lb Bringier on the Region of the Mississippi, ^c. 



of wood. These rafts of wood, in the course of every two 

 or three years, disappear under the sand and leaves. This 

 operation alternately removes the bed of the Achafalaya 

 sometimes four or five miles to the east, or two or three to 

 the west, but more commonly towards the east. On this 

 side, it has gained more than 10 miles already, since it has 

 become an outlet of the Mississippi; indeed, in its length, it 

 will soon fall into this river, and bring its mouth lower down j 

 for it is evident that the Achafalaya was formerly the outlet 

 of Red river, whose actual confluence with the Mississippi 

 is two and three quarters of a mile from the mouth of the 

 Achafalaya. When this was joined to the Red river, it 

 formed a separate stream, running parallel to the Mississippi, 

 without any communication. This communication has howev- 

 er taken place in consequence of the encroachment of the 

 Mississippi, whose bed constantly gains on one bank or the 

 other, substituting, on the opposite side, glarle and sand, 

 (what is called sand beach,) and thus forming bars, some of 

 which are one mile broad, and from three to five miles long. 

 I will now return to the drift wood accumulated in the 

 Achafalaya. Lest any one should hear with incredulity of 

 the enormous quantity of wood spread over the country 

 which that river every year inundates, I will give an abstract 

 of my observations, made in 1812. Having landed at the 

 mouth of this river, when it was at its fullest, I was surprised 

 at the quantity of wood leaping perpetually into the shoot. 

 1 then counted the large trees entering the river, in a g'ven 

 time, which I found to produce more than eight thousand 

 cubic feet per minute. The estimation, I am satisfied, was 

 rather below than above the fact ; but if we even reduce 

 this estimate to less than one half, we shall be astonished to 

 find what a surface of country such an accumulation of timber 

 will cover in twenty-four hours, particularly, when we con- 

 sider how much space large trees will occupy with their 

 limbs and roots. The reader will observe, that I have 

 omitted to estimate the leaves, bark, reeds, &c. whose uni- 

 ted quantity is, probably, equal to that of the wood ; nei- 

 ther have I included the sediment of the muddy water, a« 

 discharged from the mouth of the Mississippi river, which 

 proved, according to several elaborate experiments whieh I 

 formerly madcj to be equal to thirty-six cubic miles annuilly- 



