Tracking The Flood

New Orleans, May 7, 1874. - It is impossible f rom the dock of a steamer to estímate tbe loss to the inhabitants of the Mississippi bottora, resulting frotn the recent inundation ; but little of its eÉFects can bo really soen. But from u knowledge of tho country out öf sight, and a glance at tho scones of desolation that aro more apparent, it is manifest that sucoess for years, and freodom from rloods, will scarcely ropay tlie damage from the city of Cairo to the mouth of tho Mississippi. Having a tract avoraging 75 miles in width, the country Hes completoly under water. The river is no longer a stream, but is now an ocean. Evcry mile of its oxtent is marked by the wrock and ruin it has wrought. The country covered will not bo contíned vrithin 00,000 squaro miles, and this oxcl udcs tho damage up THE TRIBUTARIES. Missouri has suffered the least. Then in order, Illinois, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana - the latter the greater loser, trom tho nature of her orevasses and the deusity of hor population in in the floodod región. Of the tributarios to the Mississippi and the country inundated, I atn not piepared, at present, to speak. The towns Beem to be well protectod, oxcept Cairo, which is surrounded almost by the Mississippi and Ohio, and is exjiosod to doublé danger that no human loresight can avert in the evont of auother rise. Already the rivers threaten to join behind the city, almost cutting it off from the inain land, and submerging the southern end so as to unfit it for habitation. Tho greater injury is confined to the smaller towns and to the plantations. Protected as they are only by lovees they were completoly at the morcy of the waters when they wero so strong as to BKEAK DOWX the embankments. On tho trip down you could seo ridgos of the luvoe, with crevasses here and thore, through which tho water poured resistlessly, and these ridges were the only indications of the expanse of land as far as the eye could reach. Thore are 37 crovasses between Cairo and Na w Orleans, and countless breaks that do not rise to the dignity of a crevasse, from Memphis to this city. There are 24 crevasses besides these smaller breaks. The majority are on the west side, and that bank seems to have suffered the most between the southern line of Arkansas and the Gulf. The overflow on the east is heaviest from Friar's point, about 20 miles below Helena, to Vicksburg. Between these poiuts there is a narrow strip, seemingly but littlo injured, but this tract is but a few miles widf, and east of it the water has covered everything, FOBMIXO A LAKB. about 15 miles wide at its broadest point, . 6 in width at the upper end, and about '1 at the lower. There are two bad crevasses foeding the lako, the Hushpuckara and Bolivar, and losser breaks. The west side is a succession of bad leaks from Memphis to the ooast, and nine other small lakes connecting in turn and joining the others near Columbia, Ark. The smaller chain runs only from Columbia to a point about opposite Rodney, about "200 miles in length. About Columbia the Arkansag and White Rivers form two separate lakes, joining the large chain. The widest point of country overrun by these lakes is from Camden on the Ouichita to the Mississippi, a distance of 100 miles, but wihin that space a large amóunt of territory is intact, though completely surreunded. From Rodney to the gulf the widest spread is over ABOUT THIRTY MILES, but the water extendí over all the country within that distance, and there is not a dry mile of land from the western bank of the river to the western border from Memphis to the Gulf, a distance of over 500 miles by the river bends. The west bank is completely submerged thus. On the west four railroads are at a stand-still. On the east but one. Thero are Southern rivers and comparatively largo streams emptying into the Mississippi from the west, between Mem phis and New Orleans, and not as many large and dangerous tributaries from the east. The country inundated is completely depopulated, and a majority of TIIE INHABITA5TT3 ARE IRREfARABLY DAMAGED. The plantations cannot get into order for production for a long time to come, even were they drained now, and though the waters are tinding outlets the process is slow. In short, the most beautif ui and fertile portionB of the Mississippi Valley, upon the west side of the river, and a goodly though not so large a portion of the east side aro sunken beyond all home of present utility, and it will be a long time before they will again be in readiness for planting. The suffering has, of course, been great in loss of stock and household goods, and that there has been great loss uf life there can be no doubt. At present it is impossible to estímate these losses, and it may never be written and never known the wild devastation that has attended this appalling upheaval of the waters.