The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-07-25
nd 80 compact as TO permit the making OF

and 80 compact as TO permit the making Of
il into brick. s4e aHa aasty ~
There is most luxuriant growth OF for
est vegetation covering "A good portion of
the island. and consisting of almost every
variety OF tree, slJlb, plant, and vine
known to our country, growing Immediate
fy over the salt deposit as we'll IA else
where throughout the island.
About "o-tnirds OF the land, including
the salt deposit, belongs TO Judge Avery,
and tue other one-third (mainly ia the cen
ter OF the isiand) belongs to an old man,
john Hayes, who is now and has been q
resident on the island about seventy-three
years. The salt deposit is found near the
southwesterly border of the island, under
dry forest ground, which ground Is only
about fifteen feet above the level of the tide
water in the bayou. The salt quarry con-
sists of a whitish or cream colored solid
smooth rock. undertaking the earth, with
IN space, SO far as yet ascertained, of
about forty-hye acres, and on an average
OF nineteen and half feet below the sur
face OF the earth, and about four and half
feet below the surface OF the bayou or tide
water.
There is no water or brine moisture with
in the salt deposit. The rock is hard, com
pact ana perfectly dry. The only moisture
/
above the rock.
The salt was discovered as follows: Mr..
John Hayes, now living upon the island
where he has resided since $780, was hunt
ing for deer, Just over the salt bed, in 1891
and to Quench his thirst, drank the water
of small, clear spring just at his feet. He
found the water so salt that he atterward
took some of it to his own home in a bot
tie, and boiled from it ieaspoonful OF salH
Soon after, Jesse McCaul bought about
nineteen acres of the land, including the
salt spring, and began boiling salt. He af-
terWard dug several small wells for bet
ter supply of brine, without much success;
but while digging, found an Indian earthen
spoon about two feet below the surface,
found also u buck horn about nine feet be-
low, and also found the almost perfect
skeleton ola supposed mammoth about
ten feet below the surface. These springs
were atterward almost wholly neglected,
until the year 1872, when John G.. Marsh,
on account of the enhanced price of salt
consequent upon our war with Grert Bri-
tain, commenced and continued boiling I'M
til the peace of 1915. Judge Daniel ID.
Avery, the present owner, became possess
sed of these salt lands, and commenced
boiling the brine in September, 1861, and
continued boiling till May, 1862, when he
concluded TO improve one of the springs,
and, ifpossible, to find a better supply of
VI iiie ny uiSSIiiS Iutlcn lower lltO Inc eartn:
and when only about thirteen feet below
the surface, the pick-axe man at the bot
tom struck upon, as he thought, d cake of
ice, but this, upon being broken oil, close
" examined handed all round, broken to
pieces, tried in the fire, tasted of ETC., to the
wonder OF all, proved to be pure rock salt.
This island, from its salt deposit as a ra-
dlus, Is distant about ten and half miles
in a Southwesterly direction from the vii
lage OF Iberia. A double track of railroad
could be built from the salt bed over the
undulating surface of the island about two
miles, and thence over Il dead level plain
about eight miles TO the Bayou Teche at
New Iberia, whore there is always about
eight feet of steamboat navigation, for the
sum of say 500, 900, with all of the necessary
rolling stock complete.
The other more favorable approach to the
salt bed is by the way OF the Gulf of Mex
leo, through Vermillion bay, distant from
the Gulf about twenty-five miles, with
draught of water through the bay of about
nine feet up to the Bayou of Petit Anse,
thence through the bayou, with four and
half feet draught of water, Il distance of
about four and half miles, to within one
and a half miles of the salt deposit, thence
by railway through the sea swamp to the
salt works.
This one and half miles of railroad
would probably cost seventeen thousand
dollars. The cost OF erecting buildings and
necessary machinery at the works would
amount to about one hundred thousand
dollars. This amount of outlay, together
with proper transhipment facilities to the
various markets of our seaboard, would
enable working company to compete sue
cessfully with the cheap sack or bulk salt
from England or elsewhere.