The Opelousas patriot. [volume] (Opelousas, Parish of St. Landry, La.) 1855-1863, 1858-08-14
Tour 5reaaevs q PLAN nnya saarSW
Iaffhfrssof ourroad and they cah

81 ii y -Nts-t SrI - SO .
I corssruction Of the Baton H..
.t Onefa1sas Railroad, aWonnsaaSe,
(which they have aonstrgcted !. ~
~cohsting $4,000 per mile. lafchA
1.-Two splendid locomotives, one fnhA
1.-TWO baggage cars, and ten freight IN
lieut. depot has been erected .atlthe 80 -
minus together with nflccs,o out ansess Z ter
ETC.. while at tic river terininhss iii II cabins cal
and sheds necessary for business, have U SIldlngs
The Company however, intend putting al Ht'fed
terminus, u large commodious brick depot, FIR wlicf
the brick are now making a warehouse and wharf
all ofwhich will be completed sometime during TIN
fall The road ia III the most perfect order. with al
the necessary turntables, ,swithes, etc, and is dc
clared by competent judges to be second to 1iiTehhe il
the United States. ssS3&s4s
to s 1000, Of which 100000 are die. ]. PIKE
Esq. Of, Baton Rouge aud the reminder e JANE,
en- every dnllaar owed BY the Company yxnd they lie
come due April next. The res0urcE pftheT Com
pany to n}.st these denandsnre, lsts he last install
nent upon subscription notes, ANN slng tn $40, 600,
I'd. the Baton Rouge Subscription. If 5o.OOO !. al
State subscription n ST. 500 and g4tl, the nett earn
ilgs ofthes road M tn that time say$at least $40
"A 900, making in all III 500. to pHy off its IL
ness. And, in addition to tie above amc
Company can at any time dispese ofsixtee .oes
having little or no occasion for their services, since
the completion of the rnad.
The receipts Of the road from all sorts. from JUNO
lst, 1851, TO June LIST, 1853, Amounted to $2a. 500
The expenses ct the road FIR the same period were
$l4.40o, including wear and tear Of machinery aud
the road salaries, clothing and feeding negroes, and
al other incidental expenses. BY this. plain state
meDt the prophetic &C. W.R. BIZ can sec that onr
road cleared the first year of its existence $4,000.
y will be borne in mind that the, crop Of Crosse
freiglts very light, Or undoubtedly tile receipts
would have been much heavier. Does this look as
4 olr road is worthless as a paying investment. even
7 Tins not the assistance Of the Great Western
Il Qr1A nnI = ukNr1t1r g. Al. r-s -LELr y
Texas : ~ would be acting the wise part it )
men would only assure themselves Of the CORRECTNESS
OF their CHARGES before they put them to paper for an
admiring public to gaze at. The crop Of Crosse
Tete this year p very large, which vii. Of course.
make the bushes Of the road. the present year. only
50 much heavier. while the return frinhis will he
greatly increased. A pretty close estimate of the
business Of the Road this year. from say June lst.
~, will reach about 50 900, while the expenses will
DO very little increased, If anything. and yield A
very handsome dividend for the year.-The husi-
ness along the line of the road israpidly increasing.
l&liee enls tends to make the receipts greater.
The reader can now understand the position Of
the Crosse Tete road before the PEOPLE Of the State.
and can draw his own differences as to whether it
will provo a paying investment or NIT. For orr
part, we would prefer owning one share of its stock.
To owning lei, Of the Great Western Read, without
whose assistance ours would he northeast
The healthy condition Of the Affairs of our Com.
paty Is to be attributed to the admirable manage
nent OF the Board of Directors-men who shrewdly
and wisely consulted the worth Of every dollar be.
Tore it was spent--not ~niggardly p%arsinany, but ju-.
diciots economy prevailed throughout oil IT, depart
ments, while the wisdom of such a course Is mani
fest in all relating t the road. This is a plain state
ment of the Affairs of the road, Published for the
benefit Of those who have taken the liberty Of max
ing statements totally at variance wirh tile truth Of
the case. Also for the consideration IT our Ore
lnnsas and Alexandria friends, as we'll as those
through whose lands tile projected extensions are
expected 70 pass. 50 soon as the necessary amount
is eabseli5ed, the Company will Immediately puf.
chase negroes enough to commence the wo.k, with
out delay, and strike out for the Atchafaiaya. The
Company having sixteen hands as above mentioned.
whose services are no longer required at,on the
finished portion Of the road, will add them to the
number Of %labarins men. This subject will be con-
tinned In our next issue.
In our last issare, we gave n detailed statement of
the affairs Of oarl Railroads. report which We think
will faypraLly com pare with the REGENTS and ayne1.
d,tires Of any Road in the United states. We pro.
pose, now showing III what manner we vii! continue
the Road, and its probable cost to the Atehafakay,
spy a distance Of twenty miles from the Crosse Tete
Of the crosse Tete Plank Road to change the same Ia
an Iron Road, a proposition was made.by one of the
Directors 70 purchase annmber of negroes, instead
OF giving 1t ont to contractors. under tile old system.
lhe proposition was combatted with much energy,
as being too visionary or chimerical for that body Ia
entertain--tlie contract system relieved them OF all
tronble-the negroes would be subject to ali the iUs
that flesh is heir to, and they might be carried off at
moment ~ an epidemic, or they might run
away, and many other objections off similar nature.
But the advocates of negro labor carried the dav. |
BY a small majority only, and thirt y-Iivc were immet
liately purchased and put to work. Hardly had
they entered upon their duties before the most VIC.
lent opponents of the measure acknowIedoeh that
they were far superior and mure satisfactory than
Inc white labor usually employed on such works.
These thirty-five hands completed the Road in eirh.
Teen months, and besides erecting all the sheds, he.
sro CABINS, ete. Two died during the tiipe-one
rom sun stroke and the otherof dropsy of the heart.
The others have advanced enough III value to fully |
compensate for the loss OF the two.
Under the supervision of white overseers-men
having an interest in the Road-work progresses
much faster, and at the same time more attention is
pnld 70 dArabillty and economy. The negroes work
without internission, unless in cases of sick
less. the year throughout, and thus the labor can he
'elied upon. But with the contract system the ease
8 entirely Inherent. White men will only work
when they feel like it, and nine times out often the
is entirely at their mercy. Tedious and
delays often occur from their whimsicaII.
aud at times too when the utmost haste is re.
Iuired. All are aware how annoying these things
men have to be coaxed and wheedied into working
he contractor grows indifferent and careless. ana
o long as it is patched up to bear inspection and re-.
eve the pay, he OF course has nothing else to care
". IHis iiS DetH tUo olten the case, as some Rail-
Dad Companies have found out to their sorrnw
here are many other points to show the preEcronce
I slave labor, in Railroad baildiug, but we have adj.
anced enough for our purpose. Slave labor buiIt
he Crosse Tete Road, and ii we are successful in ipro.
trllg subscriptions to extend it to the Atpafalava
labor will be employed throughout.
As Mr.. FoRD has not completed his survey and
Te cannot hear from him for some DAYS vel. We can.
Ot give the exact point where it Will toneb the At.
halalaya, but he is directed tn locate the terminus
t about the mouth of the Bayou Rouae. The dis.
snce is twenty.one miles fren Crosse Tete and We
ave every assurance that the road can he b,iit a, an
Spense considerably less, per mile. than tbs ,os, =" nf
he first section from the Mississippi to the Crosse
cite The country beyond presents less obsiarles
being nearly all table land, with but very little
'ading, and but two bridges of any impoltInce In
,iistrnct--one crossing Bayou Crosse xete, and the
Bayou Alarangouin. Some ofthe Richest land
the State lie upon this roate, and while srseent;. {
OF the highest cultivation and au easy access tn
shipping point, they are at an elevation above over. r
Nws from c~TevasSes or other nupdations.-N Rn,d
pc located through any portion Of our State that
coiifnanu tue same amoHn oftravel and freight :
that would afford to so large an agricultural enn. 7
UNITY the l~ncilities of daily access to the Mississin. c
ana u dtlly market for the products of their Ia. {,
ahdat cheap rates OF transportation. The bring =
3 INTO market OF the nncnltivated lands along tile "
oald, VIII greatly enhance their value, which n har. u
class of settlers will soon bring it into cultivation, b
Iding daily to the business of the road. and tbs i,
operty of the country. :,
As we stated IN Il previous article, the Compan, :,
We sixteen negroes whose services are no longer Il
CURED, although engaged in makiup hr.rl for ~, Is