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Show \ .,. ~ · BMIGRAN'f 'S GUfDE'. and Rice's island, the bank of Atchafalaya is entirely over.Kowed.~ and renJereu unfit for settlement. The second route~ by the lower Tensaw, leads into Jake Chetimq,ches, to tht> Fausse point landing, and from thence to St. Martinsvil.le.• '1 his is the most frequented by navigators and travellers, entering into the central parts of Attacapas ; it c::m only be used, however. at high water, as at seasons wh n the streams are low. the communication with Atahafalaya is rendered impassable for boats. The route by lal<e Nat chez is u8eu only by the inh abitants of lower Teche : it is the most circuitous of any of the charmt>b of communication betwt>en Attacapas, Opelousas, and t·he Mississippi. Portage is made from the Mississippi into Plaquemine, at low water, the distance by land, four miles. The tide flows up the Atchafalaya. and Plaquemine, in the months of Octuber and November, to Blake's, at the lower point of portage from the Mississippi. From this place., boats can at all sea ons pass lake Nat chez and the mouth of Teche. The calculated di~tance from Blake'!-l to Opelousas court-·house, is ninety miles, or thirty FrPnch leagues. That part of Atchafalaya which intervenes between the Pl3quemine and Co\-.·-IsJa nd, has but little current~ and is denominated. by the inhabitants of Opelousas9 " the Big river." Above Cow-Isbnd the outlet leaves the main stream, which again subdividing into a number of lakes and chaunels ~ffords two inlets, leading into Attacapas and Opelousas. The lowe; of th_ese two inlets !~ads by Ba~' ou Fusilier, to the Acadien point landmg ; the upper IS the passage to Opelousas, when the raft near the mouth ofCourtableau intersects the navigation of Atchafalaya. . Above Cow-Island the Atchafalaya is, at high water, as rapid in 1ts co:urse as the Mississippi. ~ ·The Courtableau is ~ gentle stream, except when swclleJ by rains, m Op~lousas and RapHJes, at seasons when the Atchafalaya is low. A smgular phenomenon is visible in the region between the effiu~ of Atchafalaya and the head of lake Chetimaches. The current i~ her~ r:nore violent than in any other part of the inundated lands of Lou1s1ana; and when the waters are at th eir highest elevation, the waters flow to the southw:aru, without being much influenced by the c:hanncls of th~ streams. Belo.w the mouth of Bayou Derbane, the ttde rushes obliquely across the river Courtableau, and continuin' ~etween that stream and the high lands of T~cbe, enters lake Chettmaches. The same appearances exhibit themselves in the Atchafalaya. between the mouth of Courtableau and Cow- lsl~d and the s~rplus waters from the latter river also find a deposite in lake Che ~ ttmaches. .N?t~ing_ can be ~ore dreary than a voyage at high water from the Mtssrss1pp1 o~er tbts sunken plain. The gloom of thi3 flooded lorest. however, heightens the delight of at once bein1J' introduced into the chee~ful and expansive meadows of Opelousas ~nd Attacapas. As- . ce_ndmg the Courtableau, indications of high land are first seen eiaht · , miles above its junction with Atchafalaya, .... where spots of cane ~ppea~, and the banks near the outlet of a small stream rises above ' * See route ,No. 1~. EMTGRANT.'S GUIDE-. J~isu&l o-verflow. Above the mouth of Bayou Derbane, first appears banks that would admit culture ; the selvage of high ground is here, however, confined, and not until ascending the stream nine miles far ther to Bare's, will the traveller be greeted with the habitations oC man. Here is the first prairie met with, in coming up the Courtableau; it is small, three miles by two, and detached from the expanded s a ~ vannas of Opelousas. The place affords a specimen of the rich and beautiful country to the south and west. Ascending the stre am six miles above Bare'!'. brings the voyager to Carron's landing, and five mdes by I and from thence to the church of St. Landrc. There are three places that aFe considered as landing places in Ope ~ ~ousas; J?are's, Carron 's, and LeMelle's. Before entering more finally wto detail un the productions, road~t, political Jivisions , and other localities of Opelous{J.S and Attacapas, it will be necessary to sketch (he geological structure of those places. Attacapas and Opelousas, when taken in connexion, form a natural (livision, di stingui shed from the adjacent country by peculiar features; hut the lines of separation between those two places respectively, are in great part artificial. The two places are relatively situated N. 'vV. and S. E. ; Attacapas occupying the southeastern, and Opelousas the no rthwestem position. ~pelo~sas is bounded south by the gulf of Mexico; west by the iJabme nver ; north by the 31° N. lat. ; nort beast by the parish o£ .A voyelles ; east by Atchafalaya ; and southeast by Attacapas. Attacapas is bounded southwest and south by the gulf of Mexico; s?uthwest by Opelousas ; and northeast and east by Atchafalaya n~er. Op~lousas extends over 7600, and Attacapas over 5100 squ are miles, fo~mmg together an extent of 12,700 square miles. The rrvers of Opelousas, are Sabine, Calcasiu, Mermentau, Courtahleau, and Atchafalaya ; those of Attacapas are Mermentau Ver-milion, Teche, and Atchafalaya. ~ ' ' An immenge chain of lakes and bays Jies a]ona the gulf of Mexico . ~ f b ' m 'ront o Opelousas and Attacapas ; Sabine lake. Calcasiu Jake, Mermentau lake, the three bays of Vermilion, Cote Blanche, and Atchafalaya~ and lake Chetimaches. Sabine river is part of the western limit of the state of Louisiana, as well as the boundary of Opelousas. The mouth of Sabine lies in 29° 36' N. lat. and 16° 57' W. from \:V ashinaton city · the adJ. a cent • 1:'1 ' country IS. an entire pr:1irie, not a single tree of any kind bein(T visible ~rom_ the sea-shore. The ri\'er is about a quarter of a mile 0 wide at ~ts ~1scharge into th~ gulf, and maintains that wit.lth six miles, where 1t _dtlate~ into a w iJe shallow lake of thirty miles in length by eight w1de ; Its depth does not, at a medium, exceeJ three feet. The country in all directions near the Sabine Jake is prairie. A few clumps of trees stand on the bank_ near the entrance of the river into the head of the lake1 but are few, and of stunted ·growth . Thre.e miles southwest of the mouth of Sabine, into the head .of the lake, the ~atchez comes in from the N. W. This latter stream ri_ses i~, and waters part of ~.,exas, and under the head of that prol' t1lC.e Jts fea~ure~ w11l be notrced. Above the lake, the Sabine is |