St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1880-08-28

aa~.ufaoes of the Parisls-Rts Water
r,.rses and Navigable ssreams-Rail-
-..d EaciIities-Pure Climate and I'm
.crt;ouabIe Healtk-Vast and Rich
Dr.iries-Fine Timber-Abundance of
s..me-Population, extent, &C., &c.
gouNDARIES, AREA, AND MEANS OF
TRANSPORTATION.
Tn view of the fact that but little
is known of this section OF Loulsl-
ana. we purpose to lay before our
readers and the general public as
nrecise description Of our parish
and as complete a history Of it as
our own personal knowledge will
afford.
The parish of st. Landry is next
to the largest one in the State. 1t
is bounded on the north by the par
ishes of Rapides and Avoyelles, on
the east by the last named parish
and the Atchafalaya river, on the
south by bayou Turtle Tail (Which
SEPARATES it from the parishes Of
I,afayette, st. Martin and Vermil-
lionl and the bayou Carancro, and
an the west by the Mermentau river
and bayou Nez Pique. These limits
embrace about sixty-five townships
.--eaual to one million four hundred
and fre thousand acres Il 400 300.
n will be seen that the parish is
mostly surrounded by water, giving
II somewhat the character of an
island. This fact will undoubtedly
have great weight with men Of prac-
ticaI sense, especially the farmer and
stock-raiser, with whom water is OF
nrime importance. Besides it's value
for the purposes of stoc5-raising,
there is the greater one, if possible,
Of affording the means of transpor-
tation. On the east are the bayou
Coutableau and the Atchafalaya
river, connecting with the Missis-
sippi river and thence to New Or
leans; and ON the west the Mermen-
tau river opens to us the ports OF
Galveston and New Orleans, ria the
Gulf of Mexico. With the compile
ton of the Morgan line of railroad
to Opelousas, % direct communica-
ton will be established to New Or
leans. This important work will be
accomplished in a very short time,
as working parties are now almost
within sight of Opelousas. Aud not
only will a direct line be, opened to
New Orleans, but one, also, yia the
Louisiana Western Railroad, at the
town of Vermilionville, to Lake
Charles, in Calcasieu parish, and
thence to Houston and other points
in Texas. The Morgan line, which
is to extend to Alexandra, will
bring us in direct communication
with the great Red River valley. y
DIVERSITY OF NATURAL WEALTH
= Perhaps no inland parish is more
bountifnlIy provided with the means
and facilities required by the farmer,
stock-raiser, mechanic, and laborer
than the parish ofSt. Landry-When
its area and the diversity of it's natu-
raj wealth are taken into coDsidera-
ton. Our sister parishes of Lafa.
.yettc, Vermillion, st. Martin, Ibe-
ria, Calcasieu, Cameron and st. Ma.
ry possess as rich a soil, and have
also great advantages for transpor.
tation; but the quantity OF land
within their borders subject to over-
flow, and embraced within the lin.
its OF the sea marsh and lakes, com.
prises the largest portion of their
area, leaving comparatively a small
portion for cultivation.
The diversity which our parish
spresents-from the hill to the gently
tlndnlating prairie, from the dense
forest to the grand natural meadow
gives full scopefor the many tastes
and pursuits OF man. There are 10
calities, too, where the scenery is
both pleasing and picturesque, and
where the tired denizen of the city
may find rest and peace, and even
solitude, should they desire it,
Within the limits thus imperfectly
described there is room for thou,
sands of families, possessing intelli
gence and versed in all the later i'm.
!, provements in agriculture, endowed
with high purposes of progress, and
who desire to elevate theiroWll con,
edition by well-directed and skHlfhl
farming operations. We will vel
ec0me all such with open arms.
THE NORTHWESTERN SECTION.
The northwestern section of our
parish is bounded by the bayouN ez
Piqu6 on the west, the bayou Croco-
ollie on the north and east, and the
bayou Cane on the southland south
west. The area enbraN within
this circle amounts to nearly s., 600
acres of land.
This portion of our parish presents
d formation somewhat dif1erentfron
tho other parts, inasmueh as we arc
inthe Hill country. These elevations
are the southwestern termination OF
the same hills which extend through
northern and middle Mississippi,
aid are offshoots from the Appala-
chan range OF mountains which
form the eastern boundary OF the
great basin of the Mississippi river.
Within this region we have an exi