Claiborne guardian. [volume] (Homer, La.) 1877-188?, 1881-06-01
THE PARISH OF WEBSTER.
Its Boundaries, Soil, Popula-
ton and Products.
A Description of the Water COurs.
es-Character, Value and Pro.
ducti0ns Of the Lands.
How the Population h Composed-A
Short sketch OF Minden-Some
Local Characteristirs-A
Fine Field for Immi.
grants.

Neoster parish, so called Tor the
grea; Massachusetts orator and
statesman, lies in the extreme
northern tier Of parishes in Louisi.
ana, aud is bounded on the north
by Arkansas, on the south by Bien.
vile, east by Claiborne and Bien.
vile, and west by Bossier.
This parish was created by act of
the Legislature in 1871, from terri.
tory taken from the parishes of & lai-
borne, Bossler and Bieaville. 1t is
very long and narrow--its greatest
length being, perhaps, seventy
miles, its width being nowhere
greater than twenty five miles, aud
in some places less than twenty.
Webster parish has an area of
more than 600 square miles, there
being seventeen or rather part OF
nineteen townships included within
its limits. Lake Bisteneau, q large
body of water in the southern part
of the parish, is nearly the size OF
one township. This lake. with ba.
you Dorchete and other streams,
includes 1T least one fifteenth of
the whole area of the parish.
WATER COURSES.
Wafer courses are perhaps more
numerous than in any other one of
the parishes of North Louisiana ex.
ccpt Bossier. Bayou Dorchete,
which rises in the State of Arkan.
sas, about seventy.five miles north
of its southern line, flows through
the parish from north to south, and
empties into lake Bsteneau, twelve
miles below Minden, the principal
town in the parish. Bodcan, anoth
er stream which heads in Arkansas
very near the source OF the DOrchete
runs parallel with it for long dis.
tauce, and iii Louisiana divides
Webster and Bossier for ten miles
or more, when it flows of to the right
through Bossier parish. East of
the Dorchete we find Indian creek,
Big bayou and Flat Lick, all large,
bold streams, passing through very
productive lands. Numerous smaller
streams, branches and creeks flow
through all portions Of the parish.
Many of them, however, it should
be said, dry up in the summer. None
Of these streams are navigable ex.
cept the Dorchete, and lake Bisten.
eau, aud these only through the |
winter and spring. Occasionally, |
however, when the summer has
been very wet navigation begins in |
the fall. Steamers run up Red !
river, turn of into Loggy bayou,
which is the outlet for Lake Bisteu.
eau, thence through the lake into
Dorchete and as high up as Minden.
the bayou having been cleaned out
no farther. 1t is doubtful if nav iga.
ton could be procured much higher
up, as the Dorchete, a short distance
above the head of navigation, loses
is characteristics as continuous
bayou and is found to be q chain of
axes varying in size, connected by
small shallow streamlets. Lake
Bisteueau dries up i'll the summer,
% a great extent, leaving hundreds
If acres covered with a fine growth
If grass very valuable as II pastur-
,ge tor the cattle of the neighbor-
ng farmers.
CHARACTER OF THE LANDS.
The lands in Webster parish, as
\ general thing, are very produc.
i've when we'll cultivated, yielding
IN ample return 10 the industrious
'armer. The Dorchete divides the
bill lands from the fats Of various
sinds-bog- wallow, pine and post
,ak. On the west side of the bayou
here are no hills worthy of notice,