The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-06-09
OUR GARDEN PARISHES.
EAST BATON ROUGE.
Its photography, Soils and Forests. Le-
gends, etc.
THE ANTE.

gends, etc.
THE ANTE.
The Amite draining all Of the eastern Dor
tion Of the parish of East Baton Rouge rises
In Mississippi, about twenty miles north of
the town Of Liberty, in Amitc county and
thence runs south wostwardIy in two branches
or streams
b These two constituent streams Of the Amite
unite In one channel Immediately on their Ell
tering the northeastern corner of East Fell
olana parish, Pursuing then n southwestern
by west course for a distance Of about fifty
miles. and bordering East Baton Rouge. it
Joins with Iberville river or Manchac bayou.
where it makes a sudden turn and runs east
wardly for about forty miles and then emp
ties into Lake Maurepas.
The whole length OF the Amite from It's
source to its mouth is little over ono hun
dred miles, and itsGverage width Ia of thirty
and forty yards us far as the Manchac juno
tion, after which point The two united streams
form fine, wider. navgable river, admitting
vessels Of seven and eight feet draught The
waters Of this gracefully COiling and swift
tiowing stream are crystal pure and clear.
Along its meandering and murmurng path
occur some OF the most pleasant and pic
turesque ooves, cliffs snow-whte or dark
shaded, number Of bold rising yellow bluffs
or gently slipping banks, while the bed on
which the water sIshes onward is n snow
white silvery couch on which the stream rolls |
its crystalline wrinkles.
ANTE LEGEND
A favorite haunt Of the powerful Choctaws
in the days OF yOre. the forest crested banks
~ thn CD tpho
and the sole living vestiges of their primitive
ness are the ohuckling wild turkey couples
that live beneath tho sorried thiekpts of the
primeval woods
Strange as it may seem. the wild Choctaws'
legend asoribe. The cearness Of the Amlte
waters to an origin of quite pOetical features:
and the name of It's titular myth, Monjnh
presents strong analogy with the Scandina-
Wan deity Mona" (the corresponding deity
20 the classic PhGbel, from which our Moons {
day or Monday. How did this echo of the
Scandinavian deity reach those distant shores,
Is question that we cannot yet answer; but
which, at no distant day. the tar-reaching
Saeb Of SthG9@Ey end Ind hf2hoEy
we shall defer the investigation.
According to the ChOCtaw legend the Great
Spirit being called upon to mark for his war t
that there was nought TO better mark the be- I
ginning from the end, moment from all I
lime, than the pleasant hearings of a loving q
heart, and ne retired, leaving his astonishing |
auditors into pitch dark which they had not /
yet known since the glowing spirit had al T
ways and uninterTuptedly shOne to ripen the Q
flowers and to light up the warriors wigwam a
The wailing of the warriors WAS soon t
fair Moniah, the daughter of the Great Spirit t
the brightest of all sky gems rObed in si1vcry r
white garments, and shedding from under t
her eyebrows thousand of soft light beams t
that soon after illumined the heavens and the O
land !
As the warriors knelt in awe at her appear b
anco and craved her protection, the fair fl
honiah dropped tear of compassion as q
token, and as it fell to the earth the prairie fl
and the hills opened their bOs0ms and made p
way for 1t. Il
The warriors departed and found in their
wtgwams new companions Of more tender g.
habits than their former mates, and whose s
love marked their manhood and their life IL
b
Faithful TO her PROMISE the fair Moniah is
never failed to appear in the sky. serene or d
nloudy-her coming being night rs compared II
10 that Of the Great Spirit, whose glowing ii
lCrCe heralded day. ii
Since then, the cver-rOcurring visits Of il
Moniah marked the periods in all the war p
riors doings and life, while her evor-reCurrng ii
tear formed the clear sweet waters of the a.
Moniah river (Amite), whose banks are v
tecked with the revored magnolia and stately p
oak, shielding the CeaseIcss blossoms Of tho o
ANTE BASIN GLASS TWO. II
The Amite drains all the eastern part of ~ -
East Baton Rouge through the auxiliary I,
channel of the Sandy creek, of the Comite, -"
Jones and Clay Gut creeks, and the Manchac 0
Or Iberville river. a,
That part of the kmite basin included with 81
n the elbow formed by the Comite and Amite ~
slopes towards the Amte from a southeastern r
Inc, running about midway through this Ia
space. Beyond the Comite junction the table ~
and oil 10Th ntE5 tkn A r., &,
about five miles, and the southeastern trends ~
VI the hills assist in carrying the surplus Il
waters towards IL. h,
number of small.islands dot the Amite in NJ "
ts tOrtuous course, and form quite a pleasing h,
diversion to the scenery about the stream. r
SOIL. Sc
The soil in this basin is alternately black pI
nd yellow, a sandy loan in texture except W
long the Amite, whore it is nearly pure sand II
nd quite white. The yellow sandy lcam TT
las an average specific weight Of ninety pc
ounds per cubic foot Of dried earth and is 10
extremely fertile. hC
The black patches running through this soil r
re not quite so sandy as the yellow SOIL the sl
after being the magnolia soil and the former W
he gum soil. This black, sandy loan weighs ha
n average Of eighty-tive pounds to the NJ
ubic foot Of dried earth and Is quite fertile. ia
he pillow. and are constituted by an admixture co
( bed leaves and silt deposits The soil
roper is never less than = feet deep and the
uhsoil is clayey, hence good drainage here da
'ould be an essential condition Of successful C
lltIvaton. lal
FORESTS. bO
The principal forest growth in this basin tn
insists of magnolias, gums, beech, oaks, plt
ickory, elm, poplar, walnut and linn On
le very dark patches that streak the soil of
lis basin the sweet gum predominates. while tex
its more northern part the long leaf pine ca
arks a lighter cOlored soil SD
The various species of the forest in this an
ssin may be apportiOned as follows, in q 100, tn,
wit: bel
agnolia ... 1000 Elm ............ 400
ums ......... $500 Poplar ......... 800 |
eech ....... 500 Walnut .......... 500 for