m the commencement of firm ground to the gates
of each. If, therefore, an enemy should contrive to pass both
the bar and the first fort, he must here be stopped, because all
landing is prevented by the nature of the soil; and however fair
his breeze may have hitherto been, it will not now assist his
further progress. At this point the Mississippi winds almost in
a circle, insomuch that vessels which arrive are necessitated to
make fast till a change of wind occur.

From the Detour des Anglais towards New Orleans the face of the
country undergoes an alteration. The swamp does not indeed end,
but it narrows off to the right, leaving a space of firm ground,
varying, from three to one mile in, width, between it and the
river. At the back of this swamp, again, which may be about six
or eight miles across, come up the waters of Lake Pontchartrain,
and thus a neck of arable land is formed, stretching for some way
above the city. The whole of these morasses are covered as far
as the Detour with tall reeds; a little wood now succeeds,
skirting the open country, but the wood measures no more than one
mile in depth, when it again gives place to reeds. Such is the
aspect of that side of the river upon which the city is built;
with respect to the other I can speak with less confidence,
having seen it but cursorily. It appears, however, to resemble
this in almost every particular, except that it is more wooded
and less confined with marsh. Both sides are flat, containing no
broken ground, nor any other cover, for military movements; for
on the open shore there are no trees, except a few in the gardens
of those houses which skirt the rivers; the whole being laid out
in large fields of sugar-cane; separated from one another by
rails and ditches.

From the preceding brief account of the country, the advantages
possessed by a defending army must; be apparent. To approach by
the river is out of the question, and therefore an enemy can land
only from the lake. But this can be done nowhere, except where
creeks or bayos offer convenience for that purpose, because the
banks of the lake are universally swampy; and can hardly supply
footing for infantry, far less for the transportation of
artillery. Of these, however, there are not above one or two
which could be so used. The Bayo of St. John is one; but it is
too well defended, and too carefully guarded for any attempts;
and the Bayo of Catiline is another, about ten miles belo