136 EXCAVATION FOR GAS-WORKS. [CHAP. XXVIII. 



bayous, which traverse the delta and alluvial plain 

 of the Mississippi in every direction, are some of 

 them ancient arms of the great river, and others parts 

 of its main channel which have been deserted. They 

 are at a lower level than the present bed of the 

 river, and convey the surface-waters to the sea from 

 that part of the land which the Mississippi is inca 

 pable of draining. The bayous are sometimes stag 

 nant, and sometimes they flow in one direction when 

 they convey the surplus waters of the Mississippi 

 to the swamps, and in an opposite direction at seasons 

 when they drain the swamps. 



When we reached the canal which connects Lake 

 Pontchartrain with New Orleans, we found its sur 

 face enlivened with the sails of vessels laden with 

 merchandize. On the stern of one of these I read, 

 in large letters, a favourite name here &quot; The 

 Democrat.&quot; Many features of the country re 

 minded me of Holland. About a mile from the city 

 we passed a building where there is steam ma 

 chinery for pumping up water and draining the low 

 lands. 



It is not easy for a geologist who wishes to study 

 the modern deposits in the delta, to find any natural 

 sections. I was therefore glad to learn that, in 

 digging the foundations of the gas-works, an exca 

 vation had been made more than fifteen feet deep, 

 and therefore considerably below the level of the 

 Gulf, for the land at New Orleans is elevated only 

 nine feet above the sea. The contractors had first 

 hired Irishmen, with spades, to dig this pit ; but 

 finding that they had to cut through buried timber, 



