Looking Back With MR. Cyprien BURAS 1899, Plaquemines Parish Louisiana

First published in the "Sugar Journal"  and then in ""The Protector"
Extracted BY: Gladys Stovall Armstrong



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In February 1899, it was 6 degrees at Magnolia and 7 degrees at 
Pointe-a-la-Hache at 7 A.M.  It was 4 degrees at St. Bernard, and 
Port Eads reported the winds blowing 45 MPH and everything covered 
with snow and ice. Some of the ice in the river measured 50 ft square.

DR. HAYS canceled everyone's debt to him due to frozen orange crops.

The writer interviewed MR. Cyprien BURAS over 83 years of age and 
who had lived near the Jump all his life, MR. BURAS is a direct 
descendent of the BURAS Family of which the large BURAS Settlement 
is named after, he took the result of the freezing of his orange 
grove philosophically and will soon have other trees if he can get them.

"This is not the first time" he said : it has happened, my father, 
Hubert BURAS who died 50 years ago at 80 years of age told me many 
times that in 1789, now 110 years ago, that he was living in 
Pointe-a-la-Hache, that the weather was so cold and so much ice 
floated down the river that he could leap from piece to piece of 
ice all the way across. He particularly mentioned a large tree that
had been lodged in between the large blocks of ice and floated down 
the river with its top partly in the air. My father moved to the jump 
later and lived a little below where I live now. A few years before I 
was born, he and his family nearly lost their lives in the storm of 
1812. He and my uncle often told me how they saved themselves. In 
August 1812 it began to blow from the Northeast all night and the 
wind raged with such terrific force that the sea on the other side 
of the river swept across the land into the river and began to flood 
our side . My father got lines out and tied his house to the stumps 
of four large trees. By the next night the winds were howling like 
10,000 devils and his large lugger was anchored with a chain to which 
the anchor was tied witha rope, Finding the lugger was sinking by the 
bow going down, my father pulled himself hand over hand under the water 
witha knife or hatchet in his teeth and cut the rope . The lugger swept
back behind the large cypress trees , which was bent over with the fury 
of the wind . He succeeded tying the boat to the branches, but was beaten
black and blue by the branches, the clothing he had on becoming perfectly 
green with the sap and gum from the branches. The trees were blown over 
but were held by the roots and in their shelter his family were saved, 
but his house and all he had were swept away.

A very large number of people were drowned in that storm, my father's 
sister, MRS. FONTENELLE and all her children were lost. A PHILIBERT 
DENNIS, just above where Fort St. Philip's stands, thirty people had 
taken refuge in his house, which was considered very strong, the lower 
part being of brick. This house was knocked down and all drowned. 
One woman further down who could swim was washed from the other side 
of the river to this shore and was found in the fork of a tree, more 
dead than alive.

MR. BURAS is a very truthful man and these incidents may interest 
those who think the climate is changing.
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