Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1888-08-17
PETITE ANSE ISLE.
And Its Famous Salt Mlnr

Apparently without cause there rises
! out of the marsh-lsnds bordering the gulf
of Mexico west of the Mississippi river,
cluster of hills, forming what is known "a
Petite Anse isle. It is the onl3 high land
TO he found in the southern part OF
Louisiana, and it will always remain
wonder that such an elevation should ap-
pear In so unexpected place. To realize
that 1t Is an island is hard until one tries
TO approach 1t, and then, especially if the
wind Ia IN the rlSht direction 70 flood the
marshes with gulf water, you will think il
the lslandest island you ever saw. There
Is but oue way of reaching it, and that is
by dislocated plank road. sone parts OF
which are buried in mud, while in places
Flanks iinger patiently about fluctusting
with the tide. 1t is an exceedingly
pleasant sensation which one experiences
when the "Digh" horse all but disappears
IN some unforeseen alligator "wallow,"
specially as the road Is narrow and
| deep canal fanking either side waits to
receive those unable to keep the straight
and narrow way.
Not content with the absurdity Of its
| location, Petite Anse is wonderful in its
| composition. Dig down anywhere 81 or
80 feet and you will strike white salt,
| 99l5 per cent. pure, the purest found on
| the face of the globe. Dig down 200
feet and you will find salt, aud when you
| have dug thus far you will know AZ much
| about the extent of this big salt rock AS
any one. Possibly it extends 200 feet
| deeper, but no one knows. Twenty five
| years ago Dea Keller, rs honest an old
darky as ever served a master faithfully,
was sent down into an old well to. Glenn
in ~ 10,
| against n rock which proved to be salt.
| Today the Avery brothers, owners of
! Petite Anse island, receive royalty of
from $50 to 500 day from the New
| Iberia salt mine company, and Dea kel
| Ter is "At yo services, sab, Is a po' ole
| man, but I'm trabbling de road ter Zion
mighty libely."
The main shaft of the mine is 100 feet
| deep, radiatIng from which are several
Immense caverns varying in height from
10 TO 60 feet, grottoes with solid salt roof
and walls. Do not expect the walls to
sparkle. The miners lamps have smoked
| until a scurf has formed which shuts in
the glitteriug salt. Only where blast
| has been made recently does it look pure.
1t IS a mine that can be visited in worry
short ii Ae satisfactorily, there being
| little variety to the salt and nothing To
| watch but the miners working with drill,
! pick by the light of the little lamps they
| wear in their caps, or the lights which
| twinkle in the distance or go fitting by
in a spectral manner. Although the
guide assures you that the roof is sntlici-
emily thick to prevent its caving, and that
even should it fall, you would be we'll
preserved, it seems good to be shot up
the shaft in the elevator TO the pure, dry
air. cOnglOmeratiOn of buildings of
well assorted sizes and shapes, most OF
them filed with an endless variety OF
wheel and chains and belts and pulleIa,
constitutes the mills. The salt is frat
hoisted to the top of high tower, from
whence it goes down tn rough series OF
crushers and sifters, finally 20 be bagged
up on the main floor and loaded into the
cars. Buildings aud wOrkmen are well
seasoned, clouds of fine salt filling the
air and giving everything hoary ap-
pearance; and even outside the mill
clouds of salt fill the air, killing or stunt
ing vegetation in the immediate neigh.
borhood.
From one OF the hill-tops you can look
down over thousands of acres OF brown
marsh, dotted here and there by n lake, or
cut by bayOu winding It's way 20 the
gulf like a huge serpent, or relieved by
an island of green trees. Beyond the
marsh is the gulf, barely discerDible, so
evenly is it matched with the light blue
sky. The guide will point out spot on
the horizon where there used to be island
which disappeared one day during
storm. Another hilltop prevents him
from pointing out Last island, which the
gulf once swept over during a heavy
storm and robbed of 100 panic stricken
pleasure seekers. IL is upon this we'll
shaded hilltop that the Avery mansion
stands in all its glory. Ten miles away,
in New Iberia, lives, in humble cottage,
honest Dea Keller, aud God only, who
makes the islands appear and disappear,
knows which dwelling shelters the hap
pier family. A.M.H.