The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-01-30
Bossier Parish.

The total area OF BoSSler is ITO
miles, all of which is woodland. The
parish has Red River frontage of
65 miles on the west, and has, at
various points, width of eight or
ten miles of alluyium It is divided
into uplands and alluvial soil; the
uplands covering 553 square miles,
and the alluvial lands 220 square
miles. The upland district comprises
a great variety of soils. The red
soil is in the region of Red Land
and Rocky Mount; and the fat-lands
are southeast of Red Land and east
of Fillmore. The level or slightly
rolling lands of Bossier Point are
south of Haughton, and the 'creek
bottom" or second bottom" lands
are found on Cypress, Upper Bod
eau, Fox Skin, and Clark's Bayous,
etc. These lands are extra good
cattle ranges, and the lands are also
very productive.
Bossier parish is an exceptionally
fine agricultural country; is rich in
grazing lands, timber lands, and
minerals. The timber is mainly oak,
pine, cypress, walnut and gum. Iron
ore, of a fine grade, is found in rich
deposits in and around Rocky Mount.
As further evidence of the natu-
raj advantages of Bossier Parish, we
quote as follows from the official re-
port of Hon. Lawrence c. johnson,
Assistant Geologist Q888), to Hon.
J. w. Powell, Director United States
Geographical Survey:
within Bossier Parish high, red
lands form a crescent-shaped tract
between Collinsburg and Rocky
Mount, which ends in bluffs at its
northwestern edge along Phelps
Lake, Poston Bayou and Red River.
The sections exposed in the Gilmer
bluff, on Red River, in bluff at the
mouth of Johns Bayou, and in Mil
ler's bluff, at the mouth of Poston
Bayou, enable us to trace the stratig-
raphy of this district.
Eight miles south of Collinsburg
limestone is to be seen in Carolina
Bluff, on Red River, which is proba.
bly, of fresh water origin. This
limestone contains no fossils, but
exhibits an interesting marking by
white veins, produced by the crystal
lization of calcite in sun cracks in
the original impure deposit. Such
specimens sometimes closely resem-
bic the markings on the carapace of
turtle. This limestone will be of
special interest in the possible event
of the establishment of iron works
in Bossier parish, for which Collins
burg would be the natural center.
"The iron ore of the Gilmer Bluff
and OF similar sections along the
banks of Red River, Poston Bayou,
and Phelps Lake, is of the clay IRON
stone variety, associated with side.
rite. Ores of this class are more
abundant here than in any other
locality observed. At the outlet of
Johns Lake, farther north, the dark
sands have disappeared beneath the
surface of the river, but the ore
nodules are well developed; many of
them would weigh half a ton eact.
At the Gilmer field and elsewhere
throughout the region in which like
ores were formed the depressions
which held the ponds still exist. The
field in which this ore was found is
spot of red land three-fourths of
. mile wide; it is probably only part
Of the original site of the pond in
which the ore was deposited.
I'm the vicinity of Red Land,
which takes lis name from the char
acteristic soil, there is much compact
Iimonite, like that at Phelps Lake.
Rocky Mount dnrives its name
from the rocks Of ferruginous sand
stone which flank the redlands. This