USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume I > Part 25
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The disease is called the Asiatic cholera from the fact that for centuries it has had its home in the East, particularly in India, though some medical writers assert that under other names it has been epidemic in other portions of the world. Mill, in his history of India, says: "Spasmodic cholera had been known in India from the remotest periods, and had at times committed fearful ravages. Its effects, however, were in general restricted to particular sea- sons and localities, and were not so extensively diffused as to attract notice or excite alarm. In the middle of 1817, however, the disease assumed a new form, and became a widely spread and fatal epi- demic. It made its first appearance in the eastern districts of Bengal in May and June of that year, and after extending itself gradually along the north bank of the Ganges, through Tirhut to Ghazipur, it crossed the river and passing through Rewa, fell with peculiar virulence upon the center division of the grand army in the first week of November. During the week of its greatest malignity it was ascertained that 764 fighting men and 8,000 followers perished."
This is said to have been the first wide-spread cholera epidemic recorded in history. In 1830 it made its appearance in Europe, where it wrought fearful havoc in a number of cities, and it was not until 1831 that the nature of the disease was recognized. In 1832 it crossed the Atlantic to the United States. After ravaging the coast cities of the Northern states it extended westward to the Ohio valley and came down the Mississippi river until it struck New Orleans, where it assumed the form of a virulent epidemic. On some days as many as 500 deaths occurred, and the total number of deaths in New Orleans and the immediate vicinity was above 6,000. The people became panic-stricken and many sought to escape by water, but the scourge pursued them to the steamboats where they were probably in a worse situation than they would have been had they remained on shore. On one boat there were 300 deaths; 130 on each of two others, and 120 on another. The prevalence of the disease and the flight of so many citizens left but comparatively few well persons to care for the sick and bury the dead. Many of the victims were interred where they died, and the bodies of others were cast into the Mississippi, this course being made necessary through lack of facilities to give them decent burial in the cemeteries. The disease lingered along the river for about two years, but the mortality was slight when compared with 1832.
In. 1848, starting again in Asia, the cholera spread to America, reaching New Orleans late in the year, just after a yellow fever epidemic, and within a few weeks about 4,000 deaths occurred. This time the scourge spread westward and up the Mississippi river. Hundreds of gold seekers on their way to California were cut off, and about one-third of the 8th U. S. infantry died, Maj .- Gen. Worth being one of the victims. The disease was especially fatal to the negroes on the plantations along the Mississippi, many planters losing their entire cotton crop because there were none
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able to take care of it. In Nov., 1849, cholera again appeared as an epidemic in New Orleans, following immediately after the yel- low fever, as in the preceding year. By the close of 1850 its vic- tims numbered about 1.800, and during the years 1854-55 about 1,750 more names were added to the death roll in Louisiana. This was its last appearance as a malignant epidemic, though cholera visited the United States in 1866 and 1873, and on these occasions a few deaths occurred in the lower Mississippi valley. In the fall of 1886 a few cases reached New York harbor, but prompt and effective quarantine measures confined the disease to the vessels where it broke out.
Since that time the investigations of such eminent physicians as Koch and Emmerich of Germany, and Jenkins of New York, have demonstrated that cholera is due to certain forms of bacilli, that it is not contagious, and that it can be stamped out as an epidemic by proper attention to sanitation and the prompt isolation of cases. This theory was thoroughly tested in 1892. when the vessels Mo- ravia, Normannia, Rugia and Scandia arrived in New York harbor. each reporting several deaths from "cholerine" during the passage. The vessels were detained at quarantine, and on Sept. 7 President Harrison ordered a large number of tents to Sandy Hook for the accommodation of the passengers until the danger was past. For a time the epidemic on the ships and in the isolation camp was quite severe and was a great menace to the country. But the quarantine was so rigidly maintained that only 2 deaths from cholera occurred in the city of New York, thus completely estab- lishing the efficacy of the proposed methods of dealing with the
Chopart, Sieur, who was in command at Fort Rosalie when the dreadful massacre of the French by the Natchez Indians took place, Nov. 28, 1729, is credited by most writers with being . the cause of this disaster, and paid the penalty of his intolerance and cupidity with his own life. The first French settlers among the Natchez had been careful to buy their lands from the Indians, but in course of time more or less disregard was shown for Indian proprietorship, and Chopart was the worst offender of all. Ac- cording to the account of Dumont, who had been an officer in the fort garrison until shortly before the massacre, Chopart had brought some negroes with him from New Orleans and desired to establish a plantation of his own at the Natchez. He wanted to make his fortune in a short time, and as this required good land and plenty of it, and as the best land was already in the possession of settlers, he resorted to the unjust means of trying to dispossess the Indians. Not only this, but he also demanded for his use the site of the great village of the Natchez, situated on a beautiful and fertile plain, some 12 miles south of the fort, on St. Catharine's river. His pretext to the Indians was that "the great chief of the French at New Orleans, the Sieur Perier, had written to him to order the Natchez to leave their great village, as he needed it for some large buildings." Chopart granted the Natchez two months in which to build another village a leagne farther away from the river, and
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even had the audacity to demand from them a large quantity of provisions as a reward for granting the delay. Incensed by this great wrong, and other real or fancied grievances against the French, the great massacre followed. Chopart himself was killed in his own garden by a club wielded by the Puant chief, as he was deemed unworthy of being killed by a brave. (See Natchez Massacre, Natchez Indians, etc.)
Chopin, a post-hamlet in the southeastern part of Natchitoches parish, is situated on the Cane river and the Texas & Pacific R. R., about 20 miles southeast of Natchitoches, the parish seat. It has an express office and telephone and telegraph facilities, and in 1900 had a population of 63. Chopin is the shipping point for a large area of Cane river cotton lands lying west of the village and is the supply station for this rich agricultural country.
Choppin, Samuel, M. D., an eminent New Orleans physician and surgeon, was a son of Paul Choppin, who was the first captain of the guard at the Louisiana state penitentiary after that institution was located at Baton Rouge. At the beginning of the year 1862, Dr. Choppin was surgeon-general on the staff of Gen. Beauregard, and visited Louisiana to encourage the work of recruiting troops for the Confederate army. On Feb. 27, 1862, a few days after the fall of Fort Donelson, he delivered the following address to the troops in the Crescent City :
"Soldiers of New Orleans: You are aware of the disasters which have befallen our armies in the West. Greater disasters are still staring us in the face. Gen. Beauregard-the man to whom we must look as the savior of our country-sends me among you to summon you to a great duty and noble deeds-invoking and in- spired by. the sacred love of country and of priceless liberty, he has taken the deathless resolution de les venger ou de les suivre. And with the immortal confidence and holy fervor of a soul willing, if need be, to meet martyrdom, he calls upon you to join him, in order that he may restore to our country what she has lost, and lead you on to glory and independence. In tones rigid and sullen as the tollings of the funeral knell, but with clarion accents that should send a quiver through every heart, and string the nerves of every man, he cries out the final refrain of that immortal hymn :
'Aux armes, citoyens! formez vos battaillons, Marchons ! Marchons ! Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons.'
Creoles of Louisiana, on to the work!"
After the war Dr. Choppin returned to Louisiana, where he took an active part during the reconstruction days in restoring the state government to the white people, and on the memorable Sept. 14, 1874, he was one of the committee sent to demand the resignation of Gov. Kellogg.
Choudrant, a village in the southeastern part of Lincoln parish, is a station on the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific R. R., 7 miles east of Ruston, the parish seat. It has a money order. postoffice,
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express office, telegraph and telephone facilities, and is the trading center for a considerable district. Its population in 1900 was 150. Ruston is the nearest banking town.
Choupique, a postoffice in the southwestern part of Calcasieu parish, is located in a rich agricultural region, about 12 miles southwest of Lake Charles, and not far from the bayou of the same name. Sulphur and Vinton, on the Southern Pacific R. R., are the nearest railroad stations.
Chouteau, Auguste, merchant, fur trader and one of the founders of St. Louis, Mo., was born in New Orleans, Aug. 14, 1750. Early in the year 1764, though less than 14 years of age at the time, he was sent up the Mississippi river from Fort Chartres. by his step- father, Pierre Laclede Liguest, with 30 men, to select a spot for a 'trading post and begin the erection of cabins, etc. After the deatit of Liguest he succeeded to the business they had established; made frequent visits to the Indian villages and to New Orleans ; formed a partnership with John Jacob Astor, which developed into the American Fur company, and remained one of the "first citizens" of St. Louis until his death. In 1794 he built Fort Carondelet in the Osage country. It is said that "at the beginning, his just and humane spirit concurred with his judgment in a gen- eral policy of treating the Indians. That policy was fairness, friendliness and confidence, and it saved him from attacks, disas- ters and losses and made his trading experiences peaceful and successful." Soon after Louisiana passed into the hands of the United States he was made Revolutionary pension agent and com- missioner to treat with the Indians. In 1808 he was commissioned a colonel of militia, and under the treaty of Ghent (Dec. 14, 1814), he was appointed one of the commisioners on the part of the United States, with full power to conclude a treaty of peace with the Indian tribes that had been hostile during the war of 1812. Col. Chouteau was one of the first trustees of the town of St. Louis ; served as justice of the peace and as judge of the court of common pleas, and when the Bank of Missouri was organized in 1817, was made its first president. When Lafayette visited St. Louis in 1825, Col. Chouteau was a member of the committee on arrangements, and was one of the three distinguished citizens who rode in the carriage with the illustrious French soldier and states- man. He died on Feb. 24, 1829, and was buried in the Catholic cemetery, his tombstone bearing the simple but expressive epi- taph, "Sa vie a ete un modele de vertus civilles et Sociales."
Chouteau, Jean Pierre, a younger brother of Auguste Chouteau, was born at New Orleans. Oct. 10, 1758, and when about six years of age was taken by his mother to St. Louis. As soon as he was old enough he engaged in the fur trade, establishing trading-posts and forts at various points in the Indian country, one of which was on the headwaters of the Osage, in what is now southeastern Mis- souri. He was well-known in New Orleans, to which city he made frequent visits in connection with his business. About the time Louisiana was transferred to the United States he gave up the fur
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trade and settled down as a merchant in St. Louis. He was made a major in the militia ; was elected a member of the town council ; and was appointed a sub-agent for negotiating treaties with the several tribes of Indians whose confidence he had won during his fur-trading days. He died at St. Louis, July 10, 1849.
Christian Church .- (See Protestant Churches.)
Christie, a post-hamlet in the southern part of Sabine parish, is a station on the Kansas City Southern R. R., about 12 miles south of Many, the parish seat.
Church Point, an incorporated town in the northeastern part of Acadia parish. is a station on the Opelousas. Gulf & Northeastern R. R., about 15 miles northeast of Crowley, the parish seat. It is situated in the largest rice district of the southwest, has a bank, several rice mills, a money order postoffice, telegraph and tele- phone facilities, an express office, and is a shipping point of con- siderable importance. In 1900 it had a population of 278.
Cinclare, a village in the southeastern part of West Baton Rouge parish, is situated on the Mississippi river and the Texas & Pacific R. R., about 8 miles southwest of Baton Rouge. It has important sugar industries and is the center of trade for a rich agricultural district. Cinclare has a money order postoffice, express office, tele- graph and telephone facilities, and in 1900 had a population of 375.
Citizens' League .- Fron 1892 to 1896. while John Fitzpatrick was mayor of New Orleans, the city council was accused of cor- "uption in various matters, and several of the members were con- victed of bribery and sentenced to the penitentiary. To correct the evils in the city government the Citizens' League was organized in the winter of 1895-96, with Charles Janvier, president; Pearl Wight, first vice-president : Isidore Hernsheim, second vice-presi- dent ; Felix Couturie, third vice-president : Walker B. Spencer, secretary ; and George W. Young, treasurer. The league was coni- posed of members of all parties-men who believed in good gov- ernment-and a ticket was nominated headed by Walter C. Flower for mayor. Interest in the city election on April 21. 1896, was intense and a large vote was polled. The league ticket was elected by a large majority, which was the signal for a great display of enthusiasm.
City Price (R. R. name Socola), a post-hamlet of Plaquemines parish, is situated on the west bank of the Mississippi river and is a station on the New Orleans, Fort Jackson & Grand Isle R. R., about 4 miles south of Pointe a la Hache, the parish seat.
Civil War .- (See War Between the States.)
Claiborne Parish was established on March 13, 1828. during the administration of Gov. Pierre Derbigny. It was the first sub- division of Natchitoches parish, which had formed a part of the old historic "Natchitoches District," under French and Spanish rule of Louisiana. From the original bounds of Claiborne. Bossier, Jackson, Bienville, Webster and Lincoln parishes have been carved. wholly or in part. This parish is situated in the northwestern part of the state, on the Arkansas border, and as now constituted,
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is bounded on the north by Arkansas; on the east by Union and Lincoln parishes ; on the south by Bienville parish and on the west by Webster parish. Claiborne was named in honor of Gov. Will- iam C. C. Claiborne, the first territorial and state governor of Louisiana. In 1811, the first settlement of English-speaking peo- ple was made near the Webster-Claiborne line. Among the pioneers of this section were Charles L. Hay, Thomas Leatherman, and the Crow and Butler families. The first police jury met and organized at the home of John Murrell in 1828, and meetings were regularly held here for some time, until the offer of Samuel Russell of a site for the parish seat was accepted and the place named Russellvile, in honor of the donor. The first court at the new town was presided over by Judge Overton, and Isaac Mc Mahon was sheriff. After the great raft (q. v.) was removed from the Red river in 1835, navigation was extended to the Minden landing on Bayou Dorcheat, and with the idea that it would become an im- portant shipping point the parish seat was moved, and the town called Overton in honor of Judge Overton. For 10 years the parish courts were held here, but as a village in the bottoms was un- healthy, and as it was not centrally located, the parish seat was changed in 1846, to Athens. Two years later the public buildings and records at Athens were destroyed by fire, and the same year the seat of parochial justice was established on lands near the center of the parish that were granted by Allen Harris and Tilling- hast Vaughn. A very primitive building was erected for a court house and in September Judge Roland Jones opened court, with Allen Harris as sheriff and W. C. Copes, clerk. During the year 1849-50 a good brick building was erected for parish purposes, and in the fall of 1850 the same parish officers opened court. This new town was named Homer by Frank Vaughn. The oldest record of the police jury is dated Nov. 12, 1849, as the records of the earlier period were destroyed by the Athens fire. Judge Wilson opened the first district court at Murrell's house in 1828; the first church in the parish was built in 1830, and the first camp meeting was held in 1832. The first newspaper issued within the present boundaries of the parish, and the second within the old boundaries, was the Claiborne Advocate, the Minden Iris being the first. This paper was established by D. B. Harrison, who came from Ala- bama, and Frank Vaughn was the first editor. Claiborne is well watered by Cypress bayou in the northeastern portion ; by Bayou D'Arbonne in the central and southeastern portion, and by Bayou Corny and other small streams along the western and southern boundaries. The parish has an area of 764 square miles. The surface is undulating and broken, even quite hilly in some parts, with an extensive area of level bottom lands. The soil is that common to the long leaf yellow pine region of the state. red sandy clay in the hills, a little more compact in the lower lands, and fertile in the creek and river bottoms. A large part of the unimproved land is covered with a heavy growth of timber. which is a source of present and future wealth to the parish. When the
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lands are stripped of their valuable forest growths they will yield a full tide crop the second year. It is estimated that there are 1,500,000,000 feet of yellow pine lumber and probably an equal amount of hardwood, including cypress, various kinds of oak, hickory, etc. There are a large number of saw mills in the parish. and planing mills and wood working shops are springing up all over this region. Cotton is the great staple product, but corn, hay, oats, peas, both varieties of potatoes, tobacco, hemp, wheat, buck- wheat, sugar-cane and sorghum all yield good crops. The country is well adapted to dairying and stock raising, as the pasture is ex- cellent and can be obtained nearly the entire year. The fruits and nuts are those native to this latitude and region. In recent years it has been discovered that the soil and climate of this parish are especially adapted to peach growing, and as the fruit is excel- lent in flavor and size, it brings the best prices on the market. Large peach orchards are being set out, and horticulture is one of the rapidly growing industries. Transportation and shipping facil- ities are provided by the Louisiana & Northwest R. R., which traverses the western part of the parish, from north to south, pass- ing through Homer. This road has direct connections with the Cotton Belt, the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific R. R., the Loui- siana Railway & Navigation company and the Texas & Pacific R. R., while the Shreveport & Northeastern R. R. runs southwest from Homer to Minden, in Webster parish, connecting with the Louisiana & Arkansas R. R. Homer and Athens, the two most important towns of the parish, are located on the Louisiana & Northwest R. R. Some of the other towns and villages are: Ari- zonia, Haynesville. Lisbon, Summerfield, Dykesville and Gordon. The following statistics, taken from the U. S. census for 1900, relate to farms and manufactures: Number of farms, 3.595; acre- age, 418,276; acres under cultivation, 206,131; value of land and improvements exclusive of buildings. $1.345,250: value of farm buildings, $525,270; value of live stock, $629,578; total value of all products not fed to live stock, $1.324.826; number of mannfactur- ing establisliments, 69; capital invested, $110.285; wages paid. $25,259; cost of materials used, $40,606; total value of products, $104.344. The population for the parish in 1900 was 9.202 whites, 13,827 colored. a total of 23.029: a decrease since 1890 of 283.
Claiborne, William Charles Cole, governor of the Territory of Orleans and first governor of the State of Louisiana, was a native of Sussex county, Va., and a descendant of that William Claiborne who came from England as surveyor of the Virginia plantations by appointment of the London Company. He attended the Rich- mond academy and William and Mary college until he was fifteen years of age, when, owing to the reverses that had come to his father through the Revolutionary war, he decided that it was neces- sary for him to support himself. Going to New York, he found a position as enrolling clerk in the office of John Beckley, then clerk of the lower house of Congress. In 1790 he followed Congress to Philadelphia, where he formed the acquaintance of several promi-
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nent men, among whom were Thomas Jefferson and John Sevier. The latter advised the youth to study law and go to Tennessee. He took the advice, and after reading law for three months at Richmond, Va., located in Sullivan county, Tenn. In the first con- stitutional convention of Tennessee, which met at Knoxville in Jan., 1796, he was one of the leading members, which drew from Gov. Blount the statement: "He is, taking into consideration his age, the most extraordinary man of my acquaintance." When Tennes- see was admitted into the Union, Claiborne was appointed by Gov. Sevier one of the judges of the court of law and equity, where he served with distinction until Aug., 1797, when he was elected to the lower branch of Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the election of Gen. Andrew Jackson to the U. S. senate. He was reelected in' 1798 to the 6th Congress, and in the Jefferson-Burr contest voted for Jefferson for president. In May, 1801, Jefferson appointed him governor of Mississippi territory, and in 1803, he and Gen. Wilkinson were appointed commissioners to receive Loui- siana from the French government. When the act creating the Territory of Orleans went into effect on Oct. 1, 1804, Claiborne became governor of the new territory and continued as such until the admission of the State of Louisiana into the Union in 1812. He was then elected governor of the state. On Jan. 13, 1817, shortly after retiring from the governor's office, he was elected to the U. S. senate, but did not live to take his seat in that body, as his death occurred on Nov. 23, 1817. Gov. Claiborne was married three times. About the time he was appointed governor of Missis- sippi territory he married Miss Eliza Lewis of Nashville, Tenn. She and her infant child died on Sept. 26, 1804. After her death he married Miss Clarissa Duralde, a French woman, and after her death a Miss Bosque, of Spanish descent, who survived him. On Nov. 25, 1817, two days after his death, the Louisiana Courier said : "Where is the inhabitant of Louisiana who, on reflecting that it is to Mr. Jefferson he owes the happiness of belonging to the American Union, will not weep over the loss of the man who secured his election to the presidency? The cession of this country opened a new career for Mr. Claiborne: he left the Mississippi territory, of which he was governor. to fill the functions of com- missioner charged to administer Louisiana and entrusted with all the powers which had been enjoyed by the governors and intend- ants under the Spanish government. Soon afterward Louisiana was formed into a territory, and for ten years Mr. Claiborne was its governor. His remarkable honesty, the softness of his manners, and the evenness of his temper, made him universally beloved. He exerted his influence in propagating that inviolable attachment which he bore to republican institutions; and if we now hold a rank among the most patriotic states of the Union, it is, in a great measure, owing to the example and precepts of Mr. Claiborne. The erection of the Territory of Orleans into a state furnished to the Louisianians an opportunity of rewarding his services by raising him to the first magistracy. His administration during four years
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