VIEWS OF LOUISIANA, 
i§| 
ern side of the Mississippi rendered useless by the annual flood's - , 
than is usually stated. This observation has been several times 
repeated in different parts of these Views, and I find no reason 
to change my opinion. There is certainly much sunken and 
overflowed land, and perhaps not to be reclaimed without im¬ 
mense labor, and between the Washita and the Mississippi, per¬ 
haps one-third is of this kind. But there is nothing more incor¬ 
rect than the general and vague accounts of writers on this sub¬ 
ject, who state that the western side of the Mississippi is annual¬ 
ly inundated to the distance of thirty or forty , and even sixty 
miles. The settlements established within a few years between 
the Washita and the Mississippi, prove the error of the opi¬ 
nion to which so many have given currency. It is true as 
a general rule, that the bank of the Mississippi, is the highest 
part Of the alluvion ground, but this is not always the case; 
the banks of the bayoux and of the lakes are as high, if not 
higher. On many of the bayoux there are extensive tracts of up^ 
land, and this rarely occurs on the bank of the river itself below 
the Arkansas. Wherever these are to be found, we may safely 
conclude that the ground is but little subject to be covered by 
the overflowing of the waters. The road from Concordia, (op¬ 
posite the town of Natchez) to the upland on the other side of 
Black river, is but seldom rendered impassible for travellers on 
horseback. I consider the extent of the lands subject to be in¬ 
undated by the Mississippi, on the eastern side, as not exceed¬ 
ing fifteen miles, until we come to Black river. 1. From the 
foregoing outline it will appear that the alluvion lands are chief¬ 
ly on the western side of the Mississippi, (the bottoms on the 
eastern side are not remarkable) and are finest along this 
river from the 33°, extending back to the distance of twenty 
miles, but suddenly widening on the approach to Red river, 
2 . On the Red river, of an average width of ten miles, widening 
on its approach to the Mississippi. 3. Below Red river and con¬ 
stituting the western angle of the Delta. I think it probable, 
that on a better acquaintance these tracts will be found to contain 
by far the most valuable portions of the public domain; the pro¬ 
portion of sunken lands, reclaimable only with great difficulty, 
h less than the proportion of unproductive pine woods, or of 
