The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1914-04-09

and without seeing each other, they be-
came engaged. A minister Tor the mayor)
was sent for, and they were made one.
The Commercial Hotel, kept by Col.
W. T. j. Aston, was on Milan Street, the
site of the present Hotel Caddo.
j. S. Alwine's Hotel was about the pres
ent site of the Carter Allen Drug Store.
Later, he leased the City Hotel, and in
1858 he leased the Rainey- Barlow House,
on Market and Travis Streets, where he
remained in business until the Confederate
War. The main part of this old landmark,
perhaps the oldest, is still doing service,
and is now known as the Allen Infirmary.
The Boazman House was situated on
on the east side of Spring Street, between
Travis and Fannin.
About this time the main streets were
graded. There was ''hog- back" in Texas
Street, from Market to Spring. This left
the buildings sin the air. from six to ten
feet.
One of the amusements was the auctions
held every few evenings. A. L. Heine,
auctioneer, occupied the west lower floor
of the two-story brick building recently
torn down to make room for the CONNER
cial National Bank building. He was pop
ular, good salesman and rapid fire
talker. The second story was occupied by
the Gazette during 1866, and in this room,
in 1859, | published the Commercial News.
But it flourished only about six months.
The Parish Jail was a two story brick
ON the northeast corner of Milan and Ed
wards Streets. Here were hanged two
negroes, aud they were buried in the north
east corner of the Jail yard. One of the
negroes had killed his overseer. The other
had burned his masters gin. Arson was
capital offence, if committed by negro.
| witnessed his trial before Justice Jonas
Robinson, and a jury of six slave holders.
| One of our duties was to get late New
Orleans papers, on the arrival of the steam
| ers. So, when we heard whistle, one Or
the other would start on a run for the levee.
| Usually, crowd came down also to get
papers. The run from New Orleans was
from three and "a half to five days, and the
papers contained 'sthe latest news from
Europe "a week old, or more. But it
was news when we got it..
| Shreveport was the shipping point for
cotton from Eastern Texas and Southwest
ern Arkansas. have seen Texas Street
crowded with wagons loaded with cotton,
more than half its length from the head of
the street to the river. There were several
large warehouses on the levee owned by
Oglesby & Griswold, E. C. Hart, White,
Smith C Baldwin and lack Howell.
The steamers carried from 1000 to 5000
bales, each, and charged from 81 to SIS a
bale, according to the market, and stage of
| the river.
During the low water season the small
sternw wheel steamers brought cotton from
Jefferson and ''above the raft" and it was
reshipped at Shreveport on the larger
steamers.
The Vicksburg, Shreveport and Texas
Railroad was talked Of, but its reality was
considered dream.
There we're stage lines to Mansfield,
Marshall and Monroe, each stage arriving
the second day.
Within this period Shreveport has grown
from town of $500 to city of about
1000 population. The generation of those
early days has passed away; many of the
second generation have also passed be-
You'd, and their children now fill the places
of the youth OF the Shreveport of sixty
years ago. j. M. ScANLAND.