eepest then, there are
only a few inches of water at this time. The visible shores of the
river have made out into the Gulf two or three miles within my
memory. Besides the deposits of mud and sand, which form the bars,
there frequently rise up bumps, or mounds, near the channel, which
divert its course. These bumps are supposed to be the production of
salt springs, and sometimes are formed in a very few days. They
sometimes rise four or five feet above the surface of the water.'
He 'knew one instance when some bricks, that were thrown overboard
from a vessel outside the bar, in three fathoms of water, were
raised above the surface by one of these banks, and were taken to
the Balize, and used in building chimneys. In another instance, an
anchor, which was lost from a vessel, was lifted out of the water,
so that it was taken ashore. About twenty years ago, a sloop, used
as a lighter, was lost outside the bar in a gale of wind; several
years afterward she was raised by one of these strange formations,
and her cargo was taken out of her.'

We may say the bumps of which Mr. Talbot speaks are termed 'mud bumps,'
from the fact of being composed of sediment. They present a curious
spectacle as seen from a passing steamer. They are undoubtedly the
result of subterranean pressure, but from what cause, whether volcanic,
or the influence of the sea or river, or both, has not been determined.
Many speculations have been entered into in regard to these phenomena,
but as yet without fruitful result.

Leaving this digression, we proceed to notice that the theories set up
to explain the causes of the bars at the mouth of the river, have been
numerous and various. Some suppose them to be the result of the water of
the river meeting the opposing force of the Gulf waves, checking the
current, and causing a precipitation of the suspended sediment. Others
are of the opinion that the bars are entirely the effect of marine
action, and endeavor to show that the immense inward flow of the Gulf
washes up from its bed the vast accumulations that are continually
forming in the way of navigation.

After a personal observation and investigation, and as well after
frequent and free consultation with others, we are persuaded to
discredit the above-mentioned theories. The resistance of the Gulf does
not form the bars, though it exerts an influence. The immense volume and