The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-08-19
COMMUNICATED.
R0ssier Parish,

LII 1871 With two hundred and fifty
more square miles of territory if had
ont 1860. The population taken
OIL and added to Webster and Red
hlver parishes in their construction
IN 1872 can only be estimated: abnt
it could not have been less 1000
The increase then in the last ten
years has been fifty per cent, truly
good showing for comparativelv
old settled country. Chicago is said
to have derived its great prosperity
from the public spirit of its first few
inhabitants. Boosters revival is
due to the same cause. The over.
flows OF 1866 and 1877 and the bad
effect on individual fortunes caused
by the high price of cotton for sew.
cral years, followed by low prices.
reduced the parish to it's lowest
point in wealth in 1870. Hundreds
OF acres in the bottom and thou.
sands in the hills were thrown ont
OF cultivation. Laborers deserted
the parish for the cities and MANY
land owners emigrated.
But in the midst of the disasters
the project for closing Benefits bayou
was conceived by our citizens and
in the winter of 1868 and 1869 was
carried into effect by private sub.
scrlption. In 1872 the State author.
tiles were prevailed on to close Will
low Chute. Fully half the improve.
ment of the parish may be credited
to these two dams. The land own.
ers of the bottom have taken heart.
All their old cleared land is now in
cultivation, and thousands of acres
OF new cleared have been added
The fever is strong on them TO clear
every acre that is above the risk of
overflow.
Besides these there are other i'm
provements that have added greatly
to Boosters prosperity, and which
every one is not apt to see and ap.
preciate. The greatest of these is
Bodcau bridge built IN 1872 by a
private individual aided by citizens
OF Bellevue. This structure is eight
hundred yards in length, perhaps
the longest bridge in louisiana
The Police Juries have kept bridges
On every road on every stream and
bayou where at all practicable, and
they have done all that could be
reasonably expected for the roads in
parish where so much of the soil
is so bad for roads.
l must call attention to two i'm.
provements of great benefit not to
Bossier solely, but to the whole sur.
rounding country. The first is the
clearing of Red River of it's great
raft effected in 1874. From this we
may expect in few years the rccla.
nation of the whole OF Red River
bottom from Shreveport to Fulton.
The second is Judge Watkins shed
road over Red River swamp. This
will be of incalculable benefit to
Shreveport and vicinity. 1t takes
rank as one of the great inventions.
Roads are possible now across the
back swamps of the Mississippi and
its tributaries.
The Police Juries aided by many
public spirited officers and private
individuals have used every endeav-
or to lessen the parish expenses and
to clear of the debt that had become
fastened on the parish in 1868. Sue
cess has attended their endeavors
and the debt no longer exists. The
parish expenses are but eleven
thousand dollars year; not seventy
cents per head of population. Free
schools in reach of every schoolable
child have. for several years past,
been kept up for five months of the
year.
Planting in Red River bottom has