a0i 



said on the subject of that river having followed the 

 course of either the Atchafalaya, or Lafourche, it may 

 be added, that if it had ever run into the channel of 

 either of those streams, it would have borne along and 

 deposited its alluvion, beyond the adjacent shores, 

 forming a projection into the gulf, the same, or similar 

 to that through which the river now runs, from Fort 

 St. Philip to the Balize. But this is not the case. 



Mr. Stoddard, whose opinions I have already quo- 

 ted, seems to consider it as having been formed of ma- 

 terials deposited principally by the Mississippi, and 

 which " have been rolled from the sources of the great 

 rivers."* 



Mr. Darby, however, seems to entertain a very diffe- 

 rent belief, or at least, that these alluvial regions were 

 not formed exclusively by deposites of alluvion from 

 the Mississippi. He, who has seen and observed, 

 perhaps, every portion of this territory, and examined, 

 with a discriminating eye, the various phenomena that 

 are presented to view, has ventured, unawed by popu- 

 lar opinion, and unbiassed by preconceived notions 

 of physical facts, to assert an opinion more consistent 

 with truth, though at variance with most others that 

 have been advanced on this subject. 



From a view of the existing facts, he plainly saw it 

 was impossible that the districts on the borders of the 

 Mississippi could have been formed alone by that river. 

 This conclusion, however, is drawn from the following 



* Stoddard's Sketches, p. 184. 



47 



