Note 47 — {148} CHAPTER II {X}[33] Hot Springs of the Washita—Granite of the Cove—Saline River

James did not base this description of watercourses in Louisiana on personal observation, yet it is fairly accurate. A few comments may be added. Macon River is a tributary of the Tensas; their confluence is several miles from the Ouachita, east of the hill called Sicily Island. Opposite the mouth of the Tensas is that of the Ocatahoola (Little River); below this point the Ouachita is called Black River (Rivière Noire), a name given by the French on account of the dark appearance, due to depth, overshadowing forests, and a black sand bottom. The expansion of Little River is Catahoula Lake, in the county of the same name; its depth fluctuates from mere marsh to about fifteen feet. The Derbane is now Bayou Corney, a branch of which is still Bayou D'Arbonne; its mouth is nearly opposite that of the Barthelemi (Bartholomew). The Saluder is apparently Bayou Loutre (Otter), a short distance above Bayou Corney. Lake Atchafalaya (Grand Lake), an expansion of the river of the same name, is a few miles from the Gulf coast, north of Atchafalaya Bay. Recently an effort has been made to force all of the current of Red River into the Mississippi, by damming the Atchafalaya.—Ed.