Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Viana. Viana questioned the American claim that the Red River was the southern
boundary of the Louisiana Territory. Based on the expedition's findings or failure,
it was the general opinion at that time that the Great Raft could never be removed
due to its size, pervasiveness, and anastomosing channels. The nature of the
anastomosing channels of the river was reported in the early nineteenth century
accounts (Mills
1978
).
Army engineers from Fort Jessup in AD 1826 considered clearing a navigable
route through Soda Lake and Bayou Pierre in an attempt to circumvent the Raft.
These engineers actually did some clearing and snagging work (i.e., the removal of
large trees, submerged stumps, and vegetation from the channels), but the failure
of Congress to continue appropriations brought operations to a standstill (Report of
the Chief Engineer
1831
); therefore, settlement expansion into Louisiana contin-
ued to be restricted by the toe of the raft at Natchitoches, Louisiana. Travel farther
up the Red River was only possible with small shallow-draft boats, giving
developers or farmers no real access to the land area above Shreveport. By AD
1831, the Great Raft extended for more than 165 miles, with its head located about
200 miles below Fort Towson, or 600 river miles below the mouth of the Kiamichi
in its headwaters.
Transportation on the Red River would become an absolute necessity by AD
1830. Andrew Jackson's administration was forced to move into action in AD
1832 by the brewing revolution in Texas, and continued problems with Native
Americans as the westward expansion progressed. Transportation on the Red River
was vitally important, but remained blocked by the Raft and was not navigable. At
this time, government engineers estimated the Raft's length to be about 130's
miles, with its lower end (toe of the Raft) located some 400 miles from the
Mississippi River.
Captain Henry M. Shreve was an entrepreneur who had successfully invested in
new technologies like the steamboat and developed the snag boat. He also suc-
cessfully cleared navigational paths in the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in AD 1829
(McCall
1984
). Shreve arrived at the toe of the Raft in April, AD 1833 with four
boats (including the snag boat Archimedes) and a force of 159 men (Fig.
9
) with
the goal of clearing a navigable route through the raft debris. Shreve's group began
clearing a path through 71 miles of the Great Raft, and finally in the spring of AD
1838, a path was cleared through the Raft (Caldwell
1941
; Flores
1984
; Tyson
1981
; Wright
1930
).
However, the resulting remnants of the raft were not cleared from the river
banks, and once Shreve's work ended, the Raft immediately began to reform. This
produced another Raft of about 2,300 feet in length. By August AD 1838, the Raft
had reformed enough to interrupt steamboat traffic above Shreveport, Louisiana.
By AD 1841, the raft was 20 miles long. The head of the raft was reported to have
advanced some 30 miles between AD 1843 and AD 1855, with the Red River
closed for a distance of 13 miles by AD 1854. Once again, discussion of diverting
the Red River through lateral channels instead of removing the Raft itself was
considered (Report of Red River Survey
1855
). The construction of these lateral
channels was interrupted in AD 1857 due to the Civil War.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search