The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1871-11-18
New Orleans and Opelousas Railroad.
From the st. Louis Democrat.

hAA ~" -N"stS
This road was familiar to our merchants
years ago when it was being built. Eighty
miles of it were constructed from New Or.
leans westward to Bcrwick's Bay, and this
section is now doing good service under the
name of Morgan's Louisiana and Texas rail.
road, in connection with a splendid line Of
steamers belonging to the same proprietor,
spreading the benefits of a rich commerce
for many hundred miles along the gulf coast
as far as. Mexico. In 1860, a roadbed had
been built for nearly one hundred miles
north from the bay to Opelousas, at consid-
erable expense.
The war interrupted this enterprise,
though one of great promise !; broke up the
company, and left the road in hat state
until now, when it is revived under a new
company, but with the same name it had
before. This road extends through the
southwestern parishes of Louisiana, formerly
producing nearly seventy thousand hogs
heads of sugar, one hundred thousand bar.
rels of molasses, besides great quantities Of
cotton, cattle and corn, etc.
1t is the land of the live oak and orange
tree, exceedingly fertile and beautiful, fan,
ned by the trade winds fioln the gulf. Not
more than a fifth of it has ever been in Gull
t~ivation, and no region hold out more solid
advantages to the emigrant. 1t was on
those wide and lovely plains that the Ar
cadians found a hospitable refuge from their
prosecutors during the early part of the last
century, as referred to by Longfellow" in his
"Evangeline."
When this road shall have reached Ope-
%lousas, some seventy miles more, a company
already organized will bring it north as far
as Alexandria, in Central Louisiana, and a
company has been Incorporated, called the
Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad Company,
to prolong the line two hundred and fifty
miles to Little Rock. This entire route will
be over a fine country, nearly due north
four hundred miles to Little Rock, and
thence three hundred and fifty miles more
by the Cairo and Fulton and Iron Mountain
roads to st. Louis; the whole road being
seven hundred and fifty miles from here to
the sea. or about, two-thirds of the distance
from here to the Atlantic via New York.
From the abundance Of the gulf we can
get daily all the sea food we require. From
that fertile region we can import all the su-
gar, molasses and rice we need, as well as
oranges and other tropical fruit. We can
pay for them in the substantial productions
Of our more temperate zone, with mules and
horses, agricultural implements, etc.
Before the war, the farmers and drovers
Of our interior were as familiar with the
western parishes of Louisiana as with their
own counties of Missouri. This great road,
stretching west Of the Mississippi river and
its broad overfowed deltas, will give us a
safe means of intercourse throughout the
year.
With regard to the passenger trade at this
time, many people who want to 60 to Yves
tern Louisiana and Texas fear to 90 by the
leading route east of the river, as, to reach
the end of their journey, they would have
to pass through Vicksburg, Natchez or New
Orleans, where yellow fever is said to be
lurking like a lion in the path. With this
ROAD they could go without waiting for the
frost. Going west along the coast, they
could take the Morgan steamers at Berwick
Bay. .s .... ...
From the nature of our climate and theirs,
this is the nearest supply point for those
populations to furnish themselves with our
domestic manufactures of all kinds, as well
as the agricultural productions of our soil.
Those people Of the ns-Mississippi,
living on the same territory conveyed by
France. having had the same institutions
in common, entertain a friendship and re-
gard for each other. Let us bind them clo-
ser by this ligament of modern civilization
the railroad. We therefore hope our
Exchange and Board Of Trade, merchants
and property owners will give such aid as
they can to'this measure.