The Opelousas courier., 1894-04-28
Midland Branch Railroad.

Railroad Co.:
A great deal has been said and writ
ten about Southwest Louisiana in gem
eral, and many localities have had par
ticular attention bestowed upon them,
but up to the present time, with all OF
the descriptions, and many good things
that have been said of the State, and
the Southwestern portion in particularly,
one of the most beautiful and most pro-
ductive sections of the entire Stste has
received little or no attention. We re-
fer to the western portion OF Acadia
parish, or those lands lying on either
side of the midland Branch Railroad.'
This line Of road is a feeder to the
Southern Pacific Railroad and branches
off from the main line at a point just
one hundred and s~eventy-four miles
west Of New Orleans, and eight miles
west Of Crowley, the county seat of
Acadia parish. Running north from
crosses the Plaquemine river on what
is, at the present time, one of the longest
wooden bridges on the line of the
Southern Pacific Railroad between New
Orleans and San Francisco, being 1900
feet long. From the timber bordering
this stream the road energies into a
beautiful prairie known as "Prairie
Hayes" which extends in a northeast
erly direction as far as the eye can
reach.
As the train energies from this timber
it is a pleasing sight that meets the
travellers eye. On the right of the road
stretches this beautiful undulating prai-
RE. dotted here and there by the homes
of the prosperous settlers, and as we
look at the evidences of prosperity on
every hand, as is shown by the rapid
improvements these people have made
during their stay here, we have an in
dex to the possibilities Of this prairie.
On the left or west OF the line, Il dis
lance of from two to four miles, run
the river DesCannes Cor bayou, as CON-
monty called). This stream has a mag
n~ificent belt of timber running lts entire
length on both sides, which is from one
forms a beautiful and fitting back
chanting. Among the timbers To be
oak, ash, hickory, gum, cypress and
pine ; we mention these as being tim
Der oEthe most commercial importance.
At almost every point along this tim
Der is offered excelleltt opportunities
for establishing sawmills for working
up these timbers into wagons. pillow
beams, harrows, harvester frames, and
in fact any kind Of commercial commo-
dity that requires timber of the best
quality. After thoroughly examining
this timber, and testing its quality for
manufacturing purpose and commercial
use, one wonders why it is that the
southern wagon-maker sends to Michi~
gan and Ohio and gets his wagon tim
Der sawed out, and shipped a distance
OF 1900 miles, to be set up into wagons,
and sold, possibly, to the same party
who owns hundreds Of acres of timber
equally as go5d as any that ever grew
in the North. Whoever can answer the
question will probably have solved the
problem OF why the South raises the
cotton for the United States, and sends
to Massachusetts for it's cotton fabrics,
when they should be made ut home.
The Midland Branch runs a distance
of eighteen miles across this Prairie
Hayes country, where nature has been
so generous in the bestoWal of her gifts,
in the way Of healthy climate, beautiful
scenery, and fertility of soil. The soil
of this prairie is a rich dark loan, I'M
derlaid With a heavy clay snbsoil, which
prevents any fertilizer applied from
seeping through. It is entirely free
from stone, easily broken up and Guilt
vated-one span OF mules, oxen or hor-
ses being all that is necessary to break
the soil. These prairies are generally
broken up in January and February,
and In excellent crop raised the first
season, either of sugar-cane, rice, cot
ton, corn, oats, sweet and Irish pota-
toes and all kinds of vegetables.
At q distance of eighteen miles from
the crossing of the Plaquemine river,
the Midland Road again strikes the tim
Der, this time on the bayou Mallet.
This stream is a branch of the Des-
Cannes river and like the DesCannes, it
has along it's borders an abundant sup
crossing Of the railroad is about three
beauties meet the eye, and the al
ready enthusiastic p%rospector, as he
looks back at the magnificent forests,
Gods first temples" still untouched
BY the hand of man, and then looks at
this billowy, rolling prairie; covered
with it's sea of grasses, the monotony in
color of which is relieved by the many
different colored flowers that are SO
avishly scattered over the prairie, while |
le is. being famed by the balmy Zepbyrs
rom the Gulf of Mexico, and inhaling |
he perfumes Of the flowers from wood
Ind prairie which are being waited to
lin like the breeze from some far-off
island.
A feeling of satisfaction comes over
lin as he exclaims, Eureka ~ Here
. the place for an ideal homei Here is
he place where we a escape the
'lighting frosts Of a long and dreary
and which is a stranger to the
cyclone. Possessing as it does,
Ill the natural beauties to satisfy any
,Oet or artist, yet it is no dreamer's
country already the hum of industry
an be heard in the land ; already the
Yankee and the industrious
md thrifty German are here, and these
which are now covered by a
uxuriant growth of native grasses and
will soon be transformed into
lelds Of sugar-cane and ripening grain.
The thick underground along these
belts will soon give place to or
hards OF peaches, pears, oranges and
lgs /; these prairies, that for the past
gee have known no other melody than
hat Of the lark or mockiDg bird, will
Don be pierced by the steam whistle OF
be midland Branch" and the hum of
be busy sawmill as it provides lumber
or the buildings sure to be needed in
bis section in the zeal future. This
rairie is known as Prairie Faquetai-
ne, an Indian name given to it many
ears ago. Although twenty-five miles
any market, with no shipping ia
ilities whatever, this section is quite
settled by people who could not
esist it's beauty when once seen. Some
IN or twelve years ago quite a number
I Germans located in this favored
All of them are prosperous,
nd many of them have become
The natives Of this section
a generous, hospitable, pastoral peo-