The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1888-10-20

IN ORDER, however, 10 properly 10"
dStaiAqd and appreciate the .dificulties
attesaiLn9sihe origin Of that road. 1t
will W. beeesaaTy to revert 10 the con-
tll,loo .of the country between the
Misalslppi aud Red rivers when sthe
idea was 'ffrst attempted to be put into
practlcal eRect, more than nifty years
ago. .....ysa III - . .-.... sn;I y 7 {
1hg Afst charter for u. rsilroadi from
the TtSslss!pPi to Red river {styied fine
Lake Providence & Red RiveE. r. n.
was9passed by the Legislature a0n the
9th Of March, 1886. This road was "a
coInnencs on Abe Mississippi river
near the town of Pr0videDce,i and 10
terminSss On the Red river ~ a point
between the great raft and ibetown Of
Natchitoches. EAt;that time the parish
Of Catldo had not been Incorporates
;. Il VISA not INCORPORATED until the 18th
q Jsnssasy,l 1885, The country, COM
aprislng the present parishes Of Caddo
aud Bossler, was then bowling
wilderness, containing only a spare
settlement mostly along the banks Of
the Red river. The town of Shreye-
port WAS but just struggling into exiS.
tenee and had not yet been named.
The parish os, Carroll was created on
the IAth of March, 1882, with Provfs
deuee ~ ito county seat; and ii, TOO,
wal very thihly populated except ON
the Mississippi river. ,..-,...'e-ts4
This f1sst charter was obtained by
Oliver J..NIorgan, then 4 Representa-
tive Ia the Legislature from the, par
sish OF Onschtta. John L. Lewis, also
- resilient of the parish of Ouachitp,
: wssAs State, Senator from The Ouachita
s1lisislct.s Nothing ever came of this
charter /; nothing was done under Il !;
ID REORGANIZATION, in fact, was effected
.unGler It |: but il was the first attempt
In the direction OF buildtng'a railroad
Sirom the Mississippi river above tho
mouth OF Red river to the. Red river
abovei Natchitochcs. This road, had II
bseu constructed, would have passed
ihsoneh Monroe on the Ouachita river,
as That town lies op the line line n, was to 2
} fnn. lI9 9l}cttT ;iYI8 THAI.lI. I
!, 1.-The time this charter was obtained
there were only two parishes organized
tmmedIatelys west OF the Mississippi
and Carroll. The
c6uptry,i now; embraced within the
pstishes Of, Madison, and RlchlanEl,
iWAs ll.en9,a wilderness aboundines In
extensivg cane-breaks aud bayoue,s r
nninhabtted except on the mississippi,
and but very sparsely even there. The
frat project, therefore, Of ~ railroad
lrom the MisslAsippl 10 the oRed river
Yves not to commence fxom "a point ioP.
poslte Vicksburg. In fact, tVtcksbufg
was ., small town ii 1886, and It's char
acter tor turbulence was well known
and had been OF the worst kind. 1t
was considered, the rendezvous of the
lawless elements Of the country, and II
had become by-word ofirepr0ach and
stigma upon the civilization of tho
,Sonth. Between tho Ouachlta river
and VicksborG, at this time, there was
no comnunlcation by. any direct route.
Most travellers went from Monroe TO
Providence; thence down the Mfssts-
sippi river 10 Vicksburg. ,,.,-,,.-E
In 1886 or 1887, am not now posi-
tive which, the citizens of Monroe be-
Ing desirous Of having a road cut out
and put In order for horseback trayel
between Monroe aud Vicksburg, etu-
ptoyed three of the best woods-mcn IN
me country to explore and mark out
such d road between those points. The
!. men employed were: Peter j.. Oliver,
James Fl. Stevens and DR.. Hubbard.
They had been iand-hunters by profess
sion, aud were selected on account OF
their supposed knowledge OF the coun-
try, and were given 81 900 for their
services. "lnlf 'n' ~ q.
=. They set out in the fall of the yeaf
on their exploration, and, after crossing
Bout river, now In Richland parish,
they became SO embarrassed in the
thick cane-breaks and swamps between
Bout river and Bayou Macon, that
they got lost, and were some ten days
before finding themselves-in 1,rnirie
Jefferson, a distant settlement, entirely
0 out OF their right course. The writer
often heard them relate their expert
enes, In this portions situation, wander.
Ing aimlessly for 30 many days through
these almost impenetrables forests OF
cane, and subsisting alone on the meat
OF the alligator and Wild cat.
These same men, the following year
I think, tried this expedition again,
and With the help OF a compass, l.
which they took care 10 provide them
selves with on this occasion, succeed
ed In marking out the road from
Monroe to Vieksburg!f = sEul
!. The present Vicksburg, Shreveport,
aud Pacific r. r. runs nearly on the
line surveyed by these men, and which
was the only foot or horseback road
ever established between Monroe and