USA > Indiana > Jay County > Historical hand-atlas, illustrated : containing twelve farm maps, and History of Jay County, Indiana > Part 40
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67
There is an insane hospital at Tuscaloosa ; a blind asylum at Mo- bile. The State Penitentiary is located at Wetumpka, and is self- supporting.
Mohile, the chief city and commercial emporium, is also one of the largest cities in the South. Montgomery, the capital, Tusca- loosa, and Selma are the principal cities.
The decennial population of Alabama, from 1850, is as follows :
1880
1870
1860
1850
996992
964201
771623
....
MISSISSIPPI.
MISSISSIPPI, the seventh State admitted into the Union, and eighteenth in population, is situated hetween latitude 30deg. 13min. and 35deg. north, and longitude 88deg. 7min. 91deg. 41min, west, and is hounded on the north hy Tennessee; east hy Ala- bama; south by the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana; and west by the Pearl and Mississippi rivers. It has an area of 47,156 square miles, or 30,179,840 acres. North of latitude 31deg. the western boundary is wholly formed by the Mississippi River, the country along which is a continued swamp, occasionally interspersed with patches sufficiently elevated to admit of cultivation. From this low plain the surface gradually rises towards the east, where a tract of moderately high land forms the watershed hetween the rivers joining the Mississippi in this Stato and those flowing sepa- rately into the Gulf of Mexico. Many other hill ranges, of no great beight, traverse the State, giving to the greater part of it an undulating surface. Next to the Mississippi, the Yazoo, Pearl, and Pascagoula rivers are the principal, and lie wholly within this State. Mississippi has ahout 88 miles of sea-coast.
History and Government .- Although discovered by De Soto in 1542, there were no settlemonts made in Mississippi until 1682, when it was taken possession of by La Salle in the name of the king of France. The first attempt at colonization was made in 1698 hy D'Iherville, tbe first governor of Louisiana (Mississippi heing then known hy that name), who is said to have ascended the river to the point where the Red River empties into the Mis- sissippi. In 1700 M. de Tonty accomplished the daring feat of marching from Illinois with a party of Canadian French and joined Iberville's colony. St. Peter's settlement was founded in 1703. New Orleans, which was shortly afterwards founded, soon drew together a population from the earlier settlements in addi- tion to retaining nearly all the newly-arrived emigrants. The Fort Rosalie massacre of 1729, in which two hundred people lost their lives, in addition to four hundred persons, including negroes,
151
MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA.
being captured, resulted in the destruction of every vestige of civ- ilized life within the present horders of tbo State. The captives were subsequently rescued. Settlements soon hegan rapidly to extend, and it is estimated that tho population, in 1733, was five thousand. Progress for some time was retarded by the Chicka- saw war, which ended favorably to the combination of Indian trihes. The war between England and France ended hy tho relin- quishment of all the territory cast of the Mississippi of the latter nation to the former. At the termination of the Revolutionary struggle Mississippi was included as a portion of tho United States territory, and in 1798 was, together with Alabama, formed into a territorial government. In March, 1817, Mississippi was separated from Alabama, and later in the same year was adınitted into the Union as a sovereign State. It seceded in 1861, and joined tbe Southern Confederacy. In 1863, the city of Vicksburg, after a long defence, was forced to surrender to General Grant; and Jackson, the capital, was taken and partially destroyed.
The executive power is vested in a governor, lieutenant-gov- ernor, secretary of State, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, and superintendent of public education, elected by the people for a term of four years, and a commissioner of immigration and agri- culture, chosen by joint ballot of the two houses of the legislature, for the same term. Senators are elected by senatorial districts for four years, one half retiring biennially ; their number (at pres- ent 37) cannot be less than one-fourtb nor more than one-third of that of the representatives. The representatives are elected for two years; tbeir number cannot be less than 100 nor greater than 120, (at present 115). The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, circuit courts, chancery courts, and justices of the peace.
Geology and Mineralogy .- The country is of tbe tertiary and upper secondary formations, with great alluvial valleys. The mineral wealth of the State is not great, and mining has little connection with the industries of the State.
Climate and Soil,-Tbe climate nearly resembles that of Lou- isiana, but it is said to be healthier. But, during summer, fevers and bilious affections are more or less prevalent in all parts of the State.
A large proportion of the soil is fertile, and covered with tim- ber; oak, bickory, black walnut, maple, and pine being the prin- cipal forest trees. The prairie region of the northeast has a ricb black, adhesive soil impregnated with lime, and yielding luxuri- ant crops of Indian corn and cotton. The southeast is sandy, with some fertile patches, producing abundance of small grains and rice. But the richest portion of the State is that section lying between the upland hluffs and the Mississippi, called sometimes tbe swamp-lands.
Products, Commerce, and Manufactures .- The sugar cane grows in tho south, and the orange on the lower banks of the Pearl and Pascagoula rivers; in the central region mnaize, rice, tobacco, indigo, figs, grapes, melons, and sweet potatoes attain to excellence, while apples and pcars tbrive in the north. Tobacco and indigo were formerly the staples of Mississippi. Till the late war cotton was the principal product, and its culture engrossed by far tbe greater portion of the attention of the planter.
As in all the Southern States, the manufacturing interests are small.
Education, etc .- The State board of education consists of the State superintendent of education, the secretary of state, and the attorney-general. There is a superintendent for each county, appointed by the board of education with the consent of the sen- ate for two years. Each county and each incorporated city of more than 3,000 inbabitants forms a school district, and has a board of six school directors, those for the cities heing elected by the qualified voters, and those for the school districts outside of cities by the patrons of the schools, Among the educational institutions are the Mississippi College, Clinton, in Hinds County ; and the University of Mississippi. The university at Oxford is in a flourishing condition ; no tuition fees are required. Alcorn Uni- versity has been organized; it is mainly for the education of col- ored youth.
The State penitentiary is at Jackson. The deaf, dumb, and blind are cared for at Juckson.
The decennial population of Mississippi, from 1850, is as fol- lows :
1880
1870
1860
1850
827922
701805
606526
According to the census of 1870 the total population of Missis- sippi was 827,922, of which 444,201 were colored, 809 Indians, and 16 Chinese.
The leading towns are Vicksburg, Natchez, and Jackson, tbe capital.
LOUISIANA.
T OUISIANA, the fifth State admitted into the Union, lies between 29deg. and 33deg. north latitude, and 88deg. 40min. and 94deg. 10min. west longitude; and is bounded on the north hy Arkansas and Mississippi; east by Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico; south by the Gulf of Mexico; and west by Texas. It has an area of 41,346 square miles. "The surface, which is gener-' ally level, and slopes gradually towards the south, is traversed in its northern part hy a few hill-ranges of inconsiderahle height. Its shores, especially those of the delta of the Mississippi, are so very low that they are apt to he inundated by high spring tides. The delta, which comprises an alluvial flat of about 12,000 square miles, is nowhere raised much more than ten feet above tbe level of the gulf.
History and Government .- The region west of the Missis- sippi was first explored hy Europeans in 1512; but no effective settlement was made in it till 1699, when two Frencbmen, Iber- ville, and Bienvillo, brother of Louis XIV, founded a French col- ony on the shores of Louisiana. In 1712 the king of France granted a charter to M. Crozat, which covered the whole province. Five years later this charter was surrendered to the king, and the great territory of Louisiana was granted to the western company. This company was organized by John Law, an enterprising Scotch- man, who procured from the Duke of Orleans, then regent of France, a charter for a bank to which this company was attached. Everybody who took stock in the enterprise expected to amass great wealth, and the excitement attending the scheme of explor- ing tbe supposed inexhaustible royal mines near the Mississippi was almost as great as that which preceded the bursting of the famous "South Sea bubble." In three years Law became a bank- rupt, and many others were ruined. The company's hopes of finding vast sums of gold in Louisiana were not fulfilled, and attention was turned to agriculture. Large grants of land were made to the wealthy and the powerful, Law receiving a plot of twelve miles square. The savages harassing the colony, and not so many settlers coming into the colony as was anticipated, the company lost all hope and surrendered the charter to the king. The French colonial government was now inaugurated. War breaking out between Great Britain and France in 1760, Canada was taken by the English, and many of its inhabitants sought a home in southern climes, some settling on tbe Acadian coast of Louisiana, and others proceeding west of the river, and forming the settlements of Attakapas, Opelousas, and Avoyelles. In 1762 the territory of Louisiana west of the Mississippi, with New Orleans, was ceded to Spain by a secret treaty. By the treaty of Paris in 1763, Great Britain, France, and Spain ended tbeir difficulties. France abandoned to Great Britain all her nortbern possessions, the whole of Louisiana east of the Mississippi, except New Orleans. The secret treaty of cession was not made publio until 1764. Tbe treaties between Great Britain, France, and Spain, and the United States concluded in 1783, threw open the Mississippi to navigation, ceded the Floridas to Spain, and bounded the possessions of the two countries by a line east- ward of the thirty-first parallel on the Mississippi to the Appa- lachicola River, through the middle of that river to its junction with the Flint, from the Flint to the head of St. Mary's River, and down that river to the Atlantic Ocean. The Spaniards, how- ever, allowed the people of the United States very little inter- course through the Mississippi. In 1788 tbe navigation of the river was accorded to the young West, provided it would separate from the United States, and become a distinct empire. The West en- tertained the proposition, but on consideration returned to their country, and the scheme miscarried. In 1795 another treaty accorded to the United States the free navigation of the river, and the privilege of using New Orleans for ten years as a mer- chandise depot. In 1800 the famous treaty of San Ildefonso was signed, and Louisiana again became a French colony. Everything seemed favorable for the re-establishment of the French govern- ment in the province, when a vessel arrived at tbe levée from Bordeaux, and the news soon spread that Bonaparte had sold their country and themselves to the neighboring republic. The treaty of Paris, signed 13th April, 1803, had ceded Louisiana and all its appurtenances forever to the United States; and the United States had agreed to pay 60,000,000 franes to discharge certain claims of their citizens on France. In 1804 a territorial govern- ment was established, and Louisiana was divided into two sections, of which that which at present constitutes tho State of the same name was to be known as the Territory of Orleans. In 1805 Con- gress establisbed a government in Louisiana similar to that of the Mississippi Territory. Louisiana was admitted into the Union in 1812. In the war of 1812 Louisiana played an important part. On the 8th of January, 1815, the hattle of New Orleans was fought and won by the Americans. This St .. te passed an ordi-
152
A 114º B
C
D
E
F 113º G
H
I
J
K 112º L
M
N.
0
P 111° Q
R
_T
U 110° V
W
X
Y
Z 109
Longitude West from Greenwich.
· Georgetown
Nine Mile
Gentile Valley
1
A
Liberty
Oxford
Ookley
St.John
Paris .
Malad Chy
Clifto
2
2
42
42.
Franklin
Pilot Sprin Sta.
Hawet &t.
1
L
Garden City
Emigrant Sprin
3
Stage Sta.
Scale of Statuto Milce
ANENTA
Mendegorille
Smithfield
20
3
5
DO
Aumont
Col w
LogIn
Valley
R
Blue Cr.
R
=
Randolphe
A
PACIFIO Ombey
Granger
Bryan
PAOIFIO
Green River
5
City
Fork
Carter
iter
8
Fl.Bridgar
Slatka
Hunderille
RIVER
Evanston
OGDEN
Piedmont
Fork
PLATEAU
7
7
Castle Rock lat-Stan.P Forth;
Smith
Henry's
MtBruce
--- 41
41
131
JAN HunTy's
00
Sklep
Itell Canon
Brien's Park Inden Park
Hay
I
T
Mt-Len XXIV!
BABE AALINE VI
VIIL
9
Padr
Snowy Peak
De kwich
Camp Doute
Gr 1 anlat
40 Cy. AKamas
M
- DIAN
Inland Park
10
leber
. A.Deer Cr
ale
Thu Teaton
Alpins Cy
der.
ID
T
(I)
VAL
Centre
Fai-
TV
Pro o City
Deep Crock
Sink
Pr. Lookout
-
0
12
Indian Res-
CAMEL'S BACK
Vera n
Kimball_R.
Payne
Spring Lako
Z
Round
End Standard Purallel South
York
Miamona
o Shinnah Springs
EM
Moon
MI. Nebo
4 |14
14
U
B
Salt Creek or Nejihr
Guide Mediano
Green
14
S
A
Connelsville
North
LITTLE
Mana Cr.
CANON
RIVER
Ma
PLE.SAM
Marmaduke Spr.
end Gulde Beeldlan
Turen Spring
Euros
Sinquin
18
13
A
MEAS
HA
MA
BLACK ROCK RIDGE
Creek
19,000
Minnie
I
Furmain
YALL
Creck
40
40
Stmpadu Spr.
Kock
Ranch
E PALLE
"American Fx.
urgÃ
H
Bewirton
Pleasant Grovo
11
Sugar Loaf Mt.
Bad Land
H
n Chen
TZ
12
A
Clifton | 1ls
GREAT
E Jennings . Ranch
-Guldi Meridfans of
.
Tooele
S
Der
Dniper
T
Incklou
Jaena
er"
MOUNTAINS
Reed's Peak
O
Haplatone
Canon of
PRAIRIE Proro
M
Ashley
Ashley Meridian
Che Creak
0
Int Standard Parallel South Rocky Si
Creeks
11
AMERICAN
SALT
LAKF
SALTLI
S
U
M
Lodoro
9
ikali For
Meriulan
U
CEDAR MOUNTAINS
untr villo
Conty llje
Staket
Round Valley Jad Gr
Tenifort
Emory
VUNION
Eg
Ington
fick;
8
LAKESIDE
QUAITY
Acall's Furt
Matlin
Promontory
O
5
But tand.1 .x.
Mt. Martineau
Bovina
Gulde
45.7.300
Serl . lon
Teconta
B
Alm
0
Buci
Alma !?
Wennich
Peterson
AR
ASDER
Green
rtz Mt. ML Wheelek
DESERT
W.Portuy
CURLEY VALLEY
Clarkaton
E
Richmond
M TS.
D
.&rd Standard Parallel North
LLEY
C R.
Hi Dode Sus | Kelton
GROUSE
Mer.
RIVER
Bear
Brigham
ELif- Dod
Terrace
MANUEL SPRING VALLEY
BLUE SPRING VALLEY
T& Dine Springa
Hyde Park
UTAH
St.Charles
Cherry Creek
BEAR
LAKE
Grouse
EGROUSE CREEK MTS.
-Montpelier
1
Creek
Marsh Basin D
Greek
8
UNION
Ruck Spring
PROMONTORY
GREEN I
8
Kettle
N
M
60811
Gutde Meridian
Guide Her diaa
ENTALLESTLAKE RANGE."
ESERVAT
Current Cr.
River
J
Meridian
Indian S
OsVeber
Hotel
152
A 114º B
C
D
E
F 113°
H
J K 112"
M
N
0
Q
R
S
T U 110° V
W
X
Y
Z 109"
L oglture West frow Greenwich
Creet
Nine Mile
Gentile Valley
Marsh Basin D
A
Liberty
Oxford
St.John
Paris
Maind Clty @
Cliffor
2
12
42
3
CUILEWY VALLEY
Clarianton
Richmond
Scale of Statuto Miley.
Erd Bin dard Parallel North
T
Bin/in ment
Caf
12
Logan
Valley
E A
Ombey
Y.
Matiin
I'rumo tory
Crimi
5
Terrace
ARRIVER
willifed
urter
Tecon
6
Alman
FL.Bri
RIVER
Evanston
OGDEN
Pieilmo
PLATEAU
Aspen
7
HIillard
Castle Rock
az Mt-
Bruce
-
& TTumry au
8
Bei Canon
ரே
Park
stake:
Hoy
CLARE
U
M
T
Mt-Lena xxly
BASE
9
rkwith
N
N
Cy-
Reod's Peak
M
Boulanger
To e
S
10
Drapet / Silver Z .. y Michie
Afliley
n Dler Cr.
M T
Ikt Standard Parallel South
[ Barlow
0
0
Ceda
Sugar Loaf Mt.
1
Centre
Prep Crock
Gold Hill
Pr. Lo Tovar
CONNOR
12
Indian Res.
12
CIston Halls
RIDGE
40
34
ring Lake
Runch
Bulter & Spr
santaquin 4
18
Feil Spring
2nd Standard Parallel South
York
Diamond
o Shinnah Springt
EMMA
MI. Nobt
12,000
B
Salt Creo
JJendian
Marmaduke Spr.
4
A
Connel ville
MYS
15
VALLEY
Taylerz Spring -----
U
Huntington
Cottonum
7
7
M
L
R
D
Neels
Holden
Jnyde Reserva
39
Gurinison's Pt;
SEVIER
Fillmeri
18
18
COF. CREEK
R
LAKE
LAKE
19
Annekelią
Mt Terry
Black Rock Springs
XVII
XV
Cobe Creek
5th Standard Parallel South XIV
XE!
=I
Burrville
20
20
Pine Creek
Wah-Wah Sprs.
Greentrick
21
Mergeatle
B
E
A
V
Freer
P
BeAver
S
E
Junction
GRASS TAALR
SALT
Gaidff Me
Clouer Fi
22
MtEllen
Sulphur Spr.
ESERT
ARIUS PLATEAU
UN3
T.
Mt.Penneil
CA
S
Mt.Hiller
Rush Spr.
Table Rock
Prrowan C
N
E
24
7th Stup.Par.South
Cedar City Tangwitek Zak
Ricer
Pinto
Filar Crerk
AZlebronjā
Kanara
Mountain
5
Meadow
ofd Harmony
kinst
Cine Kanley!
Upper Nanab
26
Gunlock
Glendale
Toque ville
31.Cannel
Cliffs
Northup
Dan
27
poling
0
Navajo Mt.
37
37
Winsor o ...
99 Spcelal Standard Parallel South
28
28
0
E
Lee's Ferry
N
N
29
29
30
Raud, MeNslly & Co, Kagr's-Chjengo
Longitude West from Wasbringt
37
C
D
E
F 36 G
-
J
K, 35 L
M
N
0
P 34
0
S
T
U 33
V
₩
X
Y
Z
153
Map of Utah.
Gray
E
Munit
Sưamp &
Scipl
Deseret
Menil Canon
Lava Sint
Castle Dale
Pettyville
E
Azure
39
JenniY'a Ranch
Ferron Co Perim City
Gnide Mer.
RIVE
19
Fish Lake
S
Mts.
Mt.Hilgard
Marmon Fort
Mwwb
XV
20
Virement Val.G
Prmonti Thousand
Spr-Mt
Der
E
21
Ly
Antelope Spring"
U
21
BRATER VAL.
Uch Sindord Parallel Bonth
Y
IENRA ABAJA
38
38
Buckhorn Spr's
Crystal Spr
Gulite Merilinn'
BLACK, MTS
PANQUICK PLATEAU
Emery Val.G. M.
10
23
28
Uf AL,Sawfurd
Janquiten
Dereri Spring chy
Buffer
Tron Spr.
Mt-Ellsworth
24
Indian Fort
J
Charles Poak
Fino Val Nt.
N
E
who Zion Ordemeinige sth-ne id.
Bprin tar
Go%Rton
Tocken
Vermillion
Redit uttel+1
Juan
Seag Spr. P . 142
San
.Geori
MTS
Kemal
A
I
N
A
1
0
RESERV
30
B
E
GREEN
8
Buď
Opha R
SERT
Farmington.
atreville
Coalvill
lum
Ricer
A
9
Snowy Peak
C
0
AN
Guld Meridian
MOUNTAINS400
Gutde Morbillan
OQUI
KD.IN
LASE RANGE
Prove City
Hast Sta
pringy IHP
Current Cr
GREEN VALLEY
Rockwell-
N
13
A Round
BLACK ROCK RIDGE
PARK
14
U
CM
for Nep
Mawa Co.
MERIDIAN
CLB
Sphag City
Urd Standard Poralle South
DFSOLAT
16
16
Lass Sani Oak City
price
River
MTS
17
R
dar Spr
4th Standard Parallel South
AN
BEAVER
Gulle Meridien
Order V.
SWELL
Rick
Curtis
RAFAELS
Offiel Tor
LERRA
YATH
20
Stago City
MINERAL RA!
ALANTE
Circle Cliffs
Table Cliff
PLATEAU-
Kasparowits Peak \
25
25
ak Cliffs &
AXPARONI PLATEAU
Pine VELG.MI.
SANTA CLARA
Dunth
Gulde Pferldlan
.J
I
A
14
2nd Gulde Worldinn
Valde Meridian
Fountain
North
South Fork
V
Chapin Spring
Riverside (
RIVER
GulSe v
Cliffs
A A.
I Crossman'i Spring
DUNUSI FALL
San Rafael
SER VATY
11
R H
H
SE
- ARFAT FAMERI
Ampinu Cy.
N
L
FALL
H
T
R
GROUSE PILLEY
MANGEL SERIN . TALARY
Til'ne Springa
Head oferities
Saithfeld
70
9
30
ல்
70
Hyde Park
Koltu
BAUX SPRING F. LEY
Fort
Pilot Sprin Sta.
W.Fortuy
Garden Cy
8
MT
UNION
Granger
Bryan
PACIFICO
Rock Springh
Green River City
5
End stin.Parlyorth
Bovine
Ouide
Meridian
PROMONTORY
green
.Wheeler
Wan
AKE
Lodorc
CAEN
DI
10
F. v.
feland Park
Quarry
Furjudite
Randolph
UTAH
St.Charles
Quae
USE
Cherry Creek
BEAR
LAKE
Franklin
P
111
Georgetown
CREEK MTS
Montpelier
1
Oakley
Rot Creek
E
XVI
FRANCISCO
Canon Colorado
Dirty
2
AV RANGE
Boltonkelio
RTVER
CANON
15
10
A
PK ..
H
PAR
154
+
LOUISIANA AND TEXAS.
nance of secession on January 25, 1861, and was restored to the Union in June, IS6S.
The executive power is vested in a governor, lieutenant-gov- ernor, (ex-officio president of the senate), secretary of State, treas- urer, auditor, attorney-general, and superintendent of publio edu- cation, elected by the people for a term of four years. The legislative power is vested in a general assembly, consisting of a senate and house of representatives. The senators, 36 in number, are elected for four years, one-balf retiring biennially ; the repre- sentatives numbering not more than 120 nor less than 90, (present number 107), hold office for two years. For senatorial purposes the State is divided into districts, (at present 24), of as nearly equal population as possible, no parish heing divided except Orleans, from each of which not more than two senators are chosen. The representatives are apportioned among the parishes and 12 representative districts of Orleans according to population, each parish having at least one.
The judiciary is composed of a supreme court, district courts, and justices of the peace. Louisiana sends five representatives to Congress, and casts eight electoral votes.
Geology and Mineralogy .- The tertiary formation occupies two-fifths of the State; it contains coal, salt, iron, ochre, gypsum, and marl. A saline hed seems to underlie the tertiary. The rest of the State is alluvial and diluvial. The mineral resources of the State are altogether insignificant, consisting of moderate supplies of iron in the west, and coal in the north. Salt, however, is ob- tained in abundance.
Climate and Soil .- Both heat and cold are experienced in a greater degree than in the other States in the same latitude. In the south the winter is usually characterized hy a short period of northwest winds and white frosts at night; hut in the north and central parts sharp frosts and sometimes falls of snow occur. In summer the climate of the north is mild and comparatively healthy; while in the south intense heats last for a long time, thunder-storms and hurricanes are frequent, and the yellow fever and other pestilential diseases are prevalent.
The soil of Louisiana is of every quality, from the most pro- ductive to the most sterile. Some portions of the great alluvial plain, and of lands on the hanks of the rivers, are as fertile as any in the Union; but the prairies consist for the most part of second- rate lands.
Products, Commerce and Manufactures .- Cotton and sugar are the great staples of Louisiana; rice, maize, and tohacco come next in order ; hut the raising of these has heen neglected for that of cotton, and the culture of indigo is now almost abandoned. The crop of cotton, which is of various kinds, was estimated, pre- vious to the breaking out of the civil war in the United States, at half a million hales a year. It is raised principally in the north- east part of the State. Pine timher is an important article of ex- port, and the pine forests afford great quantities of pitch, tar, and turpentine.
The commerce of the State is centered in New Orleans. To facilitate internal water communication, various canals have heen cut between the Mssissippi and the lakes of the low country. Railways also connect the principal towns. Louisiana is almost wholly an agricultural State.
Education, etc. - There is a State superintendent, and six division superintendents, all of whom constitute the board of edu- cation. The division superintendents are nominated by the State superintendent, and appointed by the governor. There are county hoards which are composed of from five to fifteen members, one from each jury ward. "The township hoards consist of from three to five members. Teachers are examined hy the State and divis- ion superintendents, who give certificates valid for one year; cer- tificates given by the State superintendent are valid anywhere in the State.
The deaf, dumh, and hlind are cared for at Baton Rouge. The State penitentiary is also located there.
The capital of Louisiana, and the commercial emporium of the southwest, is New Orleans. It is situated on a hend of the Mis. sissippi River, which has given rise to the name of the "Crescent City," and is regularly laid out, and tolerably well huilt. Its harbor is accessible for large ships, and it has a great and con- stantly increasing commerce. The population in 1870 was 191,- 322. Baton Rouge, which was the capital before the war, has a population of 6,498.
The decennial population of Louisiana, from 1850, is as follows :
1880
1870
1860
1850
720915
708002
517762
According to the census of 1870, the total population of Louis- iana was 726,915, of which 364,210 were colored, 569 Indians, and 71 Chinese.
TEXAS.
T TEXAS, the fifteenth State admitted into the Union, and nine- teenth in population, lies between latitude 25deg. 50min. and 36deg. 30min. north, and longitude 93deg. 30min. and 106deg. 40min. west, and is bounded on the north by New Mexico, the Indian Territory, from which it is separated by the Red River, and Arkansas; east hy Arkansas and Louisiana; southeast hy the Gulf of Mexico; and southwest and west hy Mexico and New Mexico. It bas an area of 274,356 square miles, or 175,587,840 acres. The general aspect of the country is that of a vast inclined plane, gradually sloping from the mountains on the west, eastward to the sea, and intersected hy numerous rivers, all having a south- east direction. The territory may he divided into three separate regions, differing in many respects from each other. The first, or level region, extends along the coast, with a breadth inland vary- ing from 30 to 100 miles. The soil of this region is principally a rich alluvium, with scarcely a stone, yet free from stagnant swamps. Broad woodlands fringe the hanks of the rivers, between which are extensive and rich pasturc lands. The second division, the largest of the three, is the undulating or rolling prairie region, which extends for 150 or 200 miles farther inland, its wide grassy tracts alternating with others that are tbickly timbered. Lime- stone and sandstone form the common substrata of this region : the upper soil consists of a rich friahle loam. The third, or moun- tainous region, situated principally in the southwest, includes the Sierra Guadaloupe, a portion of the Mexican Alps, and & desert tract at the foot of the mountains. The surface is in most parts covered with luxuriant native grass, affording excellent pasturage. It has, also, an ample supply of timber, as well for use as for orna- ment. Live-oak, valuable for ship building, is here abundant and of excellent quality. White, black, and post-oak, ash, elm, hick- ory, musquite, walnut, sycamore, bois d'arc, so called from the Indians using it to make their hows, cypress, and caoutchouc, aro among the common trees ; and the mountainons parts in the south- east abound with pine and cedar of fine quality.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.