Edward Douglass White

“ That the plantations of petitioners are located within the limits of a narrow strip of land lying between the low water bank of the Mississippi river and the highlands east of it, between Vicksburg and Baton Rouge, where the highlands skirt very closely to the river bank, and are not protected by levee construction other than that built by the claimants, which has been destroyed and washed away by the recent flood waters of said river after the levee system had practically reached a state of completion, and the United States had closed the Bougere crevasse, as hereinafter alleged. ”

“ The performance of work by the United States tending to diminish the outflow of water from the river through streams which flowed from it, to the end that a more efficient body of water might remain in the stream for the purpose of accomplishing the deepening of the channel, and thus more effectively improving the navigable capacity of the river. ”

“ On the contrary, the reports of the Commission and the public documents and history connected with the same leave no room to doubt that, as necessarily the levees built by the United States in aid of navigation at the same time afforded protection from overflow, and thus served a twofold purpose, that thereby renewed energy was stimulated in state and local authorities to undertake the work of building levees for protection, so that one continuous and complete system of protection would be evolved. ”

“ From Natchez, where the hills or uplands constitute the bank of the river, to Baton Rouge, the line of hill or upland does not follow the course of the river, but recedes therefrom for a certain distance and then again abuts on the river, this process being repeated from point to point until Baton Rouge is reached. ”

“ That the basin in which the Jackson lands are situated commences at Ellis Cliffs, about 20 miles below Natchez, and extends to Fort Adams, about 50 miles below, with an average age width of 2 miles and a maximum width of 6 miles, and is one of six (6) small basins of the Homochitto basin,'-a description which, beyond doubt, fixes the location of the lands as within the minor basin lying between Ellis Cliffs and Fort Adams, the area and description of which, as given in the recent report of the Mississippi River Commission, we have before reproduced. ”

“ In the second place, treating it as a question of law, we think the error is apparent from a consideration of the statutes and the official reports relating to the subject, which we may judicially notice. ”

“ This survey suggested a proposed continuous system of levees from Cairo to the Head of the Passes. In many instances it was a blanket survey which encompassed and took in the lines of levees theretofore constructed by state and local authorities, as above stated. The project recommended by the Mississippi River Commission adopting the Eads plan for the systematic improvement of the river from Cairo to the Head of the Passes, was practically adopted by act of Congress approved March 3, 1881. ”