Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1857-07-11
THE CROSSE TEwE BARBECUE.

We were deprived of the pleasure of at,
tending the great barbecue on Crosse Tete or
the 4th, (given In honor of the day in connec'
ton with the completion of the Crosse Tete
and West Baton Rouge RailroadO and there,
fore cannot speak from actual observation o.
the ceremonies, incidents, &c. of the affair
but from what we have incidentally heard res
pecting it, no such celebration and barbecue
have ever been known in these parts, if in the
State.
TIE spot selected for the occasion was on
the East side of the bayou, where few days
previous stood a thick growth of cane, and
| where maybe rested The sleek deer or snoosed
bruin, little dreaming that Progress and the
Railroad whistle were so soon to cause the
despoiling Of their forest home. The spot be-
ing cleared of the cane and underground. two
thousand people it was thought were gathered
there, who were protected from the sun by
the thick branches of the water oak.
At an early hour the ceremonies commence
ed. Mr.. SIMMONS, one of the Democratic cam
didates Of this parish for the House, was called
to the chair to act as President, who, (our in
formant says after occupying about fifteen
minutes in remarks that were handsome and
appropriate, introduced Mr.. HYAMs, of the
Sugar Planter, who read the Declaration of
Independence--preceded by prayer from Rev.
Mr.. CUSHING. He was folIowedby Mr.. STU-
ART,o our District Attorney, who delivered an
appropriate Grafton in his usual felicitous style.
After this gentleman, Judge WV. B. ROBERT
SON came forward and delivered the Railroad
speech, giving a history Of the Road, the COM
pletion Of which they were then celebrating,
interspersed with interesting facts and anec>
dotes. The Judge commended, and truly, that
it was owing to the employment Of slave la
Dor, TO a great extent, that the present road
was built so expeditiously and economically,
and that it was clearly The interest and the du-
ty of the South to employ such labor in her
public works, or words tantamount; the fact
that the Crosse Tete road acknowledged to
be a very superior road and completed in a re-
markably short time) was built by such labor,
and now that it is finished the lab0rers who
built 1t belong TO the Railroad Company, and
ready to "pitch in" if required and go on cx~
tending the road, individually proves the truth
of the Judges assertion if we would preserve
the institution of slavery, we should make it
subservient to our wants in all our local iR>
ternal Improvements as in the clearing away
of our forests and the cultivation of our fields.
The occasion was referred 10 by the speaker
very emphatically and eloquentIy, as a proud
marital connection the obligations of the pa
rent (the State) were complied with-a road
and such a road had been built as the condi-
ton of marriage, and West Baton Rouge now
came forward upon that proud day to claim its
fair and yielding bride, the widoW Crosse 1ete.
with her broad and noble forests and her gold.
en- fields of peace and plenty from that day for
ward she may be considered as reposing in the
marital embrace of West Baton Rouge her
vile had lost her by refusing to aid generous
" in having the road, now so happily compile.
ted, TO terminate at its own capital, and the
fair Crosse Tete, as many fair ones before her
had done, testified ser disgust by offering her
charms to those who could better appreciate
them, and the consequence was. that Iberville
lost, and West Baton Rouge won, a most love.
~ gem 10 grace her coronet. I'VE give the
Judges sentiments and words as near as we
can recollect, az related by our informant. -
The President of the road, CHARLES A. SLACK,
Esq, was alluded TO in connection with the
success Of the enterprise they were eelebras
ting, in very complimentary and appropriate
terms. And well and justly were the praises
of the speaker merited! Had there been no
CHARLES A. SLACK 1--WE speak with the full
assurance that those acquainted with the his
tory Of the road will uphold the remark) there
would have been no Crosse Tete and West
Baton Rouge Railroad at the present day =
the wild woods through which the cars were
rafting daily, ~freighted with the wants and in
dustry of man, would still have been drear
and uninhabitable swamp, but for his overs
towering industry and Observation-Disclosures
Of that vast assembIage Of beauty and talent
congregated on the shady bank Of the Crosse
Tete on the 4tb, with tables bending beneath
the weight of rich viands, to honor our nation-
al birlh>day in connection with the baptism of
a great enterprise, there would still have been