
  and 
  

   Poston's 
  lake 
  were 
  formed 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  way, 
  the 
  first 
  in 
  a 
  stream 
  

   valley 
  the 
  second 
  in 
  a 
  bottom-basin, 
  but 
  at 
  a 
  later 
  date. 
  Poston's 
  

   lake 
  is 
  shown 
  on 
  the 
  land 
  office 
  charts 
  made 
  in 
  1839, 
  when 
  the 
  

   raft 
  was 
  far 
  below 
  its 
  outlet, 
  as 
  a 
  bayou. 
  On 
  Woodruff's 
  map 
  

   of 
  1872 
  it 
  is. 
  a 
  large 
  lake 
  offering 
  a 
  good 
  steamboat 
  passage. 
  It 
  

   is 
  now 
  a 
  bayou. 
  Thus 
  in 
  fifty 
  years 
  a 
  lake 
  large 
  enough 
  for 
  the 
  

   passage 
  of 
  large 
  steamboats 
  has 
  been 
  formed 
  and 
  destroyed. 
  

  

  Outlet 
  bayous 
  — 
  The 
  formation 
  of 
  the 
  outlet 
  bayous, 
  both 
  arti- 
  

   ficial 
  and 
  natural, 
  has 
  already 
  been 
  discussed. 
  It 
  only 
  remains 
  

   to 
  call 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  drainage 
  systems 
  by 
  

   outlet 
  bayous. 
  A 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  two 
  maps 
  accompanying 
  this 
  

   report 
  will 
  show 
  something 
  of 
  this 
  development. 
  

  

  It 
  will 
  be 
  noticed 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  lower 
  part 
  of 
  Old 
  Red 
  bayou 
  the 
  

   outlet 
  channels, 
  Dooley's, 
  Cowhide 
  and 
  Horseshoe, 
  have 
  delib- 
  

   erately 
  cut 
  across 
  the 
  old 
  channel. 
  Indeed 
  the 
  map 
  seems 
  to 
  

   indicate 
  that 
  Trinity 
  bayou 
  and 
  the 
  lower 
  part 
  of 
  Cottonwood 
  

   bayou 
  represent 
  the 
  true 
  continuation 
  of 
  Old 
  Red 
  bayou, 
  and 
  

   that 
  the 
  portion 
  of 
  Old 
  Red 
  bayou, 
  so 
  called 
  which 
  flows 
  west, 
  

   is 
  really 
  a 
  continuation 
  of 
  the 
  Peach 
  Orchard 
  outlet. 
  

  

  * 
  The 
  average 
  elevation 
  of 
  the 
  river 
  banks 
  about 
  Shreveport 
  is 
  about 
  170 
  

   feet 
  above 
  Gulf 
  level. 
  The 
  bottom 
  of 
  Black 
  bayou 
  where 
  crossed 
  by 
  the 
  

   Kansas 
  City, 
  Pittsburg 
  and 
  the 
  Gulf 
  Railroad 
  is, 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  railroad 
  

   companies 
  corrected 
  levels 
  173 
  feet. 
  Thus 
  the 
  lower 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  valley 
  

   would 
  probably 
  receive 
  a 
  few 
  inches 
  of 
  water 
  and 
  even 
  if 
  the 
  water 
  did 
  

   not 
  back 
  up 
  into 
  the 
  valley 
  the 
  current 
  would 
  be 
  so 
  checked 
  that 
  the 
  

   lower 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  valley 
  would 
  be 
  very 
  imperfectly 
  drained. 
  

  

  