SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA BIOGRAPHICAL & HISTORICAL By William Henry Perrin, Pub. 1891. Files prepared and submitted for the LAGenWeb Archives by J B Craven, Sep. 1999. ************************************************ Submitted to the LAGenWeb Archives http:/www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************ TIPS FOR SEARCHING RECORDS ON THE INTERNET Netscape & Ms Explorer users: If searching for a particular surname, locality or date while going through the records in the archives or anywhere....try these few steps: 1. Go to the top of the report you are searching. 2. Click on EDIT at the top of your screen. 3. Next click on FIND in the edit menu. 4. When the square pops up, enter what you are looking for in the FIND WHAT ___________blank. 5. Click on DIRECTION __DOWN. 6. And last click on FIND NEXT and continue to click on FIND NEXT until you reach the end of the report. This should highlight the item that you indicated in "find what" every place it appears in the report. You must continue to click on FIND NEXT till you reach the end of the report to see all of the locations of the item indicated. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PAGE 7 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION-SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA-ITS BEAUTY AND FERTILITY-GEOLOGICAL-WHY THE FARMER SHOULD UNDERSTAND THE SOIL HE CULTIVATES-RESOURCES-GENERAL ELEVATIONS-CLIMATE-THE ATTAKAPAS COUNTRY-ITS NAME DERIVED FROM A POWERFUL INDIAN TRIBE- A LEGEND OF THE "NOBLE REDMAN"-LAKE CATAOULA-THE WESTERN COMPANY-SPANISH OCCUPANCY-THE SETTLEMENTS RAPIDLY INCREASE- MARRIAGE UNDER THE SPANISH VEIL-A VISIT To NEW ORLEANS-INCIDENTS OF THE Trip-LOUISIANA CEDED BACK To FRANCE. SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA is a beautiful Country. No man ought to desire a more lovely or richer country. It possesses everything necessary to wealth and the enjoyment of life. No extremes of climate are known. No burning suns, no frozen snows, no chilling winds are felt. A healthful atmosphere, purified by the gulf breeze, prevails throughout the year. What then does it lack? Nothing but enterprise to properly develop it, and to let the outside world know what is here. No better description of Southwest Louisiana can be given than that found in Daniel Dennett's little book, published in 1876; and much of it is used in this work. It was prepared with great care and from personal investigation. "From the northern boundary of St. Landry to the gulf coast, the distance is about one hundred miles; and from the Belle River, the eastern line of the parish of Iberia, to Lake Arthur, the western limits of the parish of Vermilion, distance is about eighty-five miles. The sea marsh on the coast of Attakapas has an average width of more than twenty miles. The southern boundary of these parishes is in latitude twenty-nine and a half degrees. The northern limits of the parish of St. Landry reach latitude thirty one, near the true cotton belt the Southern States. "The six parishes of St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Iberia, Vermilion and Lafayette, contain more than 3,000,000 acres of tillable land, most of it of inexhaustible fertility. Even most of the sea marsh and all of the swamp lands reclaimed by local levees and proper drainage and may become the most PAGE 8 productive rice and sugar lands in the State. Windmill pumps may relieve the reclaimed marsh lands from surplus water, for the winds blow almost constantly near the gulf coast. On the border of the sea marsh of St. Mary and Iberia, extending from a point below Berwick's Bay to and into the parish of Vermilion, a line of forest trees, mostly heavy cypress, stand as the dividing line and wall between the marsh and the tillable land of the Atchafalaya and the Teche. In places this line of timber is from one to two miles wide. This line of forest extends down to the mouth of Bayou Sale on both sides and down both sides of Bayou Cypre-mort. At Petit Anse Island the sea marsh and prairie meet and the chain of timber is broken for a few miles. On the side of this crooked chain of timber, next to the plantations, in places, there is a heavy growth of gum, oak, ash, hackberry, and an undergrowth of dogwood, vines, palmetto, haw, etc. These lines of timber, reckoning that on both sides of Bayou Sale and Bayou Cypre-mort is over 125 miles in extent. " In the lower or eastern part of the parish of St. Mary, around Berwick's Bay and the lower Teche, the highest land is about ten feet above the level of the Gulf of Mexico. Near Franklin the highest bank is from twelve to thirteen feet. Near Breaux Bridge, the first bank is twenty-two feet high, and the second bank twenty-seven feet. In the parish of Lafayette, the Cote Gelee Hills, Beau Basin and the banks of the Vermilion are forty feet above the level of the gulf. The general average of St. Landry is about sixty feet above the same level. The parish of Vermilion is about on a level with St. Mary. The highest elevations on Belle Isle, Cote Blanche, Grande Cote and Petit Anse island, are from 160 to 185 feet above tide water." In his preliminary report of a Geological Survey of Western Louisiana, Prof. Hilgard says: " Few sections of the United States, indeed, can offer such inducements to settlers as the prairie region between the Mississippi bottoms, the Nez Pique and the Mermentau Rivers. Healthier by far than the prairies of the Northwest, fanned by the sea breeze, well watered, the scarcity of wood rendered of less moment by the blandness of the climate; and the extraordinary 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 enthusiastic inhabitants the ' Eden of Louisiana'." Said the editor of the Chicago Tribune, after visiting Southwest Louisiana: "If, by some supreme effort of nature, Western Louisiana, with its soil, climate and production, could be taken up and transported North, to the latitude of Illinois and Indiana, and be there 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 PAGE 9 people would rush to it in countless thousands. Every man would be intent on securing a few acres of these wonderfully productive and profitable sugar places. These Teche lands, if in Illinois, would bring from $300 to $500 per acre." Why Farmers Should Understand Their Soils.--The two subjects of supreme importance in all countries are those of soil and climate. The cornerstone upon which all of life rests is the farmer. Who then should be so versed as he in the knowledge of the soil ? What other information can be so valuable to him as the mastery of the science of Geology, or at least that much of it as applies to the part of the earth where he casts his fortunes and cultivates the soil? But it is not intended to go into a treatise on Geology. The regular geological survey of the State will give all facts pertaining to the constituent elements of the soil, and what particular soils are best adapted to certain crops. The effects of the soil on people and on animals are as strong and certain as upon the vegetation that springs from it. Where the soil and subjacent rocks are profuse in the bestowal of wealth, and the air is deprived of that invigorating tonic that comes of the winters of the temperate climates, man is indolent and effeminate. Where effort is required to live, he becomes enlightened and virtuous. But when on the sands of the desert, or in the jungles of Africa or Brazil, where he is unable to procure the necessities or comforts of life, he lives, savage. It is told that Prof. Agassiz was once appealed to by some horse breeders in reference to developing a certain strain of horses. He told them was not a question of equestrianism, but one of rocks. To most men this reply would have been meaningless, yet it was full of wisdom. It signified that certain rock formations that underlie the soil would insure a certain growth of grasses and produce certain water, and the secret of the perfect horse lay here. Then what subject interests the farmer more than the soil he cultivates? Here and there are to be found an intelligent farmer or machinist who understand the simple scientific principles that govern their work or occupation. Their knowledge is power. In every turn of life they stand upon vantage ground, and their lives are successful in the broad sense of that term. They understand the soil they till, or the implements of industry they are called on to make or use. They know where ignorance guesses, doubts and fears, and by not knowing so often fails. The farmer will take his place among earth's noblest and best only when be forces his way there, by the superior intelligence, culture and eloquence with which his mode of life is capable of surrounding itself. Understand your soil and your climate, and master the art of cultivation of those things for which it is best adapted, and at once your business will take rank with the noblest of the professions. Resources.-The natural resources of Southwest Louisiana are scarcely known, for the country has never been taxed to its full capacity, even in the PAGE 10 production of the standard crops and fruits. Cotton and cane, for years and years the principal crops raised in this section, until within the last few years have never been cultivated in a manner to bring out the full strength of the soil. Under the old regime in the South, in planting time the top of the ground was scratched off-it could hardly be called plowing-and the crops put in. Nature and the slaves were left to do the balance, while the planter, with his family, enjoyed themselves at some Northern watering place. Of course, such farming is not calculated to improve land, or show just what it will produce. There is no sort of question but that Louisiana, with her excellent lands and fine climate, and with judicious farming, will prove among the most valuable in the Republic. Some statistics from the different parishes comprised in this work show something of the products of this section. In St. Landry the principal crops, as stated above, were cotton and cane, but of late years, rice, corn, potatoes, melons, pumpkins, hay, gardens, fruits, etc., are being produced with great profit to the planter. Stock raising, fine stock, is also becoming a profitable business. In St. Martin, the Teche lands are considered the richest and most valuable in the State, and all the crops grown here are produced in abundance. Sugar, cotton, corn, tobacco, indigo, fruits, melons, in fact anything ever grown in the same latitude, no portion of Louisiana can excel St. Martin's parish. In the parish of Lafayette there is considerable fine prairie land, which is extremely productive, and produces all the crops of the surrounding parishes. Some of the most valuable plantations in the parish of Iberia are found along the Bayou Teche. In addition to the usual crops grown elsewhere in southwest Louisiana, a number of very fine orange groves may be seen in this parish. The parish of Vermilion produces excellent crops of sugar, cotton, rice, corn, potatoes, etc. It is also valuable for its fine timber. Fruits, and particularly peaches, do well in Vermilion. In St. Mary's parish there is not, it is said, an acre of poor land in the parish. All crops and fruits that flourish in the Attakapas country do well in St. Mary. The parish of Calcasieu is one of the finest rice producing sections in the State. The last census shows that Louisiana produced more rice the past year than all the States put together, and Calcasieu proved the banner parish in rice culture. The lumber interests of Calcasieu, and some others of these parishes, are not the least sources of their wealth. But many other facts of interest, including stock statistics, will be given in the history of the individual parishes. Climate.-The following, on the climate of Southwestern Louisiana, is by one* who has given much study to the matter: " By Southwest Louisiana is meant that portion of the State of Louisiana one hundred miles from north to south -and one hundred miles from east to west in the southwest corner of the State. This favored spot is blessed with a climate *W. H. Cline, of Lake Charles. PAGE 11 that is exceptionally fine. While much may be truthfully said favorably of the climate of the entire gulf coast, it is nevertheless true, that this favored spot surpasses all other portions of the South, and I verily believe any other part of America, in the delightfulness of its climate. Having resided here nearly two years, and having diligently inquired of the old inhabitants, I think I am prepared to discuss this subject intelligently. "And first I ask, why is this particular one hundred miles square more favored than any other section of equal extent in the same latitude? I will give you some of the physical causes that, in my judgment, produce this result. 1. The Gulf of Mexico reaches its northernmost latitude west of the Mississippi river on the coast of Southwest Louisiana. 2. The inner gulf stream, a stream with a current of two to three miles an hour, flowing parallel with the coast, makes its nearest approach to the land at the mouth of Calcasieu Pass. This brings the warm water of the South to our shores, tempering the atmosphere as it comes in contact with it. 3. Large bodies of water, in the form of lakes, are distributed along the coast from five to forty miles inland. These bodies of water, connected with the gulf as they are, tend to modify the atmosphere, cooling it in summer and warming it in winter. And as the sun heats and rarefies the air on land, the air that has become cooled by contact with the water passes inland to fill the vacuum, thus producing a constant succession of delightful breezes, which reach inland about one hundred miles. Then north of this region, which is mostly prairie, stretches a vast forest of stately pine, magnificent oak, beautiful pecan and tall hickory, with many shrubs and smaller trees in the intermediate spaces. This forest reaches up through this State and Arkansas to the Missouri line, where it has in its front, as a line of breastworks against the northern blizzards, the Ozark mountains. "Whoever has tried the experiment of getting behind a barn for shelter from the cutting wind on a cold morning in the North, and has then stepped out from behind the barn and felt the keen wind strike him with its biting breath, can understand our situation while sheltered behind the great natural barrier composed of the great forests and mountains; and can understand how it is that we enjoy a better climate than our neighbors who are from behind the shelter. When the blizzard from Minnesota or Dakota starts southward, it meets an obstruction in the Ozark mountains that divides its main force, while the portion that succeeds in passing the mountains is still further obstructed and modified by the forest, so that by the time it reaches Southwest Louisiana, it is but a cool wave, producing rainfall, but rarely any frost. " The main body of the blizzard being divided, one wing sweeps down through Indian Territory and Texas, and is called a 'Norther,' and is much dreaded even in Southern Texas. The other wing sweeps down the Mississippi valley, as through a tunnel, producing a prodigious rainfall. Statistics show PAGE 12 that while New Orleans has a rainfall of seventy-five inches per annum, Lake Charles, the chief city of Southwest Louisiana, has a rainfall of but fifty inches. " The temperature of this region is more even than it is either east or west of us. During the blizzard of January, 1887, the lowest temperature reached here was 25 deg. above zero. At the same time in Houston, Tex., due west, the thermometer reached 18 deg. above zero, while one hundred miles west of Houston it reached 11 deg. above. At the same time directly east of us one hundred miles and upward, the thermometer marked 23, 19 and 18 degrees above zero. The highest temperature reached in Lake Charles (since I came here) is 95 degrees above zero, and the lowest 36 degrees above. The difference in temperature from one month to another is rarely more than 5 to 8 degrees, and the difference from noon to midnight not more than 5 to 10 degrees. This makes it very pleasant and healthful. The climate is specially beneficial to those troubled with lung, nasal and throat diseases. The summers are not so hot and sultry as they are in the Northwestern States but are much longer. The delightful gulf breezes make it pleasant even in the middle of the summer, except during the middle of the day-from 10 o'clock A.M. to 4 o'clock P.M. -and even then it is pleasant in the shade. The winters are delightful. Although there is a greater rainfall in winter than in summer, and it is sometimes chilly, damp and disagreeable for from one to three days at a time, it soon changes when the wind changes to the south, and is so warm and pleasant that for weeks at a time we do not light fires in our sitting rooms or parlors, and men work in the open air in their shirt sleeves. " We, therefore, claim with confidence that Southwest Louisiana possesses a climate superior to any other portion of the gulf coast, and of California, in these particulars: First, a more even temperature; second, greater freedom from wind storms; third, a more even distribution of rainfall; fourth, cooler in summer and warmer in winter; fifth, healthier. Take it all the year round, I believe our climate is unsurpassed on this green earth." The Attakapas County.-The magnificent region known as the "Attakapas Country" embraces the larger portion of the territory to which this work is devoted. The very interesting historical sketch of it given herewith was written by Col. Felix Voorhies, of St. Martinsville, especially for this work. It is as follows: "The vast region known as the ' Attakapas District,' under the Spanish and French occupancy of Louisiana, comprised the territory now forming the parishes of St. Martin, St. Landry, Iberia, Lafayette, Acadia, Vermilion and St. Mary. It was bounded on the north by the Avoyelles District, on the east by the Atchafalaya River and Grand Lake, on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, and on the west by the Mermentau River and the chain of lakes through which it flows. Its name was derived from that of the Attakapas Indians, a powerful tribe which, at one time, possessed the whole of this region. PAGE 13 "The Attakapas Indians were much dreaded by other Indian tribes. They had the reputation of eating their prisoners of war, and hence their name, which means 'man eater'. There is a tradition that the Attakapas Nation becoming more and more aggressive, the neighboring tribes of Chactas Choctaws), Alibamons, and Opelousas formed a league for the purpose of resisting their aggressions, and to repel their inroads and attacks. A war of extermination ensued. Several severe skirmishes took place. Finally, the bated and bloodthirsty Attakapas Indians were almost annihilated in a great battle, fought on the hills three miles west of the town of St. Martinsville. Now powerless to do harm, the remnant of the once warlike Attakapas was either incorporated in the victorious tribes, or allowed to remain unmolested in the district. Their degenerate descendants may be seen, even at this day, at Indian Bend of the Teche, a little above the town of Franklin. From the time of this terrible overthrow the Attakapas ceased to be known and feared as a tribe. "This occurred shortly before the advent of the white man in Louisiana. The conquered territory was divided among the victors. That part of the district which now forms the parish of St. Landry was allotted to the Opelousas, and went by that name until after the cession of Louisiana to the United States. The Alibamons had for their share of the spoils that part of the district which extends from the Vermilion Bayou to the River Mermentau, whilst the Choctaws took possession of the Teche country. But although they located two or three villages on the Teche and Vermilion Bayous, the immense Attakapas region was by mutual consent reserved as hunting grounds for the three con- federated tribes. An Indian Legend.- "The Teche has its Indian legend, which we deem not unworthy of a space in the historical sketch of the country. It is related that in remote days an enormous snake was seen on the banks of the bayou. Its great size, the poisonous stench of its breath, the lashing of its tail when it had become infuriated, dismayed the Indians, and spread consternation in the neighborhood. A great body of warriors assembled, but no one dared to approach the monster for some time. Finally, however, it was dispatched with clubs, after it had been repeatedly wounded with arrows. To commemorate this event, the Indians gave the name of Tenche to the stream, the word Tenche signifying snake. "In connection with this, it may not be amiss to give a passing notice to lake Cata-oulou, the sacred lake of the Indians. It lies ensconced, as it were, in the deep solitude of the great forest which skirts the Attakapas prairie on the east of the Teche, about nine miles from the town of St. Martinsville, the word Cata-oulou meaning sacrifice. The beauty of its scenery and its picturesque landscapes have probably no equal in the State. Its water has the transparency PAGE 14 of crystal and its depth averages from ninety to one hundred feet. The sinuositits of its steep and precipitous banks and its width, which does not exceed 500 yards, lead us to believe that at one time it may have been the bed of some mighty river, perhaps the Mississippi itself. The Indians of the surrounding country repaired to this spot to propitiate, with their offerings and sacrifices, the Great Spirit, the all powerful Manitou. In its crystalline waters they plunged themselves to get cleansed of their moral and physical impurities. In its sacred waters they dipped their amulets and arrows to avert approaching calamities, and as a protection against the devices of the evil spirit. He who could not make this pilgrimage felt despondent and unhappy, and his inability to follow the others in their saintly journey bode him no good. If, whilst performing his immersion in the lake, one should happen to drown, his memory was execrated and his death was considered the judgment of the great Manitou in atonement for the crimes committed by him. The lake is still called Cata-oulou, the lake of sacrifice, but the great Manitou, like his Indian worshipper, is now a thing of the past. The picturesque and beautiful lake, with its transparent waters, is now a summer resort, where the lover of solitude and the people of St. Martinsville and of the adjoining villages in the sultry hours of the dog days seek the coolness and shade of the majestic oaks that line its banks. "Toward the middle of the last century, St. Martinsville was known as the Poste des Attakapas -the civil and military concerns of the whole district were administered there. Even at that remote period the Poste des Attakapas had acquired a certain importance, although it consisted of but a small church without an officiating priest most of the time, an ill-constructed barracks for the paltry garrison under the orders of the commandant, and of a small store where the scattered settlers of the neighborhood traded. "Prior to the occupancy of Louisiana by the Spanish government the Attakapas district had been overlooked most shamefully by the colonial government; although picturesque and beautiful, it was then a wild region inhabited mostly by Indians and by a few white men, trappers and hunters. Its immense prairies, covered with tall weeds were the commons where herds of cattle and of deer roamed and grazed unmolested save by the hunter or the crouching panther. Such was the region which, by the energy of its first settlers, was transformed into a country teeming with such wealth and plenty as subsequently to deserve the appellation of the ' Eden of Louisiana.' "During that early period no mention is made of the Attakapas district in history. The Attakapas region is mentioned only once in the annals of that time, where we read that in 1757, under the administration of Kerlerec, ' a few French Canadians, deeming it to be the direst of calamities to submit to the English yoke, abandoned their homes in Canada to join their countrymen in Louisiana.' None of the existing archives of the district fix, however, with certainty PAGE 15 the date of their settlement in the Teche region. As early as 1723, the vast province of Louisiana had been divided into seven districts, each one of which was administered in its civil and military concerns by a commandant and a judge. The Attakapas region was included within the territorial limits of the Orleans district. "Louisiana was then under the administration of the Western Company, chartered by the King of France, and acting under his auspices. Although largely engaged in agriculture on its large plantations established on the river, in proximity of the city of New Orleans, the company had but one object in view: it was that of amassing boundless wealth in the rich mines said to exist in Missouri. Led astray by these mining delusions, the company neglected the only real and true source of the wealth of the colony-the development of its resources by the intelligent husbandry and culture of its soil of unsurpassing richness and fertility. It was for that reason that the remote parts of the Orleans district remained an almost unexplored wilderness, and that the Attakapas region, neglected by the company, continued during its administration to be inhabited only by a few trappers and Indians, who found on its immense prairies, where vast herds of cattle roamed at large, and in its lakes and bayous, well stocked with fish and game, a fruitful source of profit and sustenance. "The district officers had their residence in the city of New Orleans, and seldom visited, if at all, the Attakapas region, although easy of access, through the numerous bayous and lakes, outlets of the Mississippi, forming a network of water courses for communication, unrivaled in any other country. Spanish Occupancy.- "The Attakapas region, which has been immortalized by the pen of a great American poet, remained in that state of stagnancy, with its resources undeveloped, until its transfer by France to Spain. Its population at that time, as shown by the census ordered by O'Reilly, amounted to 409 persons, all told. But from that period, A. D. 1770, a new era of prosperity dawned on the Attakapas region. The Spanish government, wiser than its pre- decessor, and having no faith in the idle dreams and mining delusions of the Western Company, understood that the wealth of the colony depended on the development of its agricultural resources, and in the raising of stock and cattle in its rich pasturage grounds. The fostering of these industries became the fixed policy of the Spanish government, and it spared no pains and neglected nothing to make it a success. For this purpose, military posts were stationed in the different districts of the province. The Poste des Attakapas was stationed on the Teche. The posts were given in charge of officers of the army, and certain powers were conferred upon them for the civil and military administration of their respective districts. Their duties in civil matters were alike to those now performed by justices of the peace in the different parishes of the State. Their jurisdiction in civil matters attached whenever the value of the object in dispute PAGE 16 did not exceed $20-in cases of greater importance, their duty was to receive the petitions and answers of the litigants, to take down their evidence in writing, and to transmit the whole to headquarters in the city, for further proceedings. They were the executive officers of the district, when a judgment was to be executed--as notaries, their acts were authentic-as judges the settlement of estates was one of their attributes-as military officers, they examined the passports of strangers, and allowed none to settle within their jurisdiction without a permit from the governor. "To the credit of the settlers be it written that the archives show that in those days litigation was exceedingly rare. The colonists were amply provided with the necessaries of life, and plainness and simplicity of manners were their characteristic virtues. Besides, these commandant's were arbiters in all their differences. Their decisions, as a general thing, were so just and equitable that they proved satisfactory to all, and put an end to litigation. In certain cases, these commandants, in the absence of an officiating priest, were authorized to celebrate marriages, which were called marriages "per verba de presenti". This custom was sanctioned by the government for want of spiritual assistance, on condition that these marriages were to be solemnized before the church on the first opportunity, although a failure of the solemnization did not entail nullity of the marriage. "It may not be amiss to mention here a peculiar marriage ceremony which was sometimes performed. It was termed the marriage 'under the Spanish veil' (sous le voile espagnol). It was a ceremony wherein four persons held up a white veil over the parties in front of the priest who was celebrating the marriage. "The lands of the district were parceled out or surveyed and granted to the families in quantities to be determined according to their means, and the only conditions imposed on the grantees were: that within three years' possession they should make the necessary levees to protect the lands from overflows and ditches to drain them, keep the roads running along the levees in good repair; that the roads should be forty feet wide, with bridges of twelve feet over the ditches crossing the road; and within the three years' possession that they should clear the timber on their lands to a depth of at least three arpents from their front lines. These conditions were imposed as an incentive to the cultivation of the lands so donated, since, if violated, these lands were to revert to the crown. In certain localities, the land granted measured one square league; and in cases of urgency or necessity a double or rear concession of similar extent was donated. "The policy of the government had the desired effect-attracted by the richness of the soil, the beauty and salubrity of the country, settlers, mostly of French origin, came in from every direction. The district of Attakapas PAGE 17 received at that time a most valuable accession to its population by the arrival of Spanish emigrants from the Canary Islands and of Acadian refugees from the British possessions. "These Spanish emigrants, under the order of Don Louis Bouligay, settled where the town of New Iberia now stands, but having failed in their attempt to raise hemp and flax, and being discouraged by their failure, they settled on the lands bordering on Lake Tasse, in the parish of St. Martin. Their descendants, the Romeros, the Lopez, the Leguras, the Viators, occupy still the land granted to their ancestors. Some of these families are now classed among the richest in the land. They are noted for their hospitality and for the fervor with which they cling to their friends. Honest and laborious, they constitute one of the best elements of the country. The Acadians.- " These people had come from the barren and desolate shores of Acadia, now Nova Scotia. Several years previous to their emigration to Louisiana, England, which had wrested that province from the possession of France in America, had resolved to exterminate the Acadians, solely for their love for their mother country, and of their devotion to the Catholic faith. To carry out this horrible design, ships were dispatched to Acadia and filled with its unfortunate inhabitants, who were kidnapped by ruffians in British uniform. The Acadians were transported to distant regions, and were landed on the sandy coasts of the Atlantic from Delaware to Maryland, and left penniless to shift for themselves, to die of cold and hunger. They had been robbed of their money and stripped of all that they possessed. This cruelty met with universal reprobation, and these unfortunates received the kindest treatmtnt wherever they were landed, and the public authorities supplied them liberally. But the Acadians, loathing all connection with those whose language was that of their oppressors, determined to seek the land of Louisiana, and breathe once more the air in which floated the spotless banner of France. To achieve their purpose, they had to travel overland more than a thousand miles, through a trackless wilderness. They had to overcome obstacles without number, exposed to the attacks of Indians that beset their path. It was a perilous enterprise before which quailed the stoutest heart. But undismayed and nothing daunted by the perils to which they were to be exposed, and the obstacles they had to overcome, they started on this overland pilgrimage from Maryland to the Tennessee River, which they had finally reached after untold sufferings, the very picture of despair and of dejection. They embarked in boats hastily constructed, and glided down the Tennessee River, until they launched on the turbulent waters of the Mississippi, and floated down that noble stream as far as Bayou Plaquemine, in the county of lberville. There they landed, freed once more from British rule, among friends who received them with open hearts, and who vied with one another in relieving their distress, and ministering to their wants. Shortly PAGE 18 afterward, they left for the Attakapas district, where lands had been allotted to them. They wended their way through dismal swamps and bayous without number before reaching their homes near the Poste des Attakapas. "There, the different Acadian families separated to settle on the lands donated to them. Vey were the Leblancs, the Martins, the Broussards, the Gilbeaux, the Bernards, the Arceneaux, the Babins, the Breaux, the Robicheaux, the Heberts and the Dugas, the Landry's and the Me1ancons. Most of these families settled on the Teche, and soon they had cleared their lands and built comfortable homes. Laborious and honest, economical and orderly in their affairs, they lived contented with what little they had. They soon enriched themselves and became the leading planters and citizens of the district. Increase of Potulation.-" The population had largely increased, and the district of Attakapas was now highly prosperous. Its commerce had acquired a ceriain importance, and was carried on mainly with barges through the numer- ous lakes and bayous which led to the Mississippi River. The proprietors of these barges had their own landing places in the coulees that opened in the prairies of the Teche, and which fell in the lakes and bayous, and these landings went under the name of portages. There were then several of these portages in the district, the principal of which were those of Cypre-mort, the portage Sauvage, and the portage Guidry - at these places travelers going to the city embarked on the barges, already laden with the products of the district. A trip to the city in those days was no small affair, as it required at least six weeks to effect it. The travelers had to provide themselves with whatever was necessary for their comfort during the voyage. They had their tents and provisions, their cooks and servants. The captains of the barges assumed no other responsibility than that of conducting their passengers safely to their place of destination. No traveling was done during the night. Toward sunset, the barge was safely moored to the embankment of the river or lake on which they happened to be and the tents were pitched, and the long hours of the night were whiled away in the best manner possible; whenever the current was strong the barges were pulled slowly along with ropes, and it required hours of that tedious work to advance a few miles. As may be well imagined, traveling in those days was no little concern, and none but such as belonged to the wealthy class could afford the luxury of a trip to the city of New Orleans. "Numerous farms now dotted the right banks of the Teche, as it was con- sidered useless and unsafe to cultivate the lands on its east side, as they were exposed to annual overflows. The lands on the east of the Teche were used solely as pasturage grounds during the low stage of the waters. Indigo, rice, tobacco, between the corn and cotton were cultivated successfully. The intercourse settlers had assumed that feature of politeness and urbanity which characterizes the French people. The advent of several cadets of the noble families of France and of Spain contributed no little toward increasing the sociability in the PAGE 19 colony by their good breeding and courtly manners. These cadets had settled. in Louisiana to seek that fortune and distinction to which they could not aspire in the mother country, where the first born inherited the estates and dignities of the family. Prominent among them were the Deblancs, the Delahoussayes, the Delacroix, the Devezins, the Declouets, and many others, who took a conspicuous part in the affairs of the colony and occupied the first posts in the district. "The colony was now prospering more than ever under the paternal dominion of Spain. The government granted lands with a princely liberality to all that were deserving of the King's bounty, and the administration, with vigilant care and by the just and equitable enforcement of the laws, protected its subjects equally in their life and in their property, which now had become valuable and productive. Such was the prosperous and healthy condition of the district when Louisiana was retroceded to France in 1803, by the treaty of San Ildefonso." Railroads and Waterways.- Southwestern Louisiana, and particularly that portion embraced in this volume, is well supplied with navigable streams. This is good as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough. It is the railroads that make a country. Plenty of railroads through this section to compete with the waterways would make it one of the richest and most desirable localities in which to live almost in the world. The railroad, in this age of improvement and invention, although scarcely known three-quarters of a century ago, has become the greatest single factor in the development of the material and social progress not only of the United States but of other civilized nations of the earth. As late as 1825 the then longest railroad in the United States was from Mauch Chunk coal mines to the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania, and was nine miles in length. So slow, however, was the construction of railroads at their beginning that in 1834 the longest railroad in the world extended from Charleston, S.C., to Augusta, Ga., a distance of one hundred and thirty miles. But without tracing its growth the railroad system of the United States, now forming a perfect net-work of iron and steel in every portion of the country on which daily and nightly continuously run thousands of locomotives, and tens of thousands of freight and passenger cars loaded with the products of the country, with valuable merchandise from every part of the world, and with thousands and thousands of human beings, dashing with lightning speed from city to city, and from State to State, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the lakes of the North to the Southern gulf, representing a capital of more than $5,000,000, is one of the most marvelous achievements of this great country. The Southern Pacific Railway, which has had so great an influence in the development of Southwestern Louisiana, has an interesting history, and without a synopsis of it this work would not, perhaps, be considered complete, and it this work would not, perhaps, be considered complete, and it will be added in this connection. It was compiled by one perfectly familiar with its history, and is substantially correct. It is as follows: PAGE 20 "It was incorporated December 2, 1865, to run from the peninsula of San Francisco to San Diego via San Jose. It was composed of men who were not identified with the Central Pacific people. It was built to San Jose, and October 11, 1870, it consolidated with the local companies, and the combined companies went under the Name of the Southern Pacific Company, and enlarged its plans to a scheme to construct a road to the Colorado River. The leading spirits of the Central Pacific secured control of it, and had the charter so amended as to change the line from its original course, and extended it from Goshen southward, commencing at the terminus of the Central Pacific. The construction of the road accordingly went on without a halt through 1872, 1873 and 1874. The whole southern half of the great basin of California was traversed-the extraordinary feat of penetrating Tehashipi Pass was accomplished, the Mojave Plains were crossed, local lines were secured, and the wonderfully fertile country of Los Angeles was reached, 482 miles from San Francisco. "All the lower half of the State had been traversed, and the changes which it had worked are almost inconceivable. The great San Joaquin Plains were cleared of cattle and sheep, and at first great grain fields were cultivated, and they have been rapidly yielding to orchards and vineyards. The settlement of the valley increased enormously. The country about Los Angeles and the city itself were aroused to wonderful activity. The wealth of the whole half of the State south of Sacramento River increased with unheard of rapidity, for emigrants were pouring in from the Eastern States, and, according to the basis adopted by the census department of the Federal Government, each emigrant added $1000 to the wealth of the State. "The ambition of these tireless railroad builders was not satisfied, and it soon became evident that a southern overland route was in contemplation. The road was pushed southward and eastward, and on the 23d of May, 1877, it struck the Colorado River, at Fort Yuma, 248 miles from Los Angeles, and 731 from San Francisco. This ended the eastern progress of the Southern Pacific Railroad of California; but largely from the personnel of that company was organized October 7, 1878, the Southern Pacific of Arizona. This company broke ground at Yuma, November 19, 1878, and Casa Grande, 183 miles from Yuma, was reached on the 19th of May, 1879. Here there was a pause until January 26, 1880, when the work of pushing eastward was recommenced, and on the i8th of March a train was drawn into Tucson, 978 miles from San Francisco, and, in celebration of the event, Mr. Charles Crocker, the master spirit of the enterprise, was given a grand reception by the citizens. "The Southern Pacific Railroad Company of New Mexico, organized on a basis similar to that of the others, pushed the road into New Mexico, and in December, 1879, a second overland route was established, when the trains of the Southern Pacific rolled into Deming, 1198 miles from San Francisco, and PAGE 21 made connection with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe road. This accom- plishment, however, by go means satisfied the ambition or met the final purpose of the railroad builders--a direct line of their own to the Mississippi River was the perfect solution of a southern overland route; and with this end in view the constructors turned their backs on Deming, and on the 19th of May, 1881, they had the tracks laid into El Paso, Texas, 1287 miles from San Francisco. " By this time the eyes of the whole world were fixed upon the daring men who were conducting their gigantic enterprise. They had crossed the wild deserts of Arizona and New Mexico-had they means and courage to throw a line across the vast expanse of Texas? On went the work without a halt or doubt; taming this wild, unsettled country and unlocking it to the world. On the 6th of December, 1881, the road entered Sierra Blanca, 1377 miles from San Francisco, and there made connection with the Texas and Pacific Railway. This opened a second and more direct route to the East, but it by no means filled the aims of the builders. New Orleans was the objective point, and it was 1100 miles away! Without a moment's hesitation they assailed the task. Meanwhile, General Pierce was building the line westward from San Antonio, Texas, and on Christmas day of 1882 the two lines met at Devil's River, and connection was established between San Francisco and New Orleans. The Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio, the oldest railroad line in Texas, had long been in operation between San Antonio and Houston. The Texas & New Orleans Railroad ran from Houston to Orange on the Sabine River; Orange con- nected with Morgan's Louisiana & Texas Railroad at Lafayette by means of the Louisiana Western Railroad; and Morgan's road connected Lafayette and New Orleans. The distance from El Paso to Houston is 850 miles, and from Houston to New Orleans is 360 miles. By arrangements with the various lines between Houston and New Orleans the Southern overland route from San Francisco to the Mississippi River was established; but the ambition of the California railroad builders was still unsatisfied. They must have the entire line. The Central Pacific people were the prime movers in all companies which were organized to construct the line from San Francisco, but there were stock holders whose interests were confined to one or more companies. The problem was solved by the organization of one great company, which would be composed of the leading share holders of all the companies in interest, and which would lease the several lines and operate them under one comprehensive management. The companies in interest were the Southern Pacific, Railroad of California, the Southern Pacific Railroad of Arizona, the Southern Pacific Railroad of New Mexico, and the Central Pacific. Thus the Southern Pacific Company was organized to operate all the lines to New Orleans. These arrangements carried control of Morgan's steamship lines, covering 7276 miles of deep water traffic, and including eighteen iron steamships, besides a river and ferry traffic, equipments," etc. PAGE 22 Such is a brief historical sketch of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, which includes all the railroads through the parishes embraced in this work, except the Texas & Pacific road. This road passes through the northeast corner of the parish of St. Landry, with three or four shipping stations in the parish. There are no other railroads in the parishes except some short local roads of but a few miles in length, such as the road from Cade Station on the Southern Pacific to St. Martinsville; the road from New Iberia to the Salt Mines, and from Baldwin to Cypre-mort. There are, however, other contemplated roads, the most important of which is, and one already in process of construction, the Watkins Kansas City & Northern, already graded from Lake Charles to Alexandria, and some of the track laid. More of it further on. In addition to the railroads these eight parishes have a number of navigable streams, lakes and bayous. The principal streams are the Atchafalaya, Calcasieu and Mermentau Rivers, and the Bayou Teche; and Grand Lake, Spanish Lake, Lake Charles, Calcasieu Lake, etc. These, at a light expense, could all be made navigable the year round. Public Schools.- For the development of a country properly, a perfect system of public schools is required. Whenever a man thinks of emigrating to a new country, his first thought is, -What are the facilities for educating my children?" This is the one great desideratum in building up a country. One drawback to the Southern country has always been a lack of educative facilities. Not colleges and academies, but a good system of public schools. The writer is a Southern man, and speaks of what he knows. A lack of a system of public schools has greatly retarded the growth of the South-more than any one cause, and has added much to keep the tide of emigration flowing westward. In the West, the first thing after building a cabin to shelter the family, is the thought of a school house, and often it is the best house in the whole township. A late writer has said; " If he is a benefactor of mankind who causes two blades of grass to grow where one grew before, the language does not furnish a name for him or her who promotes the cause of true education. While the school is established primarily for the good of the children and the preservation of the State, it is a fact patent to all, that the most valuable result of all education is the building up of good characters. This, to speak definitely, is to instill correct principles and train in right habits. Citizens with these ' constitute a State.' Men and women with these are in possession of what best assures rational happiness, the end and aim of human life." Few questions are, in their bearing upon the future of the country, more vitally important than this: " What are the boys and girls reading?" Increased attention needs to be given to the literature of the schools, and a taste for wholesome reading, history, biography, travels, poetry, popular science, etc.- encouraged, thereby lessening the demand for dime novels and low fiction. This writer PAGE 23 has never been in a section of country where dime novel reading is carried to the excess it is here. It shows a depraved taste, and will tell in future years upon the civilization of the State as well as upon the viciousness of the general population. Then if you want your country to prosper, and a new element of population infused into it, improve your means of education, until your system is second to none in the land. A country with plenty of railroad, church and educational facilities is bound to prosper. It can not be kept down. Another great advantage to a country is an enlightened press. It adds much to the civilizati;n, education and refinement of any community. Southwest Louisiana has a press equal to almost any section of country, and it is doing much for the development and progress of it. The press is the great civilizer of the country, and is a power for good. A criticism of the press is always a sure indication of its power and vigor, and the Texas editor who said that "newspapers are bad only because so many bad things happen," summed up the philosophy of the situation. There are some twenty odd newspagers in this dis- trict of eight parishes, and they should constitute a power for the development of its resources, and should claim the united support of their readers. Dean Stanley, a man illustrious for his wisdom and philosophy, said: "Once architecture was the press, and told great thoughts to the world in stone; now the press is architecture and is building up the world of ideas and usages." Then every dollar paid to the newspaper is a dollar well invested, for unpretending as the sheet may be, every issue contains something worth the subscription price.- W. H. Perrin. # # #