The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1879-05-16

the Ouachita river, another part was
burned by the forces of the United
States during military expedition tc
Monroe, and the remainder was re-
moved by the North Louisiana and
Texas Company In 1866.
Soon after the commencement o
construction opposite Vicksburg, the
work of clearing and graduation from
Shreveport to the Texas line was put
very slowly and was still incomplete
early in 1861, when work was sus.
pended.
| Afterwards, the Southern Pacific
Railroad Company contracted with the
Vicksburg, Shreveport and Texas Rail
road Company to complete that por-
tiOn of the road from Shreveport to
the State line of Texas, for II lease OF
said road for a period OF twenty years.
! Under this contract and lease said por-
ton of the road was completed and
opened for public traffic in the summer
of 1866, and Is now operated by the
Texas and Pacific Railway Company.
The Vicksburg Company accepted
the donation Of lands "to the State of
Louisiana to aid in tho construction of
railroads within said State" per act
approved June 8, 1856, and, a little
| before the commencement of the war,
said company received lists OF lands
approved to the road under the grant.
Sales of land were made to some ex-
| tent, but not much "aid in the con-
struction" of the road could have been
realized from this source; the lists
were received SO late that the war
must have prevented any sales OF con-
sequence. This land grant lapsed by
Limitation on the Sd of June, 1866, but
| it has not yet been declared forfeited,
nor have the lands been declared open
for "homestead entries," by special act
| OF Congress, as was done in the case of
the Opelousas grant. Probably no
'tring" was formed for speculating in
the Vicksburg Railroad lands and,
hence, no influence was brought to
bear to have this grant included in the
act OF fOrfeiture-it is simply sus-
pended and may yet be revived.
It appears from the report of the
State Auditor that $29s 900 in
State bonds were issued to the
Vieksbure company, in payment of
the States subscription, from Novem-
| Der ], 1854, to November l, 1861; there
| fore, as the payment by the State was
| by law required to be one-fourth OF
the total payments by all other sub
scribers, 81 ,192, 900 was obtained from
others, and the total amount, includ-
ing the States quota in bonds at par,
| realized from stock subscriptions, was
about s1,49O,oOO only. In 1867, this
company 'sexecuted mortgage in f,a-
vor OF John Ray, or bearer, of the
lands, depot grounds, right of way,
equipments and everything attached
cure the payment of 1000, ,OOO.'' Said
t'bonds were made payable twenty
years after date" September I, 1857.
s'Seven hundred and sixty-one bonds
were issued by the company" accord
ing to the statement: of VIM. III. Hunt,
Esq, in his published brief.
In 1862, about 40 miles of this road,
from DeSOtO WestWards, was submerged
several feet in depth by crevasses in
the levees of the Mississippi river.
During the process of the siege of
Vicksburg, Gen. Grant attempted but
failed to make a s'cut off, by means
of ditch or canal across the Vicks-
burg bend of the river, and the pres
cnt eastern terminus OF this railroad is
at Delta, below or west Of said canal.
Tho river has cut away the bank on
the upper side of the Vicksburg bend
to the line of the Old railroad from De-
Soto westwards, therefore, in recon-
structing the road after the war, as it
was foreseen that the river would, in
a few years, cut its own way through
the neck of the bend, it was considered
best to locate the eastern terminus of
the railroad at Delta, two and Il half
miles below DeSoto and Vicksburg.
At the end of the war the road from
DeSoto, opposite Vicksburg, to Mon
roe, was in a dilapidated condition; the
bridges had either been burned or
otherwise destroyed, or had rotted
down; the cross ties were badly dc
cayed, and unfit for use generally; the
elnbanklnents had been washed in
places by crevasse inundations; the
rails, generally, were in good condi-
tion, but some of them had been burned
and twisted, and some taken away;
the Offices, shops and buildings at both
ends of the road had been burned or
destroyed, and also the locomotives
and cars constituting its equipment.
But little was left but the roadway
grown up with weeds and briars, the
rails and fastenings, and the wrecks of
three old locomotives and some few
cars.
From the brief of VIM. II. Hunt,
for the defense, in the chancery suit Of
Henry II. Jackson ct al. VS.. the Nicks-
burg, Shreveport and Texas Railroad