The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1877-02-08
Louisiana,


oo CIV" VnO AtCuaIaiaya L.
the long strip of Lafourche. D; T. ne
miles long, on the right bank ~ .s
bayou, nearly all of Assum :ue
and all of the large parish Of Ts s,ua
bonnie, with small portions o os' y
Mary, Iberia, and st. Martin. "
The Lafourche, which head.
Donaldsonville on the Miss;ss;s.s.s
flows southeast for $50 miles p ppi,
empties into the Gulf. It ia n au9
gable from the head to the m ~'
in high water, and is rarely too 0 ,o.a
to be navigable. Very high aus
strong levees are required On ho sH
sides to protect the great pumIs. u
OF plantations which line its haUHa
Many very fine sugar estates 10
on its west bank. A copsider.h ,o
number ofplanters divide their eromo
between sugar and rice. Nearlv !"
the lower portion of the bayou lands a.
is occupied in rice. The west s;ds
is the favorite side for orange cn,
ture, but many fine growers barn
recently been planted out on ho,T
sides OF the lower bayou. The lands s
on the west side of the Lafourchs'
in both Assumption and Lotonrchoe'
are very shallow. That is, the b;05
cultavable land goes back but q
few acres from the bayou befo,s
they reach the deep cypress swamns
which cannot be cultivated withon,
leveefng and pumping out; Whereas
the 'front.' lands, now cultivated, hav.
ing high levee along the bayou n
keep out the Mississippi floods, drain
back to the swamps.
There IS no portion of the Stata
where greater refinement and emil.
ture is found than along the Ia.
fourche. This fork, or La Fourcbe
Of the Mississippi. as the French
called it, owing to the convenience
of it's water transportation and the
delightful climate of the region, was
early settled by wealthy families.
and became noted for the prosperity
of its inhabitants in the first annals
of the country. The vine, the olive
! and silk culture were once sources
OF revenue on the Lafourche. The
State Board of Engineers has recon.
mended the closing by dixie Of the
head OF the Latourche, in order TO
save the expense OF levees along it.
There are several towns of some
note on this decentralization.
vile, at the head, Paincourtyille,
Napoleonville, Thiboudaux, La.
fourche Crossing, where Morgan's
Railroad crosses, and Lockport.
! There is a large area of marsh on
both banks OF the Lower Lafourche,
as elsewhere near the Gulf coast.
Back from the strip Of high lands
along the bayous, which have been
, leveed in the great bulk of the region
between the Llfonrche and the AZ
chafayaia is deep, timbered
swamp. The Atchafalaya passed
on the western portion Of this sec.
ton through Grand Lake and Der.
wick Bay. On Berwick Bay is
Morgan City and many sugar plan.
tations are on the bay or Bayou
B9uf which is the boundary be,
tween st. Mary, Terrebonne. aud on
, Bell river, the boundary between
Assumption and st. Martin, all
lying east of the main Atcbafalays
This region is the great source Of
supply for cypress, live oak, and
moss.
, 1t is capable still, from its almost
, unbroken forests, OF supplying mil.
) lions of feet of live oak aud tue
t world with crossties.
The Parish of Terrebonne is, with
the exception of the extreme points
{ Of land at the mouth of the Missis.
r sippi River. the most southerly body
of land in Louisiana, and presents
5 a broad, rounded, but deeply IN.
5 denied front to the Gulf. All
f around its extensive sea coast, the
marsh fringes it in a broad phylao.
: teric cut up into innumerable lakes
? and bayous. The long quadrant
4 like sea coast of Terrebonne, with
its southern exposure, makes the
: climate almost tropical, and hence
it is peculiarly adapted to the cal'
D tivation of the sugar cane, the
= orange, fig, banana and other semi
tropical fruits.
r Terrebonne means high land, or D!
/ good land, and indeed it is wen
: named. 1t contains more high lanu
s above overflow than any OF the al.
81 | lnxriol M nichor M hilo fha QrAalR8t