ITS ADVANTAGES I ITS CONDITIONS! ITS PROSPECTS! 



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tlon as far as the Uiy;olets and iiichules 

 all tlu' l;llll!^? lyhij; bolweeu laki-s Uorgiio 

 and I'oiit'jlwii'traiii. This sei-tion is 

 iravort-fil by iho l.onisville ai!(l Nashville 

 Railroad and is almost entirely a svvaiup 

 vv marsh prairie, small tracts of which 

 have been reelaiiiicd tor uuirket gardens. 

 Below the city in this parish are a few 

 |)lantations devoted to sugar, rica and 

 trueiis. Iklow New Orleans ou the river 

 ocLMir the [larishes of St. Bernard 

 and i'la(inemiiies, the former lying whol- 

 ly on tlie north side of tlie river and tlio 

 latter on botls sides, foUo-iiiiir it to its 

 inoutli. Si. I'.eiTiard has extensive su^ar 

 ji'antations and market gardens on the 

 .\iississiiJi)i rivei and bayou Tin-re-anx- 

 r.oeufs. IJeyond these streams the tracts 

 of cultivalal)le land are few and incou- 

 tinuoiis. Mo.st of tho parish is marsh and 

 is occnjjied liy ti.slievuien or hunters in 

 pursuit of tlie'r same. On (he .uulf coast 

 there are a nnmt)er of low lying islniids, 

 wh'ch .are for the ino.'^t part iininliabired, 

 save temporarily by sportsmen seeking 

 ♦ish or ^'lune. 



THE PAUISH OP PLAQUEMINES 



has its ciiltivatable land lyinp: entirely 

 on the banks of the river. At and a 

 little below New Orleans the belt of 

 high cultivatable laud varies from one 

 to three miles in width, but in de- 

 scending the river this belt gradually 

 narrows, until at Forts Jackson and St. 

 I'hilip the marshes encroach upon the 

 banks of the river. Below the forts 

 the great river pursues its way to the 

 gulf through a narrow neck, walled in 

 by clay banks formed from the mud 

 lumps peculiar to the inontn of tins great 

 river. Tliis neck is so nairow that tb.e 

 visiting stranger wonders that the river 

 <loes not cut through it and thus shorten 

 its route to the sea. These mud lumps 

 have impeded navigation, checked the 

 free flow of the waters of this river and 

 divided its current into the several passes. 

 Only a few settlers are found on these 

 iiirrow banks below the forts, 3avo at 

 i'ort Eads, at the month of Sontli ))a.ss. 

 where the jetties have been so suc-.-ess- 

 t'ally estalilished by Captain J'lads. Porlj 

 Eads is quite a village, inhabited by em- 

 ployes of tiie jett.v company, which main-' 

 tain the guaranteed depth of the stream; 

 t'le custoni-Iiouse inspector and the (luar- 

 antine o»Hcer. Fn tlie uiiper pi)rtion of 

 the parish some excellent sugar estates, 

 M'lth well-appointed sugar-houses and pa- 

 latial residences, are found ou the banks 

 of the river. Lower down, orange or- 

 chards line the river, particularly on its 

 right bank. Truck growing is also large- 

 ly pursued and in no country is the 

 liroduct of an acre of land well cultivated 

 of liigher value. As we descend the river, 

 the le\-ees gradually fall in height and 

 diminish in size nutil beyond the forts 

 no artiticial protection is needed. 



Leav.ng the Mississippi rl rer at Donald- 

 f^onville, and following the l,;iyou La- 

 fourche through Ascension, we reach 



ASSUMPTION PARISH. 



situated on both sides of this bayou, 

 long famed for its sugar estates, truck 

 farms and thrifty inhabitants. The belt 

 of high laud on both siclts of I)ayou La- 

 fourche is from one to one and one-half 

 miles wide, and is very densely populat- 

 •<d. In fact, it has the appearance of a 

 continuous, straggling town, with many 

 beautiful homes and fine plantations. 



I'.eyond the lands cultivated on the 

 liayou are detached bodies, called brulees, 



situated from four to ten miles from the 

 bayou, which have been cleared and culti- 

 vated. The eoils of these brulees are 

 extremely productive, and cou.d the big 

 levee.s on the Miscsissippi river be made 

 perm.inent walls of protection these 

 brulees would be extremely valuable and 

 desiralile. Sacramento, I'lerpari. Grand 

 bayou, bt. Vincent, Big and Little Texas 

 and TAbadie are the most noted of these 

 brulees. The Attakapas canal, con- 

 structed long ago, to connect the Iai- 

 fourche with lake Verret, has a large 

 quantity of cultivated lands along Us 

 banks, and is very thickly settled. This 

 canal has been clo.sed at the bayou, and Is, 

 now used only for drainage. 



A further aescent of bavou Lafourche 

 brings one to the parish "of Lafourche 

 which lies on both sides of the bayou 

 and follows it to the gulf. This is ;iii 

 extremely long and narrow parish, the 

 upiier portion of which is similar to As- 

 sumption, while the .southern portion con- 

 tains only narrow strips of cultivatable 

 laiuhs, surrounded by sea mar.sli. 'liie 

 lands along the bayou are in a Ligh stnte 

 of cultivation within twenty-hve miles 

 of the gulf. Large sugar estates, well 

 ki^pt and improved, follow the liayou as 

 far down as Lockport. Truck gai'uening 

 and poultry raising are murii "practiceii 

 by the small farmers of this parish. Be- 

 low Thibodanx the ridge ot higii laud 

 gradually diminishes in width, and in the 

 lower part of the parish it scarcely ob- 

 tains a whlth of a few hundred yards 



Narrow ridges of tillable laud are- 

 found on bayous Ohecby and Challaina- 

 han in the northern, and bayou Boeuf in 

 the southern part of the parish. Some 

 arable soils lie adjacent to lakes Ues Alle- 

 niands and Boeuf. Extensive and excel- 

 lent tracts of land exist, bordering on 

 b.yous de la Vacherie, Conuille and 

 Middle. Scattered tracts, capable ot' 

 habitation, are found on bayou Des Alle- 

 tnands. Live oak ridges are found on 

 bayou Bleu and in tlie open grassy 

 prairies, which constitute a peculiar 

 feature in the landscape of this pari.sh. 

 •'Trembling prairies' also abound. They 

 consist of matted roots and decayed 

 vegetation, partially floating upon a sub- 

 terranean stream, upon which cattle 

 graze, vibrating with each tread. Be- 

 yond these prairies the tidal niarsiies 

 extend into the gulf, forming islands 

 and peninsulas, and penetrated by numei- 

 ous tide water bayous. 



Almost due south of Lafourche is the 

 immense 



PARISH OF TERREBONNE. 



Though the area is large, the extent of 

 arable soils is limited to the numerous 

 bayous which traverse it. all else being 

 salt marshes, trembling prairies and open 

 prairies. Bayous Terrebonne, Bleu. 

 Little and Big C'aillou, DuCUiien, An 

 Large and Cade, run nearly north and 

 south through the parish, while bayous 

 Black, Chackahoula, Tigre, L'Ours, 

 Chene and Penchant have a westerly di- 

 rection. These bayous are small stre'auis 

 save when serving as mitlets to the 

 Mississippi in times of liigh water. In 

 the upper portions they are narrow and 

 shallow, frequently running dry in sum- 

 mer and fall, while lower down they 

 widen out, and with constant attention 

 can be kept navigable the entire year. 



In the vicinity of Houma, as elsewhere 

 in the parish, contiguous bayous meet 

 and increase the extent of arable land. 

 In such places large plantations occur. 



