The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1900-05-30
81 q YEAR,
What TerrebOnne Has Done.

y
ment Mr.. Avcry's very excellent
report on what the dredgcs ana
the canals they have dug have
done in Terrcbonne parish, this
very excellent letter on the subject
from Mr.. Louis r. Pellerin, a ma,
tive of this place, but for the past
four years a resident of Houma, is
that thing.
We give the letter:
H0uma, La, May Ord, 1900.
EDITOR SEMI.WEEKLY lBERIAN,
New Iberia, La,
DEAR SIR
1t is with pleasure, | note the
efforts Of your paper to secure for
the Parish of Iberia, a system OF
drainage.
As it may assist you i'll some
way / will mention a few facts
which have come under my per
sonal observation.
When | first came here (abOut
four years ago. near the Southern
Pacific track, between SchrleVer
and Houma, there was good deal
of uncultivatcd and swamp land.
Several days since, ! noticed this
very place was under cultivation
and will yield splendid crop, and
that the swamp is about a mile
further from the Railroad. From
Houma to Schriever along Bayou
Terrebonne was nothing but
swamps and marshes; since the
bayou has been dredged the whole
distance is planted with cane, and
is considered as fine land as any
in the parish; in fact the acreage
of this district is so great that
there is talk of erecting large re-
finery in the near future i'll about
the middle Of this section, the pre-.
sent facilities being inadequate.
On Bayous Black and Gallon the
same thing has been done. Messrs.
Bush and Maginnis have had a
dredge boat built at their own eX-
pense, and are reclaiming new
lands every year. About four
years ago where there was SIX
FEET OF WATER they are now
planting cane. They alone have
reclaimed between 800 to 1000
acres of land, which is considered
as the very richest land of this
parish. The same can be said of
the Estate of II. G.. Minor. They
have dredge boat of their own
and are reclaiming new land.
In the early part of 1899, went
hunting behind Aragon plantation,
belonging to Maginnis and lie.
Blanc. We walked in slush over
our ankles; they have dredged this
place and will next season plant |
corn there.
IL it is possible for this parish
to reclaim about % per cent Of its
arabic land, Z should think Iberia
could do as well, if not better, as
4. is higher than here. This seems
big work, but it has been done.
"a good canal from New Iberia
10 the gulf would afford splendid
facilities for canning oysters and
shrimp, as is done here during the
winter. The oyster business Is
very large giving employment to
great many men and boys, and a
good revenue to the merchants of
Houma. For about eight months
in the year, shrimp are canned.
This again has given a large reve-
nue. to the parish. Very large
shipments of shrimp are made all
over the United States, and some
have been sent to England and
Germany. OF course | cannot say /;
that a shrimp and oyster factory
could be established at home, but
feel quite confident should anyone
in such work investigate
and decide that shrimp could be
caught at a reasonable figure, ii
would prove paying investment (
and very beneficial to New Iberia. +,
Trusting your efforts are sue
,essful and wishing the SEMI
WEEKLY the success it deserves.
| am,
Yours very respectfully, is
LOUIS L. PELLERIN. n
This letter together with that f
f Mr.. SJeanmard which we publish
n this issue, show that our efforts o
0 progress are being watched with s
interest by others than our own c
itizens, and that others feel very
indy disposed toward New Ibe .