The Mississippi Creole. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1841-1851, 1849-03-09

Navigation Of the Big black River

narrow county, averaging not more Than twenty =
miles in width, and almost fifty miles long. 1t
is washed on it's eastern and western boundary :
two very considerable streams-the Pearl c
and Big Black rivers. Each Of themlwith very q
little artificial aid, may be made good navigable G
streams; sufficient at least, for all the COM
Of the interior OF a State, which should
/ ever be done, will bring a market within ten
every mans door in the County.
Having but little familiar acquaintance
with the Pearl River, and on account of better
nformation-both personal and from the re-
p%ortsiof others in regard to Big Black, | shall
devote what | have to Say, chiefly to a consii-
Grafton ofits advantages as an outlet TO markets;
trusting that some one on the eastern border,
feeling our common wants, and having the ne
cessary local knowledge, will take up the sub
iect and do Justice to their beautiful stream,
For ours are not rival interests, and we do not
contend for particular advantages Of locality,
but are laboring, and should labor for I've COM
mon good Of the whole number.
To begin, with the Big Black. | have it on
the authority Of an experienced boatsman, a
man intimately acquainted with the navigation
Of most of the rivers in the south western coun-
try; long familiar with Fig Black, having run
a boat upon it every season ] believe, for the
past twelve years = that, taking the vol
ume Gifts water, it affords the best and surest
navigation OF any stream within his knowledge
1t has equal advantages with the Cumberland
and Ohio rivers in this respect. For with much
less expense than has been bestowed on these
streams, Big Black may be made to admit the
water stage, to run here with equal ease and
facility, the entire year round. But it is not
contemplated at present to expend the amount
of money necessary to make good its naviga-
ton at all seasons of the year. A much shor.
ter period will do us now. Say FIVE months in
the year, when it is known that there is an a.
bundant supply Of water. During these five
months the crop is finished, end the great de-
sire and need is, to send it to market, aud get
back our years supplies. Have any of our plan
tiers ever thought seriously Of tho actual expen-
ses, and risk, and uneasiness, which it costs in
our present roundabout way of getting our
cotton to New Orleans, and our return supplies
and our merchants their goodsa If they have
not, then, they are contented with the old
system. Bnt if they have they necessarily feel
the cost, and are prepared and willing to take
their share in o~bviating it for the future.
have no data to draw from, but such as is
open to every citizen of the county. Every
one, who is disposed, can make his own calcu-
l%ations;I will exaggeratO nothing. The result
in what way made out will be large, rest as
snred.
The'number bales of cotton annually rails
ed in Madison county, is supposed upon the
best authority to average 10000. This great
quantity, by the present ~routo-except a small
, fraction sent to market on fiat boats by the way
of Big Black r@iycr--is either hauled to the va
zoo river or to the Rail Road. Taking Canton
then, as a centre-we have in distance 25
miles to the Rail Road, and 80 to the Yazoo riv-
er--or an average of273 miles to haul this large
produce. This will take in ordinary weather
and good roads, with OK and mule teams, four
days to make the trip. Early in the season,
when the roads are good, our wagons will take
8 bales-but later, and always after rhe fall
rains have set in-the number must be reduced
to 6 and even 4 bales to a full team. So that
| unOO m aUprann q halns tho ann.n, roVnJ
will be a fair and even a high CALCULATION.
Then there have to be made 6,666 trips-leav-
ing of fractions-with team and driver, or $780,
$50 miles travelled in carrying off one single
crop. Each trip the driver is absent A days,
which in the aggregate is 1864 days lost an
n%uOIly to the planters by one of their most val
liable servants The teamster is certainly-ex-
cept it may be a meChanic-the most valuable
and generally the most rusty Of the hands of a
plantation. The services Of such a hand-at
the period when he is engaged in h%auling-is
worth SO cents a day. Making a loss Of the
productive wealth of the County of $l3.332.
Expenses of feeding the team, even at the
present low price of corn and fodder may be
set down very safely, at $3.50 each time going
and coming, or $9,999, which with the expen-
SEES of f~erriages for the part Of the crop which
crosses Big Black-say one h~alf-$3,333, ma
king total of expenses equal 1882.
We have still to take into the account, the
expense of the planter or his agent, in going
once a year to attend to his business, at either
point. Taking this number at one thousand.
and three dollars each, as reasonable. expense,
we have an addition of ~3,000-makiDg the en-
tire sum Of expense Of getting our crop to the
points where it may be sent TO market Of $40.
e66, enough to pay annually our State and
County tax
have purpossly left out in the above calcu
%lations, the loss Of time to the plantation of the
team, while it is engagedin taking of our cot.
ton. II would still make a large addition to
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