Canton Weekly Register

The Flood at the South.

Our advices from New Orleans of last Saturday bring the unwelcome intelligence that the river was "still rising" at that city, having reached, on Friday evening, a point five inches above the rise of last year. In truth, the Mississippi was higher at New Orleans last Friday night than it was ever known to be before, and still swelling upward with fearful majesty. At various places, where the levee was low or weak, the water was encroaching, and the people could only keep it from rushing over in torrents by constantly battling against its progress. The levees had to be continually watched, and the weak places strengthened by sand-bags, timber and rubbish; and even then, the water percolating through the oozy, porous soil kept the low places within the levee low and miry. Along the entire front of the city, and higher than the levee on which the city is situated, the angry flood lacked but a few inches of being at the top of the levee, which frail barricade was the only obstacle to the overflow of the waves into the streets of the city. The chief points of danger were at the stock landing, opposite Washington avenue; opposite Sarahurn street; from Josephine to St. Mary street; at Market street; opposite the Orleans Cotton Press; at the Ferry Landing, foot of St. Ann street, and at the Third District Ferry Landing, foot of Elysian Fields street. In many places the waves made by a passing steamboat would wash over the levee, and trickle down to the ground within, which was five feet lower than the level of the stream. The Crescent says that a rise of one foot more would submerge three-fourths of the city, and cause incalculable disasters.

From this forlorn and dreary condition of things there was little prospect of speedy relief. Before the present flood begins to subside, the fresh rise in the Ohio, which began ten days ago, will have reached New Orleans; and in the wake of that will be poured the rise just now coming down the Missouri. We can do nothing better for our well-watered friends in the Crescent City than to wish with all our heart, that their levee may bear up in the hour of peril.

At Vicksburg, last Friday, the river was stationary at a point two feet higher than in 1858, and sixteen inches higher than ever known before.

At Memphis, on Friday evening, it was rising again slowly, from the swell in the Ohio.—[St. Louis News, 4th.