OFFICIAI^ JIONATION. s^ ./ ^^- .^ ISSUED BY \V^ T. W. POOLiE, Commissioner of Immigration of Louisiana, MAY 1889. ERNEST MARCHAND, STATE PRINTER, 110 CHARTRES STREET, New Orleans, La. / /' SOME LATE WORDS -ABOTJT- m^iA &L T6S -BY- T. W. POOLE, Commissioner of Immigration OF THE^— STKTe OF=! L-OUISIT^NK. J^m^^.^h h I ' - - - ADDRESS : No. 5 CARONDKLKX STRBBX, New Orleans, La., U. S. A. NEW ORLEANS : E. MAECHAKD, STATE PRINTEE, 110 Chaetres Street. -- 1889. 1§ NOV 1905 Di of 0< SOME LATE WORDS ABOUT LOUISIANi 'HE Louisiana of to-day is a very different State from Louis- iana of four, or even two, years ago, vrith. respect to immi- -^ gration. Within the former period, an area in her south- western border, a belt fifty miles long by twenty or more broad, has been utterly transfigured by such a notable immigration from the West, that it is the mostly distinctively Anglo-Saxon migra- tion ever known to the South since the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, in the early history of our civilization of this continent. The character or quality of this immigration is beyond praise, viewed as a mass. It blends instantly in fraternal coherence with our people in enduring homogenity. Its people are law-abiding, intelligent, thrifty, industrious, in large proportion well-to-do, (in not a few cases wealthy), and thoroughly in accord with the spirit of American liberty. In al- most every instance they pay cash for the land they purchase. In cases where the earlier settlers of more moderate means have purchased or taken homesteads, the great increase in value ox their holdings has placed them, with few exceptions, in a posi- tion of competency ; so, that as a body, they constitute such an aggregation of landowners, free from indebtedness, that no part of the United States furnishes a parallel to. Then, as a body, there is such a deep and pervading content and hopefnlnes marking them that, without almost an exception, every one is an enthusiastic, efficient, propagandist in behalf oi immigration to the State. All these factors in this bright epoch of Louisiana's progress are only earnests of the incomputable outcome of the develop- ment of our State. Only a few years ago was felt the first im- press of this progress that has now deeply and durably engraven its fair features upon Louisiana. It is au enviable distinction and an indestructible self-en- graving, as well as an enduring beneficence, attaching to the SOME LATE WORDS admiuistration of my predecessor, Hon. Win. H. Harris, this great development of our State. Contemporaneous with his ad- ministration has transpired one of her most notable eras. This is a felicity upon which he is to be congratulated ; and fair- minded men will be glad to remember it, as we are to record it. And, as coadjutors, it is a duty and a pleasure to accord to others their measure of praise. Mr. S. L. Carey, formerly of Manchester, Iowa, was induced to locate in Calcasieu parish through the importunity of Commissioner Harris. With a pa- tience, sagacity, industry and management truly remarkable, this pioneer set to work to populate the area then unknown to the foot of the Western immigrant. He secured some land ; prevailed on his kindred to settle from the West ; laid off the town of Jennings, and soon had a nucleus of Western men. And Mr. A. D. McFarlain, a native, was a co-worker and joint owner of this town. A little later, Mr. J, B. Watkins secured an immense area — a million and a half acres, or more — and soon laid the foundation of those prodigious and expensive plans of development and immigration propaganda which soon afterwards characterized his efforts, and which are still in force. Early in the year 1880, The Times-Democrat, one of the leading papers of the South, a journal of great authority, of New Or- leans, La., secured the services of Col. M. B. Hillyard. This gentleman traveled over much of Southwest Louisiana, and wrote many letters about that area. Jennings, then a little town of a dozen or more houses, received great attention from his pen, and he gave distinct regard to several other localities. His letters were widely republished in the West, and were repro- duced in a number of journals in England. These letters contri- buted much to the development of Southwest Louisiana, as is generally conceded by the people of this State and the country at large. Another work by this gentleman was the publication of a large book, entitled *' The Kew South,'' issued in 1887. In it Louisiana, as well as other States of the South, ha I space ac- corded to their claims upon the immigrant, the capitalist, manu- facturer and health seeker. It was distributed, in elegant form, by its publishers. The Manufacturers' Eecord of Baltimore, Md., to all the leading hotels and libraries and newspapers of the ABOUT LOUISIANA. United States, and the leading steamship lines of the world. This stroke of enterprise cost the publishers, we are credibly in- formed, nearly twenty thousand dollars. And this book is telling the story of Louisiana's attractions throughout the civil- ized world, and, for unaumbered years, will still proclaim them. Shortly after Col. Hillyard's work in The Times-Democrat^ Mr. J. B. Watkins began to print The American at Lake Charles, La., and to commeuce that large and liberal system of develop- ment of his land and advertising them. The whole adjacent country felt the influence of these costly endeavors, and Lake Charles felt, particularly, the work, which is written in a pro- gress of larger character than any town in Southwest Louisiana, or, perhaps, the State. As au assistant ia this work, he had Prof. S. A. Kuapp, formerly president of the Iowa Agricultural College, who, by tongue and pen and many phases of public ac- tion and marked identification with industrial affairs, has, in a brief sojourn in Louisiana, made a reputation here second only to that of the great distinction he achieved in Iowa. The other great assistant of Mr. Watkins was Prof. A. Thomson, formerly of Iowa, and a brother-in-law. This gentleman (a civil engineer) has had the practical oversight and execution of many schemes of Mr. Watkins and his own, and some in connection with Prof. Knapp in their own interest. Another factor of considerable influence in development in that area has b-^en the Southwest Louisiana Land Company, with Mr. Alphonse Levi as president, and Messrs. C. C. Duson and W. W. Duson as co-workers. Among other striking phases of their work has been the building of Crowley, in which Col. Hillyard gave most notable assistance in the columns of The Times- Democrat aforesaid. Another steady and liberal co- worker in the development of Southwest Louisiana has been the Southern Pacific Railroad. The country so greatly developed, of which we have been sjieaking, is situated on their line. They have devised schemes to foster immigration, having as Northern immigration agent, Mr. S. L. Cary; and, besides, special rates for immigrants, at all times, run for the winter and late autumn and early spring, semi-monthly excursions in conjunction with 6 SOME LATE WOEDS the Illinois Central Railroad, at very low rates, with Mr. Carey accompanying them as guide. So much for Southwest Louisiana. In North Louisiana and elsewhere, there are several immigrar- tion associations at work : The North Louisiana Land and Im- provement Company of Union parish ; an Immigration Associa- tion in Franklin parish; theNorth Lou i si an a Immigration Associa- tion, headquarters in Caddo parish; an Immigration Association under the Sugar Planters' Association of the parish of Ascension. In this part of the State. North Louisiana, while Western immi- gration has made but only an occasional mark, hnrdly noticeable, yet immigration from the South, of white people from Georgia, Alabama and other States, is making a considerable stir, and coming in in force. Although the movement is very recent, yet already several hundred families have come in, and these are but the harbingers of those to follow. It is an act of the merest justice to say that this immigration is greatly, if not wholly, attributable to Mr. E. C. Drew, of Bienville parish, Louisiana. We see warm tributes to him in the i^ress of that portion of the State, and think the people generally are glad to have their gratitude voiced in such recognition of his services. Another powerful influence in behalf of immigration is the Illinois Central Railroad. On their southern division, within the limits of Louisiana, in the last two or three years, much de- velopment has taken place there. Several towns that, within those years, had no existence, have become quite noted West, and are building rapidly, while others that languished have become bustling. The development in fruit and vegetable raising has been immense, and this railroad now devotes its best efforts to promoting these industries— industries long before prosecuted by energetic pioneers, and which brought them loss or ruin. In this late work of development on the line of the Illinois Central railroad. The Times -Democrat played some part, having again brought into requisition the pen of Col. M. B. Hillyard, who spent some mouths in writing up that country in its columns. In connection with this railroad, the signal efforts of Mr. J. F. Merry, the general Western passenger agent of the road, ought to h^ mentioned. He hai? put into operation a well devised and ABOUT LOUISIANA. ably-sustained scheme of semi-monthly excursions from the West over the line of his road, to promote immigration to Louisiana. It is right and proper, in this later-day rush of immigration, and fruit and vegetable planting, that pioneers, who worked many years before, should not be forgotten. Fifteen or twenty years ago mucli work was done in behalf of immigration, and raising fruits and vegetables. Such men as Dr. S. A. Swazey, the Messrs. Menard, S. S. Connor, and others, were early in fruits and vegetables. Col. M. B. Hillyard, then of Hazlehurst, Mississippi, exerted an influence along the whole line in his large work there in the same business ; and Mr. Parker Earle, the president of the Mississippi Valley Horticultural Society, lent to the industry the great influence of his example. In im- migration. Col. Dan'l Dennett, the veteran agricultural editor of the New Orleans Picayune, and Col. M. B. Hillyard, exerted them- selves strenuously by addresses along the line of the Illinois Central railroad, as early as 1874 75. And the latter gentleman wrote many letters before and after that time, in various North- ern journals, and brought down many eminent journalists from the North and West to assist in the behalf in question. Through him, too, the management of the railroad (since passed into the hands of the Illinois Central), spent much money in advertising, editorial excursions, etc. Finally, the earlier work of commending Louisiana to the public had great help from a pamphlet from the pen of Col. Daniel Dennett, aforesaid, entitled "Louisiana As It Is." This work was issued about the year 1875, and was chiefly devoted to the " Attakapas " parishes of ISouthwest Louisiana. It is a noble work, and written con a7Hore by one thoroughly conversant with the topic No greater praise can be accorded it, than to say that the United States government has adopted much of its subject-matter in a pamphlet, issued by the United States Department of Agri- culture, t ntitled "The Soils and Products of Southwestern Louis- iana " In this pamphlet. Col. Dennett's work is thus alluded to : "The most accurate information in reference to the location and distances of the towns, rivers, lakes, bayous and railroads xs fouud iu Deunetta' deacriptioQ of bouthweoteru Louisia.ua 4" 8 SOME LATE WOEDS We have had several motives in this rather extended review of Louisiana's progress, and the promoters of it. First, we rejoice to "render honor to whom honor is due;" we delight to keep fresh in public esteem those whom the world quickly forgets, in the nature of human conduct; we also, thereby, while payiug these tributes, measurably portray the development of the State, and show its localities. The lesson is thereby conveyed that work finally counts, although in some cases the fruits do not at once appear. The lesson of this depi(;tion is that three localities are on the road to a development. That, in Southwest Louisi- ana, is beyond due estimate ; that is very considerable on the line of the Illinois Central Railroad; and that promises much in North and Northwest Louisiana. Those railroads have sptMit money liberally, and have employed competent oflBcers. North Louisiana has not had railroad assistance, but labor has borne its results. The review offers an incentive to other railroads to exert themselves in behalf of immigration. Nearly a score of towns have sprung up on the Southern Pacific Railroad as one of the results of immigration, and several on the line of the Illi- nois Central. On the other hand, the teaching is that if a rail- road will not arise to the height of the opportunity, still private enterprise can etltnjt much, as Mr. E. C. Drew's great success amply illustrates. Therefore, let individuals and associations take hold of this great interest. The lesson is that, with proper management, they cannot labor in vain. In the following pages the general topics of health (the most important of all considerations) and climate are treated with an authoritativeness and exhaustiveness that makes anything we could say superflous and a work of supererogation. Unreasonable, indeed, would be that person who could wish anything more satis- factory about health, anything further about climate, than the matter herewith printed. Briefly, as to fruit and vegetable raising, we ought to say that perhaps no State in the Union presents, within its borders, such a wide range as Louisiana. The orange and olive flourish on her southern borders. The apple, cherry, gooseberry, currant will do well within her limits. Between the north and south lines, what a range I The tig, pear, apricot, nectarine and every small ABOUT LOUISIANA. 9 fruit will flourish. Let the horticultorist ponder this, and let the critic point to any other State (unless perhaps California) where the like conditions obtain, in the regard in the premises. And as to vegetables and melons, where can those raised here be surpassed 1 The out-bearing trees are worthy of a chapter. The flowers are beyond our pen, and " beggar praise." The topics of live stock and grasses deserve far more consi- deration than we can accord them. Some of the most distin- guished thoroughbred horses the world has ever known have been born and raised within the borders of this State. Mule raising, which has been only the vogue of late, has re- ceived a great impetus within a few years; and this business has amply demonstrated the superior quality of the home-bred and home -raised mule. Long ago cattle raising was a marked feature of the States' adaptation to the business. In few States of this Union was there a broader pastoral life. Millions of acres of her prairies was a cattle range. Thousands of men lived on the industry ot cattle raising. The abundant streams; the rainfall, so evenly distributed throughout the year; the abundant dews; the mild climate ; the wonderful abundance, richness of native grasses ; the fact that these supported cattle all winter, made cat tie- rais- ing the easiest and most successful of all vocations. They were never fed, never housed, and only saw their owners at branding times, or when wanted for slaughter or deportation. Immigra- tion has greatly narrowed the range ; but soil, climate, rainfall and streams, sunshine and dews still abide. And now is dawn- ing the era of improved stock. Herds of Holsteins, Jerseys, Short Horns, Polled Angus and other thoroughbreds and reg- istered breeds have got a lasting foothold. Soon the creameries will dot our towns, and dairying will be inaugurated on a broad scale. Then will come in, broadly, the cultivated grasses : Eed clover, Timothy, red top, orchard grass, Kentucky blue grass, meadow fescue, white clover, etc, etc. Everyone of these grasses have been tried, as has alfalfa, and all those and others are a success. Let no one fear about these. Sow in October, from 10 SOME LATE WOEDS 15th to BOth, and success will be certain. We ought to com- mend our Lespedeza striata (Japan clover), Bermuda grass, and the various paspalums (carpet grass), as wonderful summer grasses ; but space forbids. SuflBce it to say, that, with proper management, by combining thB summer and winter grasses (all the former we rank as winter grasses), pasture of the most lux- uriant and nutritious character can be had the year round. Hay- making, from carpet grass, has become a pronounced industry among the immigrants in Southwest Louisiana. We expect to see Timothy hay exported from ISTew Orleans to New York by sea, in large quantities within the next ten years, the product of Louisiana's soil. We ought not to forget what a large business is horse-raising in Southwest Louisiana — the famous "Attakapas" living on grass the year round, with a healthfulness and " bottom " having no rival in the country. Sheep and hogs do superbly. The reasons are easily explica- ble. In grass, they have the most healthful of food, almost the year round; and, if the cultivated grasses, heretofore mentioned, be seeded, pasture can be had the year through. In the forests there is a great variety of " mast," many varieties of the hickory- nut, the pecan, many varieties of the oak, beech, etc. Then hogs find a great many worms and other food, and have the ex- ercise of unlimited range. The breeds that are an undoubted success, are Poland China, Berkshire, Essex and Jersey Eed or Duroc. Of course the "natives" are included. Some of them grow to good size, and they are very hardy. The Guinea, too, may be included. Sheep are very healthful ; and even in the prairies, M'here the country, being generally very level, would seem to be against them, because, to the superficial observer, not giving them a dry enough "foot," great success has attended the industry. The animal is very fecund in Louisiana; seventy-five per cent, in- crease ^er annum, being an estimate within bounds. Their wool is even-fibred and in demand. In much of the area it is not *'burry." Owing to their healtlifulness, twins are common, and sometimes triplets are borne. Not being subject to the many diseases intsident ta the transition from grcciA food to dry in ABOUT LOUISIANA. 11 winter, and from dry to green food in spring, and other com- plaints of a rigorous climate, but having green food (herbiverous sustenance) all the year here, tliey have almost no diseases. "Scab," we believe, is unknown, and foot-rot rare. The only thing that may be accounted an enemy is the ubiquitous cur, and this will be a declining impediment as the years roll by, and in parts of the State is an insignificant obstacle. Before passing from the topic of live stock, we ought not to fail to impress the fact, that young mules and horses incur no set back or " stunt " here, but grow right on through winter. Another most striking fact is that both these animals, owing to the mildness of our climate, are remarkably free from troubles of the throat and lungs. And mules seldom have the " big jaw." As the Xorth and West place so much stress upon the culti- vated grasses, we ought, in justice to the tojnc, to say something more of them. The most unobservant traveler, in the richer lands of Louisiana, must surely have noticed how wonderfully white clover thrives there. It lasts much, if not all, the year, but is at its best from December to June. In the latitude of New Orleans, it is sometimes in bloom by the middle of January, and in our richest lands frequently attains the height ot fifteen to eighteen inches. ' Bed clover has been tried at many points in the State. In some parts, it is growing in profusion, for miles along head- rows, and near the tracks of railroads. Introduced at various points in the State, in the wake of the Federal c.ivaliy, during the late war, it is flourishing in utter neglect and dist(5gard, and large quantities of hay are made from it in various localities by those who cultivate it. Timothy is another grass that has been more or less sown, and that demonstrates its adaptation to our soil and climate. Kentucky blue grass is beginning to make its way (one knows not how), and scarcely can a locality be found where more or It ss of it cannot be seen. The few who have seeded it, we think, are satisfied with it, and in combination with Bermuda grass, it will, in a few years, be the favorite with the intelligent stock-raiser for perpetual evergreen pasture. Bermuda is the most nutritioua of all grasses | is never killed, 12 SOME LATE WORDS and rarely injured by any drought ; will support a greater num- ber of stock to a given area, than any grass known ; and is good pasture from May or April, according to latitude, until killing frost. Kentucky blue grass comes in when the Bermuda gives way, and continues until the Bermuda is in force in the spring. They tloui-ish together, and will last indefinitely; and thus, on the same area, the greatest two grasses of the world flourish, an evergreen pasture indefinitely. Meadow Fescue we have never seen tried, but from the way it holds on in Audubon Park, where it was sown during the great Exposition, it would seem to be all that could be desired as a winter grass. It is there wonderfully luxuriant, and has been subjected to repeated summer mowings for four or five years. Of other grasses, we have not so satisfactory a knowledge, but all natural conditions are even more favorable here than in our sister State of Mississippi, where almost all grasses known, have been for years demonstrated an unquestionable success. In "The :^ew South" heretofore referred to. Col. M. B. Hill yard, in his article on Mississippi, treats the topic of the culti vated grasses at large. For years he had studied them there and had sown them in many localities. He adduces a mass of tes timony in their favor there that will convince the most sceptical He thus comments on the mass of his testimony : " At this day 1883, few well-informed persons can doubt that the South has some of the best grass regions on the continent ; but I thought it well enough to give the testimony of these eminent authorities, who, nearly ten years ago, were satisfied as to Mississippi and other parts of the South. If such men had no doubts then, who can doubt now ?" Again : " I have been so elaborate on grasses, because I would have no reader left in uncertainty as to whether the South is Ufiturally a great grass country." And the author enumerates clover, red, white, alfalfa, spotted medick, Japan and Mexican ; Kentucky blue grass, red top or Herd's grass, Timothy, oiclinrd grass, tall meadow oat grass, Italian rye grass, velvet lawn grass, Johnson grass. Now, as our rainfall and dew are heavier than in Mississippi, and our heat not so great; and as our rainfall is greatest in summer — we beg the reader to re- ABOUT LOUISIANA. 13 member this tremendous fact, — and our soil (mainly) more fertile, our natural conditions are heHer for grass-s than thone of j\[issis' sippi. The immigrant ought to be assured that he need not quit the crops of his old home, by coming to Louisiana. If he prefers to not try rice, sugar-cane, cotton or peas, he can raise corn, oats, rye, barley, wheat and buckwheat. These last three, many may tell him he cannot raise ; but it is not the fact. Before the war North Louisiana raised all her own w heat, in many localities. It has been demonstrated that two crops of buckwheat can be raised in a season. As to corn and oats, some pi odigeous crops have been raised ; and scarcely any agi icultural fair but one or more prizes are awarded for over one hundred bushels of corn per acre. We desire to emphasize the point that our future agriculture will be prominent in production of sea-island cotton. It has been successfully raised between New Orleans and Mobi.e years ago, and there is no reason why our Gulf front, west of New Or- leans, may not thus be utilized. Our sugar industry is promised a revolution under the diffu- sion process ; and the epoch of central refineries and small farms will then <;ome in vogue. The land owner will raise cane and sell it at so much per ton to the sugar refiner. From fifteen to forty tons per acre can be raised at a cost of one dollar and fifty cents, after the cane is planted, which costs, say, ten dollars per acre. At least three dollars per ton can be got for the cane. One hand can cultivate twenty acres of cane. Let any one cal- culate, and he will see the profits under that aspect of the in- dustry. Land can be had at from ten to twenty dollars per acre. Eice raising is very generally adopted by the immigrants who have moved to Southwest Louisiana from the West. They find the business profitable and easy. Figures vary so much, accord- ing to season, irrigation facilities, culture, care in saving, etc., etc., that we refrain from details From twenty-five to forty dol- lars per acre is a safe statement of clear money, under average circumstances. The straw makes a good " feed " for horses and cattle, and if the second crop be cut (as is here and there being done), springing up from the shattered seed, a most superb hay 14 SOME LATE WORDS can be made — yielding from two to four tons per acre of imma- ture rice and very nutritious stalks. Hardly a richer provender can be found, except tliat of "pea vine" hay, where the pea is left ungathered, and which (by the way) is a common and won- derful crop. We pass without elaboration the large crops of sweet potatoes and peanuts ('' goobers ") that can anywhere in Louisiana be raised. In this hurried attempt at abroad view of the State, the won- derful system of the waterways of Louisiana ought to receive a word's notice. In this regard, she is without a peer in the na- tion! This distinction has advantages too great for adequate comment. These waterways furnish highways for commerce, and are intiueiitial (or can be made so) to check excessive rates of transportation. They give abundant, and even inexhaustible supplies of water for stock raising, a desideratum that any one who has ever raised stock in an arid country will highly appre- ciate. Almost every stream abounds with fish of very line quality. The main streams are unfailing — fed from far-ofi' sources. The Mississippi river draius almost half the United States. The Arkansas and Eed rivers course several States or Territories, and draw their supplies of water a vast distance from their mouths. Minor streams are fed by almost thousands of streams or brooks which have their sources in the " everlasting hills." These brooks are clear and pure, and ripple over pebbly and sandy ways, and springs are innumerable in North Lou- isiana. The climatologist will not fail to reflect upon the effects of these waters in regard to health and rainfall ; and their economic aspect is a matter of no little import to the cities, on their banks, and those to be, for the various uses to which their supplies of water may be put. So pervading or penetrating is the navigability of many of the streams of Louisiana, that, at thousands of homes, the passenger and his freight can be landed almost literally at his very door. And there is open to all such unlimited opportunities for bath- ing, sailing, boating, etc The lumberman finds in many of these streams the cheapest and best of all means of rafting his timber ABOUT LOUISIANA. 15 to the mill, and, if he will, of floating his lumber to markets. On the smaller streams are unlimited opportunities for fish- ponds ; and oue can have the option of catching several species of fish from the brook, or one or more species from the fish-pond. Louisiana abounds in lakes, (there are over three thousand miles of them, many of them navigable), salt and fresh. In the former are many fine fish, and oysters, crab and shrimp (the true crayfish so dear to Englishmen). In the latter are also many choice species of fish. And many of these lakes are navigable and beautifully wooded; and someday will be beautified with homes cherished- as winter resorts. This aspect of these lakes has never had the consideration it deserves. Only a few spots have received the attention their loveliness warrants, and will, ere long, command. Thousands of lovely villas will deck their shores within the next quarter of a century, and they will be graced with the most aesthetic features of floriculture and arboriculture. The gaily painted yacht will curtsey on their waters, and the embellishments of architecture will add its charms to their shores. And in these lovely homes, the graces of domestic life will embellish and highten natural attractions ; and nature will render back its inestimable blessings of health and the innocent joys of bird songs, flowers, balmy airs and glo- rious skies. Well might one dilate at large on the large, luscious, innocent, soothing narcotism of the gulf airs, but space forbids. Mr. Joseph Jefferson, the world-renowned actor and impersonator of Rip Van Winkle, places special emphasis on the bland and healing eflects of the climate on overstrung nerves and overwrought brain, and the relaxed and overdone business man, at his winter home near one of these lakes. There are nearly four thousand miles of navigable rivers and smaller streams j while the mileage of brooks is almost incom- putable. In her wealth and variety of timber, Louisiana haa no supe- rior, if a peer, in the United States. In point of species of woods, there are probably over a hundred, and their value is unequaled by any State in the Union, and their magnificence surpassed by none but a few of the giants of California. In ornamental trees, her wide-spreading live-oaks have no peer. 16 SOME LATE WORDS Their breadth of foliage and the deep and cordial tones of their color, area never-failing joy, to say nothing of their shapeliness. The magnolia grandijiora is another tree of incomparable beauty, both of form and foliage, while its imnieuoe creamy chalice of bloom overflows almost all summer with an intensity and perva- sion of fragrance that is almost unendurable to some. But space forbids much regard to the aesthetic side of Louisiana's flora. The hardwoods — many species of oaks, several of hickory, (the pecan among them), ash, etc., are most superb in size and fibre. Probably no State in the Union can show such a profu- sion, quality and size of the last three species, as Louisiana. In cypress Louisiana is vastly ahead of any other State in the Union, not only in quantity but quality. This wood is making its way into many uses, and, within a few years, has met with such general commendation that it is in great demand. Many mills in Louisiana run entirely on its " cut," and the business is one of the most expanded industries of the State. In certain lo- calities, is found a bird'seye cypress, especially in demand for ornamental work. In yellow pine, Louisiana has one of the largest supplies of any State in the Union, and is claimed by some, to surpass any State. This tree grows only in the South. Of late, its lumber has grown into great favor, and according to Mr. W. H. How- cott, a leading authority, has eome into extensive use in Idaho, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, etc. It has greatly supplanted other lumber in many large Wf^stern cities. Accord- ing to this authority there are over 2,400 saw mills in the South, most of them cutting this lumber, and fifty million of dollars have been invested in Southern pinelands since the last censas. Louisiana has shared largely in these sales, and millions of acres have been sold to speculators and manufacturers. The following compilation from the last United States census, taken from Mr. Howcott'a letter in the Baltimore Manvfacturers^ Record, of Jan- uary 5, 1889, shows the status of Louisiana as to yellow pine. The forestry bulletins of the last census of the United States give the following estimates ot long and short leaf yellow pine standing June Ist, 1880, yiz : ABOUT louisia:na. 17 Long leaf, feet. Shcrt leaf, feet. A'abaraa 18,8S5^J0{),0()0 Florida 0,615,000,000 Arkansas 41,315,000,000 Oeorgict ... 10,778,000,000 Lr.ui.siana 26 588,000,000 21,625,000,000 Mississippi 17,200,00;),000 6,775,000,00(ft Korth Carolina 5,229,000,000 .- South Caroliua 5,310,000,000 20,093,200,000^ Texas 20,508,000 000 20,093,200,000^ Total 117,119,000,000 121,901,400,000 Louisiana has long been known to possess some minerals in great force. Hei deposit of rock salt is one of the purest and' most extensive in the world, containing over 99 per cent of chloride of sodium (common salt). It is crushed or powdered, and over four hundred tons are sent away from the mines dail)' — a railroad having been built to the mines. This is on Petite Ause island. In the northern portion of the State, salt, long ago, \sas ■obtained by boiling water fiom salt wells. Near Lake Charles is what is claimed to be the largest deposit of sulphur in the wor,d — a stratum of cry;,tallized sulphur,- three hundred feet thick, of remarkable parity. There is quite a flow of petroleum there, lately discovered, which is a fine lubri- cant just as it com^s from the wdl. There, too, is found lime- stoEe, gypsum and alum. In marbles, Louisiana is rich. There are several colors — a black, dove colored, and a dark, mottled marble, stieaked with white veins. This last style is in immense foice, accessible, easily quarried, and is very tractable. In oue instance, there is an immense hill, almost mountain of it. There are several varieties of limestone, some of very fine quality, and in abundance. There are some sandstones of good quality, and a peculiarly fiae millstone grit. Kaolin is found in great abundance, and of fine quality. Marl is also abundant and of good quality. It is only of very late that the precious minerals have been found. But careful, conscientious investigations assure us that gold and silver have been found. Some free gold has been dis- covered, and there is certainly to be found auriferous quartz, and a limestone bearing gold. Several assays have proved this, ana 1« SOME LATE WOKDS the testimony of a very eminent geologist is secured as to the quartz. A gold-bearing limestone has been found, assaying eight ounces of pure gold to the ton, on the authority of a thoroughly reliable gentleman. Silver is found in the limestone, and many assays have been made of it. From the testimony we have, there is a very rich treasbre of this mineral in Louisiana. There has been nothing but a private and superficial exploitation made; but we are assured that the auriferous quartz, and the silver-and-gold-bearing limestone are in great force, particulaily the former. Iron is found ; but, at this stage of investigation, we cannot commend it from a^ economic standpoint. It is an act of bare justice to say that Hon. W. H. Jack and Mr. Samuel H. Houston have been conspicuously identified with the explora- tion of the more recently found minerals of the State. Before leaving the topic, we state that we have been recently shown a specimen of semi-anthracite coal by a gent'eman of this State, who assures us that it was found in thi'. State, and that he thinks it exis sin quantity. If this be so (and we regard the informa- tion as reliable), it is a most significant fact. In conclusion, aipon the topic, we beg to urge upon capitalists and explorers the minerals of Louisiana as well worthy of their atteation. We now proceed to a brief consideration of the various lands of Louisiana, as categorized on the topographical map of Louisi- ana, constructed by the eminent Prof. S. H. Lockett, now de- ceased, He makes eight grand divisions c^ them, to-wit: "Good uplands. Pine hills. Bluff lands, Pine flats. Prairies, Alluvial lands. Wooded swamps, Coast marsh." Of the *' Good uplands" he says : " Soil : Sandy gray, or yellow loamy, or red ft-rrigin- ous. Subsoil, red clay. Small bottoms, fertile. Forest : Oaks, hickory, ash, beech, maple, dogwood, gums and short leaf pine. Water good. Products: Cotton, corn, po^atoes, small grain. Area, 8,200 square miles" With the exception of East Feli- ciana (which is placed in isolation, entirely in this belt), the area in question is situated along the northern half of the western l)order of the State, and in the northwest and west part of the north border of the State. The valley of the Eed river throws a long, narrow belt of this territory in the category or classification of " Alluvial Lands," ABOUT LOUISIANA. in variant Tcidtlis, of froin oao to tnTO tovraships wiue, stretchiiig^ from nearly the extreme northwest corner of the State, pretty straight southeast. Also there is a narrow belt of "Alluvial Lands" penetrating this " Good Uplands " belt, about thirty miles long and two or three wide, along Bayou Dauchite, running almost due north and south in West Webster parish. Then the Ouachita river and Bayou Darboune constitute some belts of " Alluviai Lands" Iq their sinuosities, on the northwest border of this '• Good Up-^ lauds" territory. > The parishes in which the '' Good Uplands " obtain almost" ■wholly or totally, are Sabine, DeSoto, Caddo, Bossier, Ked Kiver, Bienville, Webster, Lincoln, Jackson, Union. A long, narrow strip of the " Good Uplands " penetrates southeast through central Caldwell parish, well into Catahoula. A large portion of Morehouse and Ouachita parishes are also in the said territory. - This belt, of "Which we have been writing, is emphatically a" country of hill and dale, finely wooded, healthful and abounding in never-failiug springs and streams — the latter teeming with, fish. Its topography is a lofty rebuke to that stereotyped miscoik- ception that deems Louisiana a morass. This area particularly sustains the language of Col. H. S. LockeLt, who made tho topo- graphical map referred to, and which is quoted by Col. M- B. Hillyard in his book, "The New South." as follows : "Most people conclude that Louisiana is, throughout its entire extent, a low, wet, swampy region. They imagine its surface to be a great plain of wooderful fertility, when at all arable^, with an undefinable succession of deep jungles, tangled swamps, marshes, lakes, sloughs, cane and cypress brakes But these misconceptions will bo speedily dissipated by a jouruej into the interior, and it will be discovered that few States of the Union possess a greater diversity of surface, soil, climate, scenery and products than Louisiana." Will the reader i)]eas* pause, tor just a moment, and let the import of tliat expression^ *' diversity of surface and scenery," sink into his comprehen sionT The truth is that this " Good Uplands " is a pleasing and picturesque country. Its variation of contour is almost coa- 20 SOME LATE WORDS staut; aii'l, while there is neither grandeur nor sublimity in its scenery, it is the utmost remove from monotony of configura- tion. Its wealth of hard wood timber is great, and will, some day play a great part in industries into which it may enter — agri cultural implements, w,igon, carriage and furniture factories tanneries, and, as accesgo'.ies of the last, boot and shoe manu •factories, etc. The choicest fruits, common to higher latitudes may be raise^l here. We feel quite sure that the Delaware grape -can be raised to perfection on its hills. The fig is at home. But we can dwell no longer on this area, except to siy that it is pierced on its northern border by a prominent rnilroad and a branch road, and that other lines are surveyed which promise still further railroatl facilities ; that a considera*)le part of its area is penetrated by navigable streams, on which steamboats ply ; and that more or less minerals are to be found there. The next grand division of Louisiana, on the topographical map, is that of the '■'■ Pine Ilills." These are situated in the northern part of Calcasieu parish, clear across its longitude, constituting, in round numbers, about one-third of its large area ; the whole of Vernon parish, except a thread of alluvial land on the Sabine river; about the equivalent in area of six townships in Southeast Sabine parish ; the southwest fourth part of Nat- -chitoches parish, and a belt a township, or more wide across its south boundary, and abiut the f quivalent of five townships and -embracing the area of its narrow north longitude; the entire area of Winn parish; almost the entirety of Grant, except a narrow strip of "Alluvial Land "in its southwestern corner — the bottom of Bed river — an I a mere ribbond of the same sort of land on the south half of its west border, the bottom of Little river ; the greater part of Rapides parish, which is pene- trated its entire length by the " Alluvial Lands ' of the Red s-iver bottom, in a northwest and southeast direction, and consti- tuting a belt of the latter two townships wide, which throws the parish into a large area of '•' Pine Hills" on its west, and a small .area northeast; about the equivalent of five townships in Northwest Saint Landry parish ; about a third of the area of Jjforthwest Catahoula pirish, about the equivalent of fourteen ABOUT LOUISIANA. 21 townships; a wedge-shaped portion of Bienville paiish, sharply terminating- near Sparta, with its base covering almost all the south bonier of the parish, about three townships wide in longi- tude; and a block in Jackson parish, two townships wide in lati- tude, and a little over three in longitude in the southeast area. The above is a rude description of the area of the " Pine Hills." It is a character of country, mainly broken. Its p:ne timber is, in some areas, superb. It is thinly settled ; abouuvls in game (as does much of the " Good Uplands") ; is beautifully watered, with springs and clear streams, and plentiful in fish ^nd healthful. Here are found much of the best minerals of Louisiana. Cf this "Pine Hills" division Professor Lockett thus writes on his topographical map aforesaid : " Soil : Thin, sandy, poor ; small bottoms good. Forest: Long leaf pine and black jack oak. Little undergrowth. Water good and abundant. Pro- ducts : Cotton, corn, potatoes, cattle, lumber. Area, 8,600 square miles." The next grand division en the topographical map, is the " Blufl" Lands." They constitute a comj^aratively small area of the State, but a very peculiar soil, that is known to the geologists as '* loewess." Professor Lockett thus speaks of it: "Soil: yellow loamy, very fertile; washes badly. Forest: white oaks, water oaks, pin oaks, beach, poplar, magnolia, holly, sweet gum, giant canes and many vines. Water scarce and bad. Products : cotton, corn, cane and rice. Area, 2,480 square miles." In this division are situated almost the whole of the parish of West Carroll ; virtually, all of Franklin ; the eastern two thirds part of Richland ; two or three small areas of Catahoula (detached and strung along in the eastern portion of the parish, and tending northeast and southwest), altogether constituting an area not more than equivalent to two townships ; a small area in northeast Rapides (say the equivalent of two townships); nearly two town- ships in northwest Avoyelles, and several small areas in devious ribbons or narrow strips, elsewhere in the parish ; a long strip, very narrow, running alcng just west of Bayou Cocodiie, on east of Opelousas, on past Grand Couteau, in the western part of St. Landry parish ; still on, a narrow strip in northwest Lafayette 22 SOME LATE WOEDS :titiitiiig tlie Gareacro iiiiis, to Lafayette (formerly Yermilliouville)} then, startiag in a little below this town, aud nmiiiug south iu a narrow strip (here called Cote Gel^e hills), aud bordering some distance the west valley of the Teche ; on past New Iberia, in Iberia parish, still a narrow strip, and here treudiijg sharply west ; then, in isolated spots, ending on the niarshes bordering the bays of Cote Blanche and Vermillion, and constituting the remarkable islanded hills Cote Blanche, GrHnde Cote and Petite Anse — the remarkable salt mine before nieutioned, and otherwise known as Avery's Island. We had like to have forgotten to mention a hill nearby, the winter home of Mr. Joseph Jefierson, the renowned actor. Then, on the west Bide of the Mississippi river, it comes in, at the north end of the S^ate, constituting almost the entire soil of West Feliciana par- ish ; almost all of that of East Baton Eouge, except a narrow strip, west on the Mississippi river, and a small wedge of " good uplands" in the northeast portion of the parish; then, bulging out, it covers the entire west of Livingston parish, and subsides in a small area in the southwest corner of this parish, and a little bit of the extreme northwest portion of Ascension parish. This last mentioned area is a nut not thoroughly cracked by science, we believe, and we do not meddle with it. Some day it may have its revelations below the surface. But, as revealed, it constitutes a very choice soil, but one needing management; and suggesting, as its choicest use, pasture land. Eed clover flour- ishes on it astoundingly. The next division of Col. Lockett, is the " Pine Flats." This is an area in Calcasieu parish of cold, flat, poor land, covered much of the year by water. It is mainly west of the Calcasieu river, and north of the west branch of this river. Commencing near the Sabine river (the west border of the State), about three townships wide of latitude, it trends northeast, gradually nar- rowing, running through nearly tea townships (sixty miles), until it terminates in a small area on the Calcasieu river, at a point where the " Pine Hills " and the " Prairies" abut on this river. The next grand division of Professor Lockett, is the " Prairies." This is the seat and centre (near its western border), of the great A T>r».TT'T' Xi'^"'^I'^IA^7A 23 Western immigratioD, which, starting a few years ago, under the auspices of my predecessor, Hon. Wm. H. Harris, has now traDsfi;;,ured it from a vast cattle-range to a region thickly pop- ulated, and dotted with the best aspects of a well settled West- ern prairie State. For their share in this great work of trans- formation, we have sought, in the opening part of this article, to give the participants therein some measure of the credit due them. For a description of this country, we are fortunately not left to cur own words. Other pens than ours, above the suspi- cion of partiality, have anticipated us. In Col. M. B. Hillyard's " The New South,'' we find extracts from the works of very em- iuent pens. Professor Eugene W. Hilgard, (one of the most eminent scientists of the day, now of the University of Cali- fornia), says : " Few sections of the United States, indeed, can ol3ir such inducements to settlers as the prairie region between the Mississippi bottoms, the Nez Pique and Mermentau. Healthier, by far, than the prairies of the Northwest j fanned by the sea breeze ; well watered ; the scarcity of wood rendered of less moment by the blandness of the climate, and the extraor- dinary rapidity with which natural hedges can be grown for fences ; while the exuberantly fertile soil produces both sugar cane and cotton in profusion, continuing to do so in many cases, after seventy years' exhaustive culture. Well may the Teche country be styled, by its enthasiai«tic inhabitants, the ' Garden of Louisiana.'" Cf the parishes of St. Landry, Lafayette, St. Mar- tin, Iberia, Vermillion and St. Mary (mainly the area included in the above description of Professor Hilgard), Col. Daniel Den- nett writes, devoting to them his pamphlet before referred to, *' Louisiana As It Is." From copious extracts from it, in Col. Hillyard's "New South," we make the following quotations: " These six parishes contain more than 3,000,000 acres of tilla- ble land, most of it of inexhaustible fertility. Even most of the sea marsh, and all of the swamp lands, may be reclaimed by local levees and draining machines, and may become the most productive rice and sugar lands of the State • ♦ • • * On thousands of acres the grass grows on a smooth surface, un- der the waving branches of noble trees. These lands are far more beautiful than the famous woodland pastures of Kentucky. 24 so:je late words The trees have a more luxuriant growth; the foiiage is richer aud hangs out od the broad branches in a more generous abund- ance, and the soil is rich beyond anything we ever saw in th& great West. And it is the cleanest looking country we have ever traveled over. The beautiful smooth prairies look as though they had just been washed; the grass looks like a luwu neatly shaved by some 'fine, old English gentleman/ who prides him- self on his aristocratic estate. The fat herds grazing upon these green prairies help in giving the finishing touch to this magnifi- cent landscape scenery." Again, in glowing language, he writer of it as "That magnificent portion of Louisiana, west of the Mississippi, the Teche and Opelousas region, usually called ' Attakapas and St. Landry'— the land of enchanting scenery, of beautiful bayous, and glassy lakes, and bays, of splendid prai- ries, and noble forests, of pleasant skies and gentle breezes, the laud of flowers, of beauty and of health." The following pen-sketch is pitched in the area described by Col. Dennett . ^*I never stand upon the banks at night, of poem-honored Teche, that romance of the olden time does not come to mind. Evange- line, the lovely heroine of Longfellow's immortal story, is pic- tured by my imagination. In the long ago, one moonlight night in summer, on her tender, futile quest of her husband, Gabriel, she ascended that lovely stream. Methinks the sky was tender, as it was softly bright, and that the stars glimmered mildly in a pathetic haze, as though they were dewy with sympathy at the- sorrow of her life. The winds are whist, save now and then the- gentle sigh of soft zephyrs from the near-by gulf, perfume- ladened and plaintive as though they, too, were sympathetic. She is in a canoe, paddled by her escort. Gentle is the stroke of oar, so as to not impair any sound that may give a clue to her anxious ear. I see the silvery run of water from the uplifted paddle glisten in the moonlight; and hear the faint tinkle of the pearly oar-drip on the lucid water. With strained grasp, a lily- hand o»- either side, she holds the canoe. Her head is thrown forward and sidewise, face a little lifted, with keen attent of ear. The light of night shows the refined pallor of her face, its chiseled features deep with the pathetic traits of that sorrow that ABOUT LOUISIANA. 25 has marked, but cannot mar, her beanty, and that has engraven on those lovely lineaments an exalted and ensouled spirituality. Her large^ sorrowfully-beautiful, midnight-eyes are " homes of silent prayer," and softly gleam with the fixed mistiness of un- changed grief. Her hair, a stream of downy darkness, floods her shoulders, and waves far below her shapely waist. Her pure, rich lips are faintly parted, and her lovely mouth, with the I)early setting of its teeth, looks like " a rosebud filled with snow." Slowly, ahnost noiselessly, glides the canoe. Kow and then it passes the shadows of the stately magnolias that gloom the silvery stream here and there; and, from the censers of their glorious blooms, float a fragrance that charm the air, and seem a tribute to and effort at lenitive of her anguish. In the odorous tree, over head, the mockingbird softly shakes its lay, in a touch of low and curious plaintiveness, one sometimes hears at night, in broken melodies ; as though it, too, knew her pain, and would fain attempt her soothiug. On she goes. Fainter grows the sound of ripple from boat, antl tinkle of water-drip from paddle. Dimmer to vision becomes the figure of the sad, vigil- worn maiden. She is out of sight and into silence. The same moon and stars look down now, as in the long agone, when they lent their light in aid of her unrewarded quest. Other magnolias scent the midnight air, other mockingbirds haunt their branches, and attune tlie night. The Teche still threads its flowery vale. Evangeline and her Gabriel are long ago in Heaven ; but as long as the river flows, and man has sensibility, and our language lives, will the Teche be dear to all who have read the story and looked upon the stream ; and with its waters tender tears will mingle, and the softened imagination limn the immortal maiden." The following (with a short introductory caption) is taken from the Lake Charles (Louisiana) American, and is from the pen of one of the most gifted and celebrated literary ladies of the State, the wife of the late commissioner of immigration of Louisiana, Hon. Wm. H. Harris : SOUTHERN LOUISIANA AS A HOIME FOR WOMEN. We copy from Harper's Bazar an article under tlie abave cap- 26 SOME LATE WOEDS tion, written by a highly gifted and cultured lady, the wife of our late distinguished Commissioner of Agriculture, Hon. Wm. Harris, of Calcasieu parish. Mrs. Harris writes as a sensible lady from practical experience and a close observation of the needs and pleasures of the home. This is a most valuable ac- quisition to our literature upon Southwestern Louisiana. It is in the ability to provide the ideal home from the woman's stand- point, that this country puts forth its highest claim. We ask every lady to read this excellent article: SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA AS A HOME FOR WOMEN. Mtb. Wm. Harris, in Harper's Bazar : Though man may not live by climate alone, yet, on the other liand, climate is sometimes the only thing that enables a man to Jive at all. Many lands did I traverse, and much hard-earned money did I spend to exorcise the rheumatic fiend that refused to l)e conjured down. Happening a few months ago to be in Kew Orleans, I remembered that an old friend lived not so very far from that city, in Arcady, for so is this pastoral country called, [having been settled many years ago by those exiled Acadians ifcom Nova Scotia, who to their country of enforced adoption ^ave the name of Acadie. I forgot for a season my ailment, my [personal devil left without " special request,' and now the only ■consciousness of my bones is that therein dwell many " springs." The never-failing breeze which blows direct from the Gulf of "Hexico has no sting in it; it strokes you as with a glove of fur, until soothed by its influence, you feel happy without knowing why. It makes the skin smooth and soft, and if mesdames the complexion vendors could but bottle it, what fortunes they ►would make ! In this delightful climate, where illness is almost unknown, people acquire the habit of living, and keep on ad in- finitum, untU, as the proverb of the Cajuns (the descendents of the exiled Acadians), they get old, old, so old ! then shrivel up aind blow away." " Beautiful is the laud witli its prairies and forests and fruit trees, Under the feet a garden of tiowers, and the bluest of heavens Bending above, and resting its dome on the walls of the forest. They who dwell there have named it the "Eden of Louisiana." So wrote Longfellow of Southwestern Louisiana, which com- ABOUT LOmSIANA. 27 prises the parishes of St. Mary, St. Martin, Iberia, Lafayette, Vermilion, St. Landry, Calcasieu and Cameron. Would that I could preach the doctrine of cheap homes to the women who work for a beggarly wage that barely keeps breath in their bodies — those who labor early and late in stifling facto- ries, who stand behind counters, and who are bondswomen to the needle I The government reserves thousands of acres of well-watered fertile prairie land, to be given away to bona fide settlers. Under the homestead act any woman, widow or spinster, of twenty-one years of age, may, upon the payment of fourteen dollars at the Land Office in New Orleans, enter one hundred and sixty acres of land. During the next five years she must pay an additional sum of four dollars and seventy-five cents, and at the end of that time the land is inalienably her own. It is understood that she complies with certain requirements. Under thy timber culture act, upon payment of a like sum, she may become the owner in three years of an additional one hundred and sixty acres of land. The nature of this land may be gnessed, when a few years ago the Chicago Tribune said: " If by some supreme effort of nature western Louisiana, with its soil, climate and productions, could be taken up and transported to the latitude of Illinois and In- diana, and there be set down in the pathway of eastern and western travel, it would create a commotion that would throw the discovery of gold in California in the shade at the time of the greatest excitement. The people would rush to it in countless thousands. Every man would be intent upon securing a few acres of these wonderfully productive plains." " Suppose a woman of sense and energy determined to make a living on a portion of this land — could she do it ?" you ask. Statistics bristle with the facts of women's snccess as farmers, stock-raisers, bee-keepers, florists, poultry-breeders, in the west and northwest, under most adverse conditions of climate. And in this land of easy conditions, in a climate which may be called perpetual spring, where growth of vegetable life is marvelous, failure ought to be well nigh impossible, unless the woman lacked the saving grace of common sense. In the variety and perfection of its products this is a wonderful region, producing 28 SOME LATE WOEDS all the trees, shrubs, fruits, cereals, and grasses grown in semi- tropical and temperate countries. What, then, could our ener- getic woman do ? She might, for one thing, raise sweet pota- toes. They yield one huudred and fifty bushels per acre, with the easiest of cultivation, and are unrivalled as food for stock. Why also should she not send evaporated and desiccated sweet potatoes to northern markets 1 Perhaps vegetables would suit her fancy as a money crop. Every known vegetable may be grown here. The celery, cauliflower, and cucumbers of this re- gion are unsurpassed, and gardening may be done the whole year round. Why should she not raise fruits T Peaches, pears, nectarines, plums, apples, quinces, grapes, figs, persimmons, pomegranates, oranges and citron grow to perfection. Strawberries, blackber- ries and dewberries are prolific. What our fruit-grower cannot send to market she may can or evaporate. If she have a hand, cunning in confections, she is sure of many a dollar. To some women the care of cows is fascinating, and dairying ought to pay where milk sells for ten cents a quart, and butter for thirty or forty cents a pound, as it does here and in all the Southern cities. Grass is green the year round, and cows re- quire but a minimum of extra feed. Then there is floriculture. Where hedges are made of roses and Cape jasmines (gardenias), there must be possibilities in the culture of flowers. Stick anything in the ground, and it grows. In cut flowers, in growing plants for market, in the extracting the volatile oils, the distillation of perfumes, and the rendering of the essential oils, there is a large amount of money to be made, and the field is not occupied. Bees, that find their own keep in a country which, from Febru- ary to November is a sea of bloom, would be another source of profit. That woman who would supply the ^ew Orleans market with spring chickens during the months of February, March, April and May, would grow rich. Poultry of all kinds succeed admirably, are free of disease, and hens lay the entire year. The cost of raising them is small, not much housing being necessary, while they may find green food every month of the year. put perhaps our woman farmer may be more ambitious, aa4 ABOUT LOUISIANA. 29 desire to go into stock raising. Why not ! There is no occult science in raising pigs, sheep, cattle and horses for the market, She may here enter into the lists with men, and success may smile upon her, for here, if anywhere in the United States, may stock-raising be made profitable. Why should she not essay rice farming aud succeed ? Do I not kuow a young Creole girl who, after her brothers had plunged their sugar plantation hopelessly into debt, begged their creditors for a few years' time, and at its expiration could show every liability met, and money in bank ? All these things, and many more, are waiting to be done by women who will go in for hard work with the same courage and determination that men give to any line of business. Nor must your pioneer expect to enjoy at once all of the advantages com- mon only in thickly settled countries. Yet let her not be dis- mayed. Homesteading here is a delightful process, compared to that ordeal in the Northwest. There can nothing be seen but a broad expanse of barren prairie, without a schoolhouse or vil- lage in sight, without settled aud defined laws; no neighbors "nearer than twenty miles," no associates, no newspapers, and a trying climate. In Louisiana the prairies have the look of well- washed green lawns, which would delight the eye of even the good old English gentleman. Every three or four miles their continuity is broken by well-wooded streams. Eoads are laid out and worked, making communication easy all the year be- tween the different districts. Churches of every denomination are everywhere to be seen ; an educational system is in force ; the laws are old, well settled and defined, and the people kind, hospitable and courteous ; and the settler begins life in a region abundantly supplied with all the essentials of civilization and refined life. Of course the great army of working women, and that multi- tud,e who make shirts at fifty cents a dozen, are not depositors in savings banks. There are, in all of our large cities, numbers of wealthy women who would gladly contribute money to any prac- tical charity. Induce them to form a guild to promote the inde- pendence of women. An association might be formed to pay the traveling expenses of settlers, to enter lands, to build there- 30 SOME LATE WOEDS on, to stock the farms witli necessary implements and animals to make a crop, and to provide sufficient food until each family should be self-sustaining. To relieve itself of the odium of charity, it might consider itself a loan association, lending its funds upon easy terms and long time. This country might also well be the " Promised Land" to num- bers of other women, more happily circumstanced perhaps than those just cited, yet who are restless, dissatisfied with the limita- tions imposed upon them by sex, and who feel within them the stirring of financial and executive possibilities in lines of busi- ness not orthodoxly feminine. There ought to be, willing to enter in and take possession, a cloud of hard-worked and under- paid school teachers who, however, have contrived to save a little ; then there are the shoals of single women with certain fixed incomes of their own, but who live more or less dependent, undeveloped lives in the homes of married brothers and sisters. These would not need the aid of any association, but might find co-oi)eration among congenial mates and advantage. Therefore send us an army of women workers in this " good land, a land of brooks, of water, of fountains, and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates ; a land of oil, olive and honey ; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it." The reader ought to remember that Acadia parish (since the above was written, cut off from South St. Landry parish) is en- titled to the benefits of the above language of Col. Dennett. Again, it must be borne in mind that with relation to Prof. iHilgard's language, the prairie west of the Nez Pique seems not included. Now, the hulJc of the Western immigration is west of the Nez Pique. As early as two years ago, it had lapped from the Mermentau and the Nez Piijue bayous, as far as Lake Charles (and even beyond), and from twenty miles or more north of Jennings to Lake Arthur (some ten miles south), and is even beginning to creep into Vermillion parish (also a lovely country), and almost untouched by immigration; from Lake Arthur to Abbeville, a belt of country forty miles long and from nine to ^twelve miles broad south of the bayou Queue de Tortue and east ABOUT LOUISIANA. 31 of Lake Arthur. It is deemed utterly superfluous here to com' mend a country populated by over a thousand Western families, in which they have lived for years; which they have tried thor- oughly, and with which they are delighted; which country is outside and west of Prof. Hilgard's description. The topography of most of this prairie is level or flat. The streams are wooded with cypress, oaks, hickories, gum, etc., and some of the trees are large. The open prairies are unwooded, and firewood is planted — little being needed, — and consists of the China tree (mainly), a fast-growing tree. Catalpa is largely planted, too. The immigrants there are moving on all the lines of advanced agriculture ; fruit raising, grass growing, hay making, stock (im- proved) raising, etc. We now append Prof. Lockett's brief description of the "Prai- ries" on the topographical map in question : " Prairies — Soil : Grayish yellow, good and improves with use; treeless, grass covered, with coulees bordered with timber, and ' marais ' filled with rank, tall grass ; water not good. Products : Cattle, corn, cane, rice. Area, 3,800 square miles." We think it but just to say that the expression, " water not good " is rather too sweeping as applied to all that country.* It is quite certain that we have credible testimony, from Western sentiment, to the contrary. The prairie is situated in the par- ishes west of the Teche to the Sabine river, and in the soutn- west portion of the State, and is in the parishes of Calcasieu, Acadia, St. Landry, Lafayette, St. Martin, New Iberia and St. Mary. The next grand division, by Lockett, on his topographical map, is the "Alluvial Lands." This area he thus characterizes : " Soil : Black, dark red and reddish gray ; very fertile. Forest : Water and live oaks, gums, willows, cottonwood, elms, ash, etc. ; cane breaks common, highest on banks of streams. Pro- ducts : Cotton, corn, cane, tobacco, rice, oranges, bananas, etc. *Professor Eugene Hilgard, in Ms " Supplementary and Final Report of a Geological Recounoissance of the State of Louisiana,"' says of a part of Cal- casieu prairie : " Pretty good well water is obtained here at fifteen to twenty feet." 32 SOME LATE WORDS Area, 5,G00 square miles." This area is one of the most fertile spots on earth, and one of the most enduring soils. Corn, cot- ton and rice are the main crops, and corn, oats and hay (mainly peavine) are merely adjuncts. From Col. M. B. Hillyard's book, "The New South," we copy the following, there accredited to a work of Dr. Joseph Jones : " Louisiana posseses, perhaps, the most fertile soil of any of the States of this Union, in virtue of the large proportions of the alluvium of the Mississippi valley inclosed within her borders." "As is well known, a wide belt of recent alluvium borders the Mississipi river, from the mouth of the Ohio to the Gulf, seventy- five miles wide in the greatest expansion at Napoleon, and twenty-five miles in its greatest contraction, at Natchez and Helena. The area of the alluvial tract, above the delta, is 19,450 square miles. The depth of the alluvial deposits from Cairo to New Orleans ranges between twenty-five and forty feet. The area of the Delta of the Mississippi river, which lies al- most wholly within the borders of Louisiana, assuming that it begins where the river sends off its first branch to the sea, namely at the mouth of bayou Atchafalaya, is estimated at 12,- 300 square miles. This would be at the mouth of Eed river, in latitude 31°, whilst the mouths of the Mississippi are in latitude 29°, 80 that the delta extends through two degrees of space. The entire delta is elevated but a few feet above the level of the Gulf of Mexico, and from its fertile soil, and from its proximity to the Mississippi river and bayous, is perhaps as fertile as any body of land in this or on any continent, and is admirably adapted to the cultivation of rice and sugar cane." But the reader must be careful not to confound the delta of the Mississippi river with the ^^ Alluvial Lands,''^ of Prof. Lockett'a classification. While much of the " Alluvial Land* " are in the deltay there are considerable areas of " Alluvial Lauds " on Red river, the Ouachita, etc., and there is a considerable area of marsh land, " Coast Swamp," as Prof. Lookett terms it, in the delta of the Mississippi river. Then it must be remembered that, according to Dr. Jones, the delta only begins at the mouth of Red river, leaving all the area in the Mississippi bottom, outside and above the delta, to be classed as " Alluvial Lauds." ABOUT L0[JISIA:N^A. 33 The north boundaries of Louisiana, on either side the Missis- sippi river, are not coterminous. On the west side the river, the north boundary of Louisiana is the State of Aikansas, across its whole area from the Mississippi east to the west boundary of the State of Texas. This north boundary, between Arkansas, is not a natural, but an arbitrary one, and is a straight line due east and west. On the east side of the river, Louisiana is fronted by Mississippi State for over a hundred and twenty-five miles in an air line, south. The river, for this distance, is the boundary between these States. After awhile the river runs through Lou- isiana, thus giving both sides of the river a bottom in the State. As a consequence, there is very little of " Alhivial Lauds " on the Mississippi river, on its east side, in the State : Ascension and St. James parishes representing its chief areas there. But to the point, now, of denominating the areas in the "Alluvial Lands," beginning at the northernmost parish in the State, at the point where the Mississippi river touches its territory : West Carroll is entirely in the belt; as are Madison, Tensas, Concor- dia, Point Coupee and West Baton Eouge. These parishes all succeed each other south. Iberville, both south and west of the last parish, has most of its territory on the west side of the river, in the " Alluvial Lands," but a little area projects to the east side; and all the parish is "Alluvial Land." Then comes a very small part of Ascension parish, on the west side -the main body being on the east side of the river. Next follows Assumption parish — all its territory west of the river, and in the "Alluvial Lands." Between its east boundary (it has no front on the Mississippi river), a little area of St. James parish is on the west side the river, it« main area being east of it. Still coming southward, and trending with, but not touching the river, comes the parish of Lafourche; it all being in the " Alluvial Land " belt, except some spots of " Coast Marsh," as it is denominated by Prof. Lockett, on the map in the premises. East of Lafourche parish, and south of St. James, a small area of St. John Baptist parish is west the river, leaving its main area on the east side. Then comes St. Charles, the river throwing about an equal quantity of " Alluvial Lands " on either side. South of Lafourche parish, west of the river, comes 34 SOME LATE WORDS that of Terrebonne. This parish terminates in long, sprangling, aiiteiiuffilike poiuts, in the marsh. These capes of land look like the human hand, with open fingers : the capes standing for the fingers, and the intervening spaces occupied by the " coast marsh." And down these capes, course streams, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. This parish has no part of its territory on the Mississippi river. South of St. Charles parish, and adjoining it on the river, is Jefl'erson. Its area is split, too, by the river; throwing a small area of *' Alluvial Lands " on either side of the stream. Down the river, and succeeding Jefferson, on either side, is Plaquemine parish. There are narrow areas of the " Alluvial Lands," mere strings of chis sort of land, looking like raveled shreds of the solid tissue above. Opi^osite, on the east side of the river, is a body of this " Alluvial Lands," carved into devious shapes by the incisions of " Coast Marsh " areas. On this area of " Alluvial Lands," on east of the river, Orleans parish, is built the city of New Or- leans. On the east side the river, and south of Orleans parish, is that of St. Bernard. This parish has a narrow strip of " Allu- vial Lauds " bordering the river, another body sprangling off southeast, and still another skirting south and southwest of Lake- Borgue. Going back now to the territory of " Alluvial Lands," on the east side of the river, where the north boundary of Louisiana abuts upon the south line of Mississippi, by an arbitrary division running east and west, we find a strip of West Feliciana parish in the territory of the " Alluvial Lauds " — a narrow area, bulging out here and there, like a pocket, in the bends of the river, and running the whole of its western boun- dary. Then south, succeeds the parish of East Baton Eouge, with a small area of the ^' Alluvial Lands" adjoining the river on the north and south sides of the west side of the parish, and terminating on the river. At Baton Rouge — the Capital of the State — the " Bluff Lauds" i^enetrate to the river, intervening between the " Alluvial Lands " area north and south of it. Into Livingston parish jut several small poiuts of the "Alluvial Lauds," on its south border ; from this area that proceeds in such force in Ascension parish. Thus we have, very unsatisfactorily, ^iven a rough description of the " Alluvial Lands " adjacent to ABOUT LOUISIANA. 8ff the Mississippi river, and mainly in its bottom. Much of it is a strip of land, behind levees, to keep out overflow, backed by " swamps.'' In proportion to area, a mere ribbon of land is cleared and in cultivation. The "swamps" (so called), is a wooded area, susceptible of being made arable, and is not irreclaimable, as might be supposed ; but is hard, firm soil, not yet wrested from the forest. The area, in the main, is densely populated ; divided into plantations, with narrow fronts, and running back to various distances. Every plantation once had a superb home (and many are still fine), with groves of magnolia, live oak or pecan, sometimes all these, with a sugar house and " quarters" for the slaves — long rows of cabins on either side of a single street. All vvere within easy view of the river, and " the float- ing palaces" once plying the Mississippi river, steamed by the very doors of the villas, and stopped on the fronts for passengers and freight. Before the war, this country was one of the richest and most prosperous parts of the United States, and its hospi- tality was most cordial, lavish and cultured. Its inhabitants were badly broken in the storms of the late war, but are now re- cuperating. No traveler ought to miss riding up or down the river, just to view the country. On either side the river now, above New Orleans, a railroad runs near the river ; one, the Mississippi Valley, clear along the east side, and the Texas and Pacific on the west side, for some way. South of New Orleans, on the east side, runs the Gulf and Shell Beach railroad quite a distance j and, on the west bank, below New Orleans, another railroad is to be built. Below New Orleans are some of the handsomest and largest orange groves in the world ; all around New Orleans, and for some distance above, upon the river, are many ; and there is a large area about, below and west of the river m the orange-belt proper. In West Carroll parish there is a narrow strip of " Alluvial Lands " of the Mississippi bottom in its middle-western border. In the parishes of Richland and Franklin, on their east lines, is also a vein of the same territory, which is, subordinately, bayou Macon bottom. Catahoula parish has a wide east side of these "Alluvial Lands:" the Mississippi bottom there stretching' away to the " Pine Hills " classification, although it is locally considered 36 SOME LATE WORDS as bottoms of the various bayous traversing the area. In Avoy- elles parish there is much '' Alluvial Lands," a sort of common bottom of the Mississippi, Red and Atchafalaya rivers. In east St. Landry this " Alluvial Lands " stretches vrest, to a little east of Chicot, Opelousas and Grand Coteau, with the exception of narrow strips of prairies skirting the Teche on. either side, start- ing a few miles southeast of Opelousas, and running in that di- rection to near Franklin, in St. Mary parish. This " Alluvial Lands" belt in St. Landry pari(»h, (the " delta/' under the des- cription of Dr. Joseph Jones, and in general terms the Missis- sippi river bottom) is, subordinately, the bottoms of bayous Rouge, Wauksha, Crocodile, Boeuf, Courtableau, Teche, Atchafalaya et al. St. Martin parish is largely in the "Alluvial Lands J' bot- tom of the Mississippi river (with skirts of prairie along the Teche, on either side, on its western border, all through it, from north to south), but, subordinately, in the bottoms of the Teche, Atchafalaya and other bayous. Then comes Iberia parish, with its east part in the "Alluvial Lauds" of the Mississippi bottom, and, subordinately, the bottoms of the Teche and Grand Lake, with skirts of prairie on either side the Teche, narrow on the east side, and from six to twelve miles wide on the west side. Then comes St. Mary parish, with two distinct branches of " Al- luvial Lands " in the Mississippi river bottom, thrown into these divisions by the waters of Grand Lake, which, running nearly due north and south, divides the area. And, subordinately, this area is termed bottoms of the Teche, Atchafalaya, Grand Lake and Grand river. With the exception of a narrow area of prairie in the northwest corner of St. Mary parish, all its land is in Prof. Lockett's classification of " Alluvial Lands " and "Coast Marsh," including " Wooded Swamps." which is a common terri- tory with the " Alluvial Lands," as will hereafter more fully appear. We have thus far denominated the " Alluvial Lands " with re- gard to their situations in the Mississippi bottom — in a large and most comprehensive sense — and thts delta of the same. We now proceed to locate the "Alluvial Lands " of Louisiana, situated elsewhere. They are next in force in the valley of Red river. This river enters the State of Louisiana in its northwest ABOUT LOUISIANA. 37 corner, where it adjoins the State of Arkansas, about eighteen miles from the west boundary of the State, and runs nearly due south, in its main course, between the parishes of Oaddo and Bossier. Except an insignificant area in the extreme northwest corner of the latter parish, and a much more considerable area along the southwest, south and southeast border, this parish has virtually all its alluvial lands. On the west bank of the river, a long, narrow strip of the bottom or valley of this river consti- tutes " Alluvial Lands,'' most of the bottom being almost en- tirely on the Oaddo side, west of the river, for nearly twenty-five miles after it enters the north side of the State. At Shreveport, or near by, (he river sharply trends southeast, and the " Good Uplands" come prominently forward there, for a little way of the river's course, throwing the bottom into Bossier on the up- per side ; and this happens at several points above Shreveport (although the hills do not come so near the river), with a corre- sponding result, on the opposite area, in Bossier parish, of widening the bottom in the latter parish. Both Caddo and Bos- sier are long, narrow parishes, from fifty to sixty miles long, and, in no place, over about twenty wide. Their lands are en- tirely in Lockett's division of the ''Good Uplands" and "Al- luvial Lands," and this fact constitutes them an area of remark- ably fine lands ; for it may as well be said here, as anywhere, that the lands of the Red river valley are of superb quality, and the Western stock-raiser and grass grower will be delighted to learn that red clover flourishes on them as though it were in- digenous. From Shreveport, the reader bears in mind that the river trends southeast, on its way to the Mississippi. Leaving Bossier and Oaddo, it flows through the parish of Red river, making a thin strip of "Alluvial Lands," in its bottom along its west side border, in DeSoto parish ; but much of the force of its valley is in Red river parish. Its valley, in this parish, is about ten miles wide, in the main, by about twenty-four long, and containing about as much "Alluvial Lands." In Red river parish its bulk of bottom south of the stream, as Bossier and some less than Caddo. Of both DeSoto and Red river par- ishes may be said that their entire areas are in the classification of tUe ^* Goo4 Uplauas" m<\ the " AUuyJ?^! Xjands," Tl}§ v^Uey 38 . SOME LATE WOEDS of Eed river, in the parish of that name, is on its entire west, southwest and south border. From this last parish the Ked river enters the parish of Natchitoches, and courses through the entire parish, giving all its bottom to the parish. Counting only- its air-line distance, as a crow should fly, and not regarding bends, from the point where it enters in the northwest corner of the parish to the point where it departs, on the southwest, it will be found to traverse, more or less, ten townships ; and we sup- pose that, estimating its distance around bends, there must be a mileage considerably in excess of the breadth of the townships. In one place, in Tipper Natchitoches, its bottom must be twenty or more miles wide, and, nowhere in the parish is it less than eight to ten miles in width. The bottom varies in width along the course of the river, now wider on this side, then on that, back and forth. Thus, this whole parish has a fine area of this grand Eed river " Alluvial Lands." And, an area. Cane river, subordinately, has one of the loveliest-looking countries, in some respects, ever setn. The southwest fourth part, thereabouts, and an area in the northeast part of the parish, are in the " Pine Hills " belt, as has been previously noted. Leaving Natchitoches parish, the Eed river enters Grant par- ish, at its county seat, Colfax, and throws into this parish a little area of its bottom, making, in the extreme southwestern corner, a piece of " Alluvial Lands '' about the equivalent of two town- ships in size. All the rest of this parish is in the belt known as the " Pine Hills," except a thread of territory about fifteen miles long, on the bottom of Little river, on the east side of the parish. This is " Alluvial Lands," and it is, approximately, from one-half to three miles wide. Alter its short run in Grant parish, Eed river takes a long run through Eapides parish. The river bot- tom is here skirted on either side by the "Pine Woods" belt, as it is in all of Grant and southern Natchitoches parishes, and the river hugs the pine woods on its northern side to some distance below Alexandria — the county seat — making a narrow skirt of bottom on its north side, and throwing the main width of " Alluvial Lands" on the south side of the stream. This belt is about two townships (twelve miles) wide in Eapides parish, and prevails through about five townships in length, making fifty miles or ABOUT LOUISIANA. 39 more around bends. In this parish, the Bayou Bceuff makes, by- its bottom, a very fine character of "Alluvial Lands,'" and adds to the area above allotted to the Red river valley, a considerable body of soil very like the Red river valley lands, and which is a fine sngar land. About twenty-five miles below Alexandria, Red river turns sharply to the north, at a point about halfway down the west boundary of Avoyelles parish (the east boundary of Rapides), and then "snakes" its way northeast, in northwest Avoyelles, and makes a devious boundary between this parish and Catahoula ; the latter here due north of the former. Almost the whole of Avoyelles parish is in the belt of '' Alluvial Lands" and the " wooded swamps," the former a correlative of the lat- ter, by reason of various bottoms of several bayous, and also another section of bottom, on the east side of the parish, of Red river; this river marking its east boundary, and there running south. The south line of Catahoula parish is in the " Alluvial Lands " belt, by reason of being in the Red river bottom there, and also by reason of being in the bottoms of the Tensas and other bottoms. These areas of bottom lauds constitute a rim of lands all along east Catahoula, and a heavy body in the south and southwest of the parish of "Alluvial Lands." Soon after leaving Avoyelles parish, the Red river empties into the Mis- sissippi river, in Point Coupee parish, and this we have denoted in our matter on the " Alluvial Lands " district of the latter river. The Ouachita river and its tributaries constitute the next large area of "Alluvial Lands" of the State. At Trinity, in Cata- houla parish, the Tensas and Ouachita rivers join and constitute the Black river — the latter running down as tne boundary be- tween Concordia and Catahoula parishes, and joining the Red river where the latter courses past across the south boundary of Catahoula. At Trinity, the Tensas runs northeast, and makes the boundary between this parish and the parishes of Concordia and Tensas, for a part of its course; and makes a long, narrow strip of "Alluvial Lands," on its bottom in Catahoula parish, from Trinity up to the north line of the parish. From Trinity, the Ouachita runs north, past Harrisonburgh- the parish seat — where the areas, known in our classification as the " Good Up- 40 SOME LATE WOKDS lands " and '' Bluff Lands," approach the river and narrow its bottom greatly, and it deflects still more northwest, after escap- ing the environments of the hills of these two grand topo> the fallibilit^y of human nature ; too well aware of our ABOUT LOUISIANA. 65 ignorance of the laws which control epidemio diseases and the susceptibility of a community to overcome or be prostrated by epidemic morbid influences, to state authoritatively that we have found the means of securing ourselves against an invasion of the dreaded enemy ; but I do confidently assert that, if un- disturbed in its quarantine operations, if left to work out the problem with the aid of the best men and material at its com- mand, if unthwarted by the jealousies of individuals, or by the undetected evasions of rules by travelers and mariners, the safe solution of the question, by a Board of Health, is not far distant. But with the problem solved, and mortality from yellow fever unmentioned i our records, the rate in the city of New Orleans is not what it should be, not yet placed in the high rank to which it is entitled by its natural advantages. The mortuary statistics are published weekly, and the records being open to public inspection and comparison, I will not tire you by reciting a mass of statistics, other than to mention the three principal causes of death and their percentage to the total roll, for the two years, in this city ; two periods of time which may, with justness, be cited as a fair sample; since neither pre- sents anv marked variation from the usual. In 1886, the deaths in this city from fevers of all kinds, were 379, or 6.20 per cent, of death from all causes ; from consumption 889, or 12.55 per cent j from cholera infantum 188, or 2.88 per cent. In 1887— All fevers 332, or 6.36 per cent.; consumption 773, or 11 per cent., and cholera infantum 171, or 2.81 per cent., both white and colored included. In this calculation is also included the deaths in the Charity Hospital, an institution drawing pa- tients from every section of the country; these deaths, amount- ing in 1886, to 960, and in 1887 to 941. Thus, you see an im- provement in 1887 over 1886, an improvement which will become more marked as our citizens advance in their knowledge of hygiene and sanitation. The efforts which are being made to have these two branches taught in our public schools, efforts which I trust and believe will be successful ; the attention of our people being directed towards drainage and municipal sanitation; the constant discus* 66 SOME LATE WORDS sion of the subject, and the dissemination of information in the matter now undertaken by our sanitarians, are all most potent factors towards the education of the people and will most posi- tively be productive of excellent results. The city of New Orleans has improved in its death rate re- markably in the last half century, and though not yet as low as it should be, the interest so plainly manifested in the subject by her people, make the conviction certain that within a few years her rank, from a position lower than the average of the healthy cities of the Union, will be placed on a plane with the healthiest in the world. General and persistent attention through the channels of drainage and municipal sanitation will very soon reduce that mortality, which is now the fault of our citizens and not of our situation. 1 will present to you the unbiased and disinterested testimony of Mr. Wm. P. Stewart, the actuary and vital statistician of the Mutual Life Insurance Company, of New York, whose business is to inquire into the vital statistics of sections of the country where that company proposes to establish offices. He Bays of Louisiana : " You can ask for no better evidence of the fact that your general healthfulness is now recognized as assured, than to con- sult your best informed business men on the significance of the action of the Conservative Mutual Life Insurance Company coming into your midst. No one indication of the year has so much encouraged them as this, because they know this company speaks for the largest financial corporation of the world, the soundest principle of mutuality, and the most conservative busi- ness interest. • • * I have already expressed my convic- tion that you are destined to grow into recognition as the great winter resort, and I now venture to prophesy that, with the newly awakened spirit of your people, you will see before the next decade, a commerce doubled, a population increased 50 per cent, and a property value as will make fortunes for those who venture as business men. I have been charmed with the river scenery, the like of which is nowhere else to be found. The many village-like plantations, with their evidences of wealth, re- finements and comfort; the broad sweep of river ; the luxurious ABOUT LOUISIANA. 67 spread of foliage j the inviting stretch of land; the character- istic homes of the wealthy are nowhere else to be seen j and with the trim, tree-shaded, glistening white cottages, go to make up a panorama such as would delight the eye of the most trav- eled tourist, and put to shame the merest suggestion of " stored- up disease." The evidence of like disinterested character which I will pre- sent to you is the United States census of 1880, the completed volumes of which are only just published. There is no other au- thority from which we may draw practical conclusions ; the basis is only for 1880, and, as no visitations of epidemic scourges took place in ai y section of our country that year, the standard may be accepted as conclusive. The errors incidental to one place are practically common 'to all, and our inferences drawn from a study of the table pre- sented should be accepted as very nearly correct. After careful and repeated examinations of the tables pre- sented, I am surprised to find that the different localities of the Union do not differ largely in the aggregate to their mortality; the extreme, from lowest to highest, being only 8 in 1000 of pop- ulation. The average mortality, for the whole United States, is 14.70 per 1000 for the whites, and 17.29 for the blacks. For the white, Oregon is first, with a mortality of 11.04 per 1000, with Minnesota an excellent second at 11.51, and Arkansas brings up the foot of the list with a mortality of 19.11, very closely pushed by educated and scientific Massachusetts, with a mortality of 18.56. For the blacks, the negro enjoys the greatest exemption in Florida, having a rate of mortality in that State of 11.36 per 1000. He has a very hard time in Ehode Island, where his mor- , tality is 27.10, and he is very much worse, and the very worst off, under the very eye of his particular guardian, the general gov- ernment ; for his mortality, in the District of Columbia is 35.62 per 1000. • Now as the position which Louisiana occupies in the white list. I am very sure that Vermont, Tennessee, Indiana and Texas have each of them enviable reputations for healthfalness, and a 68 SOME LATE WORDS favorable compariaon of Loaisiana with any of the four, would undoubtedly, excite derision. ^ What are the facts! Vermont has a white mortality of 15.12 per 1000; Tennessee, 16.21 ; Louisiana, 15.45 ; Indiana, 15.88, and Texas, 15.86 ; or, in this group of known healthy States, Louisi- ana stands superior to two, and presents only a very fractional inferiority to the others. The relative positions of the States, including the whole popu- lations, are tabulated and are annexed to this report, which is submitted to you for your disposal, but the reading will occupy too much of your time. Vital statisticians place very much reliance upon the propor- tion of deaths of children under five years old as indicative of the good or ill health of locality. This is undoubtedly a correct in- dex of a fact, but its significance is, in my opinion, incorrectly applied. The laws which apply to the health and growth of an infant are very similar to the laws which govern the life and growth of other things. Suitable food and suitable protection from effects of varying temperatures, are equally necessary in the nursery of human habitations and in the nursery of a florist. The rate of mortality of children, under five years, marks with unerring finger, the ignorance, superstition, un- cleanliness and indifference of grown persons, and not at all the conditions of climate. An index, indeed, of moral fault on part of a people, but of little intent in reference to the salubrity of a locality. Outside of large cities, in the rural regions of the State, the deaths from that universal disease, consumption, and the deaths of persons having passed beyond ninety-five years of life, is, in my opinion, the truest and best exponent of the climatic condi- tions and life possibilities of any given place. Typhoid fever is now generally accepted to be dependent upon the purity of the drinking water supply, and is a matter of local or individual prevention. Malarial fever tells the Sanitarian of undrained soils, impure water for drinking purposes, and individual neglect. Without reference to other agencies which bring about those paroxysms or fever which are desighatf^d by this name, I advance the com- ABOUT LOUISIANA. 69 monly accepted doctrine that, the most potential factor in the origin of this disease is humid soil, and therefore, the percentage of mortality from this disease is hardly at all due to the climatic causes, but to imperfect or impossible terrestrial dryness. It is unoeccessary to appeal to your medical men for corrobor- ation of this statement You know its truth yourselves, every one of you, I venture to say, from personal experience. Ex- amples confirming the truth of my assertion are of daily oc- currence. Returning to official figures, and now excluding the large cities, we arrive at tables which meet our purpose — the relative salubrity of the rural portion of each State. The highest on record of percentage of deaths from malarial fever stands Florida, with 9.53 per cent of its total mortality from this disease ; the lowest Rhode Island, with only .08 per cent In between these two extremes come the other States ; those adjacent to our great streams showing a hi[>;her rate than the others. Arkansas has 7.65 per cent, Alabama 7.35, Missis- sippi 7.06, Louisiana 6.06, and Texas 8.04. Our own State show- ing more favorably than any of her neighbors, save one, in a mortality springing from a disease largely preventable by or- dinary attention, by the mass of the people, to the plainest and simplest laws of hygiene. The least infant mortality is exhibited in New Hampshire, which has 20.88 per cent of infant, to the total mortality ; Maine, 24 57; Vermont, 24.10; California, 25.31; New York, 25.39; Connecticut, 26.75 ; Massachusetts, 29.21 ; Ohio, 34.36 ; Rhode Island, 33.69; Oregon, 34.99; New York, 35.52; Wisconsin, 35.61 ; Pennsylvania, 36.15, and then Louisiana with 38.05, the list ending with Kansas and Nebraska, the highest rates in the Union — Kansas, with 47.56 and Nebraska with 49.12 per cent. In this list Louisiana is not preceded by any Southern State. And should the calculation be based on the population only, or on an equal per cent of colored to white, which exists in each of the Northern States ahead of her, her rank would not be fif- teenth, but third or fourth. The infant mortality among negroes is enormously large, as, from their habits, it must be. Substitute a comparison between the whites in the rural sections of the 70 SOME LATE WORDS Union, North and South ; and many of our Southern States would show that our people cared well for their young. The mortality from consamption, that dreaded, universal, and almost hopelessly fatal disease, can, in the country, where the close confinement in sedentary occupations, in ill-ventilated, crowded apartments, does not exist, may be taken as a fair cri- terion of the actual influence of climatic conditions on the in- habitants. Arkansas enjoys greatest exemption from this dis- ease, with percentage to its total mortality of 6 42 ; Texas sec- ond, with 6.05 per cent; Nebraska third, with 6 93; Kansas fourth, with 7.54; Louisiana fifth, with 7.41 ; Florida sixth, with 8.14; Oregon twentieth, with 12.12 per cent; California thirty- third, with 15.80, and Mtune the very last, vith 19.16 per cent. These figures represent the death rate, and do away with the suggestion that the mortality from the disease is largely influ- enced by invalids seeking the curative powers of certain cli- mates. That influence is, in reality small, because a larger num- ber of those unbenefitted return to their homes to die; and rarely do friends carry away from home patients in the last stages of this disease. The percentage of deaths of people over ninety-five years to the total mortality, or, in other words, the proportion of old people in a State, demonstrating beyond cavil the possibilities and probabilities of life in those localities, is exhibited by the census, as follows : Vermont stands first, with a percentage of .70 of old peo[)le to total mortality ; and Louisiana second, with .62; Florida sixth, with 62; Rhode Island tenth, with .45 ; Tennessee twentieth, with 27, and Nebraska last, with only .03 per cent. From the foregoing facts, we may conclude, with certainty : 1. That Louisiana enjoys, relatively to her neighbors, a favor- able position in regard to mortality from malarial fevers ; being- superior to Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, and only a small fraction inferior to Texas 2. That her percentage of deaths of children places her above any of the Southern States ; and, if like population be comi)ared with like, her position will be third or fourth among all the United States. ABOUT LOCnSTAlTA. 71 3. That her position in reference to the lowest rate of deaths from consamption, a diac^ise very dependent upon climatic con- ditions, is fifth. 4. That her percentage of deaths of old people places her second among all the States for possibilities of long life. Not all the wealth in gold wrung and delved from our fields, or dug from our mines, or wrought by clang of hammer, or hum of spool and spindle, but more than these, " Public health is public wealtL." The next address on the programme was by CAPT. B. E. KBBEAM, U. S. Signal Corps Director, Louisiana Weather Service, who read as follows regarding data and statistics of the climate of Louisiana : Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen : It affords me pleasure, as a representative of the National Signal Service, to be able to bring the work of the service before this convention in a practical manner, and to prove by official records that the climate of Louisiana is more agreeable the year around, than any other section of the United States. To do this, a series of comparisons will be necessary, and to avoid a lengthy dissertation on the subject, by States, we will consider only the sections embraced by the extreme Northwest, the upper Missis- sippi and Missouri valleys, and the Pacific coast regions. These sections have been taken for comparison, not because they make Louisiana's claims stronger for the immigrant, but because they include a greater acreage of farming lands, and are considered the best in the Union. Should a doubt exist in any mind that a choice was made, it can readily be dispelled by a glance at the weather map diplayed here. Considering the extreme degree of heat, the normal mean max- imum temperature, for the hottest month, July, we find from signal service records that, the section of country from southern Illinois and southeastern Missouri to central Minnesota, has an average of 84P, with an average of the lowest temperature for the sam month of 65° ; making the average daily range of tempera- ture 18°. The same figures for the same month, for the section 72 SOME LATE WORDS of country from southwestern Missouri to central Dakota are, average highest, 85°, average lowest, 63°, making the average daily range, 22°. For the section of country embracing northern Minnesota and northern Dakota, we find an average highest temperature of 78°, an average lowest of 55°, making an average daily range of 23°. For Louisiana for the same mouth, the average highest temperature of 99°, average lowest of 74°, ma- king an average daily range of 17°. Considering the coldest month : It is found that the first named section (the upper Mississippi valley), had an average highest temperature for January of 31°, and an average lowest of 13°, making an average daily range of 18°. For the second sec- tion (the Missouri Valley) for the month of January has an aver- age highest temperature of 25"^, an average lowest of 3°, with an average daily range of temperature of 22°. The third named section (the extreme Northwest), has an average highest tem- perature for January of 9°, an average lowest of 13° below zero, making the average daily range of temperature 22°. Louisiana has, for the same mouth, an average highest tem[>erature of 59°, an average lowest of 44°, makiug the average daily range for the month of 15°. To consider the highest and lowest temperatures recorded on any day, at any of the stations in the various districts : It is found that the maximum temperature of the Mississippi valley, for summer, is 103°, recorded at Des Moines, Iowa, and at Cairo, 111. The lowest temperature for that fectiou, in winter, is recorded as 43° below zero, at La Crosse, Wis., or an absolute range of temperature of 146°. The highest temperature on rec- ord, for the Missouri valley, 111°, recorded at Fort Sully, in Southern Dakota. The lowest temperature, for that section, is 42° below zero, at Fort Bennett, in South Central Dakota, mak- ing an absolute range of temperature for the Missouri valley 153°. The third section, the extreme Northwest, his a highest temperature of 107°, recorded at Fort Biiford, Dakota, and a lowest temperature of 59° below zero, reoorded at Pembina, Dakota; making the absolute range of temperature for the ex- treme Northwest 166°. The highest temperature on record for Northern Louisiana is 107°, recorded at Shreveport, and the ABOUT LOUISIANA. 73 liighest on record for Southern Louisiana, is 97° at New Orleans. The lowest tern pel ature on record for northern Louisiana is 6° at Shreveport, and the lowest for southern Louisiana is 20° at N"ew Orleans, making the absolute range of teniperatnre for the northern part of the State lOlo, and for the southern part 77°, the latter range being less than one-half of the range of either of the three sections quoted. To compare the mean relative humidity of the various sections : From a record covering from 1870 to 1885, the mean annual rela- tive humidity of the Upper Mississippi valley is computed to be 69 per cent, the mean for the Missouri valley is 69 per cent, the mean for the extreme Northwest is 74 per cent, and the mean for Louisiana is 71 per cent, being but 2 per cent above the average for the two first named, and three per cent below the latter. The highest mean monthly, during the year, in Louisiana, is but 74 per cent, whereas the highest in either of the other sections is 91 per cent. The rainfall of the sections under consideration is as follows: The average annual for the Upper Mississippi valley is 39 inches ; the greater part of it falling during the summer months. The average for Louisiana is 60 inches, ranging from 4 to 6 inches for each month during the year. From the foregoing official records it is plain that there is no section east of the Eocky Mountains, that can compete with Louisiana in climate. If we have rivals, they alone exist in sec- tions of Oregon and California. The following are extracts of reports from those States: The State of California has an average annual temperature Yiv. giug from 51° to 55° on the coast, to 62° in the interior, against a normal temperature for Louisiana of from 65° in the northern portion of the State, to 6S^ in the southern portion. California has an avemgc raiufall of ftom 11 inches at San Diego, to 28 inches at Eed Bluff. An average annual relative humidity of from 54 to 82 per cent — San Francisco having an average of 75 per cent, and San Diego 73 per cent, against an average for Lou- isiana of 71 per cent. The highest temperature at Los Angeles, Cal., is 108° j at Eed, Bluff, 110°; at Sacramento, 100°; and coast maximums ranging 74 SOME LATE WOEDS from 90O to lOlo. At Davisville and Dunnigan, Oal., maximum temperature of II80 were recorded. The lowest temperatures for the State range from 16° to 33°; the highest minimums being reported from stations on the coast. The lowest temperature recorded on the Louisiana coast is 34°. Westerly winds prevail in California, blowing from the ocean. In Louisiana southerly winds prevail, blowing from the Gulf. In the matter of vlear, fair, and cloudy days, California has, doubtless, a greater amount of sunshine during the summer months, with almost a total lack ot rainfall. During the winter months, fogs are very trequent in California. The rainfall in Lonifiiana is evenly distributed throughout the year, with an ab- sence of the foggy days. " Climatically speaking, the therapeutic area of southern Cali- fornia is smalL It is limited to those localities only which are directly influenced by the ocean breeze, and extends but a few miles inland. In the valleys back from the coast the summer heat becomes unbearable; there is but slight vegetation, and good water is not easily procured. The winters are, however, mild and dry. Only a few inches of rain annually, and out-door life is practicable.'' Oregon claims several distinct climates within her borders : On the coast, the rainfall averages from 39 to 79 inches ; in the Willamette valley, from 41 to 67 inches ; and in the re- mainder of the State, from 9 to 34 inches annually. The rainy season begins October 15th and ends May 1st. Regarding the temperature, it is sufficient to state that the range in the interior of Oregon is from 22 below zero to 106 above. Killing frosts occur on an average of nine months during the year. I Louisiana has but one climate, and that well defined. We have hot weather, but we have also the cool Gulf breeze extend- ing inland, reaching the extreme northern portion of the State, which has, however, a higher temperature than that recorded in the southern portion during the summer. The rainfall and moisture in the atmosphere are nearly the same, being slightly less north than south. The summers are long, but necessarily so for the crops that are grown. Louisiana's comparative immunity from killing frosts is ABOUT LOUISIANA. 75 graphically portrayed on the small chart on the lower comer of the Weather Map. It will be seen that the extreme northern part of this State has the advantage of Northern Florida in this particular, and that the southern part of Louisiana, from Avoy- elles parish to the Gulf, has no rival, save the southern portion of Florida Peninsula. This is explainable by the fact that the majority of the cold waves that sweep southward over the coun try during the winter season, are deflected east of Louisiana, and for the following reasons: The atmosphere moves in huge waves, similar to water. The cold wave is the base of the crest of this wave, and the hollow between the crests is the storm center. A storm ofi" the Texas coast, and a cold wave forming in the northwest, are conditions suitable for a great fall in tem- perature between those regions ; since the air resting on the sur- face of the earth moves out from under a high pressure, flowing in the direction of low pressure, which in this case would mean cold, northerly winds flowing from the northwest of Texas. But since all the movements of the atmosphere have an eastward tendency, the storm that was in the Gulf yesterday, will be found hundreds of miles to the eastward to day, and the cold wave sweeping down from the northwest has had its attractions re- moved, and the cold surface winds are now from the northwest. Another cause of the immunity we have from these cold waves is that, there is a wall of warm, moist air overhanging the Gulf, ex- tending over the interior of the State, and the intermingling of the mass of cold air from the north with this warm air, is seldom before both masses have passed eastward out of range of the State. Another cause is that, storms having their origin on the east- ern Rocky Mountain slope, have for an attraction the great lakes; since all storms will move toward a humid atmosphere and to where they have a clear sweep; thus accounting for the groat number of our cyclones moving out of the St. Lawrence valley. It must not be understood from the foregoing, that Louisiana has no cold- waves, for during the past winter (my first in tlie South), the temperature in this city fell to 29° above zero ; but while we escaped with that temperature, caused by a high pres- sure of air that swept down below a storm having its origin in 76 SO:\IB LATE WORDS Indiana, Florida on the same latitude, had a temperature lower than that recorded here. (G-reat applause.) Note : The data from which the foregoing has been compiled are from signal service records covering the period from November 1, 1870, to Jan- uary 1, 1886, and do not include the cold-wave of January, 1886, when min- imum temjieratures of from 5 to 10 degrees below any previous record were reported jErom the majority of Southern and Eastern States. The climate in the vicinity of New Orleans has received most elaborate treatment at the hands of Col. M. B. Hillyard, of that city. With pen and speech, he has been quite awhile agitating the topic, particularly in connection with the i^oint of showing the desirabilty of that city as a winter resort, and contrasting its attractions with other noted Southern cities in that regard. In that behalf, he made an address before the Chamber of Com- merce of Denver, Colorado, last June (1888), at the request of the Chamber of Commerce of New Orleans, on the occasion of an excursion of the latter body to Denver, as the guests of the former body. Still more elaborately, he promulgated his views later on; and, by an immense array of statistics, fortified im- pregnably the grounds he took in behalf of climate. He kindly furnishes the following matter, and embraces in it entirely new reflections, the result of his own research, and not to befound in the books : New Orleans, La., March 1, 1889. Hon. T. W. Poole, Commissioner of Immigration of Louisiana, New Orleans, La.: My Dear Sir — With much pleasure I furnish you something on the climate of Louisiana. When I first promulgated my views of the climate of this city, from the standpoint of statistics, to a group of influential friends of the Cham- ber of Commerce of New Orleans, there was genuine surprise, and considerable questiouiug ; but the ever-obliging and most efficient United States Signal Corps Director of the Louisiana Weather Service, Capt. R. E. Kerkam, fur- nished a graphic map, at the request of the then secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of New Orleans, the broad-minded aud most energetic, Rev. D. L. Mitchell, Would that this map were printed! At a glance, one comprehends its most striking aud almost unknown truths; until later agitation has engraven them deeply into pul)lic apprehension. It was deemed so great a revelation by the Chamber of Commerce of this city, that I was deputed by its energetic president, Hon. H. Dudley Coleman, to deliver an address on the topic Ibefore the Chamber of Commerce of Den- ver, Col.; whicli call I gladly obeyed last June. Since then, my investiga- tions have taken wider scope, aud still more startling statistics have been compiled by me. This letter affords only scoi)e for nothing but a most meagre abbreviation of my subject-matter; but I send yon something. The investigations into Louisiana at large are a matter of recent research, and are not olitainable in books. The data are scattered, and have cost rather tedious ilclviug to uncover. I beg, here, to publicly express my obli- gations to Cai)t. Kerkham for his courteous facilitation of my labors. Before, however, the resort is made to dry statistics, it ought to be said that statistics do not convey (very often), adequate impressions. Men's feel- ABOUT LOUISIAl^A. 77 ings frequently controvert tlie expectations of facts. For iiliistratiou : People will complain at the coldness of a temijcrature at Jacksonville, St. Augustine (Florida); Mobile, Alabama ; New Orleans, Louisiana, and elsewhere South, near water, when the thermometer says it is not cold. But there is an ele- ment called, very happily, "rawness" of atmosphere, that sometimes disap- points bitterly the glorious forecasts of imagination. Then, too, the worst and only occasional aspects of temperature or weather, become to their pre- judiced and embittered judgments, the criteria of climate. Coming to New Or- leans (maybe), and finding, in a sojourn of six months, a possible aggregate of this "nawsty" weather of two or three weeks, they disregard and ignore stretches of weather of balmiest airs and lovelj'^ skies, and almost perpetual bloom of even delicate flowers. Such is human nature, and it is useless to quarrel at it. Then, too, soil makes a semi-fallacy of temperature, and drainage, like- wise. Take two soils, one stiif, impervious; the other sandy and perme- able. Given the same temperature, the same quality of atmo-sphere, the same motion of wind : And the sandy soil will leave upon the mind and feelings better impressions. And, if the same ilat, impermeable soil, in one case, be covered with water, and in the other not, the feelings and air will be differ- ent. If any one doubts this, let him live in the well-drained jiarts of this city, and then, try, for a short time, a residence in the illy-drained. Then, too, there come in certain occult influences and impressions, the effects of which are imponderable, where discomforts, annoyances and disgust discolor the eye and becloud the judgment, and so utterly confuse and con- found the apprehension, that remediable incidents, and conditions that cry loudly for redress, and are reflections upon public apathy, indicia of civic povert}^, and unfeeling concern, and a due appreciation of the needs of sani- tation ; these, we say, are fallaciously attributed, by the afflicted and dis- gruntled victim of them, to climate; when climate has no proper connection with them. I treat the topic somewhat large, because, just now, there is a pervasive (and I hope it will eventuate in an effective), agitation on the subject of drainage of this city. This effectually done (and it is a matter of easy feasibility), and our city ^s ill show a marked increase in health, in the comfort of its inhabitants, and in the dryness of its atmosphere. By lowering water-surface, by relieving the soil of much Avater that its tough texture holds in its clammy grasp, the suu can get a chance to warm the soil and radiate its heat, and constitute a blander atmosphere, and make a better showing in the annals of climate. When this drainage shall have been done, New Orleans will show an almost peerless climate ; as it has, now, one of the loveliest, in many aspects, in the world. But, to return to general considerations of how misleading, to the feelings, often are mere thermometrical and hygrometrical data. Climate has certain features that are above and beyond all those. To illustate : Take the calm, still, cold of p.arts of New England, and even some States further West. Put the thermometer at 20^ below zero, Fahrenheit. Now, take a "blizzard" Western State. Given an identical degree of cold ; but given a velocity of wind of fifty or even forty miles an hour. In the latter condition, man and beast will suffer greatly. In the former, one may walk or ride in the keen, still air, and, properly protected, may not suffer. It is insidious, though ; for one, not knowing its treacherous , stilleto-like character, may have members of the body frozen, or even freeze to death, and not be conscious of it. This movement of air is a most vital consideration, in all attempts at estimating climate. And yet it receives, from the average man. either no consideration, or none but the most superficial. Generalities count for little ; and I must illustrate, to be at all impressive. One of the bitterest days of suffering I ever experienced was in Northern Kansas. I had often wished to see a blizzard. I took a drive some ten miles across the country, with a driver as guide. The day was a bright and beautiful one in late September — if my memory be not at fault. The air was so delightful, that my driver did not take his overcoat. Soon a faint, thin haze appeared. It thickened. Now and then spattering rain drops came. The wind arose. It strengthened. Soon it blew strong and unremittingly. It was in my face. My solace waa 78 SOME LATE WOEDS that, on my return, it weuld be behind me ; and I should he comfortahle with the protection of the "buggy"-back. I paid my visit quickly. Started back. The wind increased, and blew with remorseless steadiness and violence. I had overcoat and shawl. All were in use. Still I could not keep warm. In holding my hat on my head, my hand was numb iu two minutes. The driver got out to keep from freezing, and never entered the carriage again ; running for milesl The horse had hard work to pull me in a slow trot, so hard did the wind blow against the vehicle ; for it seemed to front me at all turns. The rainfall iras insignificant ; only spattering drops through the swirling mist ; stinging like spent shot from a gun. I got to my hotel at last, nearly frozen : and toat night it was not nearly cold enough for a fire. I have never wished to be in a winter blizzard since ! Once I wa» in New York, in Dutchess county, twenty miles east of the Hndson. It was late December. On a bright, cloudless day, about 8 a. m., I took a short walk. (It had not been cold the day before). I found, to my surprise, several inches of ice on a lake that was entirely open the preceding day. It was so still, that the dead leaf never rustled in the tree. I was so deceived, that my overcoat (as I think), was not worn. Upon my return to the house, I looked at the thermometer, and it registered six (6) degrees be- low zero — Fahrenheit, It was so still (no wind), that I was grossly de- ceived ; not living in New York. But my nose and ears made a narrow escape from freezing. I should have been far more conscious of cold in Central Delaware (where I then lived), with the thermometer fifteen (15) degrees above eera — Fahrenheit. Take another illustration of wind in "Western Texas — the "Norther." There the utmost 8ufl:ering may come to man, and often death to brutes, with a snddeness that almost passes belief: and yet often it is not cold enough to make ice. And even in summer there are, sometimes, these winds there. And this leads me to just say, that tudden changes are features of climate that ought to receive due consideration, especially when the changes are tcide ex- tremet. ■ And the reader is begged to weigh duly the showing Capt. Kerkam makes, in the premises, in favor of New Orleans. There may be a sudden change here from 60° or 70° Fahrenheit, in winter, to 20° to 30°, in twelve to twenty-four hours. One knows it and feel* it ; and the visitor who is looking for perpetual Paradise here will carp at it; but it is something horrible, where he comes from, when the weather changes from fifry above zero to twenty below, in the same time. And it is important to impress the reader that these high winds and sudden changes are what rack the constitution. In any of these cold, windy States, one will find catarrh fearfully prevalent, and its almost congeners and cammon sequels, pulmonary consumption and chronic brouchitis. Now, for summer winds. The discomforts of these at the West (particu- larly), to the physical existence of man, is only one feature. In some of the States there, they not only raise, very frequently, great swirling clouds of dust ; impairing eyeeight, filling the lungs, rendering untidy wearing ap- parel, begriming face and hands ; but, have serious, and often, fatal effects upon agriculture. Its sirocco-like heat impairs vegetables and field-crops, and often hopelessly blights and withers them. The extreme dryness of these winds, finds an added element of detriment or destruction in their velocity. Every one knows the drying effect of high winds ; and this, blended with the capacity of their absorption of moisture, soon leave the ground robbed of moisture needed for plant and vegetable life, even after heavy rainfall or irrigation . I have known, in Colorado, fields, where were growing crops, that were profasely irrigated one day, to need the same treatment, as badly, the next. The thirsty air and the greedy wind had plimdered soil and crop of their sustenance and moisture . In part* of Kansas, hay mtist often be stacked at night, on account of high windJs. And the high, hot winds dry up the streams, too, in many places West, entailing suffering and death to live stock. And, because the air ab- sorbs the moisture so, the rainfall has not the chance to permeate the soil ; and water, for family use in pumps and wells, is greatly reduced in quantity, and, in ftunuoex, inmaay places West, water is often a commodity, selling at ABOUT LOUISIANA. 79 flo mnch per barrel or bucket. Frequently, farmers have to drive for miles, and haul muddy water from holea in streama, whose beds are, elsewhere, dry. And it is a common thing, at farm houses, to see some such notice as this: '"No water given away, laut for drinking purposes." In fact, it would be almost impossible to enumerate all the drawbacks of an area of scanty rainfall, aggravated by prevalent high winds. It takes the bloom from the cheek of beauty, and blights that of the rose. It blasts the fairest fields. It brings death to the beasts of burden, and numberless discomforts to man. In some parts, it literally blows crops away, denuding them of soil; until, finally, the crops, wheat, oats, and rye are removed, and piled in dried masses far from the localities where they were sown. And in the places where the high, hot winds prevail, and the scant rainfall (and these seem in- separable), the terrible blizzard dominates in winter, and the awful cyclone revels in summer. Louisiana has blessings of climate that no panegyric can adequately por- tray. Her rainfall is more profuse than that of almost any State in the Union (or Territory, for that matter). It is well distributed throughout the year. Inestimable is the strange happiness of the fact that, it is greater in summer than other times; for that is the season for crop-making— just when it is needed most. Then, the dews play a great part, too ; and are a great preventive against crops suffering for want of water. Every one knows how scant are the dews West, or else how totally wanting. And, in connection with rain- fall, there is a nice point to be made, in that a very large quantity of ammonia always existing in the earlier stages of rainfall, and the rainfall of Louisiana being profuse, her soil secures a vast quantum of fertility from the sky, as it were . *» In this fact lies the solution (in my opinion), of the problem to so many agriculturists. In parts of the State, they find lands bringing immense crops of grass. The Western farmer, reasoning from his home-experiences, assumes that the soil will bring corresponding crops of com, oats, etc . , tut finds him- self disappointed, and experiences small crops, without fertilization. The explanation is that, the grass grows so, and yields such crops, because of the large quantity of ammonia in the rainfall, and because the sun does not evapo- ate it, because the ammonia is absorbed quickly. The rainfall is a liquid manure; and the grass, shading the soU, prevents the sun from evaporating the ammonia. As Louisiana cannot have dry winds (except almost phenomenally), so she has not high ones, so far as moisture-absorption or removal of moisture is concerned . Her high winds are storm winds, and almost necessarily involve precipitation — generally marked by heavy rainfall. But, while Louisiana's is not a windy climate, it is a breezy one . The airs from the Gulf of Mexico are pre-eminently bland, cooling, and softly exhilar- ating . Particularly are they in their strongest effects, soothing to shattered nerves; and the experiences of the Western immigrants, m Southwest Louisiana, give most incontestible proofs that Louisiana's climate is most beneficial to catarrh and rheumatism. An explanation of their effects is most easy, as to catarrh . The atmosphere is heavtly charged with salineness, and the air inhaled reaches the seats of disease, in perpetual medication and insensible administration, beyond the reach and aimoyances of man's appli- cations; which are often nauseating and expensive. Every one knows that it is a common ail'air to snuff salt-water up the nostrils for catarrh and other diseases of the head ; and the atmosphere of the Gulf of Mexico has none of the intermittency, pungency and partliness of that remedy, and has all its beneficial effects. The beneficial results as to rheumatism are not so directly explicable by me. I presume that, ozone from the sea, in its invigorating and tonic efl'ects ; that exercise, open air, with their system-building opportunities, through better appetite and digestion, exercise an influence quite imponderable. Then, exemption from high winds, and the rigors of winter, play a very important part in the good work. Every one with a frail constituion knows what dreadful havoc excessive cold plays with the nerves, and creates or aggra- vates neuralgia. I am quite certain that ezceasiy* cold la a very material 80 SOME LATE WORDS factor in rheumatism ; and, while I am williufj to, most readily, admit that, for persons not subject to the rigors of winter, the greater dampness is not so favorable to rheumatism as a dryer air and a greater altitude, yet, taking all in all, the climate near the Gulf of Mexico is far better for rheumatism than life, in much, if not most, of the West. Experience is the last analysis of tests; and be the explanation what it may, the triumphant fact voices a pean, to Louisiana's climate, of scores of literally rejuvenated Western people, who were distorted and racked by the pangs of rheumatism in their old homes at the West. The proof, on that score, is decisive, and the matter is aloof from the domain of conjecture. And while I wish to touch the topic with due delicacy of assertion, it would be an outrage on the climaf e, and a wrong to fact, not to state that most of our climate is highly beneficial (if not curative of), chronic bronchitis and pulmonary consumption, in cases where parties have lived in a more rigorous climate. I do not think one need go far to get at facts of deepest import in explanation of those results. A person goes from a temperature of 100° or more degrees, Farenheit, in his house, into a temperature of from zero to 20° or more degrees below . Is there any trouble in knowing what that cold air does with delicate throat and lungs ? And breathe, one must. One is confined in a highly -heated, poisoned atmosphere, by breathing, again and again, the same air, because the excessive coldness of the outside air prevents proper ventilation. In order to resist the rigors of cold, with bodily vitality, food, strong in carbon-making quality, is needed. That demands good digestion ; and exercise and piire air are great factors thereof. But, the open air is an open door to the citadel and seat of disease (the tender lungs and throat), of their worst enemy, zero, and twenty below. So in- doors and out, is danger or death. Here, in Louisiana, zero is never touched by the hand of the icy king. Open air and exercise are always possible. Fire-places dispense their healthful warmth and enheartening and pictur- esque glow. • Food high in carbon-making is not needed, or if eaten, exercise and pure air can promote its digestion . No stealthy assassins of lungs and throat, stab these with their keen stilettos, in the guise of zero and his myrmidons from his lower realm. And, if the sufferer from these last two complaints, selects some spot in the pinewoods, where the air is dryer, he finds additional advantages in altitude, and the balsamic airs medicated by the odorous pine— securing healing or soothing from them, with the ozone of the sea combined with the soft, and almost ethereal mildness of the Gulf breezes. No one can describe properly a vrinter's day in the pinewoods of Louisiana, when that day is at its best ; when, far away in the ethery depths, the sky, without Heck or film, seems to look down in a grandeur of lover-like benignity uj)ou the enraptured earth ; when the spell that defies explanation, draws from the dear and inexhaustible repertory of nature so many bewitching elements. The pine sighs its soul in sadly-sweet monotone, in such enchanting dim- inuendoes and crescendoes, that it seems to play a delicious motette : like a wonderful musician a melody on one string of charmed instrument. The mockingbird, in many a winding bout of " delicious lay," in " The sweet music of his open month." " And linked sweetness long drawn out," " Fi'oiu the .snjiared nest of Ms delicicnis soul," Lets liy " a shoal of fuU fledg'd notes " that sparkle in crystalline delight, and float, and run, and soar, until they greet the azure welkin, and seem to challenge a seraph for a music-duel. Underfoot, the flowers, " With rich inlay, broider the gi'ound. And make mosaic." Near by, in some embowered cottage, with garden full of jonquils, hya- cynths, narcissus, etc., " The rose rears high her flourish'd head." On the bosom of some stately magnolia, the yellow jessamine has woven its graceful wildneas of golden embroidery. Enough of these. But, bring ABOUT LOUISIANA. 81 this easy possibility to pass. Put more features in the picture, of other flowers, and multifarious odors, more mockingbirds, and breezes soft as when "Zephyius on Flora breathes;" and you have only a few traits of a winters day, in thousands of Louisiana homes. Now bring your consumptive from hot rooms and foul airs, from piercing cold and howling winds ; where even " the rathe primrose '' has not yet put in an appearance, and Avhere the flowers have not yet " Awak'd from the dreams of their wintery rest." Place your invalid in the setting I have made ; and see if he will not be a ditt'erent picture, in heart and health, than in the frame of ice where he shud- dered, and shivered, and pined, and faded, in his Western prison ; the fore- runner of tomb, had he remained at home. Surely, one may say, with utterly changed import, and with the irony of cold fact, of such a home : " There's no place like home!" But I want to tell of a most material aspect of our breezes, the latter almost always prevailing all day and night (dying down to almost stillness at nightfall, fo: a short time, then ceasing in the early morning, and coming on soon after), that they are one great explanation of our health. They dissipate, before them, "the lazy elements that else would stagnate into pes- tilence." The almost perpetual movement of the air scatters miasma, and prevents festering and seething gases from their deadly or deleterious efl'ects in climates less Avinuowed by breeze. The sea-born airs " Their gelid wings expand, And winnow fragrance o'er a smiling land." Any one not conversant with the antidotal quality of saline air, in Louisi- ana, Avill look, in perfect amazement, at the fens and holes in Louisiana, Avhere scum, and fllth, and stagnation are seen on or around pools and ponds near the homes where indifterent people reside, and wonder at the health of the inhabitants. But, the pervading and prevailing breezes are the explana- tion. And then the saliness of the breezes make them strongly antiseptic, and destroys microbes and bacteria, may be. So pure is our air, nearer the coast, that people cut their beef — "jerk it," to use the provincialism, — and linng it on the fences to dry; which it does without putrefaction. And I ha,ve seen venison, even some distance from the coast, keep sweet and un- tainted for two days (how much longer it would htive kept I don't know ; for it was then eaten), hung out in the open air, with the temperature away up in the seventies . One might think flies would soon infest it . Not so . The re- markable paucity of many species of flies, in many localities, and the little annoyance flies are generally to live stock, in many quarters, is one of the paradoxes of our country . But, I must not be inveigled from my main topic, by tliat most strange and import 'iit fact. Our nights, in summer, are almost always cool, and sleep-inviting. Rightly placed, a man might almost spend a long life-time in almost any part of this State, and never once lose a night's sleep on account of excessive heat. By being " rightly placed," I mean having a sleeping apartment that enjoys the coolness that nature affords. If he gets in some room, in a large hotel, in a city, or elsewhere, that has been heated in the day of a midsummer's heat, and that has not been cooled, or cannot be cooled by the delicious breezes playing elsewhere, and that have lowered the temperature to a delightful degree, then he will welter (as he will North and West), in heat and sleep- lessness much, if not all, the night. But, that is not climate, but location. Our sutt'eriug here is (in summer), out of the hreeze. Shxit your windows, get out of the breeze, let the breeze cease, and one suffers . One noticas it, particularly, when the sky becomes clouded, and the breeze lays; generally, a condition of things closely or immediately preceding a rain or thunder-storm. That is our most trying type of heat, I think. It is sultry. The clouds act as a roof, to prevent radiation ; the cooling effects of the breezes cease ; and, to one not used to it, it is apt to be trying for awhile. Then, too, the moisture surcharging the air, prevents absorbtion of the perspiration, and makes one 82 SOME LATE WOEDS sweat profusely ; while a dry heat would absorb insensible perspiration, and measurably relieve. But, the sultriness and stillness are not the weather of Louisiana's climate. They are hardly features, rather expressions, of our weather. Her face is sunshine, and her breath is vocal. Her shades are always delicious, cooling, soothing, grateful, satisfying, when nature is in her normal mood. One may suflfer in the sun ; but the shade never disappoints, in the prevalent conditions. I don't know but the best way to put it is to say that the sun is hot, but the air cool. Out \Ve8t, as I have ridden over their great prairies, in a carriage, exposed to the sun's rays (and they are fiercer than ours), I have said: " Well, I'll soon be in the shade, and then I'll be comfortable." Alas! I was disappointed. The air is hot, as well as theswn. Western people are constantly wondering at Southern men com- plaining at the heat North and West, in many places ; and deem it an idiosyn- cracy or affectation ; but a man from the saline atmospheres (particularly), of much of the South, will always suffer in the summer-heat of much of the West, and will find intense comfort in getting back to the delicious coolness of Southern shades. I have spent enough summers in New Orleans, to know its climate and weather. Then, I have spent summers near the Catskills, in New York ; at Saratoga Springs, New York ; Cape May, New Jersey ; some time at Newport, Khode Island ; in various points West and North, even to Lake Superior ; and, given a cool room here, so far as delicious sleeping and lovely, cooling breezes are concerned, I give my preference to New Orleans. It used to be the fashion for onr people to go North or West every summer. Much of it was an affectation of fashion, and a whim of travel . Now, they are building summer cottages on the coast, between here and Mobile, and will soon be doing the same at the grand surf of our coast further West : Grand Isle and elsewhere. This matter ot breeziness has a very material connection with the question of labor in the field, in the walks of agriculture and horticulture . I have said that the breeze dies down after prevailing through the night, begins again from 6a.m. to 10 a.m. (rarely so late as the latter hour), blows until about sunset, ceases from one to three hours, and then blows until early morning: (that is the summer habit) . From this, one can see that the working hours are the breezy ones in the day ; and that night offers the soft lure of " nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," to the weary worker of the day. It is a beautiful economy of nature, and looks like a partiality of Providence. How the hot nights of some climates " murder sleep ;" and the man who has " borne the heat and burden of the diiy," and is worn out with work and lassitude, lies down in vain attempt to recuperate for the labors of the mor- row by sleep ; or if " Hushed by buzzing nicht-fiica to his slumber, It is a ' short and distiubed repose," ' full of tossings and feverish snatches of sweltering unrest. And then, the native of other climes — England and parts of Italy, — will not fail to remember the still air of summer days. The poets tell us of them. Thus Milton : "His look Drew audience and attention still as night Or summer's noon-tide air." Shelley writes: " When noon lays heavy on land and tree." Later, Tennyson: " The all- weary noons." There has been written much nonsense about Northern men not being able to stand field labor in the South. The pen and tongue of slander, in this regard, have not ceased, even now. And, considerable honest misapprehen- sion still exists in the minds of Northern and Western men . It is worth a few words here, to do our share to dispel it. About fifteen years ago, I had a long interchange of vi«ws with Sir John Crossly, M. P., of England. He was, at that time, president of the Mississippi Valley Society, of which the Bonorable Jefferson Davis, the illustrious and revered President of the ABOUT LOCJISIANA. 83 Sonthem Confederacy, was the leading American representative and official. This society had, for its aim, the development of the Mississippi Valley (mainly), through the intervention or introduction of English capital, enter- prise and immigration. Sir John told me that, a pressing need was to remove, firom the English mind, the opinion engraven iipon it by a century of cogent, vehement, reiteration upon the part of the South (as the fundamental defense of and apology for African slavery), that the white man could not stand field labor there, and that negro slavery was a necessity of her agricul- ture. He said that that belief was wide spread, by reason of its sincere, long, and unchallenged asservation. Immediately, I set to work, issuing a circular-letter, directed to Europeans and Northern white men who had come South, and had tried field labor long enough to test the matter, as to the truth or falsity of the statement . This circular-letter I sent, a copy each, to every paper, in two or more Southern States, especially Mississippi and Louisiana. Papers in other Southern States copied the letter. I was overwhelmed with replies , and the testimony covered, I presume, the experiences of thousands ; for, one letter represented several hundred Swedes who had located in Mis- sissippi. The gist of the replies was, to utterly refute the fallacy. Numerous letters not only spoke of standing field labor South as well as in their old homes North and West, but of even standing it better ; and, in addition, spoke of improved health . More than this : I remember one or more in- stances, where white men endured labor on railroad work (track-repairing, etc.), better tl in negroes — the estimable Captain John J. Conway, of the Illinois Central iiailroad (Southern branch), giving me much illustration in the last regard. And the convention of Northern men, who have lived in Louisiana, held in New Orleans last August — 1888 — to assert the proof of fifteen years' ago,, was a reaffirmation and echo thereof; the only difference being that my investigations took a far wider range, and embraced, not only Louisiana, but several other Southern States. So, I hope to hear soon, no more of this utterly false assertion. It is quite sure that now and then (semi-occasionally), the climate does not agree with one from the North or West, at that place where he has located. But somewhere else in the State might. And even if no place siiits, it is only what is happening in thousands of instances elsewhere. Many people are not well anywhe7-e. And, then, it is certainly true that, some people come South with the most absurd expectations. They come, maybe, from a country where drought has ruined them, or frequently blights theif old homes. And then, when the rainfall is one of the richest bounties of Provi- dence to Louisiana, and it must make mud sometimes, and indoors a neces- sity, they complain at mud and rain. They come from the blizzard-infested belt, where they go to and from the stable by " safety lines" from the house; where they are absolutely besieged by storm for days ; where man and beast often freeze to death ; or die from starvation, because they can't be reached with food ; where the thermometer stays below zero for weeks ; where they sometimes have to burn fences, and even parts of their residences and barns for fuel, to save them from freezing ; and they will come South, and if the thermometer be 15° or 20° Fahrenheit, they will say they sufl'er from cold here more than when at home. Well, they may suffer more South, at that temperature, than at home, with the same temperature ; but they don't suffer half, nay, even a tenth, as much from that temperature South, as they do at zero and below, at home. The fallacy consists in not comparing oui worst weather with theirs. »And, let it be remembered that, if our air be a little raw and more uncomfortable than his at home, when the thermometer marks the same degree of cold in both instances, let them remember that it is only uncomfortable, not dangerous, deadly or expensive, and has not, as its inci- dents, the fearful catalogue we have mentioned as characteristics of his winter in the West. Let it be understood, too, that our disagreeable, mean weather is of short duration (only a "cold snap"), while he is liable to months at home, and, in fierce continuity, too . But, when one finds a man who comes South, from the West, and innocently tells you that he thought overcoats were never needed here in winter (as is the case sometimes), or when he walks out or rides, in out roughest weather, without that garment, 84 SOME LATE WORDS and in snch cases complains, and is surprised at feeling cold, can any wonder at such an one telling you, in inane sincerity, that it is as cold here, or colder than at the winter-ridden and blizzard-harried West? Don't he kliow better ? Why, the very roses blush for him, as if in shame at his hardened cheek or shallow brain, and breathe refutation myriads of other tiowers with their odors. The radishes, lettuce, garden "sass," and other A'egetables rise to confound him . All nature, animate and inanimate, seems to reply; even the birds, in melodious contradiction, and the young chickens in the barn- yard, and the bees a-\\dng, the strawberries ripening or eaten at his host's table . In summer, he will talk of heat, and will tell you that 96° Fahrenheit here, is more punitive and trying than 103° or 105°, in his Western home. That may be. But let it be understood that we don't have that heat regularly in Louisiana. Let it deeply impress the carper too, that if our temperature be more sultry, that betokens great advantages. It means almost total immunity from siuistroke, so common North and West, that plays sucli sad havoc with man and beast. The sun's rays are measurably quenched and cooled, in the moisture of the atmosphere. Let him remember too, that our sultriness means rainfall ; and that means croji-makiug, exemption from ruinous droughts, prosperity to agriculture. Let him remember that it means cool- ness in the shade, delightful slumbers at night, noble forests, perennial streams, perpetual fruits and flowers. Let him remember tliat, on tliis earth incompatible advantages are not to be had : One cannot have united the best aspects of a dry climate, and those where there is a more humid one. If the caviller retorts that the extreme heat of his climate is of shorter duration, and is relieved by intervals of great change; granted. But are regularity, evenness of climate nothing ? Is it a desideratum, to-day to welter in the heat of 103°, and to-morrow have to wear overcoats, and drive with buffalo robes ? In New Orleans (and most of Louisiana), one can put on a linen garb in May, and wear it daily, almost or quite, to mid-October. Many places North and West, it is linen to-day, and thick, woolen clothing to- morrow. Sometimes, it is both the same day. In fact, peoj^le from the North and West experience needless suffering from our heat, because they persist in wearing the same heavy clothing here that prudence dictates and safety demands at home. They fear to attire themselves as we of the State do, lest, forsooth, they should catch " cold !" They avoid draughts of air, to sleep or sit in the night air, when our people do it with almost total im- punity. It is amiisiug to ride on the cms, ;iud see these timorous peojile pull down the windows, pile on the M'raps, and swelter ; and then complain of heat ! And I have known them to go in rooms to sleep, already hot, put down the windows, use heaps of bed-clothing, for dread of the night air ; and then say they can't stand our climate — next morning jaded and worn out by the sweat-bath of the night. Next door, some ISensible man had the wind bowl- ing over him in great waves of balmy coolness ; and in the morning is cheery with his deep and restful slumbers of the past night. But, these half-hypo- chondriacs tire only using the needed precautions of home. They know how insidious and hurtful is the night air there. They know that they dare not sit or sleep in a " draught," lest they should take cold. And, they bring their habits and precautious here, with added apprehensions of Southern air ; as though the soft and kindly lireezes were devils in disguise, armed with chills, fevers, colds, etc. Let them throw such foolery to^the winds! And, if our reply to cavils will not satisfy that one who is so unpersuadable, then let him weigh the great, unanswerable argument that, he certainly must confess the discomforts, diseases, deatlis, expenses incidental to his long winters, are far worse than the real or fancied discomforts of our long summers. Our rain, in summer, is seldom in the night, from May to December. In winter, it is heavier at night than day time. Explanations easy, but I pass on. If there be enquiry at or wonder how we have so much precipitation or rainfall, and so much sunshiue. the answer is ths.t, — hcu it rains, it often ABOUT LOUISIANA, 85 " pours." Sometimes, seven inches of rainfall occur in a fe^y lionrs. Four or five inches per day are not infreqvieut. The sky seldom scowls in empty threats. There are few of those long-delayed promises of rain, that frequently delude and disappoint the agriculturist North and West. The sky is over- cast, the rain falls heavily, and the heavens are soon bright, with the breezes piping. We have none, or next to none, of those hot, close, steaming, mists or vapors, that curtain the air in landscape-clouding, suffocating stillness, and that often produce rust in wheat so soon. I have thus given some views Qf climate, of which climatological statistics give little, or no apprehension to the average man. " Mean annual temjjera- ture," "moiiThly maximums and miuimums," "dew point," "relative humidity," and the vocabulary of signal-service reports, mean little to him. The climatoldgist, men of science, deduce from the dry facts of those, much that I have said. But the average man desires, needs to have, the outcome of them, and what they mean, portrayed. That I have attempted. But we know how the other class would complain (and justly), if we did not give the highest data ; so, we furnish tabulations, particularizing some- what, where Capt. Kerkam has generalized in broad deductions. By this treatment, we aim to satisfy all, and satisfy the more curious enquiry of tho scientist or critic. The following table is from the report of the Chief Signal Officer, War De- partment ; appendix 10 ; page 82 et tseq, for 1885 ; part first : Mean temperature (in decrees Fahrenheit) at stations of the Sif/nal Service, United States Army, for each month and the year. {Computed front Xorember, 1879, to December, 1884, both inclufiire, except at stations opened subsequent to the former date.) [The daily means are obtained by dividing the sum of the 7 a. m., 3 and 11 p. m. ("Wasliing- ton time) observations by 3 ; the monthly, by dividing the sum of the daily by the num- ber of days in the month.] >j i - s .5 3 i Stations. 0! s >-5 s ^ s o 3 1 ^ 3 0) a p 5o s 1 a ? 1 t— ( "3 <1 New England : O o "T" o o o o ~V Eaatport, Me Portland, Me 19.8 23.2 27.9 37.8 47.1 .56.2 60.5 61.1 .56.5 40.7 36.1 25.7 41.6 24.6 28.7 34.0 44.7 55.1 65.0 69.6 68.6 62.3 51.0 39.6 30.1 47.8 Mount Washington, N. H 6.1 8.8 9.6 20.1 34.2 44.3 46.7 47.2 42.6 30.2 17.2 11.3 26.5 Boston. Ma.ss 26.4 .30.1 J3.9 43.6 .55.3 65.8 69.9 68.8 03.5 51.7 40.0 31.4 48.4 Block Island. R. I 30.1 33.3 35.it 42.8 .51.9 62.4 68.5 68.4 64.7 .55.3 44.9 30.1 49.6 New Haven. Conn 26.5 30.6 34.5 45.2 57.3 66.9 70.9 69.5 65.0 53.0 40.8 31.1 49.3 New London, Conn 28.8 32.1 35.9 45.3 56.4 65.7 70.3 69.3 65. 1 54.3 42.3 33.5 49.9 Middle Atlantic States : Albauv, N. Y 25.0 30.0 34.8 47.8 61.2 70.1 73.2 71.9 65.9 53.0 40.4 30.4 50.4 New York City 30.0 33.6 36.7 47.0 .59.3 68.3 72.6 71.6 67.5 .56.2 43.2 34.4 51.0 Philadelphia, "Pa 31.7 37.1 40.2 49.9 62.6 71.5 75.1 7^.7 69.3 .57.7 44.6 36.1 .54.1 Atlantic City, N. J 32.4 35.7 38.6 46.7 .57.8 66.9 72.6 71.6 68.8 .58.5 44.5 36.8 52.0 Barnegat City, N. J 31.9 35.1 38.3 46.0 57 . 2 66.5 72 . 2 71.1 68.0 .57.7 44.2 36.4 .52.0 Cape May, N. J 34.8 39.0 41.4 48.9 60.0 68.5 74.1 72.9 70.1 60.6 48.0 39.4 .54.7 Sandy Hook, N. J 30.8 34.1 37.6 47.1 .59.5 68. S 74.0 72.8 69.0 .57.9 45.0 35.8 .52.7 Delaware Breakwater, Del 32.1 38.6 40.4 48.1 59.7 68. -J 73.2 72.4 69.9 60.8 47.5 3.^.2 54.0 Baltimore, Md 34.4 39.7 42.5 .52.6 65.3 73.6 76.9 74.7 70.2 .59.6 46.0 3S.:i .56.1 Washington City 32.3 38.5 41.2 .51.7 t>t.9 73.0 70.2 74.3 70.2 59.0 44.7 36.5 .55.1 Cape Henry, Va Chmcoteague Va 39.9 45.0 46.4 .54.0 65.2 73.3 77.:: 76.1 73.4 64.6 5"' . "^ 44.6 .59.2 33.5 39.2 41.4 49.4 6(1.2 69.5 74^4 73.1 70.5 61.3 47!9 38.9 55.0 Lynchburg, Va 37.5 43.)^ 46.! 55.9 6K.ll 74.8 7.K.0 76.0 71.1 61.1 46.7 40.4 4S.2 Norfolk, Va 40.7 46.6 48. 55.6 67.6 75.2 l^^.U 76.7 73.1 63.7 .51.2 44.6 60.1 South Atlantic States: Charlotte, N. C 41.5 48.3 .50.4 58.8 69.0 76.1 79.4 76.7 71.8 63.3 49.8 43.8 60.6 Hatteras, N. C 43.2 48.8 50.0 55.2 66.0 74.2 78.2 77.4 75.3 67.6 .56.2 47.3 61.8 Kitty Hawk, N. C 42.2 46.7 47.5 53.6 64.8 73.5 78.2 70.3 74.0 05.5 .53.6 40.4 60.1 86 SOME LATE WOEDS Mean temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit) at stations of the Signal Service, United States Army, for each month and the year, ^c. — Continued. Stations. South Atlantic States — Continued Macon, J'ort, N. C Smithville, N. C Wilniingtou, N. C Charleston, S. C An^ista, Ga Savannah, Ga Jacksonville, Fla Florida Peninsula : Cedar Keys, Fla Key West, Fla Sanford, Fla Ivistern Gulf States : Atlanta, Ga Pensacola, Fla Mobile, Ala Montjiomery, Ala Vicksburg, Miss New Orleans, La Western Gulf States : Shreveport, La Fort Smith, Ark Little Kock, Ark Galveston, Tex Indianola, Tex Palest' Tie, Tex Rio Grande Valley: Browntiville, Tex Rio Grande City, Tex Ohio Valley and Tennessee: Chattanooga, Tenn Knoxville, Tenn Memphis, Tenn Nashville, Tenn Louisville. Ky Indianapolis, Ind Cincinnati, Ohio Columbus, Ohio Pittsburg, Pa Lower Lakes : Buffalo, N. Y Oswego, N. T Rochester, N. T Erie, Pa Cleveland, Ohio Sandjiskv. Ohio Toledo, Ohio Detroit, Mich Upper Lakes; Alpena, Mich Escanaba, Mich ..^ Grand Haven, Mich Mackinaw City, Mich Marquette, Mich Port Huron, Mich Chicago. Ill Milwaukee, Wis Duluth, Minn Upper Mississippi Valley : Saint Paul. Minn La Crosse, Wis Davenport, Iowa Des Moines. Iowa Dubuque, Iowa , Keokuk, Iowa , Cairo, lU Sprinrfeld, HI , ^int Lonia, Mo 43.8 47.3 48.3 51.6 48.8 53.1 57.4 58.2 71.8 55.6 44.1 .54.1 52.3 49.5 49.0 55.9 46.8 32.0 42.5 53.6 53.0 42.0 49.8 51 53.5 .56.3 .54.9 57.6 61.4 62.3 73.1 65.3 .50.0 58.4 57.1 .55.1 54.9 60.5 52.1 40.8 48.0 58.3 58.2 54.0 58.6 62.9 57.6 64.4 41.9 39.0 40.8 39.6 35.7 29.5 34.8 29.5 31 24.0 25.7 24.3 27.4 25.9 27.4 7.3 5.8 18.0 14.0 25.2 14.8 16.5 21. 24.7 20.4 10.0 12.4 16.0 22.9 20.3 19.0 24.5 35.9 27.8 29.7 48.0 45.4 47.0 45. 42. 35.5 41.0 35.8 36.4 51.4 «^53. 55.0 .58.3 57.3 60.6 64.2 64.5 73.9 68.4 53.0 61.8 61 58.4 .59.4 63.9 58.9 50.7 54.1 64.0 64.7 60.8 68.8 .7 51.5 48.4 52.1 49.7 45.1 40.1 44.2 39.1 38.6 57.1 60.2 61.2 64.3 64.1 66.7 69.6 70.5 77.2 70.8 61.0 67.9 68.0 65.5 66.4 70.0 66 59.4 62.7 69.9 70.8 65.2 74.178.8 82.6 26.6 28.9 27.3 30.7 30.7 32.0 32.0 31.0 19.6 16.3 27.9 14.0 17.7 25.5 29.6 25.8 15.2 18.4 22.7 28.9 25.8 25.0 30.6 42.5 34.1 29.4 31.6 30 33.1 33.3 35.1 36.0 34.6 24 22.6 31.8 20.2 23.5 29.0 34.8 31.1 24.2 28.6 31.0 35.4 34.3 33.0 37.6 47.6 40.0 36.0142.1 68.0 70.2 70.1 72.8 72.4 73.9 74.9 76.0 80.0 75.5 .1 73.9 74.4 72.9 73.1 75.6 73.6 68.0 70.0 76.3 76.4 0.6 76.2 60.0 57.6 62.0 .59.0 56.0 51.9 54.3 50.0 0.3 40.1 41.9 42.0 43.6 44.2 45.6 46.9 45.6 36.1 35.7 43.2 36.5 36.5 40.1 45 42.3 37.8 44.9 47.0 49.5 49.0 47.8 51.8 .58.8 53 54.9 8».3 85.3 75.0 7.0 76. 79.5 78. .3 .7 80.7 83.7 78.6 75.4 9.7 80.7 79 79.9 81 81.0 76.8 77.9 82.4 82.0 8.6 78.8 80.7 79.9 82.8 81.9 83.3 82.9 82.7 85.3 82.4 77.7 8.8 8.2 80.6 9.5 80.5 81.0 5.0 74.8 4.6 76.9 75.6 76.6 77 81.779.6 84.2182.7 80.4 78.0 78.5 75.8 72.0 9 70.6 69.2 66.9 64.0 65.6 62.8 63.1 53.6 .54.9 6.3 .57.5 .58.3 60.7 60.4 58.8 49.2 50.1 .56.0 46.'.; 49.5 53.3 .57.1 .54.2 48.3 58.5 60.7 62.0 60.9 60.6 63.5 75.077.675.9 73.2 75.2 74.4 8.0]S0.4 78.9 4 .1 63.8 65. 81.0 81.1 81.3 81.3 83.0 83.1 79.6 80.0 84.0 83.2 81.5 83.4 86.8 80.377.3 80.4 77.3 79.676.* 80.3175.4 82.0 78.9 81.7 76.7 78.6 83.4 82.3 79.6 82.2 83.1 74.0 72.5 3.8 70.8 70.6 63.8 63.7 64.9 66.3 67.0 68.5 69.3 67 .59.0 61.0 64.5 .59.9 .58.1 62.8 65.1 62.1 58.2 67.0 69.1 69.8 69.5 68.4 71.8 75.9 71. 3 2i73 77.1 75.3 77.0 4.1 2.8 68.1 68.7 68.8 70.3 70.4 72.2 73.1 1.2 64.3 65.3 68.3 61.9 63.8 67.0 70.8 67.8 65 69.9 71.5 73.6 72.7 72.0 76.0 8.5 5.3 77.0 6.0 74.1 75.6 72.5 71.9 68.5 68.6 69.0 69 69.4 71.4 71.4 70.3 64.0 64.1 67.7 62.1 63. 67.3 71 68.1 64.1 69.6 70.8 72.7 72.0 71 74 77.3 74.0 76.1 5.3 2.5 72.6 80.1 79.4 75.8 79.4 82.5 71.1 70.2 72.6 71.5 70.4 67.6 70.4 67.4 67.9 63.9 63.5 65.1 64.9 65.2 66.4 66.2 65.2 58.0 57.0 62.5 ,57.8 56.9 62.3 65.3 61.6 56.4 59.9 62. 65.5 63.9 63.3 67 70.7 67.1 70 67.6 66.8 67.0 69.5 68 69 72.6 74.1 9.4 74.8 05.1 71.9 1.4 69. 68.9 73.2 68.4 64. 65.5 74 74.6 68.7 55.5 54.6 55.1 5' 54.8 58.6 62.5 63.6 5.4 67.1 .51.2 .59.4 .58.8 55.3 55.3 61.4 54.4 51.3 .51.5 62.2 62.3 56.7 ■5.5 65.4 ■4.8 63.6 63.8 62.4 65.2 64.1 60.9 57.0 60.2 56 57.0 .51.5 51.4 .50.9 54.5 .54 .55.0 .54.8 54.3 46.3 46.3 51.6 48.5 46.0 .50.2 .54.3 51.5 45 48.6 .51.4 54 .52.7 .52.1 55.6 62.2 56.7 ilso.o 49.6 47.0 .50.1 48.6 46.6 41.5 45.3 41 42.5 38;6 39.4 37.6 40.9 39.5 40.6 48.4 49.4 50 53.4 50.2 .54.6 58.4 .5^.7 71.9 64.0 46.1 55.4 .53.4 62.4 63.7 64.1 66.9 65.5 67.9 0.2 71.1 78.2 71.6 7 4 68.0 .50.6 66.0 51.8 06.2 57.4 70.2 .50.0 40.4 45.3 57.8 .57.3 49.7 61.8 .2 43.6 40.4 43 41.6 38.8 32.4 37.0 33.2 34.81 30.2 30.4 29.0 32.7 30.5 31.8 40.8131.8 40.0 31.2 32.2 30.7 38.4 35.7 30.8 35.6 39.3 35.6 28.3 31.0 34.2 39.1 36.4 5.8 39.9 47.4 41.8 44.0 23.6 1.0 29.6 26.9 29.2 25.0 14.9 17.6 21 28.11 24.3 24.2 28.5 39 31 34.1 65.8 59.5 62.3 70.5 0.2 65.0 ■2.6 ■3.1 60.4 58.2 61.7 60.0 .57.4 53.3 i6.5 i2.6 .53.1 46.5 47.4 47.5 49.2 49.0 50.8 50.8 49.7 41.2 40.5 47.2 40.0 40.5 45.1 48.8 45.5 39.1 43.9 46.6 .50.2 48.5 47.8 51.8 58.5 .53.0 55.1 ABOUT LOUISIANA. 87 Mean temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit) at stations of the Signal Service, United States Army, for each month and the year, ^c. — Continued. Stations. Missotiri Vnlley : Leaven woi-ili, Kans Omaha, Nebr Bennett, Fort, Dak Huron, Dak Yankton. Dak Extreme North west : Moorhead, Minn Saint Vincent, Minn Bismarck, Dak Buford Fort, Dak Northern Slope : Aasinaboine Fort, Mont Benton Fort, Mont Custer, Fort, Mont Helena,, Mont Maeinnia Fort, Mont Poplar Biver. Mont Shaw, Fort, Mont Deadwood, Dak Cheyenne,' Wyo Noiith Platte, Nebr Middle Slope Denver, Colo Pike'a Peak, Colo West Las Animas. Colo Dodge City. Kajis Elliott, Fort, Tex Southern Slope : Sill, Fort, Ind. T Concho, Fort Tex Davis, Fort, Tei Stockton, Fort, Tex Southern Plateau : Santa Fe, N. Mex El Paso, Tex Apache, Fort, Ariz Grant, Fort, Ariz Prescott, Ariz Thomas Camp, Ariz Yuma, Ariz Middle Plateau: Winnemucca, Nev Salt Lake City, Utah Northern Plateau: Boise City, Idaho Lewiston, Idaho Dayton, Wash Spokane Falls, Wash North Pacitic Coast : Can by. Fort, Wash Olympia, Wash , Tatoosh Lslaud, Wash Portland, Oreg Rosenburg, Oreg Middle Pacific Coast: Cape Mendocino, Cal Red Blvitf, Cal Sacramento, Cal San Franciso, Cal South Pacitic Coast: Los Angeles, Cal San Diego, Cal Alaska Stations : Saint ^lichiiers. Fort, Alaska. Sitka, Alaska Dnalaska, Alaska Behring's Island, Behring Sea 27.0 20.5 10.4 9.8 15.9 -2.7 -6.8 5.4 5.1 32.0 25.2 16.2 14.4 18.8 5.6 1.5 10.9 10.2 41.0 34.7 28.4 27.7 29.4 16.8 12.7 21.2 22.1 53.7 49.7 43.0 43.6 44.8 37.8 33.5 38.5 39.2 ,0 24, ,30.3 1.8 21.9 27.4 31.7 42.8 42.4 43.1 27.2 43.4 33.8 42.1 34.5 40.1 52.8 29.5 3.4 26.1) 30.8 35.5 48.3 47.8 5 31.6 48.9 37.4 44.3 36.0 46.8 56.3 64.3 62.5 56.5 !52.8 59.7 .'53.3 51.2 55.2 53 ,52..') 53.2 54.5 51.6 47.6 .55.0 39.5 49.9 38.0 49.0 39.8 49.3 46.8 57.9 3.5 2.1 18.2 16.3 69. .7 .5 70.8 3 72.4 75.2 73.9 71.8 .6 72.3 64.8|66.4l66. 62.1 65.3 64.3 63.4 67.8 06.5 63.4 67. 66.7 67.8 65 60.1 58.0 61.8 .55.4 52.4 55.8 53.7 56.4 3.r 46.3 46.8 49.5 42.6 39.6 43.0 41 41.4 41.8 44.0 4|41.4 37 38.6 63 63.2 64.5 61.1 59.4 66.2 68.8 70.0 66.6 61.5 59.7 63.2' 39.6 7.2 40.9 41.8 45.7 47.2 13.0 48.4 .52.2 55.5 50.562.2 28.9 30.0 27.9 29 28.5 31.6 30.9 28. 42.6 37.8 41.5 39.3 39.8 46.6 45 45.3 49.3 30.6 30.4 29.1 24.2 38.2 30.9 .36.6 38.0 ;39.8 .56.9 .53.7 .56.1 38.6 55.4 43.5 .lO.O :!.5 62.5 .38.9 40.0 41.5 43.2 42.4 38.0 44.0 43.3 4J 46.0 64.0 59.2 62.5 46.6 63.0 49.4 .57.0 49.1 .59.5 68.3 40. 47.9 49.0 50 48.9 47.4 50 48.0 49.2 51.1 55.4 21.8 .57.2 61.6 63.1 1 71.2 67.0 70 55.4 71.5 56.7 65.8 57.0 68.4 76.3 53.4 .57.1 .57.2 58.6 55 .55.7 60.4 60.7 68.8 66.9 33.6 68.9 73.2 73.2 78.4 79.9 45.9 50.5 44.6 48.6 47.0.53. 47.7.53.4 49.7 52.5 52.0,53.1 .52.8 53.5 5.3 37.0 31.3 25.7 1.6 32.7 33.8 28.8 54 .55.1 10.8 37.0 33.0 26.8 .53.1 50.9 56.6 56.0 47.8 57.9 56.8 53.9 57.6 57.8 19sl} 42.7 35.0 29.6 6 6K.ti 70. ( 67.-. 63." 66.0 .53.2 40. .55.5 41. 62.9 65.7 '2.5 72.3 39.7 5.1 76.2 76.0 81.1 81.7 '4.9]75.7 80.2 65.9 80.8 67.0 76.1 66.4 78.9 84.5 03.5 68.5 66.0 66 63.0 63.8 65.4 64.3 71.7 62. C 51.0 66.8 63.4 57.0 i8.4 53.3 61.7 61.3 54.6 4.9 67.9 57.9 61.8 61.4 33.2 46.6 39.4 36.0 68.0 81.8 71.9 77.3 1.4 83 91.4 71 74.4 72.1 72.8 67.4 67.9 58.6 61.1 55.8 64.8 65.5 53.8 82.3 71.9 58.8 )7.0 -.6.0 U.5 U.4 52.4 .53.4 70.5 38.1 72.1 73.9 74.0 79.7 79.1 71.0 76.8 64.9 8.0 69.0 73.4 69.1 80.1 90.1 69.2 74.2 .1 .0 62.0 30.7 65.4 67.0 67.9 72.962.6 50.1 20.5 52.5 54.6 57.4 9 66.1 1.0 .58.0 1.2 62.1 70.0 62.1 72.7 82.9 58.' 63.; :58.6 59.7 58 64.8 60.. 5 63.2 67.3 55.7 65.6 64.5 46.2 51.2 45.8 42.2 60.7 61.5 .56.4 64. 63.8 .55.0 79.3 70.7 8.1 69.6 68.5 ,57.6 ,55.6 .52 .58.9 59.9 50.1 53.8 55.8 50.4 50.4 47.4151.8 41.2 37.0 29.2 30.4 32.5 23.6 19.3 25.9 24.9 28. 30. 31. 29. 32. 23. 30. 31. 32. 33. 36.5 10.0 36.9 38.0 41.0 46.8 .51.2 4JJ.9 50.4 48.5 62.1 52. 60. 51. 59.5 60.9 44.9 49.6 47.0 49.0 48.1 30.5 3.7 18.3 17.8 19.0 9.7 4.5 10.0 8.0 16. 19. 18. 20. 20. 21. 21. 27. 23. 31.7 6.7 26.9 29.1 33.8 37.7 46.1 45.5 46.3 .35.0 49.5 40.3 49.7 40.9 48.0 59.7 33.0 36.1 36.6 38.0 :!7.4 47.135.9 51 48.9 49.1 57.2 72.2 68.1 59.2 67.5 66.3 43 51.9 47.0 47.2 .53.3 60. 59.1 57.4 61. 61. 53.3 49.5 43.6 41.8 45.6 36.8 33.2 39.0 38.1 40.3 42.6 43.6 42.6 38.8 36.3 41.2 41.2 43.5 47.4 49.4 18.9 49.2 52.2 54.6 60.2 63.1 59.2 62.2 30 45.8 36.5 45.1 37.6 43.3 55.4 32.4 83.6 31.8 .31.3 30.5 27.6 42.1 43.2 46.4 .4 43.1 .51.3 .3 .1.1 54 57.4 57 25.8 49.9 39.3 48.9 42.0 45.142.2 34.7 38.130.4 46.8 62.5 51.7 59.3 51.5 61.4 70.8 48.0 50.3 49.4 50.4 48.2 46.2 i9.4 40.1 41.5 49.0 46.6 46.1 47. S .51.4 .51.5 .51.2 61.6 .58.5 .54.5 55.6 4.4 35.2 32. U 27.4 00.4 60.1 26.7 43.9 40.6 35.7 88 SOME LATE WOEDS The followiujf, owing to want of space, is a selected table. It is given fromtlio standpoint of winter, mainly ; so as to show the climate j)articularly at that season : MONTHLY AVERAGE OF CLOUDINESS AND HUMIDITY FROM NOVEMBER, 1879, TO NOVEMBER, 1884. CLOUDINESS. HU:\IIDITT. a Boston New Haven Albany, N. Y New York City Philadelphia Baltimore, Md Wa shington City Jacksonville, Fla Sanford, Fla Galve.st.ou, Texas .... Brownsville, Texas... Chattanooga. Tenu... Knoxvillc. Tcnn Nashville, Ttnin Louisville. Ky Indianapolis, Ind Cincinnati, O Columbus, O Pittsburgh, Pa Butialo. N. Y Rochester, «• Y Cleveland, O Toledo, O Detroit, Mich Grand Haven, Mich. Chicago, 111 Milwaukee, Wis Duluth. Minn St. Paul, Minn La Crosse, Wis Davenport, Iowa Des Moines, Iowa. . . Dubuque. Iowa Keokuk. Iowa Cairo, 111 Springfield, 111 St. Lonis, Mo Leavenworth, Kan... Omaha, Neb Port A.ssiuaboine, M. T. New Orleans. La. . . . Los Angeles, Cal. . . San Diego, Cal San Francisco. Cal.. San Antonio. Texas'* From September, T872, t« and including Octo- ber. 1879. New Orleans, lor .same period 5.4 .5.4 5.9 5.8 .5.6 5.6 6.0 4.7 4.5 5.5 .5.8 C.3 6.4 7.5 6.3 6.3 6.4 7.0 7.1 7.7 T.9 7.4 7.0 7.0 7.9 5.7 6.0 5.1 4.9 4.8 .5.5 4.8 4.7 ,5.6 6.1 5.7 5.4 5.0 5.0 5.4 .5.3 3.1 4.1 4.7 4.9 5.0 5.6 .5.1 5.3 5.3 5.6 4.6 3.7 5.4 5.6 5.9 5.7 6.1 6.0 5.9 6.1 6.5 6.6 6.5 6.9 6.5 6.4 6.1 6.5 5.5 .5.8 5.5 4.9 4.8 .5.5 5.0 5.4 4.9 5.7 .5.2 5.4 5.0 4.9 4.8 5.0 4.0 4.4 4.7 5.5 7.5 6.1 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.5 3.9 4.0 5^5 5.3 5.3 5.7 5.9 6.2 5.9 6.5 6.5 6.3 6.7 6.6 6.4 6.3 6.1 5.8 6.0 4.9 5.2 5.3 5.7 .5.4 5.9 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.1 5.4 4.8 4.9 4.5 4.8 4.6 0.0 5.4 7.1 5.7 5.9 5.3 5.7 4.6 3.7 5.4 5.8 .5.9 5.4 6.3 6.3 6.4 6.5 7.2 7!l 8.2 8.4 7.6 7.3 6.9 8.1 6.0 6.3 5.8 .5.1 5.4 6.1 6.0 6.2 5.8 6.3 6.3 6.0 5.3 3.2 4.5 4.6 5.3 5.3 6.2 5.5 5.6 5.4 5.7 4.4 4.0 5.4 5.7 5.8 .5.7 6.1 6.1 6.2 6.2 6.8 6.8 7.2 7!5 7.2 6.8 6.8 7.1 5.7 6.0 5.3 5.1 .5.7 5.7 .5.3 5.5 ,5.4 5.9 .5.7 .5.5 5.1 5.1 .5.0 SA 4.4 4.6 71.9 73.3 69.2 77.4 76.4 71.0 78.5 76.6 78.2 82.5 82.0 74.7 79.4 77.6 74.1 73.0 74.6 74.4 78.2 80.6 79.6 800 76.2 -,7.4 80.4 73.1 79.3 77.2 71.1 72.0 65.8 68,5 66.1 74.9 77.5 71.3 70.9 70.7 71.1 65.0 73.4 62.7 65.6 75.6 69.9 72.7 73.1 08.3 77.3 72.7 67.0 72.3 71.8 75.0 .S0.6 81.1 67.7 70.2 71.5 68.2 71.3 70.7 71.1 73.4 78.6 78.8 77.0 73.4 76.8 80.5 70.0 78.1 73.8 71.5 70.0 06.7 68.3 66.5 71 5 73.2 68.9 78.2 67.6 69.7 67.0 71.1 65.0 08.5 73.5 62.8 71.0 68.1 65.6 71.8 69.5 63.3 68.5 65.5 72.9 78.3 80.6 63.7 66.4 68.1 63.6 G5.0 04.7 65.7 68.8 75.9 76.7 75.0 68.5 73.3 77.1 68.9 7.5.6 71.6 68.9 69.4 64.7 67.3 65.5 09.1 07.1 64.8 72.4 63.6 67.1 66.7 68.9 72.5 74.8 73.6 62.0 71.5 75.6 71.8 76.8 74.9 68.4 75.2 76.0 77.8 79.6 82.9 72.2 76.2 75.7 71.4 74.4 74.2 74.6 77.7 78.2 80.6 SO.O 75.8 77.2 80.9 74.8 79.6 78.0 72,7 72.1 72.1 71.4 68.5 75.4 74.9 70.8 76.7 71.6 71.1 62.8 73.1 67.1 69.6 79.9 09.2 72.0 72.5 68.7 75.8 71.1 67.4 .73.6 72.5 76.0 80.2 81.6 69.6 73.5 73.2 69.3 71.7 71.5 71.4 74.5 78.3 78.9 78.0 73.5 76.2 79.9 71.7 78.1 75.1 71.5 70.9 07.3 68.9 66.6 72.7 73.2 68.9 75.5 68.2 69.7 65.4 71.6 66.8 69.6 7.5.6 65.5 71.3 72.1 64.6 72.8 72.3 66.1 71.3 73.4 76.7 77.0 79.8 71.1 71.9 71.1 69.0 68.0 67.7 67.7 70.0 74.7 72.6 71.9 70.1 71.1 75.8 70.8 7.5.0 74.2 70.9 68.3 67.5 69.5 66.9 70.2 72.4 67.7 73.0 66.8 68.7 60.0 71.9 68.2 71.9 70.8 69.2 2.0 69.9 70.3 *San Antonio is not given in the above table of humidity. [The table embracing the above points is found on the table concerning Shreveport, found elsewhere. J ABOUT LOUISIANA. 89 The following is kindly furnished by Capt. Kerkam :' "the climate of north LOUISIANA. i " There are few, if any States, in the Union, that possess a milder or more genial elimate than Louisiana. This has been demonstrated repeatedly Avithin the i)ast year by i\ r-onipilation and publication of statistics covering all sections of the T'nited States and the greater portion of Europe, in the interest of the innuigratioii movement to this State. Of North Louisiana bnt little more can or need l)e said than has already been placed on record. The only difference between the climate of the northern and southern sections of the'State. is a sliglit increase in tlie range of temperature as Ave leave the Gulf coast, and atmosphere less humid, and a rainfall averaging altout fonr inches less annnally. Prior to the establishment of the Louisiana Weather Service, we had no complete records for the various parishes, so that in making a comparison of the tem]ieratures, etc., with Northern States, the year of 1888 will alone be considered. Table shoivhig the iemperaturea, percentage of sunshine, average numher of rainy days, areraye annual rainfall, and dates of first lilliny frosts in North Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Ilidiana, Iowa, Michigan, for the year 1888. (Compiled from statistics obtained from the Directors of the various State tveather services.) TEMPERATURE. a 1 DEGREE!; — fahr't. O (0 1 £ f-t o o ^ < Average annnal rai fall — Inches. =5 o ® < 03 -t-i Ti O 6 o OR STATE. 2 < ® to g be B ■-1 North Louisiana. 65 102 13 89 48 94 48.68 T T Nov. 11th. Tennessee 58 104 2 102 50 101 48.29 4 11 Sept. 13th. Ohio ^0 102 —15 117 125 39.64 Sept. 3rd. Aug. 23rd. Indiana 51 46 1 1 106 96 101 —19 —27 —36 125 123 137 48 51 45 101 124 107 41.77 36.75 ''S 68 Sept. 1st. Michigan 39 39 100 —54 154 90 27.18 Ang. 9th. From the foregoing table it will be seen that, during the past year, the range of temperature for North Louisiana was but 98 degrees against 102 degrees for Tennessee, 117"^ for Oliio, 125"^ for Indiana, 123° for Iowa, 137° for Michigan, and 154-^ lor Minnesota. The lowest temperature, 13s was reported from Farmerville, La.; the remaining stations in Nortii Louisiana, reporting minimum temperatures from 15 to 21^. Supposing 1888 to have been nearly an average year for tlie States luentioned in the table, wlnire are the conditions to equal them? Surely not where the killing frosts of fall occur as early as August and September, or 90 SOME LATE WORDS where the average number of rainy days exceed those of North Louisiana by from 10 to 30, or Avhere the temperature falls to zero and even 54° below that point If we have the moisture in the air accredited to us, why is it that scientitic observations fail to bear it out, and that the record for North Louisiana as regards humidity is but one per cent below that for the extreme Northwest, and less than that recorded for Tennessee, Northern Georgia, and the uiajority of the States in which signal stations have been in operation for the past eighteen years ? The average rainfall for 1888, as shown in the table, was 48.88 inches, less than half an inca more than for Tennessee. This amount of rain fell on 94 days, or an average of about half an inch of rain every four days. Is this too much to keep crops in good condition ? We had between three and four inches of rainfall in January and February, about six inches in March, over two inches in April, and between four and five inches in May, five inches in June, nearly three inches in July, between six and seven inches in August, about an inch in September, between two and three inches in October, two and a quarter inches in November, and between four and five inches in De- cember ; the general average rainfall being four inches per mouth, which is, as a rule, evenly distributed. R. E.' Kerkam, Signal Corps Director. " If my article were not so long, I would give a table to show the rainfall or precipitation in those localities where a man says that he can stand 105^ or 110", Fahrenheit, in summer, better than in Louisiana, 96° ; the country Avhere rain, sometimes, falling never reaches the earth, because the thirsty air driuksit; where fruits, vegetables, flowers are not (excei)t by irrigation); where " the field eludes the tiller's toil" (if the latter be fool enough to try agriculture) ; Avhere the mirage is the phantom of water ; where drought blights even hope. But I simply rest on the fact of our raiufall, and a small table, Avhich certainly is an admirably compiled one, by way of illustration : From a table prepared for the Daily States, by Capt. Kerkam, I extract these data : Temperature. Decrees Fahrenheit. Average precipi- tatioii — Inches and hundredths. 3 m o ri Mean rela- tivehum'd'y Per cent. 1 "So H 1 be© 0-3 (-< B ij a i .3 a 3 OS 3 S3 a 100 104 99 100 105 99 95 108 9G 105 100 98 lOi 98 97 — 6 —12 —23 —39 —40 3 34 28 13 —29 15 11 15 31 35 27 16 7 41 52 54 30 30 34 47 56 55 56 51 56 49 44 39 52 56 60 48 49 55 62 70 70 69 10.66 IJ.IO 6.69 3.30 1.95 22.80 13.39 9.53 1.99 1.88 7.57 17.86 10.30 11.49 13.16 43.09 42.36 37.10 28.82 20.10 51.49 23.82 17.29 14.14 15.00 38.76 55.66 57.06 52.22 50.50 5.1 5.2 5.1 5.0 4.8 6.0 4.1 3.4 3.7 3.8 4.9 5.0 4.4 4.6 4.8 73 72 74 73 77 79 75 65 53 55 71 68 73 79 71 71 66 71 70 70 72 75 68 44 49 68 67 73 76 *New Orleans 72 *EainfaU record from 1836 to 1888. The above table is compiled from Signal Ser^ace records covering period from November 1, 1870, to December, 1887, inclusive. The lower rainfall of New Orleans is established by the painstaking re- search of Capt. Kerkam, who has gone into investigations outside of pub- lished data. ABOUT LOOISIANA. 91 I now append some statements from the last United States censns : Prof. Hilgard, in his article on Louisiana, in Vol. 5, Tenth Census, speaks thus of the climate of the State: "Owing to its nearness to the Gulf of Mexico, and the prevalence of winds from that direction, the climate of Louisiana is much less extreme than that of the States lying further North — the sunmier heat being less oppressive, though more prolonged, and the winter's average temperature 52.8'^ at New Orleans, 45.4° at Shreveport), very mild, thoiTgh liable at times to sudden and severe ' cold snaps,' brought on by northerly storms, which restrict the culture of tropical fruits on a large scale to tlie immediate neighborhood of the Gulf coast. On such occasions the temperature may fall to 17°, even at New Orleans, and to 15° in Northern Louisiana. November, December and January are the coldest months, June, July and August the hottest ; the temperature ranging from 74° to 98°, with a mean of 81.6° at New Orleans, while at Shreveport the range of temperature within the same months is from 64° to 95°, with a mean of about 81°. " The rainfall at New Orleans amounts to nearly 73 inches annually ;* at Shreveport about 47 only, but iucreases slightly toward the Mississippi Valley. At New Orleans the rainfall is most copious during the three hottest months, and somewhat less duriug the three coldest ; during both, about 40 inches of rainfall is received, tho rest of the annual precipitation being more or less distributed over the spring and autumn." The above statement requires modification ; as the winter of 1885-6 (the coldest I can discover), showed thus : for New Orleans, 15° ; for Shreveport, 1°. This weather, for both locations, was in January, 1886. Thus I have given testimony from the three highest authorities possible : The United States Signal Service Reports, the United States Censns, and the later researches of Capt. R. E. Kerkam, Director of the Signal Service of Louisiana. Outside of the testimony of Sacred Writ, where can more author- itative proofs be adduced in behalf of any fact, than are produced here in attestation of the glorious verities of the climate of Louisiana? If, after all the testimony here collated, doubters are still found, they are not amenable to conviction, and are wedded to unbelief. Yours truly, • M. B. HiLLYARD." We have dwelt with great particularity upon the climate of Louisiana It is, perhaps, the most vital of all topics ; because even health itself, the dearest of all consideiations to almost everyone, is dependent upon climate. Then, there is no State in the Union, whose climate is so utterly misjudged and underrated as that of Louisiana ; and it is a duty, as well as a pleasure, to eudeavor to disabuse the i^ublic mind, and to commend the love- liness of our climate, and to comm;ind for it public appreciation. Then, more and more, the Soutli (Florida and California, particu- larly), is filling up with cliui ate hunters : i^ersons of wealth, culture, im|)aired health, who bring immense benefits to the places where they settle Louisiana desires such. She offers attractions that neither Florida nor California can surpass (if they or either can equal); and we beg such home-seekers to in- vestigate the charms of Louisiana's climate before making homes elsewhere. *Capt. Kerkam, by investigations of the most recondite character, reduce* it to 58.60. 92 SOME LATE WORDS THE PflHiSHES OF IiOUlSmHfl. EXTENT, CUTIVATION, POPULATION. PARISH. Ascension , Assumption , Avoyelles , Baton Eoiige, East. , Baton Kouge, West, Bienville , Bossier , Caddo , Calcasieu , Caldwell , Cameron , Carroll, East , Can-oil, West , Catahoula Claiborne , Concordia , DeSoto Feliciana, Fast .... Feliciana, West.... Franklin Grant Iberia Iberville Jackson Jeft'erson Lafayette Lafourche Livingston Lincoln Madison 3 "p & •9 g 2 1 ss <1 < .37.3 37,908 327 30.511 843 84,787 305 40.020 210 20,753 850 45.048 773 69.420 85'J 95.409 3.401) 14,003 53.5 18.267 1,545 5,743 400 56,793 380 10.071 1,350 29.823 765 120,000 620 45,816 850 82.239 450 53.118 302 21,115 550 22,104 .578 24.414 536 49,604 640 42.112 576 26,604 395 19.767 262 62,704 1,024 44.802 575 10.467 485 108,084 670 48.395 PARISH. ^lorehou.se Xatchitoclies... Orleans ( )uachita I'hiquemines ... I'diiite Coupee. Kapides K.mI liiver Richland Sabine St. Bernard St. Charles . . . . St. Helena St. James St. John St. Landrv St. ]Martin St. Mary St. Tammany .. Tangipahoa . . . Tensas Terrebonne . . . . Union Vermilion Vernon Washington . . . Webster Winn Total 44,426 760 .290 18' 640 930 575 ,498 386 578 .008 680 284 413 308 190 ;.270 618 648 923 790 612 .806 880 .226 .540 668 594 954 57.379 58,909 4.436 48,84' 30,908 50,594 76,149 33.930 31.409 18.524 11,8.50 21,177 28,285 54.675 29.213 137,370 39,876 66.326 3.895 21.021 78,079 40,403 02.001 25,330 10,303 18,224 42.40i 22,548 2,507,935 14,200 19,722 216,140 14,723 11,575 17,799 23,597 8,.573 8 444 7,344 4,405 7,161 7,504 14,714 9,686 40,002 12.662 19.891 6,887 9,638 17,824 17,9.56 13.520 8.735 5,160 5.190 10,005 5,846 940,103 Acadia, lately dissevered from South Saint Landry parish, is not computed with reference to above statistics : no authentic data being obtainable. We now proceed to give descriptions of various j)arislies, and endeavor to observe the classification of Professor Loekett, and therefore place the following in his category or area of " Good Uplands." The following is taken from a " pamphlet descriptive of the parishes in North Louisiana : " NORTH LOUISIANA. North Louisiana is ricli in annals and reniiui.scence.s of Indian life and warlare, of hardships, ])iivations and endnrance of fortitude, and deed.s of heroism and valor, of 2)ioneer slru<;gles, which, if written, wouhl ri* a] the thrilling tales of fiction, biit as our task is to speak sober words of the pres- e--at, we shall ski)) the romantic and glorious ])ast. The inhaljitauts of North Louisiana are innnigrants, or the offspring of immigrants, from Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, (Jeorgia, North and .South Carolina, and from other States in the Union, and are generally of English, Scotch and Irish descent. As a class, the people of North Louisiana are thrifty, enterprising and wide awake, and are noted for their hospitality. ABOtJT LOtJlSIAXA. 93 The parislif's described iu tliis pamphlet are sitnates ranging from $80 to ;J175 per head. Within a radius of lifty miles, plantors ])ay annually from !5;130,000 to $100,000 for umles also. The farmers, recognizing their mistake in the jjast, are now gradui'illy work- ing out a remedy by giving time to the rearing of stock of every description. The possibilities in this industry are unbounded and otFer a wide held for im- provement and money making. This is a grand section, and there are good openings for the thrifty and industrious classes. SHREVEPORT. The city of Shreveport, the county seat of Caddo parish, is situated on the west hank of Red river, 540 miles above its mouth. It is the metropolis of North Louisiana, the second largest, busiest and most populous city in the State. Shreveport is the natural emporium for all the vast section of country in Eastern Texas, Southwestern Arkansas, North Louisiana and all the upper and a portion of the lower Red river valley ; a scope of country whose fer- tility yields a Avcalth of agricultural products whose value is uuequaled in any State of the Union. From its inception, Shreveport, owing to its natural advantages, has b(^eu regarded, and justly, too, an important commercial railroad center, and is growing steadily. METEOROLOGICAL DATA of Shreveport, La., as deduced from 17 years of observations from official records. Mean temperature Maximum temperature Mininuin temperature Mean relative liumidity.... Mean cloudiness.. « Average number of clear days Average number of fair days Average numl)cr of cloudy days. . . Average number of rainy days Average rainfall Prevailing wind 45.1 78 1.3 73.5 5.8 8.6 10.1 12.3 11.8 i.OS S 51. 80.5 15 70.0 5.5 8.1 10.1 10.1 10.4 4.74 S 58.5 90 26 GC.9 5.0 9.7 11.7 10.7 10.2. 4.67 S 65. 9 93 32 67.1 4.9 10.2 12.2 7.0 9.9 5.68 S 73.7 101 47 09.9 4.5 10.1 14.4 6.6 8.2 4.80 S 80.5 104 55 70.6 4.5 9.4 16.0 4.6 9.5 3.4i S S3.0 107 64 72.1 4.0 12.1 14.6 4.3 10.0 3.90 S ^ 8'. 105 58 70 3.5 13 14.6 2.7 6.4 2.05 SE cc 75.3 101 47 71.8 3.7 14.6 9.9 5.6 4.39 SE 05.3 95 81 72.8 3.7 15.1 10.4 5.4 6.9 3.68 SE 54.4 86 18 72.1 4.5 11.3 10.2 S.5 8.8 4.84 S 48.8 79 10 73.3 5.4 10.1 9.4 11.6 10.6 5.18 S 05.3 107 1.3 70.7 4.0 11.1 12.0 7.4 9.2 5239 S BOSSIER PARISH. The parish of Bossier was created by Act of the Legislature of February 12, 1843, hitherto being that part of the parish of Claiborne particularly de- scribed in the act of incorporation. It remained, intact, as originally incor- porated, until 1871, when a part of her territory was cut off and given to Webster parisli. Bossier parish lies in the extreme northwestern part of the State, fronting Red river on the west for about seventy-live miles, and only separated from Texa^s by the parish of Caddo. On the north it is bounded by the State of Arkansas. In area it contains 753 square miles. Oak uiilauds, or what is commonly known as the " hills,"in (»ntradistinction to the alluvial lands, 553 square miles, of which about 80 sipiare miles are " red lauds," and the remaining 220 square miles are alluvial lands. "The course of emjjire takes its way," so these 1,'inds have been chiefly settled up by people from the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. According to the census of 1880, the population v\^as a little over 16,000. It now numbers more than 20,000. The parish ia traversed from east to west by the Vicksburg, Shreveport and 98 SOME LATE WORDS Pacific railroad, and from north to south, from the Arkansas line to Shreve- port, by the St. Louis and Arkansas Southern railroad, thus affording easy access to the markets of the North and East by two competing lines. An almost unbroken line of levees protects the river lands from Benton to Red River parish. In consequence of these levees, and the removal of the raft, the channel of the river has been widened and scoured out by the in- creased velocity of the current, and the possibility of the recurrence of the overflows of 1866 and 1867 happily reduced to the minimum. Bossier is conspicuously a cotton parish ; her soil and climate being pecu- liarly adapted to its growth. Here the cotton wood — the true index of the cotton belt, — springs up with the rapidity, and fights for life with the tenacity, of the "old field pines" of Carolina and Georgia. The alluvial lands average about seven miles in width, and are equal to the best lands in this or any other country. The hills — that is all lands other than the alluvial lands, and a term often misleading strangers, — are rich and productive, and timbered with exuberant abundance ; they produce grains and grasses of all kinds. The common, rich with native grasses and marked with frequent water courses, offer splendid and inexhaustible pastures to those who may feel disposed to engage in stock raising. Our climate is mild and healthful, and so far, we have escaped the storms and droughts that have wrought such destruction among our less fortunate fellow-citizens in other States. Bossier is a parish of exceptional prominence as an agricultural country, and ranks fairly as a timber and cattle country. Nothing is raised but cotton and corn in the bottoms, but the hill farmer raises a diversified crop for home consumption. The timber of the parish is largely oak, pine, cypress, walnut and gum, with all the other smaller growths intermixed. The hill country, in which the whites predominate, has school houses and churches in abundance, Avhile the colored people of the Point section and the river country are also taking great interest in both. The principal towns in the parish are Bellevue, Haughton, Midway, Rocky' Mount, Red Land and Colhusburg. Home-seekers are assured a hearty and cordial welcome in Bossier, where land can be purchased at low figures and on reasonable terms. DB SOTO PARISH. This parish is situated in the northwestern part of Louisiana, 30 and 32° north latitude, and 16 and 18° west longitude. It extends from Red river, on the east, to the Sabine, on the west, containing 910 square miles, with a pop- ulation of 17,000. Mansfield, its capital, very nearly in the centre, is forty miles south of Shreveport ; is one of the most driving and wide-awake towns in the State, and a railway centre of importance ; about 300 miles north of New Orleans and 200 miles northeast of Houston, Texas. DeSoto parish is in direct communication with these trade centres by two navigable streams and by two lines of railway. The New Orleans and Shreveport division ot the Texas and Pacific runs on the divide between the Red and Sabine rivers, through the centre of the parish, twenty-six miles. The Houston, Texas and Shreveport runs through the northern part of the parish twenty miles. The all important question of transportation is abun- dant, and in all respects satisfactory. The town of Grand Cane is a jilace of considerable local importance, and has a good country to back it. Logansport, on the Shreveport and Houston, near the Texas line, is doing a good business. DeSoto is what is called in Louisiana a hill parish, in contradistinction to the alluvial, prairie, and long leaf-pine region ; that is, the lands are roll- ing and wooded. The soil is light, sandy loam, with a clay foundation, well timbered with every variety of oaks, hickory, pine, ash, beech, gum, etc.; universally well watered, either by springs or wells from twenty to forty feet deep. The drainage of euriace water into Red river, on the east, and the ABOUT LOUISIANA. 99 Sabine river on the west is perfect, leaving no swamps, ponds or marshes to produce malaria. Timber is abundant for all purposes. Good lumber can be had at the mills for $7 50 per thousand ; cypress or heart pine shingles at the stump for $3 50 per thousand. The lands are easy of cultivation ; produciDg when fresh, one-naif bale of cotton, twenty-five bushels of corn or oats, and one hundred bushels of potatoes per acre. After being worn by long and rough usage, it responds readily to manures. It is generally conceded that one dollar's worth of connjiercial fertilizer applied to an acre, is sufJScient to restore all worn lauds to their original fertility. Better still, all worn lands set to bermuda grass and Lespedeza clover will not only furnish first-class pasturage for eight months, but will restore the land at the rate of 25 per cent per annum. No lands in the same degree of latitude can be better adapted to fruits and vegetables than the well drained, sandy loam of this section. Land is valued at from $2 to $10 an acre, according to situation, the quality being about the same. Proximity to towns, depots, schools and churches establishes the price. DeSoto ofters great inducements to the agricultural class of immigrants of moderate means and industrious habits, with her cheap lands. A fertile soil, adapted to a wonderful variety of field crops, fruits and vegetables ; an abundance of timber, water and pasturage. Having a population of less than twenty souls to the square mile, there is ample room for thousands to come and occupy the waste places. Those who have large means, and wish to pursue the all-cotton or all-sugar plan, had better seek the alluWal lands. But for homes, with all the comforts of life, as a reward to industry, DeSoto yields to no section in the South. This section was settled, principally, in the fifties, by planters from South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, who abandoned the worn lands of the older States, to occupy the virgin soil of North Louisiana. They were almost uni- versally persons of means, education and refinement. Schools and churches Avere established as soon as neighborhoods were formed. A tirst-class college . was established at Mansfield by the Methodists ; another in the western part of the parish, at Keachi, by the Baptists. Both institutions are still m a flourishing condition, with over 400 pupils in attendance. The descendants of such a people, though impoverished by the late civil war, are naturally Christianized, law-abiding, civil, hospitable and refined. Thro\igh all ad- versity, they have clung with wonderful tenacity to education and religion. The interest divided from the sale of every sixteenth of a section of land, and the whole of the poll tax are devoted to public school purposes. Owing to the sparcity of population, the amo\int so derived is inadequate, but suffi- cient to furnish free tuition for three months each year. By private subscrip- tion, added to public funds, a large number of schools are open for the full term. In the southeastern part of the parish, embracing a scope of territory per- haps ten miles square, are the Dalett hills. These hills are too broken for successful cultivation, except in small tracts, but are covered with splendid pine timber, a fine native grass for grazing, and, according to late geological examination, rich in coal and iron. The Texas and Pacific Eailroad company have been, for some time past, prospecting and examining the coal in this region, and report favorable results. lu the southeastern part of the parish the growth is principally pine, of the short-leaf variety, offering great inducements to lumbermen. These lantls are level, and well adapted to cultivation, after being denuded of the native growth. The native grasses furnish an excellent range for stock in this region. The swamp lands bordering the Sabine river are celebrated for the great abundance of white oak timber suitable for staves, and red cypress, the best wood in the world for shingles. The supply is almost inexhaustible, and the demand cannot be supplied. But this region is necessarily unhealthy, which denies the settler the comforts of a happy home. A warm welcome is extended to all honest, industrious persons who may wish to make homes in DeSoto, 100 SOME LATE WOEDS CLArBORNE PARISH. The parish of Claiborne, as originally incorporated in 1828, and named Claiborne in honor of Louisiana's tirst Governor, comprised within its then boundaries enough territory to make a State of dimensions that Rhode Island, at least, Avould have respected. Such were the attractions and advantages of the original Claiborne parish. However, immigrants swarmed into its territory, and the increase in popula- tion made necessary its subdivision into smaller parishes. So that now, lands originally lying in Claiborne are embraced within the bounds of the parishes of Bossier, Jackson, Bienville, Webster and Lincoln, and the Clai- borne of to-day is reduced to an area of 778 square miles, or 447,920 acres, bounded on the north by the State of Arkansas, on the east by Union and Lincoln parishes, on the south by Bienville and Lincoln, and on the west by Webster. But though it has given of its territory to the formation of new parishes, Claiborne still holds within its borders many broad and fertile acres, and in diversity of natural resources, may still justly claim to be the banner hill parish of Lonisiana. The parish records show for the year 1887 an assessed valuation of Lands .$834,245 Tovm Lots 68,080 Total realty $902,325 Live Stock $279,555 Other personalty 213,485— 493,040 Grand total $1,395,365 The rate of parish taxation in 1887 was 9 mills on the dollar. This will be redticed to 7 mills in 1888, and will show a reduction of 3 mills in the last three years ; yet, within those three years the parish has bought and paid for a Poor Farm $100 — and has erected a Jail at a cash outlay of $6,000. There is not a dollar of parish debt outstanding, and the Treasurer's reports show a balance of about $7000 in the parish treasury. In Louisiana the members of the parish police juries are appointed by the Governor from the body of the parish, and have control of the liscal matters of their respective parishes. A gray surface soil, underlaid by a yellow or reddish subsoil, prevails throughout the parish. Along the creeks and branches the lands are, of course, richer, and show larger yields per acre, but even the poorest uplands are so hajipily adapted to fertilization that, the intelligent and industrious farmer can usually make as much as he can gather. Cotton and corn are the chief products, but other crops are profitably grown. The following iigures, obtained from W. J. Mercer, parish assessor, show approxiiuatelv the field crop yield of the parish in 1887 : Cotton, 41,000 acres, vield in bales, 22,500. Corn, 45,000 acres, yield in bushels, 572,327. Oats, 7500 acres, yield in bushels, 72,310. Ribbon cane, 130 acres, yield in barrels molasses, 450. Sorghum, 250 acres, yield in barrels molasses, 1000. Svweet ])otatoes, 800 acres, yield in bushels, 97,347. The average yield of cotton per acre is about one-half to three-quarters of a bale, and of corn. 20 to 25 bushels. Exceptional cases have been recorded, however, Avhere tlie yield has been much hirger. For example, in the year 1887, Mr. G. W. Alexander, of this parish, was awarded tlie premium at the Shreveport Fair for the best acres of corn, his being 129 Imshels and 48 pounds. Another ('lail)orne farmer made 2218 pouiids of seed cotton on one acre of hill land, and still another, with one mule, made 14 bales of cotton, averaging 418 pounds to the bale, 240 bushels of corn, 40 bushels of sweet potatoes, 20 of peanuts, 62 gallons of sorghum and 1262 bundles of fodder — paying for help to make this crop only $16 50. These yields, as above stated, are exceptional, yet they serve to show what handsome rewards await the application of industry and intelligence. ABOUT LOdlSIANA. 101 Ribbon cane, on good land, with proper cultivation, will yield from 500 to 600 gallons of molasses per acre, which readily sells at from 40 to 50 cents per gallon. Sorghum, which is usually planted on poor lands here, yields an average of 400 gallons to the acre, and sells at 25 cents per gallon. Potatoes, peas, and all vine crops, yield so abundantly that figures giving their actjial yield seem fabulous. Wheat is grown to some extent, but chiefly as a fcfirage crop, as there are no facilities here for grinding it. Oats (of the " Red Rust Prooff " variety) yield an average of 15 bushels to the acre. Rve and Ger- man millet, though not largely grown here, are said to do well. Fruit of all ki»d are successfully grown. All that has been needed to develop the fruit-growing industrj'^ of Claibbrne has been a lack of facility for transportation. This obstacle to its successful pursuit bids fair to be removed in the early future. The Loiiisiana North and South railroad from Magnolia, Arkansas (crossing the Vicksburg, Shreve- port and Pacific railroad at Gibbs,) to Alexandria, La., has already b^en completed from Gibbs to Homer, the parish seat of Claibornej and when com- pleted to its northern terminus, will afi"ord the people of Claiborne direct communication to St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver and other cities of the Northwest, and with New Orleans on the south. There are in the parish 19,000 acres of United States lands, and 6000 acres of State lands. The former are well timbered, and are of course subject to entry upon the terms prescribed by the United States homestead laws. The State lands are chiefly swamp lauds, but are well timbered, and can be bought at 75 cents j)er acre, or entered under State Homestead laws, similar in their provisions to the Homestead laws of the United States. Experience has proven that mules and horses can be profitably raised here. Colts grow rapidly, and can be put to work when two and a half years old, and even at that age stand the climate better than Western mules five years of age. A gentleman near the centre of the parish, who has been engaged in raising mules and horses for the past twelve years, says that the colts on his place have been uniformly free from disease, have grown rapidly, and have generally developed into larger animals than were their sires and dams of Western blood, and have commanded better prices in the home markets than can be obtained for animals from other States. He does not depend much on natural pasturage, however, but on lands too poor for other uses, he makes abundant crops of "speckled" field peas, which he feeds to his stock, and annually sows Avlieat to provide winter pasturage for them. He esti- mates the average cost of rearing a colt to the age of two years, at thirty to forty dollars. Few experiments with blooded cattle have been made here, not enough, indeed, to form the basis of an intelligent opinion as to results. The timber supply of the parish is limited, but is ample to meet all local demands. The school and church facilities are excellent. At Homer, the parish seat, is located a college, giving instructions in the higher branches, and empowered to confer diplomas. At Haynesville, the second largest town in the parish, is the Normal institute, and a high school with able teachers. At Summerfield, New Athens, Lisbon, Gordon, and indeed throughout the parish, a lively interest is shown in the cause of education. Being the highest portion of the State, abundantly supplied with pure water, and traversed by no sluggish bayous, it follows that Claiborne is the most healthy section of the State. Indeed, diseases of a malarial character are unknown here. The general healthfulness of the people is bespoken by the blushing tint of the maiden's cheek, the stalwart specimens of young manhood, and the numb'er of those who are still alert and active under a burden of years exceeding the allotted " three score and ten." To seekers of homes in our Southland, no section offers greater and more varied attractions than *' old Claiborne;" and those who come to dwell there, if acquainted with Indian lore, will no doubt think, as does this writer, that Alabama — " Here we rest" — would be a fitting name for the parish. The health, the homes, and the pockets of this people are open to worthy comers from all sections, but it would be hard to find less corufortable quar- ters for the idle, viciox;s and adventurous, than Claiborne affords. 102 SOME LATE WOEDS SABINE PARISH. The parish of Sabine is Ibounded on the north by the parishes of DeSoto and. Natchitoclies, on the east by the parish of Natcliitoches, on the south by the parish of Vernon, and on the west by the Sabine river. The population is now something over 10,000, being principally white, and there being about 1400 white voters to 400 colored. There were but few large planters in Sabine previous to the war, the mass of the i')eople being uon-slaA'o owners, and most families cultivating their own farms. As a consequence, the result of the war failed to bear so heavily upon them, and the returned soldiers had biit to go to work with a will, repairing and building up their places, and being used to honest labor, had no new order of things to which' to adapt themselves. Taken all in all, Sabine can well claim to be one among the banner parisb.es of Louisiana. Her people are noted for their liealthy appearance, their hospitality, and their moral, upright and industrious habits. They have always been in a thrifty and independent condition, making it a rule to raise yearly an ample sufficiency of the home products for home consumption, and then plenty for market. The crops are diversified Cotton is the principal money-raising product, but then corn, oats, peas, potatoes, sugar cane, sorghum and poultry are raised in abundance. Nor do the people lose sight of stock-raising. In fact, stock of every kind raised in the parish more than supplies the home demand. Cattle and hogs abound in every section, and are raised with but little trouble, and no expense to the owner, there being both a summer and winter range for cattle, and the hogs grow perfectly fat in winter upon the mast, which seldom fails. It is the rule that every family owns the farm upon which they reside, and the corn-crib and smoke-house of every family is at their own home. There are no very wealthy people in Sabine, but a nmnber of good and extensive farmers, a number of solid merchants, and the people of every calling and following are out of debt, and have something ahead, and all are cheerful, happy and con- tent. The parish is strictly prohibition, there being no license issued for the sale of intoxicating liquors, and no way to obtain them excex)t from the hands of a regular physician for strictly medical purposes. The Farmers' Alliance is a very strong and powerful .organization in the parish, and ad- hering so closely to the real and original purposes of their order, ^md being under the lead of wise, pure-minded, honest and upright persons in every section, has been conducive of great benetits and untold good. The Texas and Pacific railroad passes a distance of some ten miles through the northern portion of the parish, and has one station, Sodus, a beautiful and thriving town near the northern boundary, and from that point, or from Eobeline or Marthaville, in the parish of Natchitoches, any portion of Sabine is easy of access. It is also expected that the Kansas City, Gulf and Wat- kins railroad will pass directly through the parish, from north to south. Al- ready the line has been surveyed through Fort Jesup and crossing the Texas and Pacific two miles west of Sodus. LANDS. There are several diff'erent kinds of land in Sabine, but those in ciiltiva- tion are what are generally termed uplands. Even the extreme uplands, a light gray, sandy soil, produce well, and tlie hammock lands and the creek bottom lands are very fertile, yielding with proper cultivation all that can be well gathered. The parish is literally threaded with streams of pure water ; some of considerable size and others smaller. The principal creeks running through the parish are: Bayous Toro, Negreet, Lanana, San Patri- cio, San Miguel and Bayou Cie, and all these have l>ottoms extending, on each side from' half a mile to a mile wide. The smaller creeks generally have bottoms of strong, rich soil, easily cultivated, and affording farms of any size. There is no section where a living is made easier than in Sabine, and there is no country more desirable when any person wishes to blend farming .with stock raising. TIMBER. No parish in the State can surpass Sabine in her wealth of timber. All ABOUT LOUISIANA. 103 along the Sabiue river is to be found fine cypress brakes, and a lucrative l)usiuess is done annually by many rafting both cypress and pine down the Sabine river to Orange, in Texas. Beyond this, however, the immense interest of Sabine is yet entirely undeveloped. Her greatest wealth is to be found in her magniiicent forests of both long and short leaf pine, even the latter being of such a superior quality as to make it little less valuable than the yellow or long-leaf pine. Capitalists have already began to turn their attention to these lands. Large size tracts are already owned by gentlemen living in Now Orleans, Cincinnati and NeAv York. In the creek bottoms and on much of the uplands is to be found hickory, white oak, red oak, beech, ash and cherry. To form a correct idea of the timber interests of Sabine, one must necessarily pass over the parish. CHURCHES. The principal religious denominations in the parish are: The Baptlat, Methodist and Catholic. It may be truthfully said of the people of Sabine that they are truly moral and religious people. Every neighborhood ha« its comfortable and substantial place of worship, and many of the church edi- fices would do credit to any country. Divine service on every Sabbath is within the reach of every locality. The various churches are supplied with worthy ministers, and are all well sustained. ** SCHOOLS. Under the management of an excellent school board, the public school sys- tem is working well. The parish is divided into school districts, and every district has a comfortable school hoiwe. Competent teachers are employed, and where the public fund is not sufficient to keep up a continuous school, the deficiency is supplied by the patrons out of their private funds. The police jury has now very wisely made a levy of two mills on the dollar for school purposes alone, and this, with the poll tax, the sixteenth section in- terest, and the fund derived from the State, will enable every neighborhood to have a public school during the greater portion of the year. NATCHITOCHES PARISH.* This parish Is situated in Central Loiiisiana, in what is known as the cotton belt, and is noted for the richness of its alluvial lands, general health- iness, good water, and educational facilities, freedom from overflow, pictur- esqtie scenery and the numerous inducements it holds out to intending immigrants. Both by water and rail, this parish is placed in easy and rapid communica- tion with New Orleans (about 250 southeast), and Shreveport (about 80 miles northwest). The rivers are numerous, viz : Red river, flowing in Mississippi, navigable by large steamboats ; Cane river, partly navigable ; Old river, bayous Pierre and Natchez. Some of the finest lands in the South are grouped round these streams, and they possess one single and striking advantage over most of the alluvial lands in the State, in being perfectly free from overflow, and well drained. The population of the parish is about 25,900, and the chief towns are Natchitoches, Robeline, Cloutierville, Campte, Provencal, Marthaville and Prudhomme. The educational facilities leave nothing to be desired ; besides every district being provided with a school, the famous State Normal college, famous for its able staflf of teachers and the great educational advantages it off'ers, is situated on a breezy eminence on the outskirts of the city of Natchitoches. In the towns and on the alluvial lands, cistern water is generally used; fine springs, however, many possessing valuable medicinal qualities are to be found. At Camp Salubrity, for instance, so named by the United States •This pariah I3 thoronchly marked with the three classes of lands, — " Good Uplands," " Alluvial,*' and " Pine Hills, and la hardly properly placed in the division now luider con- •ideratioa ; but we diallke to diaaoelate it £i-oiu its grouping is tLe pamphlet we are q uottftg ' 104 SOME LATE WORDS soldiers, who made it their headquarters hefore the war, oa account of it» healthfulness there are sulphur, iron and magnesia springs. Summer is long, but equable ; hot spells, such as they experience in the North, being absolutely unknown. No case of sunstroke is recorded, and the seasons are free from blizzards, hail-storms and violent couvulsions of natuife. The winters of 1885-1886, and 1887-1888 are generally considered the severest within the last quarter of a century. Snow fell to the depth of six inches. The easy winters experienced here are one of the greatest attractions of this section. With care, grass can be obtained for stock all the year round. The epidemics, so common in the large Northern cities, seldom make their appearance here. Smallpox, typhoid and scarlet fevers are almost unknown, although isolated cases may have occurred in the parish. No record has been kept of them. Chills and fever in the spring and fall may be contracted through exposure. They seldom assume a dangerous character, except through the gross carelessness of the patient. Comparatively speaking, the parish may be said to be free from diseases of a severe malarial character. The best soils for purposes of classification, may be subdivided as follows : Good uplands — Soil, sandy gray, or yellow loamy or red ferruginous. Sub- Boil, red clay. Small bottoms very fertile. Forest — Oaks, hickory, ash, beech, maple, dogwood, gums and short leaf yellow pine. Health — Water good. Products — Cotton, corn, potatoes, small grain, fruit and stock. Pine hills — Thin soil, water good and abundant; good grazing; lumber, long leaf yellow pine. Alluvion — Black, dark-red, and reddish gray of great depth and of extra- ordinary fertility. Forrest — Water and live oaks, gum, willow, cotton wood, elms, ash, etc. Cane brakes aflford pasturage and shelter for stock all the y6ar round. Common products, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, etc. The following prices may be quoted in connection with these lands : Unimproved good upland and pine lands, $1 to $4 per acre ; improved, $3, to $10 per acre ; unimproved river lands, $4 to flO per acre ; improved, $8 to $25 per acre. Game abounds in this country, and excellent lishing is to be obtained in the river, lakes and bayous. Society is exceptionally refined, and churches of every denomination are generally to be found in the town, where perfect reli- gious equality reigns. On this head we may quote from a letter of Bishop Galleher's (Episcopal) : " I am acquainted with the Natchitoches and Cane river country, and I know it to be healthful, productive and desirable. There is good land, good timber and good water there. The facilities offered by the Red river and the Texas and Pacific railroad make the country accessible, and confidently look forward to a large immigration to that section. "It has, in large measure, the settled features of good Christian civiliza- tion, and, at the same time, wide opportunity for settlers, who wish to make homes for themselves." The official report of the department of agriculture says of these lands : Such varied and valuable resources in a climate so salubrious, can hardly be found anywhere else on the face of the earth. CROPS. Cotton — Alluvion — 1| to 2 bales per acre ; go«d upland i to 1 bale per acre. Note — 3 bales have been made by using fertilizers. Corn — Alluvion — 40 to 50 bushels per acre: good upland 40 to 50 bushels per acre. Note — 100 bushels have been made by using fertilizers. TOBACCO. Tobacco of an excellent quality grows prolifically on the rich alluvioi^. It was formerly known in Europe as Nakatos Perique. GRASSES AND CLOVER. Bermuda grass indigenous, and mixed with vetch, burr clover and rescue grass, aflbrds all the year round pasturage. Tall meadow oats, and orchard, oinea, or Johnson grass, thrive well. ABOUT LOUISIAKA. 105 Eed clover is also successful, while Japan clover, which chemists claim possesses more nutritious ipialities thau Kentucky blue grass, grows abund- antly in the uplands and aflorUs admirable pasturage. As a stock-raising, or dairy-farming region, this country claims and merits tlie highest distinction. LTNIO-N PARISH. With the exception of a small strip of alluvial land along the west bank of tlie Ouachita ri'ser, the parish of Union is composed wholly of oak uplands. Its area is 910 square miles, and its cultivated land amounts to 62.661 acres. There were produced in 1880, a total of 11,692 bales of cotton on 28,308 acres of land, or an average of .41 of a bale per acre. The uplands are hilly or rolling, and there is a little prairie. There are two chief varieties of u])laud soil, viz : sandy loam, and red stiff land. The former comprehends fully three-foiirths of the lands in the parish. Its timber growth is short-leaf pine, oak, hickory; dogwood, in the uplands; sweet gum, bay, mulberry, ash, etc., in the lowlands. The soil, to the depth of ten to twelve inches, is tine, sandy, clay loam, of a yellow brown or mahogany tint. The subsoil is heavier, and frequently contains small, dull red, angular sand- stone grave, and rocks. The soil tills easily at all times, and is warm and early. The crops grown are corn, cotton, sweet potatoes, peas, small grain, sugar cane, tobacco, vegetables and all kinds of fruit. The two last^ with cotton, seem to be best adapted to the soil. Cotton forms about one-half of the crojis planted ; usual height of stalk, four feet. In rainy seasons, and on fresh land, it sometimes runs to weed; this is remedied by toi^ping. The seed-cotton product on fresli land is 1,000 to 1,500 pounds per acre, of which about 1,350 pounds are needed for a 450-pound bale. The lint, when clean, rates in market as middling to fair middling. After five years' cultivation the product is .500 to 800 })()unds, about l,460"pounds being then needed for a 450-])ound bale ; the staple is shorter and not so strong : will class as good ordinary or low middling. About 10 per cent of this upland is turned out for want of laborers ; when again taken up, it will yield from 750 to 1,000 pounds of seed-cotton per acre. The red or " mulatto " lands occur most frequently in the southwestern part of the parish, Tjut more or less in all, forming about one-hfth of the laud. The subsoil is red clay, containing flinty, white rounded gravel, underlaid by gravel or rock at three to ten feet. It tills easy in dry seasons, and with difficulty when wet ; is rather cold, and late in the spring. It is apparently best adapted to corn and grain ; about half is planted in cotton ; the stalks are about four feet high ; the seed-cotton product, 800 to 1,200 pounds, rates as middling in market ; no material difference after five years' cultivation. In the lowlands, on the streams, the soil is black clay loam, several feet in depth: subsoil lighter than surface. About two-thirds of the crops or these lands is cotton. The seed-cotton product on fresh land is from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds, the stalk attaining a height of six to eight feet ; the staple rates as good middling. No change in quantity or quality of product has yet been noticed after years of cultivation. The lauds of the bottoms rank equal in fertility to the alluvial lands of the rivers. The thri\ing farms of the parish are largely on this land, which ex- plains the high name this jiarish takes in the north tier of hill parishes. Union is one of the banner i>arislies of North Louisiana, and the people are among the best, intellectually, morally and socially, to be found in any of the South- ern States. The prominent towns in this parish are Farmerville, the parish seat, and Shiloh. School and church facilities are equal to those of any parish in North Lou- isiana. The people generous, neighborly and very hospitable. 106 SOME LATE WORDS WEBSTER PABISH. Webster parish was created by the Legislature of 1871 of the territory taken from Claiborne, Bossier and Bienville parishes, and contains abont 300,000 acres of land, one-third being in cultivation, producing 10,000 bales of cotton, with corn, oats, peas, potatoes and vegetables, usually to supply home consumption. There are no alluvial lands in the parish ; but quite a number of creeks, all of which have a considerable border of what is styled good creek bottom land. Excellent well water can be had in all parts of the parish, and in many places can be found fine springs and small branches of good water for person and stock. The supply of timber is inexhaustible and of fine quality, chiefly red oak, post oak, white oak, hickory, ash, gum, and pine, and on the borders of the creeks large quantity of cypress can be had; also black walnut, which doubtless at no distant future will be very valuable. The Bayou Dorcheat, which passes through Webster parish from north to south, a distance of thirty miles or more, and makes its way into JRed Kiver through Lake Bisteneau and Loggy Bayou, is navigable for six months in the year for good class Red River boats to a point opposite to and within two and a half miles of Minden, the parish site, giving boating facilities equal with Shreveport on time and freight rates. Land has no fixed price ; from $1 to $10 per acre are about the ruling prices. It may be regarded as one among the best countries that can be found for poor men. No other could offer greater inducements to the man who is satisfied with a good comfortable living, pleas- ant and healthy home for himself and family. Such can be had here at a small cost and on easy terms. Any industrious, honest man can buy lands on time with 8 per cent interest, and get liberal advances made by merchants to mako his crops. The average crop, one year with another, is half bale of cotton and fifteen bushels of com per acre. The population of the parish is about 12,000, one-half colored. Minden, the parish site, and only town in the parish, has 1,500 inhabitants, twenty business houses — several of them doing a business of over $100,000 annually. The taxable property of the parish is about one million, and Minden pays about two-thirds of the parish revenue. There is a special interest that is worthy of mention here. Minden is the parish site and has a handsome and substantial court house, with all other surroundings well and conveniently arranged, and as healthy a location as can be found anywhere ; with male and female colleges, equal to the best in any country in point of management, under good efficient principals and teachers, with commodious well arranged buildings and grounds. Minden is connected with the outside world through a tap railroad, which joins the Vicksburg, Shreveport and I'acifio railway, at Minden Junction. Besides Minden, the principal trading jtoints, are Lannesville and Dubberly. Webster parish is the home of a thrifty and enterprising class of people, who are self-sustaining and prosperous, generous and public spirited. LINCOLN PARISH. Lincoln parish has a total area of 485 square miles, all of which is wood- land. The red lands and the yellow loam each occupy about the same amount and form practically the entire soil of the parish, except a small amount of creek bottoms. These bottoms are the same as those mentioned in preceding parishes, but there is not so much of it in this parish. The lands of the par- ish, with the exception of a portion in the north part, which is decidedly hilly and broken, are gentle and rolling, and easily cultivated. The growth of the trees on this land is a pretty sure indicator of the fertility of the land. The larger the trees and the less admixture of the small or scrubby pine, the more fertile the lands. The lands of the parish wear well, and the use of fertilizers is becoming popular. The farming population is doing well and thriving, as in the parishes of Union and Claiborne. The timber of the parish is sufficient for home demand for many years to come. The eastern portion of the parish contains probably a larger percentage of creek or bottom lands, and timber is very fine. The pine, oak and hickory is the principal growth. The parish ii well provided with school houses and churches. ABOUT LOUISIANA. 107 Ruston, the parish site of this parish, is oue of the most prosperous towns in North Louisiana, is situated on tlie Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific rail- road, in the middle of a fertile country, and is growing into prominence. The towns of Simsboro and Choudrant, located on the railroad, although smaller than Arcadia and Ruston, are good business points. The country around these towns is settled by a splendid population, consisting mostly of white farmers. JACKSON PARISH. The parish is entirely upland, containing no alluvial soil. Its area Is 590 square miles, divided thus : Oak uplands, 340 square miles ; long-leaf pine* hills, 250 square miles. In 1880 with 10,138 acres in cotton, there were pro- duced 3,753 bales, or an average of .37 of a bale per acre. To those seeking i healthy locality there is no region better than Jackson parish, with its oak uplands and long-leaf pine hills . The northern and greater portion of Jackson parish is rolling oak uplands, in which the pine-flat feature is much less common than in Bienville, the soil being chiefly of the pale-yellow loam type, with more or less of the red-land subsoil. The latter feature becomes very prominent north of Vernon, where the true red-land ridges, with their unpromising-looking but very productive and durable soil, occupy a considerable portion of the surface. Southeast of Vernon also, o.i the Bayoif Castor, there is a good farming region, rolling uplands, timbered with oaks, hickory, dogwood and chinquapin, mixed with some short-leaf pine on the hills, and with ash, beech, elm, sweet and black gums in bottoms. In the southern portion of Jackson parish, the long-leaf pine prevails alto- gether on the higher ridges and on the crests of the lower ones ; but, as in Bienville, the slopes are largely timbered with oaks, mixed with short-leaf pine and are fairly productive. BIENVILLE PARISH. Bienville parish, entirely upland, covers an area of 856 square miles, of which 756 square miles are oak uplands, the remainder being long-leaf pine hills. There are 45,089 acres in cultivation, and the parish in 1880 raised 7,208 bales of cotton on 18,242 acres of land, or an average of .40 of a bale per acre. Bienville parish is mainly gently rolling and rather sandy oak uplands, not unfrequently almost level, especially in the western portion,. Post oak and short-leaf pine are the prevailing timber trees, intermingled more or less with other oaks and hickory, according to the qiiality of the land. The pale yellow loam soil is predominant. In the level portions, the gray pine-flat soil, is largely developed, and then the water oak and black gum for a char- acteristic ingredient of the timber. Most of flats, bordering the streams are of this character, as is also the country bordering on Lake Bisteneau. The red subsoil appears in spots, generally where the country becomes more rolling, and is often accompanied by rolled gravel, as well as by iron ore (limonite) concretions. This is more especially the case in the south- eastern portion, where tracts of hilly red lands occur, the ridges in the southerly portion having more or less long-leaf pine on their crests, while oak growth, sometimes intermingled with short-leaf pine, covers the hill- sides. At Brushy valley and northward, the red land feature is quite preva- lent, and excellent crops of cotton are made, both in the uplands and in the bottoms of the streams, which are here not so liable to overflow, and possess less of the pine-flat character. There is also a good deal of very sandy hill land, which washes very badly when turned out after cultivation. Not far from Brushy valley is a salt-lick flat, known as Rayburn's lick, where much salt was made during the war. It is underlaid by gypsum and (Cretaceous) limestone, from which good lime can be burned. The use of this on the soil of the region would be very beneficial. A similar lick is *' Kings," near the northeast comer of Red River parish, where the limestone ooottis ill eT«n greater abundance and of the best quality. A similar lime 108 SOME LATE WOEDS . strata spot occurs in the northwestern portion of the parish, near Quay Post- office, on the head of Dugdemona bayou. About 100 square miles of this point is strictly lumber and grazing land, except in the creek land l)et\veen the hills which produce very tine crops. This belt of timber is equal to the best in the pine hill belt, which covers the large portion of Catahoula, Grand Rapides and Vernon. Bienville ranks high among the parishes. The iron miuerals are described in the report of Prof. Enderle. Communication with the New Orleans market is via landings on Red river, steamers on Lake Bisteneau, Jind by the Vicksbiirg, Shreveport and Pacific railroad, which runs through the northern portion of it. The town of Arcadia, on the Vicksburg. Shreveport and Pacific railroad, "has a population of over 1,600 souls, and is one of the best business points in North Louisiana. The parish site is Sparta, a small place, having a good business from the surrounding country. Gibbsland. — This place, one of the prettiest spots on the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific, is a place of some consequence, owing to its saw mills and lumber trade. Ringgold. — This place is near Lake Bisteneau, and is surrounded by a fine country. The school and church advantages are good. The people are industrious, sociable, neighborly and prosperous. There is plenty of room in this parish for home-seekers and investors in land. KED RIVER PARISH. This parish lies in the fertile valley of Red river, the finest cotton pro- ducing region of the world. Its area is 386 square miles, of which 165 square miles are rich alluvium, or Red riVer bottom. There are 33,930 acres in cul- tivation, of which 19,200 acres are in cottou, .and 10,566 acres in corn. Coushatta, the parish site, situated on Red river, is a lively little town, where are located a number of staunch firms engaged in commercial pur- suits. Red river possesses many advantages to commend it to the attention of home-seekers. It is rich in valuable timber and has a soil, both alluvial and upland, of unsurpassed fertility. All the vegetables and fruit known to horticulturists, when properly cared fer, grow luxuriantly, and yield a ri<'li return for the labor bestowed upon their cultivation ; sweet and Irish ]> luiLoes both produce wonderful results. An average of one hundred and fifty bushels per acre of Irish potatoes, is not an uncommon yield, and as much as three hundred bushels to the acre of sweet potatoes have been produced. The average yield of cotton is one bale per acre, but it is not uncommon to obtain one and a half, and even two bnles per acre, under judicious cultivation. Corn is produced on an average of 30 to 40 bushels per acre, and in many in- stances, from 75 to 100 bushels have been gathered per acre. The common^ field pea planted with corn on the same ground, and at the same time will yield from 20 to 30 bushels, besides acting as a su]ierior fertilizer to the land planted. Sorghum grows luxuriantly and proves rich in saccharine proper- ties. Millet, oats, rye and clover yield large results. The native grasses and cattle food grow in great richness, and jiossess as much nutritive properties as any known food for grazing. Special attention is given to fine stock, and in the parish are several herds of Holstein, Jersey and other strains that will compare favorably with the best in the country. The remarks on schools, churches, society and health in the description of other parishes are applicable to Red river, where the people are prosperous, hospitable, generous, and will welcome heartily all those seeking new homes in one of the most attractive parishes in North Louisiana. OUACHITA PARISH. The parish of Ouachita is a rich and populous parish. It lies on both sides of the Ouachita river, and is largely of alluvial soil. Its entire area is 640 ABOUT L0UISIA:N^A. 109 square miles, of Avhich the alluAaal lands cover 340, the long-leaf pine hills ItIO, and the oak uplands 110 square miles. That portion of the parish lying east of the Ouachita, is almost entirely alluvial, and the preponderance of crojjs is grown there. The total cro]» of the parish is large, and is mostly cotton and corn, producing from one to two bales of cotton, and from 40 to 75 bushels of corn to the acre, "when culti^•ated intelligently. Fruit vegeta- bles and all the grasses grow luxuriantly, and yield abundantly. Cattle and stock generally do well and pay hau.-!tly au upland couuti-y, tlu)Ugli a gooil deal of lowland and cypress brakes are near the Sabine river. There are some prairie lanerienced. Alexandria, the parish site, situated upon the west bank of Red river, 150 miles above its mouth, is a town of considerable importance, and has a popu- lation of 2000. t It stands at the head of low water navigation on Red river, and is the business centre and chief shipping point of an immensely fertile region. It contains numerous churches and schools, and is rapidly improv- ing. Piueville, on the opposite side of the river, is the second town in the parish, and has about 600 inhabitants. A large business is done by the mer- chants of this place, and it ships a large quantity of cotton. Cheneyville, Kanoniie, Cotile and Lacomte are villages of some note. All of them are sit- uated in the valley section. The soils of this region may be classed under three heads : 1. The alluvial is the most productive, and is equally adapted to the pro- duction of the great staples, cotton and sugar. 2. The uplands and creek bottoms, on which tlie soil is generally a sandy loam, varying in depth, quite productive, easy of cultivation, and yielding oftentimes a bale of cotton and forty bushels of corn per acre. 3. The pine lands, consisting of a thin soil with an under stratum of clay, susceptible of being highly enriched by manuring or by the application of the ordinary fertilizers. In the bottoms are found a variety of the oak, cypress, ash, hackberry, elm, gum, Cottonwood, beach, willow and many other kinds. On the hills, the yellow pine constitutes almost the entire growth. The saw-mills supply the home demand for lumber, and ship large quantities to points on the Red and Mississippi rivers. GEANT, WINN AND CATAHOULA PARISHES. These parishes lie together near the center of Louisiana, between parallels 31° and 32°. Grant and Winn are located in the long leaf pine hills, and although Cata- houla is regarded as a pine woods parish, a large part of the parish is alluvial and some bluff and good uplands. All of these parishes are heavily timbered. The hill portion is a succession of elevations, interspersed with valh^vs and bottoms, and intersected by numerous creeks, some of which are fed by springs of pure water. The swamp is level alluvial land, intersected by numerous rivers and bayous and dotted with lakes, some of which are beautiful. In the swamp region are found nearly all the valuable varieties of oaks, also the ash, sweet gum, hackberry, maple and persimmon. In the hills, in addition to the varieties mentioned, there are poplar, sumac, sassafras, hickory, magnolia and vast forests of pine trees. The soil of the swamp is exceedingly fertile, but contains no minerals. That of the hills is generally a sandy loam, based upon red or yellow clay, with rocks suitable for building purposes, cropping out on the hillsides. The soil of the numerous valleys in the hill region is alluvion, and very productive. Coal has been found, and traces of iron ore ; also chalk, potter's clay and kaolin. That there is much sulphur is evinced by the numerous sulphur and salt springs, two of which, the white sulphur and the castor sulphur, are justly noted for their healiu"- properties. The mineral resources have not been developed. Large quanti- ties of marble have been discovered in Winn. All the products suitable to this latitude can be grown, but the following are best adapted for cultivation: Cotton, corn, peas, sugar cane, oats tobacco, rice, potatoes aiui melons. In the hills the average yield of corn, per acre, is about fifteen bushels ; of cotton, about 1000 pounds of seed cotton. In the swamp the average yield t Considerably greater no-w. 112 SOME LATE WORDS of corn is about thirty five bushels per aere, and of cotton about one bale. Much of the laud will, -when jiroperly cultivated, produce from one to two bales of cotton to the acre, and from thirty to lifty bushels of corn. Corn was sold last year in the home market at from fifty to seventy-five ceuts per bushel.* These parishes are about as healthy as any other portion of central or northern Louisiana, and iu this respect compare favorably with any other portion of the Southwest. In the swamp, cistern water is used. In the hills, good wells and sprin- point iu winter. The winters are generally mild enough to admit of good garilens. The population are mostly white. The negroes are quiet and peacable, but are uuthrifty, and not as iudustrious as the white laborers of the West and North. They are gradually leaving the parish for those sections where their race is numerically stronger than the whites. The majority of the wliites are from the old States of the Union. There are many Germans, Irish and Israelites here, who seem to be prosperous and contented. In the swamp, the public land belongs to the State, and is generally too much subject to overllow to be settled. In the hills, there are immense bodies of public hind belonging to the United States, subject to entry, t Private unimproved lands can l)e jiurcluiscd iu any sized tracts, aiul at from 50 cents to $8 per acre ; and improved lands can be bought at from $1 to $15 per acre. Land can be rented at from $1 50 to $3 50 per acre, but the usual manner of renting is " on the shares." Nearly all the religious denomiuations to be found in the L'nion are repre- sented here; but the vast majority of the religious people belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church South and the Missionarj^ Baptists. In the SAvamp, blacks are generally employed as laborers. These, though not as efficient as is desirai)le, are far more reliable now than they were soon after their emancipation. In the hills the laborers are white men from the older States of the Uni(ui. People want intelligent white laborers Irom other sections of the United States and from Europe — men wlio will come here for the i)urpose of establishing for themselves permanent homes and identifying themselves in interest with her citizens. Such will l»e heartily welcomed, will find employment at remunerative wages, and will be able to work all the year in the field with safety, the old error, inculcated by the enemies of the South, that ouly black men can do this having l>eeu exploded by observa- tion and experiment since the war. Laborers are offered from $6 to $16 per mouth, with rations, and mechanics from .$2 to $3 a day. Cropping on shares is very generally practiced. In some instances, the renter agrees to give one bale of cotton for the rent of eight or ten acres of land. In others, the laborer furnishes his own provi- sions and the labor, and gets oue-half the prodiu;e, the land and everything else being furnished by the landlord, who gets the other half. In others the landlord furnishes everything, but the labor, and receives three-fourths of the crop. There is some immigration, mostly from Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. No efforts have been nuide to secure immigrants. The section throughout is well api river. The forest growth is of great variety, comprising all kinds of oak, gum, magnolia, poplar and beech, interspersed with much uudergroA\ th. The soil is as various as the forest growth, ranging from poor to very fertile ; but under the energetic manipulation of the progressive farmer, will yield a rich reward to the hus- bandman. Upon these lands all the staple crops are cultivated successfully, viz : cotton, cane, corn, potatoes, etc. The yield of cotton is one-half bale per acre, to one and a half bales. The yield of cane is one hogshead of sugar, to three hogsheads per acre. The average per acre of corn is twenty bushels to forty. So with all productions of the soil, the maximum amount is made according to the quantity of fertilizer and the quality of the brain used. The city of Baton Roiige affords a very limited market for the products of the parish, the principal market being New Orleans and the Western cities. There are many small streams passing through and bordering on the par- ish, which afford sulficient drainage to all its lands. They are the Amite, Coraite, Manchac, Bayou Fountain, Ward's creek, Montesano, White's bayou, Redwood, Blackwate.r, Sandy creek and many other minor water courses. In these streams are to be found many kinds of fish and water-fowl. The health of the parish has always been regarded good. The military post located at Baton Rouge shows the best health record of any post in the Southwest. The thermometer rarely rises above 90°, or falls below 20° F., and when either extreme is reached, it lasts but a few days. The leading nationalities of the world are represented in our population. The English, *Tlii8 estimate was made several years ago. ABOUT LOUISIANA. 123 French and German languages being spoken principally — the English being the language in which business is transacted. The general character of the people is quiet and industrious, and they would give a hearty welcome to all immigrants who are likewise disposed. There is land for sale and rent. In all cases they are reasonable. The principal religious denominations of this parish are the Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Baptist and Israelite. All have places of worship in the town, and some in the various neighborhoods in the parish. Educational facilities are very good. The State University and Mechanical and Industrial colleges are located at Baton Rouge, under the direction of an able corps of professors, where all the branches of a polite and practical education can be acquired at a small cost, besides other male and female seminaries quite adequate to the wants of the community. Pub- lic schools are in a progressive condition and are supplemented in every neighborhood by private schools. In addition to this there are two State in- stitutions that deserve notice, viz : the Institute for the Blind and the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. The facilities for reaching market with manufactured and agricultural products are unsurpassed. The parish lies for nearly forty miles upon the Mississippi river, affording daily communication with New Orleans and the Western cities. The New Orleans and Pacific Railroad affords communica- tion with the Pacilio States, and the Mississippi Valley runs direct to Mem- phis and New Orkans. The southern portion of the parish carries on an extensive trade with New Orleans by steamer across the lakes, up the Amite river to Hope Villa. The "small planters" produce from ten to fifty hogs- heads of sugar, and have been so successful as to have attracted market attention. John Picou, one of the pioneers in this section in this industry, has never produced less than two hogsheads of sugar and frequently three hogsheads per acre. Wages for an espert field hand, on sugar plantations, are $18 per month and rations. WTiere the share system is adopted, as on cotton plantations, the laborer gets of v.hat he ])roduce3 one-third and rations, or one-half and feeds himself. Good mechanics get $3 per day, and are in demand. A soiirce of considerable profit to the planting and farming community is stock raising. Though not pursued as a separate business, is followed to some extent by every farmer. It is a business in which nearly all is profit. Nearly every one has his herd of cattle and hogs. These cost nothing for the raising, except herding, marking and branding, and this can be done without encroaching upon the time to be devoted to agricultural pursuits. There is a good market for all the butter the good housewife can make, so that as a col- lateral pursuit, stock raising is a profitable adjunct to farming operations. There is probably no place in Louisiana offering greater advantages for the establishment of factories of various kinds, than the City of Baton Rouge. Situated in a healthy locality, on land never subject to overflow, with a fer- tile country around it, upon the Mississippi river, and connected with the vast country lying west of that river by the Southern Pacific Railroad, it would seem to be marked out by nature for an eminent future, the realiza- tion of which is near at hand. Here stands the immense building of the Louisiana Penitentiary ; within those walls are contained the best of ma- chinery for the manufacture of woolen and cotton goods, with 200 looms and the necessary appliances for a complete factory. This factory can be leased on very favorable terms. An opportunity is here afforded to capitalists of very rare occurrence. The country around would furnish all the cotton neces- sary at one-half cent less than New Orleans prices, and with a population of 8000 inhabitants, the City of Baton Rouge would furnish all the operatives necessary for a factory of 400 looms. There is established here a cotton seed oil mill, and so lucrative has been the business that the proprietors are erecting additional apparatus for refin- ning the oil. In iron work there is a factory engaged in the manufacture of sugar ma- chinery, steam trains, evaporators, etc. There is room enough for several of these factories. For the support of 124 SOxME LATE WORDS * the operatives eugaged in these factories, the country will afford an abiiu- dauce of vegetables and fruits at reasonable prices. We now introduce some matter on the prairie parishes. It is entitled " The Soil and Products of Southwestern Louisiana, in- cluding the Parishes of St. Landry, Lafayette, Vermilion, St. Martin's, Iberia and St. Mary's." It was issued by the United States Department of Agriculture in the year 1884, and written by E. E. Eapley, special agent : Seventy-three miles west of the city of New Orleans, the Morgan, Louisi- ana and Texas Railroad crosses the Bayou Bneuf, the eastern boundary of the parish of St. Mary's, and several miles farther west is Brashear City, on Berwick's Bay. About 110 miles west of Berwick's Bay is the mouth of the river Mermeutau, which receives the waters of the Nez Pique, through the Upper Mermentau, Lake Arthur, and Lake Mermentau. The river and lakes form the western boundary of the parishes of St. Landry* and Vermilion. From the northern boundary of St. Landry to the Gulf coast the distance is about 100 miles, and from Belle river, the eastern line of the parish of Iberia, to Lake Arthur, the western limit of the parish of Vermilion, the dis- tance is about 80 miles. The southern boundary of these parishes is in lati- tude 29i^° — almost half a degree south of the latitude of New Orleans. The northern limit of St. Landry reaches latitude 31°, near the true cotton belt of the Southern States. The five parishes, St. Mary, Iberia, Vermilion, St. Martin, and La Fayette, were originally called Attakapas, and are now called Attak- apas parishes. The name was taken from one of the Indian tribes that in- habited this country. All trees here grow to an enormous size. I measured a live-oak stump which was 9 feet in diameter. Cypress furnishes the lumber for the country. Being light and durable, when pressed and polished it makes very rich trim- mings, and, in fact, nearly all the finer claRscs of houses are finished with it. The trees are all draped with moss, which grows in great abundance, and forms one of the industries of this country. ;ind really makes the laboring man independent ; for a man with ordinary industry can easily earn from $1.50 to $2.50 per day gathering and pre]iariiig it lor sale. The market ap- pears to be as certain as our wheat market. SOIL. The prairie and all the level lands I visited in this locality are of alluvial origin, with a surface soil of from 3 to 4 feet of almost inexhaustible fertility, formed and kept up by the annual decay of vegetable matter and overflows from higher altitudes. Some of this land will produce four crops of hay a year. I allude to Bermuda grass, which makes the best hav that is made in "this sec- tion. A slight variation is found in the subsoil. Ikir. Jeflerson informed me that he dug through clay at a depth of 2 feet from the surface in sinking his wells on the prairies, to be worked by windmills. In this vast prairie, con- taining three or four millions acres, there is a series of islands that are not surrounded by large and distinct rivers, but by bayous, which are simply little streams that drain them and part of the adjacent prairie. On these islands the soil is good and easy to cultivate, but of course not so rich or so deep as that of the prairies. As a general rule the soil runs as follows : First, rich vegetable mold from four to six inches deep, next loam? then sand, and lastly clay. So far as the soil is concerned I know of nothing that could not be raised here, except timothyt and some small fruits that fail in midsunmier if the season be dry. *Of Acadia now. t Tliia is au error. ABOUT LOUISIA^N-A. 125 Although the prairies are wet during the winter and spring months, you never liuu them sour or hoggy, and the sweet, nutritious grass never ceases to grow, and I have noticed the cattle foraging when the surface was covered witlx water. In going from place to place the residents drive right through the ponds and lakes after heavy rains in March in preference to going around them. ■ No matter how deep they look to be, there is but little deviation from the level. The wheels hardly ever sink beyond the depth' of 2 or 3 inches, even when wagons are loaded. The manner in which these prairie lands are drained is by open ditches cut to natural jjonds, as they are termed by the natives, or to the bayous. It would be impossible to drain these soils by blind ditches. There is almost an endless variety of vegetables grown here, and the house gardens can be so i)lauted to yield fresh vegetables of some kind the year round. They all seem to grow to perfection, and yield abundantly. I will give more in detail of the list of vegetables, the yield and manner of cultivation, in my report of the different parishes. The ]teoplo live largely upon sweet potatoes and yams, together with fish and game. It seemed to be the market gardens only that were stocked with any git^at variety of vegetables. It was a very agreeable sight to see how thoroughly these gardeners attended to their crops after noticing with what carelessness the farmers attended to their kitchen gardens. Not much wheat is grown. The yield of straw is verv heavy ; the yield of grain generally light. They sow nothing but Spring wLeat. Farmers turn their cattle on the grain fields, chiefly oats, about the middle of February, and let them graze two or three weeks. Tliis furnishes good ])asture and does not seem to interfere with the yield. I failed to obtain the average yield, but in reply to my (questions a farmer told mo he expected to make at least forty bushels to the acre. The Texas or other rust-proof vari- ties are generally sown, because they are best adapted to the climate and less susceptible to rust and insects. Kye is seldom grown for the grain, but is sometimes sown in the fall for winter and spring pasturage. When grain is soAvn in the fall the land is thrown up in dead furrows ; that is, throwing it up in beds about eighteen or twenty feet wide, with an open or dead furrow between, which holds the water during a wet season. Corn is planted in rows or ridges, live and a half feet apart. They call them ridges because they are thrown up very high. These drain the toj) very thorougly, and the crop is kept moist by the water remaining in the furrows until the season is pretty well advanced. All the fields I noticed seemed to be only one way : I mean they are not cross-plowed, as I have generally seen com worked. Tne corn, when gathered, is housed in the shuck. CATTLE RAISING. One of the principal industries of this locality is raising cattle for the butcher, and very little attention is paid to growing fine stock for dairy purposes. Cattle raising could be made more profitable than it is by dividing the prairies into smaller pasture fields and by cutting and curing thousands of tons of hay that go to waste, to be fed from the rack Avhen the pasturage grows short. During at least nine months in the year the grass is so strong and luxuriant that the cattle tramp down and destroy more than they con- sume. It has only recently been discovered that the sea marsh in this part of Louisiana att'ords as good pasturage as there is in the world. Strong, nutritious grass grows in great abund.ance, resembling very much in taste and appearance what is known in the nuddle States as red top, only a little taller and as thick as it can stand. From as near an estimate as I could make, if cut and cured, which could be easily done in the proper season, it would yield five tons of good hay per acre. There are thousands of acres of the sea marsh that could be most profitably used by those owning the prairie or higher land adjoining it. I am writing from personal observation, having ridden over it on horseback in perfect safety. The only obstructions to guard against are muskrat holes, but for a pasture for at least six mouths in the year, without expenditure, it cannot be excelled. I see no reason to pre- vent them from using it longer, if they will build sheds to protect their 126 SOME LATE WOEDS cattle in midsummer. Some of tlie natives say that the mosquitoes would kill them in the spring season, but this I doubt, for there is always a strong Gulf breeze. Deer are to be found here in great numbers, also wild cattle and hogj. There is no danger from floods from the higher countries, for by inquiry from the oldest inhabitants, and these I could rely on for the most accurate information, there lias been no overflow for twenty-three years, and then the water reached the depth of about 10 inches, by backing up from the Gulf of Mexico and meeting the floods from the higher lands, remaining but a short time and then flowing oti' rapidly. Even in cases of an overflow, there are spots elevated above the common level on which they can go for safety. During the winter sen son the marsli is covered with a heavy growth of the season previous, whicli makes very good hay, being perfectly clean, free from rust or mould, and we noticed our horses ate it whenever we gave them the opportunity. But the cattle seemed to prefer the geen spring growth which is just makiujf its way through the root. It has a sweet with a very slight salty taste. I saw lots of cattle that were turned on the marsh in December when they were there and in bad condition. They are now looking fine and healthy, and nine-tenths of them seal fat. This sea-marsh land is very cheap, and yet it is better pasture, in winter especially, than the prairie lands that command ten times the price. The cattle-dealers who own sea-marsh and the adjoining highlands and prairie, have a great advautage over those in the Middle and Western States, for there is no need of fertilizer of any kind, no outlay for shelter, and very little need of fencing. If they fence at all, it is by sticking green willow poles. It seems to make little difl'erence whether they be the main stock or branches. They immediately take root. On these they stretch the wire, with stakes driven down along the line to strengthen it. As the fencing is cheaply done, the older it gets the stronger it is. Those who use the sea-marsh as' a cattle range drive them off in the latter part of August. At this season the heavy spring and summer growth has fully matured and begins to dry, when it is burned, to be out of the way of the coming crop. This grows rapidly and furnishes good pasture about the time the paririe shows the eiioct of midsummer, espec- ially if the hot season be long and dry. In the native cattle there can still be seen traces of the old Spanish breed, with enormously long and wide-spreading horns, narrow chests, high flanks, and deeply-sunken backbones. All the characteristics requisite for good breeding animals are absent. The stock-raisers say that these cattle are so thoroughly acclimated that it is a rare thing to see disease or sickness of any kind among them, and requiring so little attention, they look upon them as the most profitable. Past experience teaches them it is a mistake to import old cattle in order to improve the breed, for they invariably die off. The few that live after the first year have made these efforts to improve stock expen- sive and unprofitable. Some are now adopting a new method, and, I think, the right one, from what I saw. It is importing calves as soon as they are old enough to leave the cow. Some attention must be paid to them for the first season. They will then thrive and do as well as the native cattle. I had the pleasure of seeing the finest lot of registered Holstein calves that I have ever seen. The owner says they are doing well and looking better than the herd jfrom which he bought them in New York. They are about ten months old, and are as large as any of the Alderney cows on the planta- tion. This herd is on Mr. J. Jefterson's plantation. He also has a herd of about forty registered Short horns, and some tine specimens of the Aberdeen Angus breed. He is very favorably impressed with the Holsteins and thinks they are the cattle for the country. His efforts will be of great value to the people in that locality. The following list of fruits and vegetables is given in Dennett : Plums, figs, quince, pears, cherries, grapes, pawpaws, persimmons, pecans, hickory- nuts, walnuts, blackberries, dewberries, may-apples, mulberries, crab- apples, black and red haws, chincapins, strawberries, and some other fruits ; nuts and other fruits of little importance thrive and mature well in these parishes. In Saint Mary's and along the coast to the Mermentau, oranges are ABOUT LOCJISIAls^A. 127 raised yearly in great abundance,* and the Mespilus or Japan plum, lem- ons, limes, bannanas, and pineapples may be produced in the open air as high up aa Franklin by giving them a little extra attention in the winter. Turnips, cabbage, melons, and all the other garden vegetables grow as well in these parishes as they do north of the Ohio Eiver. The best winter gardens contain large white-head cabbage, rutabagas and flat turnips, onions, eschallots, garlic, mustard, roquette, radishes, caulitiower, beets, cress, lettuce, parsley, leeks, English peas, celery, endive, &c. These thrive well in the garden all winter, except in very cold winters, where those fartherest inland suffer a little from the frost. But this occurs so seldom that they have less fear of the drouth injuring our crops than in the Middle States. ST. martin's parish. The extreme length of the parish of St. Martin's is 24 miles, and its width averages about 18. It contains about 400 square miles of rich prairie, swamps, lands heavily timber^ and tillable lands, covered with the finest body of timber in the State, suitable for sugar, wood, building purposes, cab- inet, wagons, plows, and all kinds of wooden-ware. The parish is bounded on the north by St. Landry, by La Fayette on the \\ est, Iberia on the south, and Iberville on the east. THE TECHE LANDS. The Bayou Teche enters St. Martin's at its junction with Bayou Fusilier at Amandaville, formerly called Leouville, and meandering through the parish, enters the parish of Iberia, 6 miles below the town of St. MartinviUe, near Lake Tasse, 35 miles from Amandaville. The tillable land from St. MartinviUe, east of the Teche, is 18 miles in width, including all the land between this bayou and Catahoula Lake. At Amandaville the tillable land on the east side of the bayou is 3 miles in width. The average width of the tillable land on the east side of this bayou, in its entire course through the parish, is over 5 miles, and its average width on the west side of the Teche is 3 miles. In places, in the great bends of the bayou will be found some of the largest sugar plantations in the State. In our esti- mation, it is difficult to overrate either the beauty or the merits of this portion of Attakapaa. RICH SOIL. The richness of the soil is proverbial, for it possesses all the qualities that are essential and desirable in any soil — drainage, ease of cultivation, its last- ing fertility in the production of sugar, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, indigo, or any other crop now grown or ever grown in the same latitude. Fruits, melons, potatoes, cabbages, turnips, and the whole list of field, garden, and orchard products can be realized. No portion of Louisiana can excel that of the val- ley of the Teche, in the parish of St. Martin's. FORESTS. From the open prairie, which runs parallel with and near the Teche, to the Atchafalaya, the eastern limits of St. Martin, it is almost an unbroken forest of the finest timber in Louisiana. In the swamps of the Atchafalaya there are millions of cypress trees, tall, straight, and many of them from 3 to 4 feet in diameter. Between these swamps and the Teche prairie, on the tillable lands, there is an immense un- broken forest of oak, gum, hickory, black walniit, magnolia, live-oak, white, red, and other oaks, lime, pecan, sycamore, and other wild growths of less importance. On the west side of the Teche, in the rear of the open prairie, extending from Bayou Fusilier and the Upper Vermillion, down Bayou Tortue to Lake Tasse, there is a forest of swamps, cypress, and also of oak and gum, and other trees which grow on dry and tillable lands. Both banks of the Teche are skirted with, fine forests. 'We would caation the reader agamst regarding the area in qnestion, aa a reliable orang* belt. 128 SOME LATE WORDS THE VALE OF THE TECHE. The lines of swelling forests in the rear take the place of hills, in helping to form the valley of the Teche. This bayon, iu its course throngh St. Martin, is extremely beautiful, in many respects more beautiful than the Lower Teche, as it meanders through St. Mary. Its tirst banks, on both sides at St. Martin ville, are nearly 20 feet high. The banks of the bayou have a slope of less than thirty degrees to the water's edge. The banks give the bayou everywhere the appearance of a high canal. The water is not more than 2^ or three feet deep in summer and autumn, and the surface is but 50 or 60 feet wide, but for about six months in the year it is navigable for small steamers. One lock at St. Martinville would render the bayou navigable to the junction the year round. THE FOREST OF THE TECHE. The scenery all along on both banks of the Teche from St. Martinsville to the junction, a distance of 30 miles, is the most charming and magniticent we have ever seen in any part of the United States. The forest trees on both banks, the magnolia, ash, live-oak, red, white, and other oaks, black walniit, lime, gum, pecan, hickory, sycamore, and otlier trees ; all tall, graceful, and of generous growth. On thousands of acres the grass grows on a smooth surface under the noble branches of the magniticent trees. These lands are far more beautiful than the famoiis woodland pas- tures of Kentucky ; the trees have a more luxuriant growth, the foliage is richer and hangs out in the broad branches in a more generous abundance. And the soil is rich beyond anything we saw in the great West. It is the cleanest looking country I have ever seen. The beautiful smooth prairies look as though they had just been washed. The fat herds grazing upon these green expanses help in giving the linishing touch to this magnilicent laud- scape scencery. FRUITS. Just liere I will take occasion to say that peaches seem to thrive particu- larly well in this parish;* yield certain, prolific, and of the finest flavor, and grow very large and perfect in shape. They are finer, and do not rot so soon after being picked as those grown farther north. They command a high price in the New Orleans market. POULTRY. Large flocks of poultry are found on the prairie, for in this warm climate very little shelter is needed for them, and they find plenty of insects and grass- seed to keep them in good condition. They produce a bountiful supply of eggs, which are consei^iiently A'^ery cheap. They sometimes sell as low as 5 cents per dozen, and never more than 10. Grown chickens sell from 20 to 25 cents a piece at the highest. They only eat them for a cliange of diet; for the very poorest class of peo)>le live on what we of Middle and Northern States term lux- uries. All the bayous and lakes are full of the finest flsh, such as trout, black bass, gar, sachylia, snnlish, gas])ergoo, and numerous others which I do not call to mind just at this moment; and on these same waters, abound in great numbers, canvass-back, redliead, ma Hard, bald-])ate, blue and green wing teal, and summer ducks. Wild geese are on the lakes and sea-marsh the entire Avinter. A]l this is perfectly free. There are no ducking clubs or fisliing m(>in)]>olies here. The iiest jack-snipe grounds in the world are found in the TccIk^ country. t . To give an idea of the quantity of snipe, I was one of a party of thv(^e tliat killed fifty-three birds on a piece of ground that measured as ac(Mirate]y as we could by stepping, that was a little less than an acre. Then we did not kill half tliat flew up. Snipe feed here by the thousand. They also have ))lover. rail, prairie chickens, and qiiail in great abundancti. I have seen gunners a little farther north + tramping miles and miles to get a shot at birds *This will apply to all the parishes of southwest Louisiana. tThe country tjieie is no better — hardly as good now — as nearerthe Gulf, further west in the State — as, in the southwest parts of Vermillion and Calcasieu parishes. J This refers to other States, North and East, and not to Lovusiana. ABOUT LOUISIA^^A. 129 found here feeding and jumping around seemingly in perfect security, for they are not molested here by the sportsmen. I allude to such birds as robins, doves, flickers, reed-birds, field-larks particularly, as they are very shy in the North. They do not fly away, but walk, and will let a person get within 10 feet of them. v!?There are also a great many deer in this country, which generally frequent the sea-marsh. Opossum, coon, rabbit, and red squirrel are very numerous, but are seldom or never hunted. There is game always in season. When it is out for one kind, the other is coming, so that a sportsman is always in his glory. I think what I have said in reference to the boundless supplies within the reach of every individual living in this section of the country speaks volumes in praise of the working-class ; for, notwithstanding fi^h and game can be had for nothing, and that meat is raised at a very trifling cost, good labor can be had for |1 per day. LA FAYETTE PATJISH. Ira Fayette is the smallest of the Attakapas parishes. Its extreme length is about 19 miles, audits width about the same. Its northeast boundary made by the bayous Carancro and Tortue is irregular, the other three lines are nearly straight. This parisli ha.s an area of about 300 scpiare miles, nearly all of which is prairie land and go^nprally cultiv. ted in corn, cotton, cane, and rice by the largest planters ; while the other ■ portions are cultivated in vari- ous crops, such as potatoes, cabbage, peas, and all sorts of garden truck. SOIL. The soil of La Fayette Parish is a light loam, and more sand is found mixed in It than any other. The average depth of the soil is about 12 inches. It rests on a clay subsoil, and is like the soil in all the parishes in fertility. They are all rich in plant food, and the fertile properties of the subsoil are devel- oped by exposure to the sun and mixing with the surface soils. There are fields in La Fayette Avhich have been in cultivation for eighty years, princi- pally in corn and cotton, and are liroducing abundant crops to-day. The only help they have ever had by way of fertilizing or manuring has been occa- sionally plowing under a crop of cow-peas. They use two-horse plows in breaking up their land and cultivate their crops with one. The land is so easily cultivated, that they work their crops with great ease and rapidity. The price of good farming lands to-day range from f8 to $30 an acre. BEAU BASIN. The road leading'from Vermillion to Grand Conteau, rims through a beauti- ful agricultural region called Beau Basin . It is 12 miles from Vermillion to Car- ancro Crossing and about 4 from the road to the eastern boundary of Beau Basin, which is the boundary of the parish. The lands near Vcnnilliou* are nearly IcA^el, but extremely productive. A few miles north, between the' road and the bayous, the surface becomes beau- tifully rolling. The gentle slopes and long tortuous ravines may be ranked with the most delightful landscape scenery in Attakapas. Here we find some of the most pleasant building sites in this enchanting country. The swells are like the heaving bosom of the ocean after a storm. Descending into the ravine, one feels as tliough he were in the trough of the sea, so to rise up again on the mountain wave and look out on the green ocean. The cottages of the farmers are neat and comfortable. The green pastures, fat cattle, and fine fields of cotton and corn in their proper season indicate a rich soil and a . prosperous population. .Shade trees and clumps of timber add greatly to the beauty of the scenery. The fields are generally inclosed with a nice fencing, and the lan;irislies, excaqit oranges and the more delicate kinds, thrive finely in La Fayette. Formerly indigo was profitably culti- vated here. POULTRY. This is one of the best parishes in the State for all kinds of domestic fowls. Some families make a business of it. GENERAL FACTS. The bayou or river Vermilion is navigable 15 miles above the bridge on the New Iberia road aud 7.5 miles below the bridge to Vermilion Bay. Large crops of sugar aud cotton are raised in this parish. The horses, hogs, cattle, and live stock generally are healthy in this section. The only inconvenience or drawback of this section is the scarcity of fire- ABOUT LOUISIANA. ISr wood. Tlie principal source is the trimmings of the catalpa and china trees. The average yield of corn, where properly cultivated, is from 50 to 60 bush- els an acre. Sweet potatoes, from two to three hundred bushels per acre. There are a great many Western mules and horses used in this section, but there is no reason why they shoiild find it profitable to buy them, for the native mules and horses are very good workers* They can endure great hard- ships, and are raised at very little expense, good jiasturage being abundant the entire year. VEKMILION PARISH. GENER.M. DESCRIPTION. The parish of Vermilion contains about 1,600 square miles of land .nnd water within its limits. About 600 square miles of this is tillable woodland, prairie, and cj^press swamps. About 500 square miles would include the prairie and 100 square miles tlie timber land, the smaller part of which is cypress swamps. Lakes, bays, uud seamarsh cover about 1,000 square miles of the surface of the parish. About a quarter of the tillable land is on the east side of the Vermilion River or Bayou, and three quarters on the wes, side extending to Lake Arthur and the Mermentau River. The timber land is principally on the Vermilion River, extending on both sides from the LaFayette side nearly to Vermilion Bay. The timber is narrow above Abbeville, but it becomes broad below this vil- lage, extending out a mile and a half on each side in places. As it ap])roachcs the bay it becomes narrower. Below Abbeville there is a creek on the west; side of the river lined with a heavy body of timber, and there is another on the east side. A line of forest trees extends across the Xew Iberia aud Abbe- ville road beyond the head of the creek. There is a line of cypress timber, on land a little higher than the prairie, at the edge of the sea-marsh north of Marsh Lake, 12 miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide, and there are islands of timber in the edge of the sea-marsh east of Vermilion River. There is also timber on the south side of Bayou Queue Tortue and on the Pecan Island and Grand Cheniere River. SOIL AND SCENERY. The soil of this parish is a dark vegetable mold, with a large proportion of sand, from 8 to 12 inches deep. This rests on a siibsoil of grayish clay. The soil along the Vermilion River has a larger proiiortiou of sand tliau that farther back ; this gives the soil a lighter color. On account of the larger proportion of sand here than in the Teche lands these fields are more easily cultivated, and the roads need but little working — in most instances none at all — to keep them good the year round. The bottom of ponds and ditches are not boggy. One may pass over any of them on horseback without any in- convenience to the horse or rider. There are natural ponds in all these prair- ies, where the stock cattle are supplied with water. These ponds are from twenty to fifty yards in diameter. Being forcibly struck with tlie convenience of those natural ponds, as they are called by the residents, I made inquiry as to whether they had been made for reservoirs for the purpose of holding the supply for the stock during the drj'^ season. The only answer I received was, "they had no recollection of any of them being made by the hand of num." Prairie (Tregg, which lies next to the sea-marsh southeast of Abbeville, is a beautiful sheet of laud, level and rich, the soil darker than that east of Abbeville. The Gulf breezes sweep over it uninterrupted by forest trees. There are but few of the old inhabi- tants here who cultivate their land to any extent, relying i)riuci'tially on fruits, poultry, and stock-raising, which yield them a revenue with which they seem to be perfectly satisfied. THE PRAIIIIE WEST OF THE VERMILION RIVER. Viewed from an elevated ])osition of the Queue Tortue, half way between the Vermilion and Lake Arthur, the scenery is the most perfect of its kind 132 SOME LATE WOEDS that fancy can describe. Facing tlie south, one may here turn to the right or to the left, and as far as the eye can reach there is one vast extent of natural meadow. Here and there may be seen a herd of cattle or horses, almost hid- den in some places by the tall natural grass. The ]irairie east, west and south are dotted with little groves of trees, which shade the cottages of the resi- dent population, who live principally by hunting, tishing and stock-raising. FOREST trp:ks. The dry-land timber is oak, ash, magnolia, gum, hickory, elm, beech and hackberry. The usual dry-laud timl)er, with the exception of chestnut, is present. The swamp growth is principally cypress. CROPS. The soil is good for sugar-cane, cotton, rice, i)otatoes, and all the products of the Attakapas parishes. The yield of cotton is not as large per acre as in higher latitiites. The parish is peculiarly adapted to the cultivaticm of rice. It may become the leading rice parish in the State. Large yields of sugar have been grown in the parish ; as large as 3,000 pounds have beeu produced : from 800 to 1,000 pounds of rice. The capacity of the soil is stioug, but has been neglected on account of the great attention paid to stot-k-raisiug. Oxen are generally used in breaking up new ground, and creole or native horses in cultivating it. Oxen are not put to work until the grass rises in March, since but few of them are fed on hay or corn. It is surprising to see so little attention ]»ai(l to making hay, when it could be gathered in great abundance. Millions of tons are trampled under foot and go to waste, for the numljer of cattle that are raised iii this section can- not consume the great quantity of grass iu the growing season. Agriculture has received less attention here than in the other parishes. Good well-water can be had ia this section at a depth varying from 20 to 30 feet. A large quantity of poultry and eggs are shiiiped to the New Orleans mar- ket from this section. This parish abounds in Avild game, such as duck, geese, brent, quail, wild hogs, prairie hen, and deer. Vermilion Bay abounds in lish and oysters. The fresh-water lakes, ponds, and bayous have an abundance of tish . ABBKVILLr:. The Vermilion River is navigable the entire length of this parish, and ves- sels ply between Abbeville and New Orleaus, carrying the products of the surrouuding parishes to the metropolis of the South. Abbeville is beautifully situated, about thirty-live miles from the mouth of the river. The population is slowly but steadily increasing. SAINT MARY'S PARISH. The parish of Saint Mary's has a frout on four gi'eat bays, connected with the Gulf of IVIexico, 40 miles iu extent. It luis au average width of a little more than 12 miles. It is about .50 miles by the main road through the parish from its western line, near Jeannerette, to its eastern line, at the B(eutf crossing of the Morgan Railroad. Before the year 1868, the western line of St. Mary's extended to a point only 1 mile east of New Iberia, and Petite Anse Isiand was included in the limits of the parish. Its largest crops then were 50,000 hogsln-ails of sugar and 70,000 baiicis of molasses. Saint Mary's then contained i;0 sugar ])laulati()ns, lining the Tedie on l)oth sides, Bayou Cypremort, Bayou Sal'-, Atchafala-ya, Berwicks Bay, the Bffuf Bayou Shatter, spread out on the Au Large prairie west and the Cypremort i)rairie south of Jeannerette, and on the three heautif'd islands, Petite Anse, Grand Cote, and Cote Blanche. Belle IsJe iu former days was cultivated as a sugar plantation by its proprietor. Dr. Walter Brashear. St. Mary's appears to splendid advantage from the pilot-house of a steamboat as she plows through theses ABOUT L0UISIA:N^A. 133 navigable bayous, lakes, and bays, and to poor advantage on the best map that can be drawn. GENERAL ELEVATION. The highest land in Saint Mary's, excepting the islands Cote Blanche and lielle Isle, is not over 15 feet above the level of the Gulf of Mexico. The highest land around Berwick's Bay has an elevation of about 10 feet, and from the bay to Pattersouville, ami three or four miles up the mouth of the Teche, the elevation is but little above that around the bay and on the Boeuf. At franklin, the west bank of the Bayou Teche is about 13 feet above tide- water, autl the east bank is a little lower. Below Jeaunerotte, the elevation is 15 feet. The two islands. Belle Isle and Cote Blanche, at their highest points rise more than 160 feet above the level of the (iulf. The sea marsh is most of it under water during storms from the Gulf, sweeping towards the laud at this point. SOIL. There is not an acre of poor land in the parish. Fields that have been cul- tivated in corn and sugar-cane for nearly a century, without manure, still produce good crops. Tiie lands are easily and cheaply reKtorerairie, the same author remarks : "Here you behold those vast herds of cattle which afford subsistence to the natives and the inhabitants of New Orleans. It is certainly one of the most agree- able views in nature, to behold from a point of elevation, thousands of cattle and horses of all sizes scattered over the intermediate mead in wild confusion. The mind feels a glow of corresponding innocent enjoyment with those useful and inoffensive animals grazing in a sea of plenty. If the active horsemen that guard us would keep their distance, fancy would transport them back- ward into the pastoral ages. Allowing an animal to be produced for every five acres, more than two hundred and twenty thousand can be yearly reared and transported from this prairie alone, which, at an average of ten dollars a head, would amount to $2,200,000." At the time the above article was writ- ten, the year 1817, Mr. Darbey estimated the herds of the three greatest stock owners of the country, Mr. Wikoff, Mr. Fontenot, Mr. Andrus, at 20,000 head. OVERFLOWS. Portions of Saint Landry on the Atchafalaya and some of the bayous, are subject to overflow, when Grand Levee gives way, but most of the lands have never been under water since the parish has been inhabited by white men, and never can be ; and even the overflowed lands may be converted into rice plan- tations to some extent, or reclaimed when the levees of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya are made secure. Most of the lands subject to the overflow are the richest in the world, and contain a heavy growth of cypress. CROPS, FRUITS, AND GARDENS. The crops, fruits, and gardens of Saint Landry and of the other five parishes described in this circular, excepting cotton and oats, are less troubled by in- sects and vermin, and less liable to disease than they are in higher latitudes in other parts of the United States. The surface cultivated in Saint Landry yearly, amounts to about 100,000 acres. About one-third of this is planted in cotton. Not a tenth part of the tillable land is under cultivation. With a working population like that of the Western States, and the same kind of cultivation, that parish might send to market yearly 100,000 bales of cotton, 50,000 hogsheads of sugar, 75,000 barrels of molasses, and rice, tobacco, broom corn, basket willow, beeves, hay, horses, milch cows, sheep, hogs, hides, poultry, eggs, rosin, turpentine, and other valuable products to the amount of from $10,000,000 to $15,000,000. Such varied and valuable resources, in a climate so salubrious, can hardly be found anywhere else on the face of the earth. TIMBERED BOTTOMS. The timbered bottoms are rich and are excellent for sugar, rice, cotton, corn, sweet and Irish potatoes, peas, tobacco, melons, pumpkins, hay, garden fruits, &c. No richer land cau be found anywhere. They are heavily tim- bered with the best of sugar wood, and the swamps contain an inexhaustible supply of the best of timber for building purposes and for hogsheads and bar- rels for the sugar planters. BAYOUS, RIVERS AND STREAMS. The Atchafalaya, on the east, connects this parish by steamboat navigation, with New Orleans. The Bayou Courtablean, formed by the junction of the Crocodile and the Bceuf, affords good navigation to Washington the entire year, with slight and occasional interruption duriug the summer. The route is down the Courtableu to the Atchafalaya, thence up the latter to the Mississippi River, and thence to the city of New Orleans. The Bayou Bceuf is the channel of 136 SOME LATE WOKDS transportation for the planters "by means of barges to Washington, and the Crocodile affords means of transportation to the lumbermen. Thu Plaquemiue Bruise, the Mallet, the Cane, and the Nez Picjue are line streams, but not navigable. The Mermeutau, formed by the Nez Pique and Plaquemiue Brul6e, is a fine, navigable stream. Vessels ascend it some 70 miles for lum- ber, which is taken to Texas, Havana, and the Mexican ^lorts. Upon these streams are found large bodies of timber, suitable for all the purposes of building and fencing, and they aftbrd an unfailing supply of water for stock. The parish has 230 miles of navigable water. IBERIA PARISH. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Iberia parish extends from Belle River, east of Grand Lake, to a line run- ning from the west end of Lake Peigneur, to the mouth of Petite Ause Bayou. It is bounded on the north by Saint Martin's and on the south by Saint Mary's; east by Assumption, and west by Vermilicm and La Fayette. Its length is about 45 miles. Its widest part is about 20 miles. Much of the eastern portion is water and cypress swamp. The tillable land along the west side of the Morgan Railroad and the Teche, from the parish line below^ Jeauner- ette to New Iberia, called the An Large prairie, has a width of about 6 miles, and it is a little wider above, between the railroad and Lake Peigneur ; the land from the line where the railroad enters the parish below Jeaunerette to the line where it leaves it, west of Lake Tasse, is about 20 miles in extent. All the land is tillable between Lake Peigneur and Lake Tasse and in the great bend of the Teche northeast of New Iberia. There is a sheet of tillable and fine grazing land south of Lake Peigneur. The Teche is lined with plantations nearly the entire distance from the entrance into the parish of Iberia, east of Lake Tasse, to the line where it leaves the parish, below Jeannerette. The portion of the parish that borders on Grand Lake is a dense cypress swamp, and bordering on this swamp there is a growth of gum, ash, oak, and other timber. The tillable laud opposite and above Jeannerette is 2 or 3 miles in width. Around the great bend of the bayou above, called Fausso Pointe, the tillable laud has a much greater width. The lands in all parts of this parish are rich. On the west side of the bayou there is a scarcity of wood- land, and on the east side is an abundance of cypress and wood for sugar- making . THE TECHE AND ITS SCENERY. From the point where the Teche enters the parish of Iberia, about 5 miles below St. Martinville, by the windings of the bayou, to New Iberia, the dis- tance is about 25 miles. This portion of the bayou is extremely beautiful. Its banks are generally 18 feet above tide-water, and they descend gently to the edge of the water an angle of less than 30 degrees. THE AU LARGE PRAIRIE. This is a stretch of land south and west of New Iberia, and a more beautiful prairie country is seldom or never seen, and is cultivated principally in sugar. AROUND NEW IBERIA. The more we circulate over this country of which New Iberia is the trading center, the more we are impressed with its beauty and its value for farming purposes. It is a lovely and wonderful country. The sea breezes roll over it and give health and long life to its inhabitants. Its climate is a medium be- tween the tropical and the north temperate, combining most of the advan- tages of both, and the evils of neither. Steamers from New Orleans and ves- sels from the ocean penetrate its very centers, and the cars of the Southern Pacific Railroad, connectiug Now Orleans and the Pacific coast, pass through it daily. ORANGE ISLAND. Orange Island, now the property of the great artist, Mr. Joseph Jefferson, was ABOUT LOUISIANA. 137 formerly called Millers Island. It bounds Lak(i Peiyneur on the south, and lies in a curve of the lake, which has the sliapo of a new moon. The hi<>'hest ])oiiit of the island is 75 feet above the level of the lake and 84 feet above the level of the Gulf of Mexico. It has hills, valleys, level and inclined planes, and from its bluff banks in places, the branches of the trees hang out over the waters of the lake. Orange Island is in a line with Petite Anse, Grand Cote, and Cote Blanche Islands. Each is sojiaraied from the neighboring island by a distance of nearly 6 miles. Orange Island rises above the level of the surrounding prairie and the lake, as the other islands rise above and overlook the surrounding sea marsli. But a short distance off llo-ws the Petite Anse Bayou, di'aiuing the neighboring country, and emptying into the Gulf, 10 miles below the island. The con- stant sea breeze renders the spot healthy and pleasant as a residence. There is on this island Avhat is claimed, and I have no right to doubt, the oldest orange grove in this country. Many of those trees are very large, some of them a foot in diameter. Mr. Jefferson now has eight orange groves, and raises an immense crop of onxnges every year. There are over one thousand young and bearing pecan trees. Also cherry, fig, peach, quince, mespi- lus, mandarins, lemons, and blue plums. The linest magnolias and live-oaks in the world grow on this island. The magnolia grows to an enormous size. Mr. Jefferson has enacted a palatial mansion on the elevation overlooking the lake, which, with iis surroundings, makes it «ne of the most beautiful houses in the United States. Passing from his residence to his boat-house on thelake, you go through an avenue of stately live-oaks, a magnolia and orange grove. Seen from the smnniit of the bluff", the lake spreads out almost beneath the feet of the observer, while the gleam of its silvery surface closes the vista of the principal avenues leading fiom the house. Mr. Jefferson has 9,000 acres; the soil is very rich, and most of it 'easy of cultivation, producing in one in- stance four hogsheads of sugar per acre. He now uses the entire property for cattle-grazing, and ]ias ]n'obably 5,000 head. He has a number of fine blooded horses and a good collection of registered cattle. He is favorably impressed with the Holsteins; has watched some for five years to note the effects of the climate, and is very well pleased, and will go more extensively into the breed hereafter. ACADIA PARISH. This is a parish cut off from south St. Landry about two years ago. Noth- ing need be given in the jvay of description, additional to what has been said. Its parish site is Crowley, a new and very "live" town, and very well known North and West. Rayne is a bright and beautiful town lately sprung into great activity through one and another influence. Acadia is full of the influences of the large cap- ital, and vitalizing effects of the new spirit that has come so forcibly to south- west Louisiana within the last few years. We now take up the "Alluvial Lands," still quoting from Col. Harris' handbook : ASCENSION, IBERVILLE, ST. JAMES, ST. JOHN, ST. CHARLES AND JEFFERSON PARISHES. These parishes lie on both banks of the Mississippi river and extend from the city of New Orleans to the Baton Rouge parishes, having a double river front of about 125 miles. On the west bank of the river they are traversed by the New Orleans and Pacific Railroad, and on the east by the Mississippi Val- ley road. The soil of these parishes is alluvial and the principal prodiicts sugar and rice. St. James is noted as the Perique tobacco parish, although this valuable product may be grown on any of the lands in this section. The prin- 138 SOME LATE WOEDS cipal towns in these parishes are Donaldsonville, Plaquemine, St. James, Ed- gard, Hahnville and Jefferson. There are many other Tillages and public steamboat landings along the river, but steamboats generally deliver and re- ceive freight direct at each plantation landing. The climate on this coast is verv fine, the weather during the greater part of the year is most delightful, and the healthfulness is conceded oy all prac- ticing physicians. The average duration of human life is as long here as any- where else in the United States. The winters are like Indian summers, and spring generally opens in February with blossoms on the peach and plum trees and blackberry bushes. Roses bloom throughout the eutire winter. The heat of summer is moderated by the refreshing breezes from the lakes and river, and the nights are generally pleasant. The lands being alluvial, formed gradually from deposits left by the sedi- ment brought down the Mississippi and other rivers, are the richest in the world. They are highest on the banks of streams, from which they slope ott' into the wooded lands in the rear, which are generally swamps. Hence the distinction between "front" and "back" lands. Here and there will be found a ridge or belt of high land, covered with a variety of magnificent trees and a thick undergrowth of canes and climbing vines, and sometimes can be found an Indian mound, made of shells from the neighboring lakes. The front lands are mostly cleared and cultivated for two or three miles back. The cleared part of ridges is also cultivated. The principal forest growth is cypress, oak, ash, gum, maple, elm, hackberry, willow and cottouwood. The price of laud varies according to location and improvement. The religion of the oldest settlers who speak French and of their descend- ants is Catholic. There are public schools, besides private schools, in every village. There are many beautiful and profitable orange orchards. Pecan trees fur- nish an abundance of delicious nuts, while Japan and other plums and figs grow in great luxuriance and abundance. Peaches, grapes, pears, bananas, persimmons, strawberries, blackberries, dewberries and mulberries all do well. Com and potatoes grow abundantly. Of vegetables, the choicest in the land can be seen growing in summer and winter. Horses, mules, cows, sheep, goats and hogs thrive well. Sheep and hogs especially are easily kept, multiply rapidly and are profitable. Grazing facil- ities are great ; as the winters are never very severe, grass does not entirely die out. Excellent hay can be made from the uativ* grasses. A better place for a vegetable garden and track path can hardly be im- agLued. Winter, summer, spring and fall gardens can be, and are, planted here, and there is no month nor week in the year when the gardener cannot be gathering his harvests. To give a list o^ all th© vegetables that can be successfully and profitably raised here, would l)e to print the catalogue of the most complete garden seed establishment in the country. No hot-houses are required to produce many of our North summer's regetables in the very mid- dle of winter, and a ready market for all that can be raised is always near at hand. This is the land of milk and honey. Flowers abound. Bees do splendidly and require but little care. In this semi-tropical clime they can gather their harvests from flowers all the year. No man is exctisable in this region for not adorning his home with a robe of beauty. Almost every flower and shrub and flowering tree known to the zone, from the lofty magnolia — which gives a charm to any scene where it grows — to the delicate violet, flourishes here. Many residences are literally embowered in blooming trees, shrubbery, vines and flowers. A hundred varieties of the rose can be raised to make the air fragrant, from January to June, and then again from June to January. Perhaps there is not a spot in the world where the dairy business can be conducted with such profit as here. Cows do well and give a large quantity of milk all the year on the range alone. There is no land in the world where poultry raising is so easy and profitable an occupation as in this section of the Mississippi valley. Turkeys, geese, ducks, chickens, Guinea fowls, pigeons, etc., here thrive and increase with- ABOUT LOCriSIAITA. 139 out expense to the owner ; wid besides snpplying his table, enable Mm to dispose of a large niunber each year to market. • The lakes, bayous, ponds and rivers furnish a constant supply of different kinds offish. The fields and Troods afford fine sport to the huntsman. Hares, squirrels, raccoons, and many varieties of birds are plentiful, while sometimes a deer or bear is met with. The plantation drainage Is effected by open ditches and canals running back from the river to lower land in the rear, or into some one of the numer- ous bayous, which form a network all over the alluvial region. The decks of the passing steamboats afford a view of the growing crops of sugar cane and rice and the residences of the planters, surrounded by live oaks and orange trees, that is very attractive to the traveler. In addition to the lands along the river, the bayou banks are cultivated to the depth of from one to two miles back. In the rear of the arable lands are dense forests of cypress, oak, ash, gtun and other valuable timbers. The cypress is utilized by the planters to make coolers, hogsheads, barrels, cisterns, shingles and general lumber. Up to this time no other use is made of the remaining valuable forest growth, except burning it for fuel. iLSOENSION PAKISH Is almost all alluvial ; the portion fronting on the Mississippi river is identi- cal in character with that of the " coast" of Iberville ; the parish is adapted to su^ar, rice and cotton, and the lands highly productive. The parish town, Donaldsonville, is a thriving village of about 2000 inhabitants, and at one time was inclined to dispute precedence with New Orleans and Baton Rouge. By far the larger portion of this parish lies east of the Mississippi river. The river front, from one to three miles back, is occupied by some of the finest sugar plantations in the State. The land on this side of the river is generally alluvial, but on the northern boundry there is a strip of bluff' land, three or four miles wide and about fif- teen miles in length. The New river, Amite and Manchao, are thickly settled with small farmers, •who are industrious and thrifty. EBERYILLB PAKISH lies between the Bayon Grosse Tete and the Mississippi river on the east, and the upper Grand river and its chain of lakes and bayous bordering the parish of St. Martin on the West. It is wholly alluvial ; belts of cultivatable and highly productive lands lie along most of the bayous to the depth of one-half to two miles, especially in the northern portion, along Bayous Grosse Tete, Maringuin and Deglaize. In the southern part of the parish, along lower Grand river and its tributa- ries, bayous Pigeon and Sorrel, the lands have been partially cleared, and are of fine qiiality, but the overflows prevent their occupation to a great ex- tent. Bayou Plaquemine, connecting Grand river with the Mississippi, is a large navigable stream, and is thickly settled along both of its banks. The court-house town of Plaquemine has a flourishing business in the shipment of agricultural produce and (cypress) lumber. The " coast" of Iberville is remarkable for the highly improved condition and great extent of its plantations, there being many handsome residences, surrounded by parks of live oak and pecan trees. Cleared lands lie also along Bayou Goula and Manufactory Bayou, extending back almost to Lake Natch- ez by which they are thoroughly drained. ST. JAMES PARISH, north of the river resembles more the river parishes further north than those of the Delta plain proper. The highlands near the river are highly produc- tive and densely settled, and mostly occupied by sugar plantations. North- ward of this belt the drainage is toward Lake Maurepas, through Bayou des 140 SOME LATE WOEDS Acadiens and Mississippi Bayon, which headed a few miles ftom the main river. The belt of mareh land fringing the shores of Lake Manrepas is only from three-quarters to one mile wide, and the land along the bayous south of the rivers ; the cultivated border belt of the usual width of from two and a half to three miles is somewhat abruptly terminated by the marsh pra- iries that border the Lake des Allemands, whith thence extend westward as a belt about six miles in width, a little beyond the principal meridian of the survey, about half way between the river and Bayou Lafourche. ST. CHARLES PAEISH has many geographical advantages, and is partially bounded on different sides by three lakes of considerable size, namely : Ponchartrain, Des Alle- mands and Salvador, the last two being connected by Bayou Des Allemands. The distance by river from its court-house to the present upper limits of New Orleans is about twenty miles. The means of communication between the two points are many and comfortable. There are several saw mills in the parish, from which large quantities of cypress lumber are furnished. The making of pickets, clapboards, shingles, hogsheads and barrels gives employment to many. The facilities for the transportation of freight or passengers is good. Three railroads from New Orleans pass through the parish, namely : the Donald- sonville, the Morgan and Chicago railroads. The Mississippi river, the lakes, and Bayous Des Allemands, afford facilities lor water crafts. The public road along the river puts the planter who is on horseback or in a buggy within easy access of the city of New Orleans. At Bayou Des Allemands many men do handsomely by hunting, and in the winter months large number of wild ducks are shipped to New Orleans from this poiut. The gathering and curing of moss, the cutting and marketing of wood aiibrds profitable employment. Soil in the vicinity of the river is well adapted to the manufacture of bricks and common pottery. ST. JOHN PARISH, reaching southward to Lake des Allemands and its bordering marshes, while to the northward it embraces the neck of land that separates Lakes Ponchar- train and Maurepas, is, in most respects, siniihir to St. Charles. Between the main river and Lake Maurepas, it comprehends a fine expanse of agricultu- ral laud of great productiveness and in a ]ii,ij;li state of cultivation. Fields of sngar cane and market gardens occupy most of the cultivatable lands in the parLsh. The region between the two lakes is partly cypress swamp, partly marsh prairie, rendered almost impenetrable by a thick undergrowth of saw palmetto. The prairie on the border of Lake Ponchartrain is partly of the " trembling " character, which is perceptible even to the passer-by on the great highway — the New Orleans and Chicago Railroad — that traverses it. A few cultivated spots and settlements exist in this region also. JEFFERSON PARISH stretches from Lake Pontchartrain on the north to the head of Barataria Bay on the gulf coast. Most of the tillable lands lie in the northern portion along the Mississippi river, just west of, as well as opposite to the city of New Orleans. The relatively high banks of the Mississippi, on which the towns of Algiers and Gretna are located, form a dividing ridge, from t'Ae south side of which the water drains southward through Bayou Barataria and its connec- tions into Barataria Bay. On the higher land accompanying this bayou, as well as Bayou Dauphine or Des Families, there are some fine sugar planta- tions, although the tillable lands are of little depth, and from about the junction of the two bayous, near the eastern end of Lake Washa, the marsh prairie closes in upon their banks. In the southern portion, the surface of the parish is almost entirely covered by swamp, marsh prairie and sea marsh, traversed by an intricate network of ABOUT LOUISIAi^^A. 141 bayOTU and dotted "with lakes, resorts of fishermen and duck-huutera only. Numerous shell-heaps form the only elevations in the level plain. Thiough Company Canal, light-dranijht steamers and other craft can pass tsoxa the Mississippi, near Algiers, into Bayou Barataria, and Harvey's Canal establishes similar communication farther west. Barataria Bayou is navi- gahle, and through its connections the waters of the Gulf are reached without diffloulty. The shore of Lake Pontchartrain, at the northern end of the parish, is bor- dered with four to fire miles of marsh prairie, whose landward limit is marked by a belt of live oak, forming the background of the landscape as seen from the river. The lands intervening between the live oak belt and the river are thioUy settled and highly productive. ASSUMPTION, LAPOUBCHE AND TERREBONNE PARISHES. These parlshea lie west of the Mississippi river. They extend from near DonaldsonviUe to the Gulf of Mexico. The Bayou Lafourche, which Hows out of the Mississippi river at Donaldsonville, passes through the entire length of Assumption and Lafourohe to the Gulf, about one hundred miles to the south- east. To the south and west of these parishes is the parish of Terrebonne, extend- ing along the Gulf of Mexico from Timbalier Bay on the east to Atchafalaya Bay on the west, a distance of over seventy miles. It lins for its northern and eastern boundaries the parish of Lafourche and a portif)n of Assumption, while on the west it is bounded by the parish of St. Mary and the Atchafalaya Bay and river. The parish covers an area of about 1,584 square miles and was originally settled by Acadians about the year 1765. A large portion of the land lying along the gulf is sea marsh, and, therefore, not available for agri- cultural purposes unless properly drained. In the northern portion of the parish, however, will be found a very sxiperior quality of alluvial soil, which 18 wonderful in its productive capacities and is extensively cultivated. In this section, in the vicinity in the town of Houma, the surface of the earth is about eleven feet above tide- water, and by means of numerous bayous is readily drained. The arable land of these parishes is all alluvial. A part is sandy loam, another black stiff soil with no sand, and a combination of these two. The sandy soil is lighter and more easily worked; but the stiif land ripens cane earlier and is more adapted to rice culture. The mixed soil combines the good qualities of both. The prevailing religion in this section is the Roman Catholic ; but churches of all denominations, as well as public and private schools, are established in every village. The people of this section are generally intelligent, educated and refined. All classes ar6 kind and hospitable. Bayou Lafourche is navigable for about seven months in the year for steam- boats and all species of water craft. By it stone, coal, fire brick, hoop-poles, sand, lime, lumber from the west, are landed in front of the various sugar plantations and towns ; also rafts of saw logs are landed at the saw mills, floated from the swamps of upper Louisiana and Mississippi. By the stream, either on steamboats during high water, or by flat-boats in low water, a large amount of the sugar machinery, etc., necessary in the culture of sugar, and merchandise, is brought to the difterent landings, and the crops made are transported to market. From the seashore by means of luggers, oysters, game, fish, melons, oranges, etc., are brought to the railroad stations for re- shipment to the New Orleans market, or peddled along the bayou to the resi- dents on either bank. •Bayoii des Allemands is a beautiful stream, rising near Donaldsonville, and emptying into Lal<;e Salvador, where it is lost in the numerous bays and out- lets extending to the Gulf of Mexico. It is navigable for steamboats drawing four feet of water, and through it many of the products of Lafourche find an outlet to market. This bayou drains all that section of country found between 142 SOME LATE WORDS Bayou Lafourche and tlie Mississippi river as far down as the parish of St. Charles. Bayou Blue flows from Thibodaux to the Gulf, and from Lake Fields down could be rendered navigable. Bayous Cliicbey, Choupic, Malogay and Grand Bayou, and various others, serve as drains to the country. Lake Fields, in the rear of Lockport, and Lake Long in its rear, are beau- tiful bodies of water, noted for their excellent fish — such as cat, sac-a-lait, perch, buffalo, etc. Lake Salvador is a magnificent body of water north of Lockport, and is the entrance to one of the most charming body of lakes that lead into the Gulf at Grand Pass, that can be found on the globe. Lake Alleuiands is a large body of water between Lafourche and St. James. These lakes are sujiplied with fish and crabs at all seasons, and during the hunting seasons are favorite resting places for the immense flocks of poule- d'eau and ducks, that come down from the colder climes of the north. Many of the inhabitants actually cloth© and feed their families from the froceeds derived from the fowl yards, and in the spring boxes of eggs consti- ute the principal down freights of steam packets. The soil is admirably adapted to the production of field peas, potatoes (both sweet and Irish), pujnpkins, melons and garden truck generally. Figs, plums, peaches and oranges are grown successfully in the different localities adapted to their nature. The uncleared lands are densely covered with the best of timber, among which is found the diff"erent varieties of oak, ash, cypress, gum, magnolia, maple and wild pecan. The most valuable among these is the cypress, which is very durable and extensively used for building purposes, fences, shingles, staves and fuel. The number of ornamental trees and evergreens for the beautifying of yards and parks is very large, among which the magnolia gradi-flora and the majestic live oak, richly deserve the enconiums which have een so profusely bestowed by visitants of our State. There are large bodies of land in the interior, densely covered with fine cypress, at this time a little inconvenient of access, but as the timber now near at hand is being rapidly consumed, these swamps in the near future must necessarily become very valuable. The timber business offers a laru'e field for industry and enterprise, for lower Louisiana of necessity deals largely in building materials, pickets, barrel and hogshead staves and shingles. A general prejudice prevails among strangers, and grave doubts as to the capacity of tlie white race to jjursue agricultural labor during the heat of summer. But small farmers hav^e been accustomed to perform their daily round of labor as agriculturists without any detriment to their health. As a rule, the Creole population are early risers and get through a large poriiou of their work in the early part of the day, take a good rest at noon, and finish in the evening after the sun has lost some of its force. The health of the labor- ing white population will comjiare favorably with that of any other Southern State. Strangers often express surprise tha.t a flat eountry, in which the cypress trees abound, and in which most forest trees are draped with moss, should contain so many individuals who have reached the age of three-score and ten. The nights are cool, and we are not subjected to the intense heat Avhich, during the sauimer, often dei>rives the inhabitants of higher latitudes of re- freshing slumber at night. Proximity to the Gulf coast exercises a delightful and grateful influence on the heat of summer. Owing to the situation of lands on the Lafourche, and the length of time the country has been settled (upwards of a century), the inducenumts to emi- grants for cheap lands are not so great as those found in some of the highland parishes, which possess larger areas of cultivable lands. These can be pur- chased at lower prices ; but lands in this section are more fertile and more convenient to market, two advantages which should have great weight with settlers in a new country. In the rear of the front owners small tracts of land can be purchased at rea- sonable prices, which possess a soil of equal fertility with the front tracts, ABOUT LOmSIANA. 143 and the additional advantage of having a fine range for stock of all kinds. Theae lands are admirably adapted to the wants of farmers on a small scale, and 80 great in their fertility that it requires but little work to secure all the necessaries of life, its comforts and many of its luxuries. The facility for sending produce to New Orleans, the principal market, is equal to that of any other country, and the wants of the community are supplied directly from that great mart of commerce or the various stores situated on the banks of the Lafourche and the interior. Steamers which carry the weight of a thousand hogsheads of sugar pass daily within hail, and at the same time offer pleasant acconuuodatious for travelers Avho are not pressed for time. Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad gives quick and direct transporta- tion to New Orleans. The principal towns are Houma, Napoleonville and Thibodaux, hut both banks of the Lafourche are dotted with pretty, thriving villages. Both public and private schools are maintained in every village. There are separate schools for whitei »nd negroes. This section is well supplied with churches, and each denomination can attend its own place of worship irithout any inconvenience. Those who be- long to the Roman Church are largely in the ascendant in point of numbers, and possesses some line houses of worship. Great liberality in religious mat- ters prevails, and the different sects cordially unite in the promotion of charitable objects. There is a constant demand, at remunerative prices, for mechanical engin- eers, carpenters, smiths, and field hands. The amount of machinery in su- ^ar-houses of an extensive character creates a great demaudforthe best talent in the repair and supply of engines, vacuum-pans, centrifugals and sugar mills. On the efficiency of the machinery necessary to take off a crop of su- gar cane depends the success of a whole year's work, and must be done in proper time or the planter sufi'ers great loss. Several hundred people residing on the lower Lafourche and Terrebonne interior lakes earn a comfortable subsistance in transporting oyster, either to residents up the Lafourche or by way of the lakes and canals to New Orleans. In winter, others follow duck hunting, shooting these migatory birds for the New Orleans market and home consumption. AVOYELLES, EAPIDES, NATCHITOCHES AND RED RIVER PAR- ISHES. These parishes extend, in the order named, from the mouth of the Red riv- er, along its winding course, for about 3000 miles to the northwest, where it enters Caddo parish. The formation of Avoyelles is allnvial, except a small amount of paririe. The Soil of Rapides, Natchitoches and Red River is alluvial along tlie streams, but the greater portion of the land lies in long leaf pine hills and good uplands. Facilty for reaching market is afforded by Red river and New irleans and Pacific Railroad. The principal towns are Marksville, Alexandria, Natchitoches and Cou- shatta. The arable alluvial lands of. AVOYELLES PARISH lie along the numerous bayous with which it is cut up. These lands are un- surpassed by any in the Mississippi Valley, and have attracted farmers from other Southern States, who live by the sweat of their brows, and are steadily growing rich in their new homes. The Hon. H. Skip with writes as follows of the prairie in this parish : " Penetrating the parish from Sinmisport to Moreauville, the entire route upon nearly the same level, a stranger who emerges from the swamp and sees for the first time the Maksville prairie towering fifty feet above him, present- ing to his astonished vision the appearance of frowning battlements of some venerable fortress, at first view it seems as though an impassible barrier to 144 SOME LATE WORDS his further progress lias been conjured up by some wonderful upheaval of nature ; but aa he draws uearer and scans the marks of uiiquestionable an- tiquity, and winds his devious way until he finds a road almost as steep as the Tarpeian rock, awe and wonderment give place to curiosity. " This prairie — eight miles from east to west, and eighteen miles from north to south — has u]ion it some venerable landmarks, and about 18,000 a eres of very fair land, which, under a system of rather negligent tillage, has been steadily increasing in productive capacity, it being a common remark among the close observers in the parish that the prairie is now more fertile than when it was first settled, somewhere between 17G8and 1784, by a number of Acadian families who fied from the floods which were spread over Pointe Coupee. It was also the site of the old post of Avoyelles, and it is still the home of the feeble remnant of the tribe of Tunicas which was once strong enough to wage war with the Natchez and hold them in check. Along the eastern margin of this prairie, the Red river once flowed, and upon its northeastern margin, almost within the corporate limits of Marksville, are still to be seen the well-defined lineaments of an earthwork, crescent in form, too laboriously constructed and too skillfully laid off to warrant the opinion that it was the work of any sav- age tribe. " Just south of Choupique — a remarkable elevation of plateau, five miles in length and three miles wide — is another of these astounding revelations to the traveler, rising suddenly out of the swamp seventy-five feet. The soil of this prairie is fertile, and almost as productive as the alluvions which envi- ron it." EAST CARROLL, MADISON, TENSAS, CONCORDIA, POINTE COUPEE AND WEST BATON ROUGE PARISHES. These are all alluvialparishes and famous for their fertility. East Carroll, according to the United States Census of 1880, has a larger yield of cotton per acre than any other county in the Southern States. This parish is in the extreme northeast corner of the State, bounded north by the southern line of Arkansas on parallel 33^ and east by the Mississippi river. The other parishes lie due south of East Carroll, in the order named above, and extend along the west bank of the Mississippi river, a distance of more than two hundred and fifty miles. The whole body of land contained in these parishes is probably unsurpassed for fertility by any in the world. Prior to the war, when the levees were secure, arable lands were worth from $50 to f 125 per acre. They can now be bought from $5 to $25 per acre. This depreciation in value is due to the unstable condition of the levees.* All of these parishes have been devastated with periodical floods since the war, and although not overflowed every year, the back lands are considered unsafe for extended planting operations. The entire river front is cultivated in the staple crops of the State. West Baton Rouge and Pointe Couj)ee pro- duce sugar as well as cotton, while the parishes northward grow cotton only as a money crop. The highest land lies upon the bank of the river and the drainage is to the rear, the lands becoming lower until they reach the wooded swamp two or three miles back. These swamps are covered with a heavy growth of cyjiress, oak, ash and gum, and must soon again become valuable for their timber, which is available in the summer and fall, although covered with water in winter and spring. The field for speculation in lumber is open to the capitalist familiar with the business. From June until December the swamps are sufliciently dry to admit hauling with the aid of ox teams and timber wheels.. From February until May, when the crevasse water inundates the swamps, it is sufficiently deep to admit of floating the timber, t Portable saw mills might be con- structed at convenient points. Lumber is in great demand, and none equals •This condition of affairs is now supposed to be permanently changed. ' tThe crevasse water may be considered a thing of the past. The levee system now gives the whole front of the Miasissippi river in Louisiana protection. ABOTTT LOUISIAIfA. 145 5 — that made from C3rpre889 for building purposes- It is worth from $15 to $30 per 1000 feet, according to quality. Cypress staves for barrels and hogsheads, Bhingles and three-foot boards, pieux or pickets are always in demand and comanand good prices. The quality and durability are superior to those made of any other kind of timber. The planters of this section are generally educated and refined. They are hospitable and generous. The negroes who vastly outnumber them, are now a happy, docile and con- tented people. The " aavpet bagger," whose political preferment was the fiuit of the seeds of dissension, assiduously sown among the blacks, has long since departed. The country sites of these parishes are Lake Providence, Eichmond, St. Joseph, Vidalia, New Roads and Port Allen. There are hundreds of village landings along this long stretch of river, and steamboats, which are nearly always in sight, will land at any plantation. This is, without doubt, the easiest country in which to live well. The earth, with only half cultivation, yields all field, garden and orchard pro- ducts, all domestic animals increase and fatten on the wild growth of the forest and pasture, and game and fish can be taken when wanted. Both Catholic and Protestant churches are in every parish, and separate public and private schools for whites and blacks. West Baton Rouge and Pointe Coupee are intersected by the New Orleans and Pacific Railroad, and Madison is crossed from east to west by the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pa- cific Railroad, ; In addition to the money crops of sugar and cotton, all of the field crops of the North grow to perfection. Corn is raised by all planters and tenants. In new land it produces very large crops — 75 bushels to the acre — the yield generally is from 20 to 40 bush- els, according to the land, culture and season. Corn raised here is more wholesome than that brought from the Western States. Stock fed on it is rarely, if ever, made sick ; whereas. Western corn often produces colic with mules and horses, resulting in loss. The seed is sown from the 30th of Feb- ruary to the 1st of May. But late corn planted in June and Jiily often does , as well ;. much depends upon the season. If the soil is kept loose and well pulverized at the roots, and thrown up in hills at the foot of the, stock, it will never suffer from drouth and never fire. Cow peas are planted in corn lands about the middle of May. The vines run over the ground and cover it by the month of August with a thick foliage, so dense and runners so thick that the rays of the sun never pene- trate. In September and early in October these vines and leaves are <'nt or raked up, and after several days of exposure and drying are housed or stacked for hay. It makes a healthy feed for stock ; they keep fat on it during the winter and relish it to the end. The culture of the pea has another ad- vantage. It renews the ground and returns to it all the nutritious substance taken from it by the sugar cane, the cotton or corn stock. Hence, it is con- sidered to be the best, cheapest and most reliable fertilizer. The richest and most delicate nut in the world is the pecan. The tree reaches an enormous size, its trunk measuring fifteen feet in circumference, its height reaching one hundred and twenty-five feet, its shade at noon-day covering a circle of one hundred and fifteen feet in diameter. For grandeur and magnificence it is the peer among the many fine specimens of vegetation in Louisiana. It will bear the seventh year after its growth, very few nuts at first, but increasing annually. They were in great demand immediately after the war and sold for high prices. A planter in West Baton Rouge sold for $500 worth of pecans in 1865, gathered from thirty odd trees. One tree bore five barrels, which sold for $35 per barrel. The same pecans last season brought from $12 tto $15 per barrel. Considering the little care that is taken of live stock, it is surprising that it should increase as it does. Few indeed have attempted to improve the breed. Cows and their calves, even in the winter time, are rarely fed. In the fall, generally not before December, cold weather does but little damage to vegetation. The usual length of winter is from December 1 to the 15th of 146 BOMB LATE WOEDS February. Dnring these montha cattle r©quir« but verv little feeding : they find sustenance on the fat accumulated in the preceding autumn. If the planter resides in near proximity to a cane-hrake, where switch canv grows wild, or where his etock may range in the open woods, then he may be certain that by the approach of spring they will return without losing a pound of flesh. These lauds yield an average of 500 or 600 pounds of lint cotton or forty bushels of corn to the acre under proper cultivation. The owners are prosperous and the laborers contented. There has been little, or no political, or social disturbance here. The races are on the best of terms ; the relations of employer and employe are well-defined and satisfactory. Altogether, the cultivated and the overflowed districts present about as vivid a contrast as can be formed with prosperity and desolation. The proprietors pi ant in three diiferent ways — the wage, the share, and the tennant plan. The wages for regular hired labor averages seventy-five cents per day, the laborer buying his owu supplies. The share laborer receives land, dwelling, team, tools, seed, fire-wood, and every necessary to make a crop, and gives half of what he makes to the proprietor. The tennant rents land, furnishes his own team, etc., and pays the owner eighty pounds of lint cotton per acre as rent. These three plans, eo different in detail, all come to about the same thing in the end, except in the cases of some exceptionally thriftv teunants. The day labor, counting in extra wages in chopping and pickine; time, makes about $250 per annum, and this is substantially what the share labores and average tennant make. There are instances where tennants, by intelligence, industry and economy have accumulated an independence and are well-to-do. White men can do this, but the average negro never thinks of to-morrow, and he is consequently a mere hand-to-mouth, though comfortable liver at all times. This is the fault of the individiial, however, and not of the system. The system is liberal enough — far more than the system in any other agricultural country. It offers to honest industry and intelligent thrift, the finest promise that is offered anywhere in the civilized world to men without capital. The share laborer on the great cotton planta- tions can without any capital except that of his naked miiscle, earn as good living and as large a pot for a raiuj' day as the farmer in England with $1000 in money to start with — yes larger. The hackneyed old fable that white men cannot do field-work in the South ought to be exploded by this time, especially when statistics show that three- fifths of the cotton produced in the United States is produced by white labor. Immigrants are wanted here, and they will receive a cordial welcome wlu'thcr capitalists or laborers. Small capitalists could make syilendid in- vestments at this time, and no man who desires to work at fair wages need bo idle for one day. Parties who wish to work on shares are furnished with comfortable houses, team, tools, firewood and a garden spot free of charge, and those wlio wish to lease are offered every facility, and advances are made to thorn on tlio most reasonable terms ; in fact, a man can come here wifhont a (lolhir. and lease land, purchasing mules and tools and get his snp]ilios ad- vanced liim for the year on credit, and if ho is any account can at least make his living and ]iay for his team and tools the first year, and after that his success depends upon himself, for it is assured, if he will doliis duty. Fertil- izers are used to a very limited extout, but experience has proven that whoa used, the results have been splendid, and pay a very handsome jirofit. Before quoting from Hou. Win. H. Harris' work on Louisi- ana as to the parishes of PLAQUEMINES AND ST. BERNARD, we wisU to say a brief word by way of introduction. These par- islies are inhabited by some of the most cultured and influential of our citizens. No other portion of our Scate can show lovelier ABOUT LOUISIANA. 147 homes, more sumptuous surroundings, more lavish, yet high-bred hospitality. The area is par excellence the orange belt of the State, and, we tkink, of the United States, for nowhere are finer orauges raised. The Shell Beach and Gulf Eailroad is extending vegetable- raising greatly by reason of its facilities for shipping early veg- etables; and the business of raising them and melons is exiiand- ing almpat to the Gulf, on the river. This is going to be an in- dustry of enormous proportions, and is growing with astounding rai)idity. It is well worth a ride over the railroad, in early spring, to see the prodigious area planted, and their variety and quality. On the right bank of the river, a railroad will soon be built to Grand Isle; and will open up the grand surf of that locality to the lovers of bathing. Shooting and fishing are superb in both parishes. The oysters, crabs, shrimp, turtles, terrapins of the locality are unsui passed. We now quote from Col. Harris : " These parishes lie east and southeast of Ne-vr Orleans and are in the main sea marsh. Th© Mississippi runs through the entire length of Plaquemines, from New Orleans to the jetties. Nearly all of the cultivable portion of this parish lies along both banks of the Mississippi river, within sixty miles of its northern parochial boundaries, or above the Forts Jackson and St. Philip. 1'he lands below the points designated, or along the last forty miles of the river and passes being low, unprotected by levees, and subject to frequent tidal overflow from the gulf, are unfit for cultivation without artificial drainage and levees. The land is arable along the river above the forts named, at an average distance or "depth" from either bank of about one-half mile. The population of this parish live and its productions are grown almost exclusively withia this region of sixty sqiiare miles. A small proportion of its inhabitants live at the pilot villages and marine stations on Pass-a-rOu- tre, Southwest and South passes, while a few of its people dwell ujion the " chenieres" and ridges that rise above the sea marsh or upon the low sand islands of the coast. About four-fifths of the total area of the parish is swamp and sea marsh, a portion of which lands may be reclaimed at a remote date, but of which the greater part is covered with the " Marais Tremblante" or floating prairie. There is comparatively little timber country La Plaquemines. That which remains is the live oak on the isolated chenieres and cypress in deep swamps. Sugar plantations, stocked in cane and drained by means of machinery, and bearing orange groves, command from flOO to |506 per square acre. The rice lands are freely rented at prices ranging from $7 50 to $10 per square acre, or at the rate of a barrel and a half or two barrels of rough rice for every acre planted, payable after the crop has been harvested. °These lands are generally already ditched, levied and prepared for irrigation. Lands suitable for cultivation in cane, corn or garden truck, thoroughly ditched and deeply drained by steam machinery, command from $10 to $30 per acre, on annual leases. Probably longer leases could be obtained at lower figures. Various methods of share-working in the sugar field have been tried. That practised to the largest extent is for the landlord to furnish the ten*at with ledging, land, setd, teams and implements, in return for which 148 .SOME LATE WORDS the tenant is expected to deliver the cane produced to the landlord's mill or manufactory at $2 50 per ton. Where small farmers cultivated cane entirely at their own expense, they sell it at the large manufactories at $4 and $5 per ton. The staple productions of this parish named in the order of their value, are sugar, rice, oranges, corn, and farm and garden vegetables. Cultivation of the orange has been carried on here since the organization of the parochial government. In fact, it is cla iuied that some of the trees in the lower part of the parish are over a hundred years old. In the central and southern portion of the parish, on the west bank of the river, orange culture has been almost uniformly a profitable l)usineKS. The most favored location for the tree is on the right bank of the river, from a point forty-tliree miles helow New Orleans to a short distance above Fort Jackson. On the thirty miles of coast designated there is almost a continuous grove of orange trees. The largest solid grove is fifty-seven luiles below New Orleans. This is 100 acres in extent, and contains 10,000 trees. Another, forty-seven miles below the city, is composed of over 4,000 trees. The most productive groves are situated in " Biiras settlement," along several miles of the river bank imme- diately above Fort Jackson. The annual return from full grown orange groves in the favored locations mentioned is from |100 to $200 per acre. The hundred acre grove yielded fruit last season which sold for $12,000. Smaller groves have often returned more than .$200 per acre. Lands planted in bearing orange trees command almost fabulous prices. Some of them could not be purchased for $500 per square acre. A full bearing grove is not obtained till at least ten years after the seed is planted, unless grafted upon sour orange stocks, or from six, seven or eight years after the trees have been transplanted from the nursery ; trees in the nursery are worth from ten to fifty cents each. During the first three or four years' growth of tlie young trees the groves may be planted in crops which are not exhausting, though this is considered a doubtful policy. After the trees commence bear- ing, little care is required to keep the groves in order, though a degree of in- tefligence and skill is required in caring for them which few other fruit trees need. The most prolific fruit in Plaquemines parish, after the orange, is the fig, almost every variety of which grows here in profusion. Excellent peaches are also raised. The date, lemon, citron and banana, are raised in the lower part of the parish. These tropical fruits are, however, very uncertain, and those raised are kept for home use by the producers. ST. BERNARD begins .at the lower limit of the parish of Orleans on the left bank of the Mississipj)i river, and has a fi-ont of some fifteen miles on said river, extend- ing to the upper line of the parish of Plaquemines ; it then follows the Bayou Terre-aux-Brenfs in an easterly direction to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 100 miles. It also includes Proctorville on Lake Borgne, and the ridge known as Lachinche, lying on both sides of the La L'Outre, a small stream which fiows into Lake Borgne. According to the census of 1880, the population is about 6000, about one- half colored. The general topography of these parishes is quite similar, and the descrip- tion of one ai^idies to the other. The Mississi]>]ii Piver and Shell Beach Railroad, from New Orleans to Proctorville. affords ample transportation facilities, and ojiens to the public one of the most beautiful seabathing resorts in the South. It is a great boon to New Orleans. By means of this road, vegetables may be placed in the New Orleans market. The soil of St. Bernard parish is as rich as any in the State, the area of arable lanil is about 2.5,000 square acres, and easily drained, being formed by ridges on both sides of the Terre-aux-Boeufs and La L'Outre Bayous, sloping gently towards the cj^press swamp on either side. There are many small ABOUT LOUISIANA. 149 streams which flow into the nnmereous bays and lakes along the gulf coast, which serve as outlets to carry off surplus water. Along the Mississippi river and small water courses, the surface ia a rich, sandy soil, toward the cypress swamp the soil is rich, clay loam. The crops at present raised are sugar cane, corn, rice, oranges, and some cotton, on the Bayou La L'Outre, especially the sea island, which grows lux- uriantly and yields generally from one to one and a half bales. All kinds of vegetables are also raised in large quantities for the New Orleans market. The largest portion of that part of the parish lying on the Terre-aux-Boeufs and La L'Outre is cut up into small farms, where vegetables are raised. There are twentv sugar plantations in the parish. The Shell Beach Railroad runs southeast through the cane fields and orange groves to the salt surf resort on Lake Borgne.*" MISCELLANEOUS. There are a few parishes that, for one reason and another, we have not been able to put them into any other category than that of miscellaneous. This is as fit a placing as could be, as their lands are of several descriptions—" bluff," " good uplands,'' " alluvial," etc. CALDWELL AND MOREHOUSE PARISHES. These parishes are in Northeast Louisiana, t and lie along the banks of the Ouachita, from the northern line of Catahoula on the south, to the State of Arkansas on the north. Their topographical features are very similar, the general formation being allu-\a;il along the streams, and all the elevated lands being classed as " good uplands," except the western third of Caldwell, which extends into the long leaf pine hills. Most of Western CALDWELL is a rough, broken, pine country, cut up by the several branches of Bayou Castor. On the dividing ridge, between Bayou Castor and Washita river, the country is broken and ridgy, especially near the Washita, running, in the main, parallel to that river, on which they occasionally form precipitous bluffs, t These ridges have a dark-colored, loamy soil, giving evidence of the presence of lime by the absence of the long-leaf pine, and the prevalence of the better class of upland oak, hickory, wild plum and red haw or thorn. The best of this kind of country is in the neighborhood of Grandview. Between. Grandview and Columbia there is a prairie (Prairie Du Cote) about a mile in diameter, almost round, and with a yellow loam soil. The soil is very fertile and is treeless, except a few hawthorn bushes. East of the Washita riA^er ia mainly the alluvial bottom, subject to overflow, except a long, narrow ridge of upland that runs down between Washita and Bceuf rivers, reaching nearly to their junction. MOREHOUSE includes more varieties of land than any other parish in the State. It has some cypress swamps, some lowlands or alluvial bottoms, pine lands, uplands and even prairie. The bottoms are the most abundant, and cover about two- •And now to Bohemia, below Pointe-a-la-Hache, the parish seat. tThe peculiar conformation of Louisiana makes two sections of her area northeast. { A long, narrow riflge of the " good uplands, ' ' runs entirely throush the parish, from north- west to soutlieast, making a "divide •' between the Washita river and the Bayou Castor. 150 SOME LATE WORDS thirds of the parish, the upland nearly on*-third, while th* prairies amount to only a few thousand acres. The general topography of the country Is ft ridge, covered with pine, run- ning down the centre of the parish from north to south, sloping towards low- Innds on eacli side of it. On the west is the Bayou Bartholomew bottom ; on the east the l^neuf river bottom, a large portion of which consists of cypress ewamjjs, subject to overflow, and therefore very thinly settled and very little cultivated. The most prosperous section is along Bayou Bartholomew. The country is well settled here, open to trade, in easy commuuication with the niurlcets, and not subject to overflow. Here are situated the larger planta- tions, as well as many small farms, cultivated by their owners, white men, and producing all that is needed in the way of supplies, such as pork, com, etc. Nearly all the lands in Morehonse are fertile, but there is great diversity in their productiveness. The best lands are those of the Bayou Bartholomew bottom. Those on Bopuf river are too low and swampy for cultivatiou, wliile the uplands, being largely pine and woods, are not as fertile or productive. The uplands, however, are good second-rate land, and while they are not as prolitic in cotton — producing only about half as miich as the bottoms — they are fully as good for corn, and better for fruit, vines, etc. Very little cotton is raised on them, except on new lands — com, oats, etc., bein«f the usual crops. The hill lands have one advantage, that of not send- ing torth as luxuriant a foliage as the bottoms, so that less labor is required to keep the crop in order. The common estimate is that a hand can cultivate fully 50 per cent, more of uplands than bottom lands. This fact makes the hill country a favorite section for raising corn and such crops. A very small proportion of the parish is cultivated, not more than one- eightli, while one-third could easily be worked with scarcely any expense in the way of draining, levees, etc. The best planting sections are the Bayou Bartholomew country. Oak Ridge, Gum iSwamp and Prairie Mer Rouge, some of which regions boast of one and a quarter bales of cotton to the acre. In these parishes some land is still held by both the Federal and State gov- ernments, mainly in the pine ridge section, where there axe many excellent saw mill sites to be purchased. This land is high and healthy, well watered and adapted to nearly all kinds of crops, and exceedingly inviting to the new- comer. From private parties a great deal of good land can be purchased at the rate of $1 per acre. The general price of lands, however, is as follows : First-class open lands, with good improvements, houses, dwellings, etc., $20 to |30 per acre. First-class wild land, $4 to $6. Most of the land is leased by the year, when the prices are : For improved lands, in small tracts, one-fourth the crop, or from $5 to $6 per acre. For large plantations, with dwellings, gins, cabins, and all the necessities for the thorough cultivation of the soil, from $3 to $4 per acre. There is plenty of labor, both for the saw mills, and the farms and planta- tions. Agricultural labor on the large plantations is mainly negro, while the small farms are cultivated mostly by their owners, white farmers. Wages are liberal, but the negroes generally prefer to cultivate on the share system, and a majoritv of them work on shares. The receipts of a laborer vary as he works well or as the season proves favorable, but the usual estimate is that an industrious hand can make from eight to ten bales g£ cotton and from 150 to 200 bushels of com a year without difficulty. The estimated yield of good land per acre is, for excellent alluvial land, one bale of cotton per acre, or thirty-five bushels of com, or forty bushels of oats ; and for the uplands, ^ to ^ bale. There is very little stock-raising, although canebrakes afford an excellent range for cattle, while the hill lauds are admirably adapted for sheep. This section is well timbered with all the trees known in northern Louis- iana and southern Arkansas, among which are pine, cypress, hickory, dog- ABOUT LOUISIANA. 151 wood, various kinds of oak, eassafras, sweet gum, osage orange, and black walnut. Lumber is abundant and cheap, pine selling at $10 per thousand feet, and cypress at from $12.50 to $15. Peaches, apples, pears, and plums flourish here. The hill lands are much better for fruit raising than the rich bottoms. They are admirably adapted for the cultivation of the grape, mans' indi- genous varieties of which grow her© luxuriantly in the forests. Among these may be mentioned th« grap© called the Battura, which was discovered here in abundance by the early French settlers. This grape is of dark blue hue, grows near the water's edge, and prospers when it has been covered by over- flow, the grapes bursting lorth as soon as the water goes down. The larger streams are the Ouachita and Boeuf rivers and Bayou Bartholo- mew, all of which are large and navigable a greater portion of the year to steamers carrying 1,500 or more bales of cotton. There are hundreds of smaller streams, and a number of lakes of the best eating fish, the trout, bass, bank, and white perch, cat, and buffalo, and bar fish. The climate is excellent, and not subject to extremes of heat or oold^ sum- mer or winter. Health good, especially in the uplands. Schools and churches are maintained in every neighborhood, and more »d- ranced institutions of learning are established in Bastrop and Columbia, the principal towns. Some of the most cultivated people of the South reside in these parishes, and there is no part of America where the immigrant would receive better treatment. As the parishes of Calcasieu and Cameron are not included in the description heretofore given, (as printed by the United States Agricultural Department), of the area catalogued as " prairies '' by Professor Lockett; and as late Commissioner of Immigration, Hon. Wm. H. Harris, in the description of the "Prairie Parishes" in the book from which we have so profusely quoted, treats these parishes as a group and not separately; and as we have in our method, pursued a different plan from the latter, a departure from which might be criticised or misconstrued, we place these parishes in our " miscellaneous " list. OF CALCASIEU K it is almost superfluous to say anything in the way of commendation. It is the focus of the immigration from the West ; and more Western farmers have come into her borders within the last three years, than have come into all the rest of Louisiana besides. This parish has more than twice the area of any oth- er parish. 3,400 square miles. Saint Landry comes next, with 2,276 square miles ; and then Cameron with 1,545. But the new parish of Acadia takes away a considerable slice of territory from south St. Landjy ; and almost all of Cameron is in the '"coast-marsh" area of Locke tt's classification. Calcasieu's area of prairie is now greater than that of any other parish ; and, in her northern area there is a large belt of very fine pine. Within her borders are found five classes of territory : " Prairies, pine hills, pine flats, alluvial lands, and coast-marsh," not to emphasize "wooded swamps." The parish abounds in streams, and her ''pine hill's" — belt is fairly .veined with them. Well towards her western border, the Calcasieu river flows ; run- ning from the country north of her upper boundaries into theGulf of Mexico, and affording navigation, the year round, for vessels of considerable tonnage above Lake Charles. In its flow, this river makes several noble lakes, among which, Lake Charles is most notable. This charming lake, with the blue of its water, and the green of its fringing forests, looks uke a large turquoise in a 152 SOME LATE WOEDS setting of emeralds. Its banks are bluffs, some of wliich. are of shells. On this lake is the parish seat, Lake Charles which town has grown as if touched by the wand of Midas. The lumbering busines is immense — there being in the vicinity, from six to ton mills manufacturing lumber and shingles. The rapid development in many lines, utterly forbids our attempting a description of the town. Of late the town has had two noble accessions to her improve- ments in educational institutions. Churches and schools are numerous. Her population must be nearly, or quite four thousand. In Calcasieu parish many new towns have of late been laid out. Jennings is oue of them, and is almost entirely populated by Western people. Welch, from a little village of scarcely tifty people, a year or two ago, is now a thriving one of several hundred. Within a year, there have been started in this parish six, or more new towns. Lake Arthur, one of the prettiest places anywhere, has come in for its share — two or three towns having been founded on its shores The streams and lakes of the parish teem with fine fish, and no parish of- fers greater attractions to the sportsmen. Near Lake Charles is the prodig- eous deposit of sulphur — said to be the largest known. There, petroleum, gypsum, limestone, alumn, etc., are found. CAMERON. "^ This parish is almost totally in the " coast-marsh" area. On its northern border are some patches of prairie ; but these are so inconsiderable as to hard- ly deserve mention. Cameron has not yet had her day. She must await the future, and abide her time in patience. She will, doubtless, at some near day, be a busy place in canning fish, oysters, and shrimp. Her parish-seat, Leesburg is right on the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of Calcasieu river ; and it must be that in the development that awaits that country, Cameron will be greatly benetiitted by a situation that now seems like isolation. If deep water ever comes to the mouth of the river, Leesburg will be a great place by reason of that alone. When the immigrant takes hold of the coast-marsh, (as he will before the next quarter of a century), with its prodigeously ftrtile soil, then Cameron parish will come to the front. Great will be the crops of su- gar-cane, rice, sea-island cotton, oranges, vegetables etc : while the Gulf will aftbrd cheap and delicious food for the agriculturalist, and an inexhaustible supply for manufacturing or preserving canned goods. So the sea and the laud wiU both pour out their bounteous treasures to this, thus far, disregar- ded parish. This "coast-marsh" country ought to have more said about it than has been. The entire front of Louisiana is on the Gulf of Mexico. Her south boundary is water, and her whole length, from east to west is gulf-coast. This is an incommensurable advantage, upon which space forbids comment. We append a brief description £com Col. Harris' Hand- book of Louisiana : THE GULF COAST. " The Coast line of Louisiana extends from Texas on theyrest at the mouth of the Sabine river, to Mississippi on the east at the mouth of Pearl river. Locket says : It may be divided into two distinct sections, differing from each other in manv characteristic respects. Tlie first or eastern division lies between Cat Island, near the mouth of Pearl river and Atchafalaya bayou, the southwest. These two points are the most easterly and most westerly limits respectively of the great delta of the Mississippi. The waters of the Mississippi formerly found their way througli Manchac bayou. Lake Maurepas, Lake Ponchartrain and the Rigolets into Lake Borgne, and thence into Mississippi Sound, at the entrance of which is Cat Island. These waters still flow into Atchafalaya Bay through the river of the same name. All this part of the coast is extremely irregular, in- dented with numerous bays, out up by thousands of lakes and bayous into a ABOUT LOUISIANA. 153 labyriuth of peninsulas and islands wliicli it is almost impossible to rep- resent, on a map of the scale I have adopted. The j^eueral shape of this part of the coast is the arc of a circle, convex outwards. The radins of the circle is about .sixty-live geographical miles, and its centre is a few miles to the west- ward of the southwest corner of Lake Pouchartrain. This circle crosses the narrow neck of land which makes the lower delta, near Forts Jackson and .St. Phillip. The whole length of the arc, excluding the lower delta, is one hundred and seventy uules. There is a remarkable tendency of the islands along this circle to form themselves into groups, convex towards the Gulf, and each island partakes of the same shape. Among the thousand islands along this coast, is the paradise of the sports- man. Fish and water-fowl abound in countless thousands. The professional hunters and fishermen have built their villages upon these islands, and live well with little exertion. Their families are reared without the aihes, we tried to incite them to organize in behalf of immigra- tion, and to publish propaganda in that regard, by informing them that we should issue a pamphlet soon, and that, in it, we would call attention to any organizations that should exist, and any publications that might be issued. We here and now fulfill that promise. There is an organization, with headquarters at Shreve- port, Louisiana, that has issued a " Pamphlet Descriptive of the paiishes in Northwest Louisiana;" an organization in Union par- ish, headquarters Farmersville, which has issued a pamphlet ; Bienville parish has issued a pamphlet, and the headquarters there are Arcadia ; Franklin parish has an organization, and has issued a pamplilet, headquarters at Winnsborough ; Ruston, Lin- coln parish, has an organization; Morehouse parish has issued a pamphlet, headquarters, Bastrop; Ascension parish, headquar- ters, Donaldson ville, has issued a pamphlet under the auspices ABOUT LOUISIA^^A. 155 of the Ascension parish branch of the Sugar Planters' Associa- tion; Tangipahoa parish has issued a pamphlet, headquarters Amite; the Illinois Central Kailroad Comi)any has issued a pamphlet, applications for which should be m.ide to Mr. J. F. Merry, General Western Passenger Agent, Manchester, Iowa. Lastly, an organization of great prominence and influence, known as the State Immigration Association of Louisiana, has its head- quarters in New Orleans, with Hon. John Dymoud us president. We have reserved Orleans parish for separate comment, and have taken it out of the category of "Alluvial Lands " because of its superior claims to more elaborate notice as l)eing paiticu- larly the seat of New Orleans, the leading city of the State, and the metropolis of the Southwest. The limitations of our space, we legretto say, compel u«i to abridge greatly ihe portrayal of this great city, and we must generalize much in doing so. In this line of treatment we sJuiU have recourse to the labors of others who have taken a bro.id view of most material facts ger- mane to the material aspects of the city. The following remarks upon New Orleans are extracts from an address of Judge Chas. E. Fenner, at the opening of the Cotton Palace, in February, 1889, in that city. ""Wlien we survey the great natural advantages of the State of Louisiana and of the City of New Orleans, it seems difficult to explain how they have been distanced in the race of progress by manj^ of their sister States and cities which have had much greater difficulties to encounter and obstacles to overcome. It cannot be denied tliat her temperate climate, her fertile soil, the great variety of her jiroductious, the accessibility to market of all por- tions of her territory, and her general salubrity, reduce to a minimum the struggle of existence in Louisiana, and place Avithiu the reach of her inhabi- tants, a greater proportion of the comforts of life, at a less cost of labor, than can be obtained in almost any other jjart of the world. As for the City of New Orleans, the slightest study of the map of the West- ern Hemisphere inevitably hxes upon her as the site of a great metropolis. This was visible to Bienville when he transported the colony which his brotlier, Iberville, had founded on the salubrious shores of Lake Pontchar- train. to the half reclaimed swamps on the bank of the Mississippi, and, with prophetic vision, tixed here the seat of a commercial empire. It was equally visible to Thomas Jelferson, when he seized upon the complications of Euro- pean politics, to acquire for his country, the priceless treasure of the Louisiana territory. Situated at the southern gateway to the ocean of that vast and incompar- able region known as the Mississii)pi Valley, the natural key to the naviga- tion of that great system of waterways which penetrate the richest regions of the globe, and, converging in the central artery of the Mississippi river, find their way to the ocean on its mighty current; planted almost on the dividing line between two continents, naturally tributary to each other, and finding here their inevitable centre of exchanges ; the existence of New Orleans as a commercial metropolis is not an accident, but a necessity ; and he is blind 156 SOME LATE WOEDS who cannot foresee the magnificent future "which lies before her. The pos- sible New Orleans rises before the mind's eye as one of the most entrancing visions that can bewitch the imagination. Nature has done for her all that is necessary." From " The New South '' of Col. M. B. Hillyard, in his article " Louisiana," we quote from pp. 312-313, the following elaborate pen picture of New Orleaos and its possibilities: " No other city on this continent is so unique in its aspects as this, the chief city of Louisiana. Its quaint hurly-biirly ; its gay and giddy people ; its ' love of pageantry ; its surprising abandon ; its fondness for parades ; its nnion of bustle and idleness ; the coarse savagery, squalor, ignorance, of part of its population, and the gentle refinement, liigh culture and effervescent brightness of manner of another ; the stench of its gutters, and the floral glo- ries of its gardens and parks ; its grotesque and chaotic architecture ; its markets, and their noisy and nondescript vendors ; the diverse dialects of its inhabitants ; the eloquence of its clergy ; the desecration of the Sabbath in games, entertainments, pic-nics, theatres and conduct of business ; its extrav- agance in dress and the gayety of it ; its consummate beggars ; its fine Avines and cigars ; its world-known carnival, and the matchless participation in its spirit; the knightly valor of its gentlemen, their hospitality and unspeakable charm of manner; the glorious beauty, elegance, sparkle of its ladies — these, and far more that defy enumeration, give toISfew Orleans aspects kaleidoscopic and bizarre. The business possibilities of this most advantageously located city are al- most beyond computation. "New Orleans enjoys advantages which are pe- culiar, and which must make her a great em])orium of trade and commerce. These are the facilities for transportation of heavy freight by river ; her sys- tem of railroads ; her safe and deep water port ; her geographical proximity to Mexico, Central and South America. She is the natural outlet for the pro- ducts and manufactures of the Mississippi basin and of the Western States. She should also be the distributing point for the imports from neighboring coTintries. The Panama Canal, when completed, will cause an enormous in- crease in her traffic. She is but five days from Colon, the mouth of the canal ; one day's crossing will bring her to Panama. This means communication in six days with the western coast of Central and South America, and an ab- sorption of all the heavy freight from our California coast, and the §upply of the wants of the people on the western coast of Central America under such favorable conditiims as to defy comi>etition. More intimate connections with Mixico will stimulate traffic between the two countries, a large ijortion of which must necessarily fall into the lap of New Orleans." New Orleans ought to be the great centre of siigar refining. Her prox- imity to Cuba and her position as the emporium of the home supply ; her river for distribution, along with her railroads, show this. The unnatural competition of German beet-sugar cannot continue. She ought to manufac- ture flour from Southern-raised wheat, and distribute it to South and Central America, West Indies and Mexico. Many considerations urge her eligibility as a great cotton manufacturing city. Years hence Southern-raised wool will come here in great quantity, and woolen factories ought to spring up. Silk factories we ought to confidently expect, too. Her proximity to Texas .nnd South America for hides, points to her as amostpvoper place for ninnufacturing boots and shoes, harness, trunks and other articles into which leather largely ■enters. Here ought to be canned extensively oysters, shrimp, fish, terrapins, wild duck, figs, oranges, pineapples, many vegetables, etc. Iron ship-building, and wooden, too, for that matter,- — ought to hei'e find one of its most eligible localities. Proximity to coal and iron ; competing railroads from the fields of these minerals, with down grades ; a river enter- ing, so to speak, distant fields to che;ipen these products ; the cheapest and best timber in the world — Southern white oak and yellow pine— near ; deep water and plenty of room for launching, — all these and more, shoW the induce- ments in this industry. ABOUT L0CJISIA:N^A. 157 No place seems so fit for the seat of an ininiense iudustiy in the maunfac- ttiriug of furniture, whether one regards lier proximity to the tine woods of the tropies, or lier contiguity to the abundant — almost untouched, — woods of the South. Tliis city could hardly have a rival in the country, in the manu- facture of either cheap or most elegant furniture. Comparative non-compe- tition, largeness of territory for consumption, cheapness and facility of dis- tribution, are all additional and most important f;ictors. New Orleans ought to be a prodigious jiroducer of woodenware. This needs no further word. Rags are exported hence to New York. This is sug- gestive enough of paper maiurfactnre. New Orleans ought to export the bulk of the tobacco raised in Kentucky and Tennessee. This product would thus bring more money to its producers. A large increase of capital, available for current uses, is badly needed in New Orleans. This city is now too dependent upon New York. Most Western importations ought to come via New Orleans; and the South Avill find her one of the most eligible jiorts for the exportation of her future liome-made ilour, cotton goods, canned meats and vegetables, boots, shoes, harness, farming utensils, machinery, etc. Coal and lumber, too, ought to find large exportation from this port. There must be a great future in these. Certainly, New Orleans ought to be the great entrepot for the teas and silks of China and Japan, and for the cotfee and s] '.-es of the tropics. The comple- tion of either the great canal across the Istl; nus or the Eads' Ship Eailway, will open a i^ath which New Orleans ought to enter. " The South is the coming country." New Orleans is the gateway to the world to and from the South and West." New Orleans is well advanced in manufactures. She is getting strong in brew- eries, sugar refineries, foundries, shoe manuf;ictories, coojierages, boxfactories, soap factories, candy manufactories, cigar and tobacco factories, ready-made clothing, boots and shoes, sash, blind and door factories, lumber factories (saw mills), brickyards, potteries, ricemills, book-binderies, wagons, carriages, moss ginneries. Sheismaking some furniture, harness.saddles.brooms.corks.tanning some leather. Her oil mills, rice mills, book binderies, fertilizer factories, can- ning factories, are strong factors in her industries, as are cotton factories, in which she has of late made notable progress. She possesses the finest porcelain factory in America; its wares being equal to those of Sevres. She makes fine ropes and cotton yarns, cordage, etc. There are two tile factories. But it is impossible to enumerate all her industries. She has aboiit the deepest water in the United States clear to the saltwater, and will in all likelihood ha^e the United States Navy Yard here, and prob- ably iron ship-building establishments. She has very creditable shipyards now. We may certainly look to imuu'use business in building cars, locomo- tives and engines here (as is done in the last instance largely now) some day. And agricultural implements ought to be a prominent nuinufiicturing interest. ' New Orleans is well supplied a\ ith railroads already, and has lately been opened up to Denver, Colorado. Two lines more at least are making this way, one from Dallas, Texas ; and another the Fort Scott, Natchez and "Gulf. Those already here are the Louisville and Nashville, along the coast of the Mississippi Sound, passing through Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham, Nash- ville, Louisville, etc.; The Illinois Central Railroad, passing through .Jack- son and Canton, Mississippi, Memphis, Tennessee, Cairo, Illinois, and on to Chicago and St. Louis, Missouri ; The MiNsissii»)»i Valley Railroad, through Baton Rouge, Vicksburg, Memphis, Tennessee. I'aducali. Kentucky, to Rich- mond and Fortress Monroe, Virginia ; The Queen and Crescent Route, through Meridian, Mississippi, Birmingham, Alabama, C^hattanooga, Tennessee, to Cincinnati, Ohio ; The Southern Pacific Railroad, tluough southwest Louisi- ana, through Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, S;in Antoiiio, Kl Paso to San Francisco ; The Texas and Pacific, via Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Shrevepoi't, Marshall, Longview, Terrell, Dallas. Fort Worth, Kl i'aso. ^"]w last twoaftbrd outlets to Denver, Colorado, by the Denver, Texas and Fort Worth Railroad, finished last summer to Fort Worth from Denver. Of course we cannot undertake to enumerate the connections nuide witli subordinate railroads by the trunk lines we have mentioned. It would take a volume to do it. Suffice 158 SOME LATE WORDS It to pay that New Orleans Is pretty thorouglily connected, with the whole railroad system of the United States. By her river she can have navigation such as no other city can boast, as the following shows : NAVIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI. ■ The total navigation of the Mississippi itself is 2161 miles, but small steam- ers can ascend TbO miles further. The following are its principal navigable tributaries, with the miles open to navigation : ' Miles. Minnesota 295 Chippewa 90 Iowa 80 Mis.souri 3,174 His: Horn 50 Alle";heny 325 Muskiiijriini 414 Kentucky 105 AVaba.sli SG5 Teuiic«stM5 270 ( )sa}:e S02 W h it<^ 779 Little White 4« Bi;: Hatthie 75 Siintlower 271 Tiillahatchie 175 Ked 986 Cvpress 44 Black 61 Bartholomew 100 Maoon 60 Att'hafalaya 218 Lafourche 168 The other ten navigable tributaries have less than fifty miles each of navigation. The Mississippi and its tributaries may be estimated to possess 16,571 miles, navigaV)le to steamboats, and 20,221 miles, navigable to barges. As to the lines of steamers and sailing vessels at this port, our space utterly forbid.s an enumeration of them ; but with vessels to foreign ports, coastwise and rivers, our tonnage is very large. Capital invested in manufacturing in this city is exemjited from taxation for ten years. The population of New Orleans is estimated to be 254,000 j 184,500 white, 69.500 colored. Miles. Wisconsin 160 Kock : 64 Illinois 350 Yellowstone 474 Ohio 1,021 Monongahela 110 Kanawha 94 Green 200 Cumberland 609 Clinch 50 St. Francis 180 Black 147 Arkansas 884 Issaquena 161 Ya/,oo 228 Bi^Black 35 Caiie 54 Ouichita 384 Bcenf 55 Tensas 112 Teche 91 D'Aibonne 50 ABOUT LOUISIANA. 159 NAVIGABLE STREAMS. The following is a list of tlie navigable waters in the state : Miles of Navigation. Head of Navigatloii. Amite Kiver Att'liafalaya Kiver.... Barataiia Bayou *l!aitholomew Bayou. Bistcucaii Lake Black River BiKlcau Lake Eituf liiver Bwuf Bayou Calcasieu Elver Cane River *Cn)S8 Lake Courtableau Bayon... D'Arbomie Bayou.... DeGlaise Bayou Delarge Bayou Doriliitu Bayou Forks of Caicasien. . . . Giaml Caillou Bayou. Lal'durche Bayou Lacombe Bayou Little River Louis Bayoti Magou Bayou Manchac liayou MerniPntau Bavou. ... 'Mississippi River.... Natalbany River *Ouachita River *Pearl River Petite Anse Bayou. . . . *Red River Rouge Bayou Sabine River Teche Bayou Tensas River Tickfaw River Terrebonne Bayou. . . . Tangipahoe River.... Tchefuncta Baj'ou. . . . Vermilion Bayou Other streams 61 J18 78 40 SO 128 10 65 11 132 60 25 86 50 29 20 6 32 13 818 15 12 15 138 18 81 585 12 217 103 8 510 15 887 91 112 16 27 15 20 49 155 Total, 3.771 Port Vincent. Red River. Harvey's Canal. Baxter, Ark. Minden. Mouth of Ouachita. Bellevue. Rayville. Grand Ecore. Jefferson, Texas. Washington. FanueiATlle. Evergieen. Minden. Donaldsonville. Bayou Lacombe. Trinity. B:iyi>u' Castor. Floyd. Hope Villa. Lake Artlnir. St. Panl, Minn. Springtield. Camden. Ark. Carthage. Miss. Salt Mine. Sbreveport, State Shoals, Texas. St. Martinsville. Lake Providence. Old Landing. Pin Hook Bridge. •Portion of navigable stream lying in other States. MILES OF NAVIGATION IN EACH STATE OF MISSISSIPPI VAL- LEY. Louisiana Miles. 3,771 2,100 1,380 1,310 1,280 1,270 Minnesota Miles. 720 C6U Mississippi Montana Ohio 560 Texas 550 440 500 1 260 '{80 Kentucky 1,027 1,2.30 840 830 Kansas 240 200 Iowa Indian Territory Kew York 70 160 SOME LATE WORDS The State contains about (26,000,000) twenty-six million acres of land, and (1,250,000) one and a quarter million acres of inland water surface. '* TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. The land is nearly equally divided into hilly and level lands. The lauds of the State may he approximately divided as follows : Good upland (5,250,000) iive and a quarter million acres. Pine hills (5,500,000) live and a half million acres. Bluff lands (1,500,000) one and a half million acres. Prairie (2,500.000) two and a half million acres. Arable alluvial (2,750,000) two and three-quarter million acres. Piue flats (1,500,000) one and a half million acres. Coast marsh (3,500,000) three and a half million acres. X MINERALS. Louisiana marble and kainite beds, situated in Winn parish, and the kaolin beds of Catahoula, are the most notable discoveries made in northwest Loiiis- iana. The marble underlays 1000 acres, aud is said by those who claim to know, to be the largest marble formation in the world. All colors are found. The banded, variegated and yellow lime onyx are unique. The stone has been assayed both here and at Washington, D. C. The crystal is very fine and stone compact. It contains no iron, silica or sulphur. It is absolutely free from all extraneous matter. The kainite beds of Winn parish are situ- ated 4 miles south of Wiunfield. They are said to contain potash, soda, lime, salt and aluminum in combination. It is claimed to be a good fertilizer when combined with the liuie burned from the marble, and can be put on the market for less than half the price of commercial fertilizer. If this information is correct it is a mine of wealth. GOVERNMENT AND STATE LANDS. We pass now to the topic of lands in Louisiana belonging to United States and to the State. The followiug letter, kindly furnished, at my request, by Hon. J. Massie Martin, United States Eeceiver, will give some light as to the quantity of lauds subject to homestead entry belonging to the United States and. situated in the State of Louisiana : United States Land Office, I New Orleans, La., Jan. 12, 1889. S Hon. T. W. Poole, Commissioner Bureau of Immigration, !No. 5 Caiondelet street, New Orleans, La.: Dear Sir — Your favor of the llth inst., received. The number of acres subject to homestead entry, belonging to the United States and located iu this State is, in rough numbers, about 2,000,000 of acres. The bulk of these lands are pine lands, the prairie lands of the State having been the first to be entered by settlers. Eespectfully, J. Massie Martin, Receiver. There are two Eegisters of the United States Land Office in this State. One in the city of New Orleans, the other in the town of 15'atchitoches. The following letter explains itself: United States Land Office, ) Natchitoches, La., Jan. 18, 1889. \ Hon. T. "W. Poole, New Orleans, La.s Dear Sir — In compliance with your request, I have made a hurried estimate of the vacant pubHo domain, by parishes in this district, with the following result: ABOUT LOUISIANA. 161 Vernou G7,000 Sabine 38,0G0 Rapides 25,000 Red River 3,500 Claiborne 8,500 Grant 4,500 Natcbitocbes 58,020 Bienville 18,000 Bossier 15,000 Caddo 12,500 Webster 7,500 Winn 15,000 These are proximate iionres, the time allowed not beinof snfficient to make an accurate statement. Respectfnlly, Willis Holmes, Register. This would leave in round numbers about 1,700,000 acres un- accounted for in the rough computation. We venture to throw a little more light oti this subject, bj^ stating that there is gov- ernment (United iStates) land subject to homestead entry in the parishes of northern Catahoula, in various parts of Jackson, Caldwell, Ouachita, and some in Morehouse and Union. That is all the information we venture on the topic, and that we give with great hesitation, and only in deference to what seems a common expectation on the part of the public that, the Commis- sioner of Immigration should know all about the matter, and that it is his duty to impart it. We beg the public to understand that it is not the province of the Commissioner of Immigration to communicate information on the topics or subjects of lands subject to homestead entry, belonging to the United States or of lands belonging to the State of State of Louisiana subject to homestead entry or sale. loformation as to United States lands is properly obtainable at the office of the land registers at New Orleans, and iSTatchitoches, Louisiana ; as to State lands, of the register of the State land office, at Baton Rouge, La. We convey this information to prevent disappointment and delay to enquirers, and to protect the Commissioner of Immigration against unreasoning, unkind, or ignorant, but innocent, criticism. It would he an act of almost physical impossibility to give accu- rate information as to where and how much land is subject to sale and entry in the State. Thousands in that category to day might be sold or entered to-morrow ; and to keep up a daily communication with these land offices (two in remote parts of the State), would be simply impossible. What we have said as to United States lands is, therefore, only ai^proximate, and is only a courtesy, we should be glad to make more serviceable, if we could. But to give minute data as to quantities and locali- 162 SOME LATE WOEDS ties of g'overnment lauds would iuvolve mouths of research and is entirely outside the province of this office. The public lands of the United States are now withdrawn from sale, and are only subject to homesteads. 40 Acres can be entered at a cost total fees aud expenses of about $18 00 80 " " " " " " " " " " " <' 22 00 120 " " " " " " " " " " " •' 25 00 160 " " " " " " " " " " '< << 30 00 Also Louisiana has several million acres of State lands. These lands are subject to entry as homesteads, by actual settlers, free of cost, except the nominal cost of notice of ai)plicHtioii, etc., to the amount of IGO acres. The lands are also snbject to pur- chase in any quantity at prices ranging ironi 12 l-2c to 75 per acre. RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES, AND EXEMPTIONS OF TENANTS, LABORERS AND WORKINGMEN. HOMESTEADS AND EXEMPTIONS — CONSTITUTION OF 1879. Article 219. There shall be exempt from seizure and sale by any process whatever, except as herein provided, the homesteads bona fida owned by the debtor aud occupied by him, consisting of lands, buildinos and appurten- ances, whether rural or urban, of every head of a family, or person having a mother or father, a person or i>ersons, dependent on him or her for support ; also one work horse, one w-agon or cart, one yoke of oxen, tAvo cows and calves, twenty-five head of hogs, or one thousand pounds of bacon, or its equivalent in pork, whether these exemjjted objects l)e attached to a honn^- stead, or not, and on a farm the necessary quantity of corn aud fodder for the current year, and the necessary farming implements to the value of two thoiisand dollars. EXEMPTION in FAVOR t)P LESSEE, OR TENANT. Civil Code, Article 2705. The lessee shall be entitled to retain out' of property subjected by law^ to the lessor's privilege, his clothes and linen, and those of his wife and family, his bed, bedding, and bedstead, those of his wife and family ; his arms, military accoutrements, and the tools and instruments necessary for the exercise of his trade or profession by which he gains a living, and that of his family. exemptions prom SEIZUE for debt — ACTS 1876, NO. 79. Section 1. The sheriff' or coiistable cannot seize the linen and clothes belonging to the debtor, or his wife, nor his bed, bedding or bedstead, nor those of his family, nor his arms and military accoutrements, nor the tools,' instruments and books, and sewing machines necessary for the exercise of his or her calling, trade or profession by which he or she makes a liviug, nor shall he in any case seize money due for the salary of an officer, nor laltorers' w'ages, nor the cooking-stove, nor iiteiisils of the said stove, nor th<' idates,