New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-02-05
The Env,rons of New Orleans.
NUMBER rIrTEEN.

Singular to relate, when we contemplate the
vast Of fertile lands in the lower delta OF the
M;ss;ss;nni there should be still at this very date,
the same complant and the same want which was
felt in the beginning of the settlement, to wit:
tho want of 1ahoring hands. We have seen at
one lime that is to say, some fifteen years ago,
whole gangs of white immigrants mostly Germany
descending to our city in the winter months,
who would offer their labor for little or no
but since that period we have not
arain witnessed such superabundance of work
inr material in our midst. When we examine the
cause of this dearth of permanent white labor,
we must necessarily find it in the peculiar
situation of our delta AT a certain season of the
year, in winter, outdoor labor for the white man
is by no means an overwhelming one, whilst dur
ing the ardent summer months, June, July, August
and September, the heat of the sun does more or
less interfere with such labor. Hence we lind that
in the generality Of cases, mechanics and others
will endeavor to do their work in the fore part OF
the year. and withdraw to their homes inthe North
or West with the amassed earnings of their winter
and spring toilings; when again in the fall season
these same people will return to our midst. Whist
this was the case with all those classes of mechanics
and other manual labor workers, whose business
did not force them to the actual field labors IN 'he
hot summer months, we have ever observed, par
ticularly in the country, that class OF young
men generally denominated "engages among
the French or Creole farmers would do the hela
work, blowing, hoeing, making fences, fire WOOD
ETC., at stipulated price by the whole year. WIN
boarding, washing and lodging included.
| But these sort of engagements would only take
place upon small farms, where these young men
| were treated as members of the family. Upon
| large plantations or farms these yearly contracts
in Ionsiana for agricultural work were not in use.
Neither was there any regular system OF appren-
| ticpp with respect to lads of white extraction,
thoueb we are aware that our legislature has
| nassed laws and ordinances to this effect. Now,
| VIC mention these particulars, because we should
like To be able to discover new mode of supply
| ing our country with the absolutely indispensable
means of cultivating the lands at present lying
waste all round our city. 1t is indeed more than
unusual thing to that in the immediate vicinity
Of an emporium Of 100000 souls, established now
since l72O, or say upwards of $50 years, when, if
we count generation at twenty years in our eli
mate, we may now compute some seven genera
tons having followed or succeeded each other
upon our soil still entire fields and localities re-
main untitled, which in other countries the two
past generations would have laid under contribu-
ton to the general stock of productive earnings.
This consideration, then, of the necessary labor
hands to cultivate the envrons of our city is there
fore the most important one, and we will conse-
auently recount with some detail what our prede-
cessors had done in this respect, under various
former circumstances. ..-u
After the several unsuccessful endeavors in
100 to ITO by the then administrators of Louisi
ana to cultivate the fields that had been cleared
by means of immigrants taken from such large
| cities as Paris, Rouen Bordeaux and others, we
| find that no other population succeeded in cul
| tivating farms than the Germans who were es
| tablished along the river, above the city, and
gave to that locality the name of "la cote DIES
Allemonds.'' or the German Coasts. After these
| farmers came the Acadian population, who had
been driven away from Nova Scotia; these were
mostly Canadian born subjects and from this
people the coast, inhabited by them, above the
German settlements, has received the name O
the Coast of Acadian. Lastly we have alread,
mentioned the Spanish immigrants or "nenos,
who were settled in various establishments, ant
who in small way, have continued to this da,
| their garden and other agricultural labors From
| all these different colonization branches, it il
evident, that only people actually brought up t
country life, can be successful in the field labor
in our delta. To take then say other hands
| than those already endured or accustomed to the
| hard work under the open sun, or to put to the
plough, or the use of the spade and ak, people
that have been raised in city life, is not only
wasting ones time, but also disappointing the
country and community, who cannot wait to see
the business of agricultural improvements ex-
posed to ever renewed experiments. We would
therefore suggest to our legislature the pro.
priety of appointing proper agents, who should
see to it that no other immigrants do receive the
fayors and special qualifications Of our local
or State governments than such as are actually
from the agricultural field laboring classes. This
is the main suggestion, with respect to the immi-
grant society now about to be formed as for all
proper details, we leave them to others. How
necessary it is that our immediate environs should
be provided with labor hands, will properly ap-
pear to the reader when we inform him that for
the want of them, nearly all our lower farms, our
brick yards saw mills, timber furnishing establish
ments, are kept in absolute stagnation. How, then
will it be possible to obtain at anything like rea
| sonable prices, building materials for the cree
ton of new houses and stores? And if these
cannot be built, of what use will it be fol
capitalists, or how will they be induced to lay GU
their funds in the purchase of vacant batture lot
and others? Hence, being just returned from ar
inspection tour in the lower part of our river en-
vrons, we have been induced to submit til,
foregoing suggestions, hoping they may contribute
to the stock of information now so much required
to come to proper appreciation of our loca
position. When, in the month of July, 1876: w
stepped on shore some where in the neghborhoot
of the English Turn, we then saw upon planta
ton number of wild negro hands Bossals,' d
they were called, just arrived from the coast o
Africa. 1t is true, the slave trade over the ocea
had long been prohibited and declared piracy b.
the U. s. government; but when prizes of slav
ships were made, these prizes, for adjudication
had to be brought into some port of the Unite
States.
And so it happened that several such prizes ha
been introduced into the Mississippi river; an,
whilst proceedings with courts were going on, til
wild or uncivilized negroes would be housed TEN
porarily upon some plantation and put to som
field or other work. till the time of adjudication
by the U. S. Marshal. Thus we found humble
of these untutored African savages occupie
in saving log trees upon the ground; bu