The age-herald., 1902-01-28
Little City Located in Heart of
 Rich Section
HAS ROMANTIC HISTORY
De Soto Passed Over the Sit of De. mopolls and Fought s Battle Near There-SettIed By
 Napoleon's Subjects.
BY HOMER GEORGE.

OeHiopoiisf JaIuaFy zs-NCpeCldlJ - II location Is worth anything to a town Demopolis in the very beginning is rich. It is only about 240 miles from the gulf coast at Mobile and is virtually at the junction of the Black Warrior and Tom bigbee rivers. all of which flow into the Alabama river
 Thus, to set out with, the town pos sesses rare advantage. The water fa- cilities have done much for the town and steamers ply regularly between here and Mobile. They make low freight rate, make easy access to gulf ports and make a short. cheap route to the Tuscaloosa coal mines and iron fur races.
 Added to these advantages is the fact that Demopolis is situated in very fine agricultural district. It is in the heart of a cotton field; it is near the center of the cane-brake country, and 1t is where liv- ing is not expensive. Then if has lum- Der interests which are extensive, and a limestone layer which gives fine cement with little labor.
 The extent of the cotton fields is shown by the fact of its local receipts be- ing about 5S.000 bales annually. Except 10000 bales, which were brought in on wagons, nearly all or lnlS WdS Snfppeu by the river at a minimum cost. Large crops of corn and other agricultural prod ucts are also raised.
 History of Town.
 For another proof of the attractiveness of the situation one only has to glance at the history of Demopolis. It is full of romance and dates far back into the last century.
 Few places in the south have a more distinguished history Its eligibility as site for a town is said to have been mo- ticed by the great Spanish explorer, Her nando DeSoto. who, in 1540. fought the battle of Maubelia on the north bank of the Alabama river, not far from this point, where he met the mighty chief, Tuscaloosa and slew 600o of his braves. It is highly probable that DeSoto passed over the site of Demopois. and If so he could hardly fail to have been struck by its manifold advantages, and by the beauty of the white bluffs, afterwards titled the "Choctaw Gallery" Upon the commanding summit of these bluffs has since been built a college which looks down on the picturesque lines of the Tcmbigbee4
 Whether the celebrated discoverer of the Mississippi river came here or not. two and half centuries later some of
 
 guise of immigrants and took possession with a display of ignorance of .the skill necessary to subjugate this kind of ter ritory. The details of this bloodless but blood-stirrng invasion furnish material | for a historical romance, which would re- quire but a Hugo or Scott to thrill gen | erations to come with It's magical appeal to the human appreciation of the incred- ible. These details bring us face to face | Ixzyith of ecfa to and lineage who figured prominently with Bonaparte in his military and imperial conquests, ascendency, subsequent down. ] fall. and inglorious if not ignominious l exile.
 1 Frenchmen Had Grant.
 When Napoleon was sent to St. Helena many of his followers came to America. 1 Many went to Philadelphia and others elsewhere. But those who founded Dem opolis were in the aforementioned crowd. l They formed a society and asked the 1 government for aid. To one division of the society township was allotted on fourteen years credit at g per acre. Three other divisions were given equal alott- 1 ments. A
 Three hundred and forty of the allot- 1 tees decided to settle at the confluence of the Tom Bigbee and Warrior rivers. With
 that object in view they set sail in a I reached in May of ISIS. After a narrow escape from a shipwreck and several days delay at Mobile the party moved
 up the river on a barge furnished by Adkin Lewis. collector of the port
 When the White Bluffs were reached the leaders determined to settle near their attractive whiteness. They began
 work, but time and again were driven | into the forests because of confusion of grants made by the Philadelphia Vine | and Olive Company. A town was made, however and upon the suggestion of Count Reel of Philadelphia, was called | Demopolis-city of the people. This proved not to be in the grant, but was bought by an American company later. l During all of this time many encoun- | ters were had with Indians. So many | whites were killed by the redmen that the white bluffs were called the "Choc- | Jaw Gallery from the fact that behind those bluffs the Indians would hide to better attack the boats bringing new set l tiers.
 Builders Did We'll. | With all of its romantic history Demop- | oils stands as if strictly new in its build. It has symmetry. It Is admirably laid out It is attractively kept. Everything was done on a square. Streets and av- enues run at right angles and are all | named. It is also nearly level, and is kept clean.
 | It Is delightful for residences It now
 has many handsome homes and has con- | ditions favorable to the erection of others. | In the central portion of the placeIis pretty square park which is garden with
 a fountain in it's center The sidewalks are
 nearly all well made of brick or stone. The climate is also desirable. being at all l times mild.
 The city water works system cost about $25,O00 and is one of the best-planned seen anywhere in the south. Other city