New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-06
WHERE SUGAR-CANE GROWS
A STRANGE, NEW ORDER OF THINGS ON
THE OLD PLANTATIONS.
SCENES IN FLOOD TIME. WHEN ALL We WORLD
SEEMS IN THE SEA.


SEEMS IN THE SEA.
One must not be led astray by idea that cane
sugar Is a farm product from the point OF view OK
the typical American farmer, or that the i''ouSuS
of raising 1t occupies large territory In the SOUTH
ern States Louisiana alone is interested In getting
a bounty or protection on the product ana even y"
this State the industry is principally conhhed ~
the area east Of the Bayou Teche ana south OK
Baton Rouge. The inhabitants OF this region may
be divided into three classes, the whites the me-
groes and the Acadlans the descendants OF tho
French who settled here OF their own free VIII or
were exlled by the English from Canada, Large
plantations occupy great blotches on the map anu
crowd between them the little farms OF the humoie
Acad!ans or the small holdings Of some energetic
free negroes, who proud to have got up IN
the world and are often candidates for ONCE. These
large plantations give employment to the negroes
or AcadIans but the laborers remain poor year
after year. and the profits go to a few indiVioua~
who often reside in New-Oreans or LONDON ~ ~
for reasons like these that sugar raising as II 10
done in Louisiana should hardly be considered
kindred industry by the average American farinef'
There was a time when nearly every sugar planta-
ton was the residence of Southern grandee, anu
the money he made spent In his surroundihss'
In making the negroes comfortable ana educauis
his heirs But the plantation Of to-day Is generaiy
an incorporated enterprise with NONRESIDENT s'oeA
ownerg With an eve TO business, they nave ie.
the Old mansion houses 90 10 ruin, unless CHOSEN
for occupation and kept up by the superlh'ehuen''
who. though a pretentious poteniate' lacks INC
polish Of the original owner. The representatives, ol
bondholders and trusts little for the beautiiui'
and nagnincently laid out grounds are sacriheed'
and long avenues of live oaks cut down 10 RAISE
a crop off the space they had occupied; ana cane "
planted up almost the very steps OF a me 0io
mansion.
Not long ago the writer so;ourned IN the sugar
country The darles were singing as in days OF
III .bara no
panses Of green cane fields cut by riffs OF long,
straight bitches and dotted here and there with
groves and houses. But all that was lett OF the
! first plantation mansion visited when IN the DAYS
of its prime was the scene of many reveiry' were
rows OF Cornhian columns that nclosed ike shos.-
10 sentnels a pile Of debris within. Another, though
| deserted also was not quite 50 bad. There were
wave marks OF the last flood on the waits ana
| manteplece and the roof let in the sunshine ana
| the rain a third perhaps still worse. III was
| a tenement-house, and rooms that had once oeen
sacred 10 "massa" or "mlssis" were full OF Italian
| aborers one could recognize the frescoes on the
higher parts of the walls, where they had not peen
obliterated by filth. but could not avoid pang OF
regret that the family coat-of-arms In me centre
of the mantle and the bust OF Shakespeare over the
| door should have to face the present occupants.
The fourth house visited was the residence OF tho
superintendent for of the surrounding panta-
| tlons He was freshman. full OF the importahcs
of the vast interests he handled Perhaps realizing
that he was under roof once sacred TO hospita"y'
| he treated the visitor well. True. under MS mah-
agement things looked much better from Duslless
! point OF view He praised ms Eyetsnahs anu anu
isban Hf an agent down in New-Orleans would
| not be exactng in his accounts ne taihs N
| about boilers, and vacuum pans ana moasses ca
| capes and triple effects. and cenrifugals. ana
| steamboats, and crushers. all Of which are eJ ,
part OF closely connected ~tn every sugar Pla,aa
ton but If he had not mentioned leFHlners o andd
seedcane, unInf2rmed on the subject wpua
have supposed Pats business was soe Nc
called agricultural pursuit linen ne ~ his
visitor over Inc sugar fr we're at work
repairing the boilers ana machinery prepahhng s 9
| ALWAYS a surprise 10 stranger 10 the industry.
| II is a much larger plant than the average sawniit
crush the Juice out of the and prepare " Ior
| the market in the. form Of molasses or sugar why
rehanded and perhaps aduterated, the trusts alone
can tell; but 1t is fact that barrel with plah,a-
the country Is very nat and intersected al over
with Of backwater streams esea r Dayou h
| Father OF Waters steal noiseessly back and forth
them out very deep but not wide on account OF
the tenacious banks formed by the rank vssetson
With which they are generally bordered. They are
| navigable waterways for craft that are not 100
| broad in the beam one will not travel far before
the bushes and weeds viii see a narrow lagoon .as
3 Sst JerR WadS Pssr a. Depth
entity perhaps throbbing noise will be heard, and
way between the palisades Of sypressi
| and arching water-oah over on the Mssissipp'
side of the SunTy hs TSf rs nfRs by y
ones OF a better nature which the planters Put up
projection Often the river is higher than the sur.
rounding country, and one sees pairs OF steamnoat
stacks moving noselessly aiohs dpo'e 'ne VeS-
'oif IN one instance. midway between the coast ana
! the river the evee broke. and some of the inhab-
i:ants knew nothing about i at the u h,nsor Tns
the trunks Of the cypress trees TIDE
from the ocean rushed back and et II DOWN again.
| The bitches filed with water coming noise
\ iess direction y
| drop of rain had fallen for some days but the
were under water and the fences hoated away, and
in the morning the people went around the down,
Soss M Rs5' S' liable nauiss Kept
the Enfr S Wssi w ear
nelghbors and all rush to the front forgetting AMI
and night in their Efforts to hem the rising food
| OF the mighty river Many are the feuds that are
healed during the anxiety OF night on danger
who 1--we regions high and dry can =
ready to be swung by ropes to the upper balcony
orally is TOO The Ds books in the library
second story or ns s, and he uphose
furniture. The negroes have their own effects ,s 70
most highly. The stable boss Of course; .
S WtS the isa lantern amt and turn the
they swim II they have TO- Ine doors OF sss
hGqfS haf ns 1s
| articles on the lawn in danger while awaiting
| elevation to the balcony Later on, as the watsr
deepens the downstairs shutters closed TO Keep
| drilling matter from breaking the glass; and II ~
| now SO high that the things are removed from the
! INNER drawers and shelves by boat. those lower
down having been attended to first. and the stair
| case is used for landing Last OF ALL the lamps
| are taken out of the chandeliers and handed up,
and the lower part OF the house In left in dampness
| and darkness Morning comes and all Is water.
| A Steamboat pushes In through the floating fences.
that beginning 70 wind or Ike huge sea ser
| things happen before the Hood goes down. which u
finally does leaving dead cattle boats barrels. and
All kinds OF odd things the branches Of the trees
| along the avenue. Then comes the cleaning w ot
| the house and moving down again. II Is surprising
| how much sediment will settle on everything 4
few minnow fish are dead In the mud on the hearth,
| the the floor. But the damage 70 the house