New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-06-05

The Lands, Water Courses AgricHatas and People
Of Auoyezes- General Stattssics-F From Marks
Kaiuesy-F Force of Habit A1aezonian Eqtes-
tsanssm = The Drought The Crops Corn
Cotton Blooms-Iae Firer.
suxBsR XII.
From our Special Travelling Correspondent
ALEXANDRIA, PARtsH or RApipEs, Il
May n 1850.
I'd. Crescent Your readers viii remember
that my last letter left them in the middle Of the
parish Of Ayoyelles. That parish was SO fruitful
of items of fact and fancy that was unable to do
it justice in the brief space Of one letter. albeit its
brevity was considerably elongated / had NO
room for statistics other material facts OF I'M
terest, and these propose now To give, and then
to take your readers across Red river and ont of
the parish by the road I travelled to gain my pre-
sent temporary location, in the capital Of the Red
river valley generally, and of the great parish Of
Rapides particularly, Of which anon.
AyoyelIes Is eminently entitled 70 o aapcsition
among the growing parishes growing in wealth
and population. The appreciation Of the value of
lands has been large and rapid, especially In the
Red river bottom, where tracts from which tree
has never been cut are held at prices which seem
enormous-as high as fifty dollars an acre being
asked fer eligibly located tracts. Prices have
been greatly enhanced by the improvements and
extensions of levee works that going on, which
have reclaimed and brought into market large
bodies of fertile land. The owners know what it
is worth, and hold it at prices which they will
eventually realize, bnt which do not favor the
rapid development of the productive resources Of
the section. As / limited in my last, Avoyelles can
boast highlands as well as lowlands hills and val
leys and these agreeable alterations give variety
to its natural scenery, and combine with what man
has done to render the country picturesque and
very pleasant to the eye Of the traveller. Az IN
agricultural region it is peculiarly favored with
water courses, which at once facilitate communi-l
cation with market, and serve to drain the lands.
Besides Red river and the A,chafalaya, it is trav
ersed in different portions by bayous de Glaize,
Rouge, BGuf and Huffpower, all Of which are nav.
igable In winter. Along the borders Of all these
drains the land is cultivated and large numbers Of
fine plantations border on them. Through the
parish run the first stage routes above New Or
leans, by which mails and passengers leave the
river and reach Texas and the interior of this
State.
The Creole element of population vastly pre-
ponderates in number, but the heavy planting in
terest is mostly in the hands Of Anglo Americans.
ssBig Iniunsn on little ponies are no uncommon
slgne IN 1ne PARISH 1hey oelons ~ the D'ioA'
trlpe, anu nave siaaii Vase not lat from Marhs-
vile. Ihey are ratner supeflof-iooking lhdians,
out the compieN'ohs Oh those saw seemed ralnef
TOO lignt 70 properly oeiong 20 pure nioodeu az
ticie OF anofighe. Aney go iorth once year,
with others q their tripe from ADJOINING parishes,
to join in great ball play with the Cnoctaws irom
kapldes ana elsewhere, tne place OF meeting peng
generally down IN st. Landry.
The agriculture OF the parlsn IS princ'paily de'
voted TO sotton-raising, ABOUT twenty tnousano
acres being cultivated IN the staple, about siS
Thousand in cane and eighteen thousand m corn
There are over hundred and eighty thousand
acres Of land in the parish still nncultivated. Ups
principal cotton estates are those Of fenelon Can
non, Esq, I. D. Marshall, samuel Smith, JohI
Rogers, Mrs. Jno. A. Glaize, Dr. L. Il. Branch ant
A. G. PIERCE The principal sugar estates ar
these OF 4. Il. Tlon' heary Brothers, Dominlqn.
Coco, Col. !. I. Norwood, I. 7. Firth. Col. VII
son, Jas. heiier, Mfs. aufdocn ana WIN. Lam
beth's estate. There are nut ieW sman sugar
planters, nat many VINO MAKE soteoh oh siial
scale. Inc assessed Value VI properly IN .he par
lsh is about .ne s.a'e TAX Is ABOUT sli'
ooo OF when some so1oo IS .or 1ne support Oh ifee
puoiic schoois. Anere are aeous .hi 'eeh n''naiee
educaple chi'aren III 'ha paiisn' anu sese.a
schools. me totai popuiatloh j npWards q iz,ooo
q Wmch lfee WINES cohsli.u.e iess ,l'l
ohe-hah. Ing ifee soioreu nuiAoet apous nua
ufea anu tni,sy Ano 20 sloe
sahu nse naiuieu II, :, AAe '''.se.
oi 'he pas,sh a'e i' :
oehefes' ifeasa's' ~ " ns1su n IN IN
couf, assesso, - Ious.non' 1le.A = 'unan -, -