The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1886-04-10

/ Oh cAbtIey SUablBB %AAOtSOSs SS7
sides, they have tbirty-three thor.
ough-bred and high-gFadc bulls, cost
not given;75 head Of horses, cost not
given; 100 head of sows and four
thorough bred Poland China boars,
cost not given; q number Of sheep,
cost not given; number of oxen and
wagons, cost not given; shipyard In
town, where they build barges, boats,
etc, and employ thirty men, and have
employed as high as fifty, value not
given four floating two-story board
ing houses for their dredge and farm
hands, cost not given; three steam
dredges, built by the company at
cost Of $4,000 each, and would have
cost, purchased, $4,000 each four
sets Of steam plows, cnltivators, ditch
ers and machinery, costing $4,000.
Four steamboats, (including yacht,
which cost $4,000, is a beauty and has
made II miles an honrl, costing $l5,-
900. Eleven barges, large and small,
and other auxiliary boats, worth
$4,000. Two steam pumps, designed
and built in Lake CHARLES eredita-
BILE feat-by the company, costing
$500 Tone designed By Prof. Thorn
son, discharging 500 barrels per min
ute). Steam pile-driyer, costing $1,000,
Locks, gates, sluices. etc, $4,000 80
miles Of canal, six feet deep and twen-
ty-one feet wide, at FIVE cents per cubic
yard lin round numbers), $4,000 +;
this is about so per cent. less than the
lowest price offered by contractors, to
which cost of fnel--a very considers
BILE item--must be added. Here, then,
is our expenditure Of $2T6,000, not
counting original cost Of land, nor
land in large quantity since acquired,
not estimating considerable value Of
number of items given, and necessarily
overlooking some matters, from the
incompleteness inherent in sudden
estimate Of all the costa and invest
ments in so large a scheme.
THE PAY ROLL OF THE COMPANY
is about $4,000 per month, and they
have regularly in their employ about
1870 men, almost all white, and from
the West, Europe and Louisiana, and
therefore, must contribute to the sup
port Of at least 500 people. The com
pany may now be said to have only
begun. Prof. Thomson says that he
has demonstrated the feasibility of re-
claiming the marsh and planting rice
upon it.
Upon the basis Of present plan and |
cost Of reclamation, the expense Of
draining 5000 miles of marsh would
be $F,5o0,oo0 and other work would |
amount TO enormous figures.
The plans of the company are colos'
sal and almost incredible, even as they
are, in part revealed, and there are
some features disclosed in confidence
| am pledged not to violate. How
ever, can give some Of tho most sal
lent features Of their plan. so as to
show how benifcent their work is and
will be. There are marsh reclamation
and rice planting, colonization, stock
raising in all branches, general agricul-
ture, fruit raising
1t is designed to have several fea-
lures of settlement. They will sell
outright to immigrants, if these can
command the money. They will lease
under some equitable conditions Of ul-
innate purchase. They will rent,
They win farm on shares. Their aim
is to adapt their inducements to all
desirable people. They are building
houses and cisterns for thirteen fami-
lies, in one group, who will come from
Iowa this fall BY this plan they can
save an immigrant considerablemoney.
In my next | shall take up my tripil
at this inception and continue It
through to the end Of my visit with
Prof. Knapp, the former being the
sea marsh aide Of the scheme, the lat
ter tho agricultural and stock-raising
side more strietly--the land side as il
were. NJ. B. HILLYARn.