The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-04-07
A Gigantic Land Scheme-Reclaiming
the Florida Everglades. ID e'17s

G1ganuc Lana MISUNDERSTANDING
the Florida Everglades. d ~''2'
t9e94 10 Sdta ~ All .bi3nsu09Bs,
AN. immense. transaction, involving
the reclamation of $4,000, 900 acres Of
land, saysidhe Philadelphia Press has
been undertaken by q company of Phil;
adelphia gentlemen, with every prospect
ofsuccess.g About one third of fheState
of Florida F,ise a. huge. swamp, termed
s'the EyergIades''4a dark, impenetrall
bic, unkhown Eregiono ini Noiwhi6e man
has ever fully explored it, and all that is
known OF it is--a great swamp, with a
number Of lakes, and here land Gthere
islands, upon which roam ferecious wild
beasts. 1t is par excellence" the home
ofthe crocodile, and a place of wonders
fully luyuriant vegetation. On the out
skirts few miserable human beings4a
mongrel race of white, Indian and 1legrd
blood-managel to exist ina stateef bar
barisn1. The project of reelaiming this
wonderfully rich country has been talked
of for years, and it has long been con-
sidered feasible by many noted engi-
neers. Some time isine6lthe State of
Florida made a move in the matter.
which is likelyTto cailminate in the re-
clamation of the immense ibodylGf: land
which has Jain under water for. thpu-
sands Of years. Under a contract. with
the State of Florida q Philadelphiia. COM ON
pany is. about, undertaking this grehhtt
scheme. The leading men in the en-.
terpise are Hamilton Disston & Sons.
AssociatedIwith them are x-Sheriff
VIM. II. Wright, VIC Parsons, Whit
man H.. Drake, A. B. Linderman, all of
this city, ii. Coryell, of T1orida, and
others. Under the agreement already
made with the State, the. Company are
required to begin surveys within sixty
days, and within six months Ito. .uutris
force equal to 100 men nthe work and
continue as iexpeditiously as possible nn-,
til it is eompfetedr It is proposed to
drain the land BY, q canal. from Lake
Okeechobee to, the Ualoosakachee River.,
which empties into the Gulf III Mexico.
Another canal may also be constructed
to the East, tapping the St! L,leie River,
which flows into ithe Atlantic Z hesel
canals will entirely drain the ,swamp,
and from o,009 900 to 12,QeO, ,000 acres
of the richest land, in the, world will be
reclaimed. The, company VIII re-
ceive. for the work one half Of the
land recovered, and 1t aiSaeSpeeted
that this viii largely repay all expendi-
ture. Of 'moneyIthat may cbeI made in the,
work r. "A leading II Louisiana, planter
was shownnIaE sample q Of .sHgarocane;
raised on, the plants on the swamp, and
he, at, once said !, that the land which
would produce such a trich specitfIen
was worth $3.50 per acre, and 4 IS said
the land will produce twice the amount
of sugar that can be raised in Louisiana.
The entire property Of the company is
below the, fr0st-line, and there, would ba
no such damage done orange plantations
as. those, in: Northern Florida have isa,lf.
fered this winter. Every prodttction OF
the tropics can be raised on this land Z
indigo, sugar-cane, oranges, lemens,c
coffee, jute,l etc! q The latter, which has
become a most valuable article in NAM
ufactures, grows wild, and can be pro-
duced in large quantities at, little ,ex-
pense, = A. number of Irish manufacture
ers who, use large quantities Of inte
have already applied for stock inl'th
company, and willoaid it ifnancially.
The company will organize atfonce, with
Hamilton Disston as President. 1t is
proposed toissue 1000, 900 shares of stock
at $40 par value, Each share will, carry
with it the right to an acre Of land. The
stock will be put on the Philadelphia
Stock Exchange, and, it is expected,
will be sold readiiy-.iA number fof ap-
for stock have already been J
made by prominent gentlemen in the
city. 59T The, proceeds OF sc, 900, Shares,
will be used as, the, working capital. It.
is not known how long. it win take To To,
fully develop this nstipendois scheme,d Z
but the gentlemen who have undertaken |
it will pushi it to compilations as soon saSt
possible. George McG Gowen and 'Thos. 4
j. Barger, well-knownx.g gentlemen of
this city, will leave forHan extended trip
southward- on next Taesdays D They vail
ITO, Tallahassee, Ella, where they. will
look into the title of the State Of Florida.
to the Everglades, on behalf of the CON-
pany mentioned above. y They expect to
return to Philadelphia by May 4, but
prior to- that time the preliminaries. to
The Everglade scheme win 9beH patshed
by the Interested parties in this
city. e6j g91Ea T9TeH ,g3z9BodI