A DESCRIPTION OF THE REGION ALONG BOTH SIDES OF THE Mississippi River bears mentioning, as it contributed to the havoc of the early settlers. The lower Mississippi River Delta is a very low land with swamps, bayous, and canals interweaving the entire area, especially between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. New Orleans itself is five feet below sea-level, protected by dike and levees. This type of geographical terrain is a natural breeding ground for mosquitoes, various infectious organisms, whereas the high humidity lowers resistance to diseases of many types. As a result, many of the early settlers, without proper medical facilities or trained persons within the settlements were overcome by diseases such as malaria, diphtheria, cholera, dysentery, pneumonia, and other serious diseases. As a result, many died. Epidemics in many cases spread rapidly and sometimes entire settlement may have been affected by the same disease.

IT SHOULD BE NOTED, THOUGH, THAT TODAY THIS AREA OF THE Mississippi River Delta is built up, and many of the swamps and lower areas have been built up. Today, refineries and chemical plants dot the area between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. And the people today live in a comfortable setting. The point to be thought of here is the fact that the original settlers to that area came from central Europe, where, in many cases, the humidity and climate was drier. Things such as alligators, snakes, Indians, wild animals, swamps, flooded lands, hurricanes, and diseases unheard of, were highly uncommon to these people, and coping with some of these meant the difference between life or death.

THE AREA BETWEEN BATON ROUGE AND NEW ORLEANS IS HIGHLY famous for torrential rains and hurricanes during the summer and fall of the year. During the summer, head down-pours coupled with high humidity make the area a "sweat-box." In the past, heavy rains sent the Mississippi River flooding miles of land on both sides.  Farmlands were ruined, homes flooded, people killed.  During the twentieth century, huge reservoirs called spillways were constructed next to the River and gates installed to allow water to "spill through" the levee gates and enter these reservoirs. One such spillway located close to the town of Norco, Louisiana today is called the Morganza Spillway, emptying into Lake Pontchartrain.

AS TIME, RESOURCEFULNESS, KNOWLEDGE, AND TREMENDOUS perseverance were gained, many of the original settlers came to see their grandchildren establish St. John The Baptist and St. Charles Parishes as their permanent home, also known by those names today.

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