USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume II > Part 62
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Orleans to Louisville, and the "Washington" 25 days ; the "Shelly" made the same trip 2 years later in 20 days, 4 hours and 20 min- utes; in 1828 the "Paragon" went up in 18 days, 10 hours; the "Tecumseh" consumed only 8 days, 4 hours, in 1834; the "Sul- tana," 5 days, 15 hours, and the "Express," 6 days, 15 hours in 1837 : in 1849 the "Sultana" reduced the time to 5 days, 12 hours, which record was successively shortened during the next decade by the "Bostona," the "Belle Key," the "Reindeer," the "Eclipse," and the "A. L. Shotwell," the time of the last named boat in 1858 being only 4 days, 9 hours and 31 minutes.
Many are the tales related by old boatmen of exciting steam- boat races, either with each other or against time, especially dur- ing the 30's. Boats pointed in the same direction would happen to leave port at the same time and there would result a keen rivalry between the respective commanders and crews as to which vessel should first arrive at her destination, perhaps several hun- dred miles up or down stream. In the effort to generate steam rap- idly during these races it was the custom to feed the furnaces under the boilers with pine-knots and tar, so that at night a brilliant. red glow from the roaring fires would illumine the surrounding waters far and wide. The practice was dangerous in the extreme, owing to the danger of exploding boilers, but accidents due to this cause were far less common than is popularly supposed by reason of the extreme care exercised by the engineers on these occasions. Never- theless occasional accidents did happen, attended with serious loss of life. During the years 1836 and 1837, especially, for one cause or another, several steamboats on the Mississippi were burned. On May 9, 1837, the "Ben Sherrod" racing with the "Prairie Belle" off the mouth of the Homochitto caught fire from her own fur- naces, and burned so rapidly that out of two or three hundred pas- sengers only 40 escaped to the shore. A public meeting at Natchez, presided over by Gen. Quitman, demanded the prevention of racing, and denounced the outrageous conduct of the captain of the burned steamer. Despite the popular outcry at this time numerous races have since taken place. Among the more famous of these races was that between the handsome and imposing steamers "Baltic" and "Diana" in the early 50's. This race, from New Orleans to Louisville, a distance of 1,382 miles, was noteworthy as the longest one that had ever occurred. Both boats happened to leave New Orleans together and throughout the long and exciting contest there was never an hour of the time that they were not in sight or hearing of each other. while frequently they were so close to- gether "that passengers and crews would chaff each other as one boat would momentarily gain on the other." The "Baltic" won the race, though she was perhaps no faster, but was better handled. A still more famous race, and one that aroused the keenest interest throughout the civilized world, was the one between the "Robert E. Lee" and "Natchez" in June, 1870, from New Orleans to St. Louis. The "Robert E. Lee" had been built at New Albany dur- ing the Civil war, and was commanded by Capt. John W. Can-
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non, while this particular "Natchez" (there had been some half dozen predecessors of the same name) was a new boat built at Cincinnati, owned and commanded by Capt. Thomas P. Leathers. Both captains were experienced steamboatinen and each vessel had hosts of friends and backers, though the "Lee" was the especial favorite along the Mississippi by reason of her name. On her last run to St. Louis from New Orleans, a distance of 1.278 miles, the "Natchez" had made the record time of 3 days, 21 hours and 58 minutes. This time the captain of the "Lee" determined to lower, and for that purpose made elaborate arrangements, stripping the vessel of everything that could be dispensed with, refusing all passengers and business, and making especial plans to take on coal in mid-stream. Capt. Leathers of the "Natchez," full of confidence in his boat, made less elaborate preparation for the race. The two boats left New Orleans within only 5 minutes apart, the "Lee" leading; at Natchez she had a lead of 10 minutes, and continued to gain slightly every 100 miles of the race: at Vicksburg she was 10 miles ahead, but owing to the bend in the river the smoke of each vessel was plainly visible from the other. Thousands upon thousands of people crowded the banks of the river to witness the great race, and news of the progress was telegraphed everywhere. The "Natchez" ran into a fog between Memphis and Cairo and grounded, causing a delay of over 6 hours, thus practically ending the race at that point. The "Lee" proceeded to St. Louis, where she arrived 3 days, 18 hours and 14 minutes from the time she left New Orleans, 33 minutes ahead of the previous time of the "Natchez." It was estimated that more than $1,000,000 had been wagered on the result of the race.
With the development of steamboat traffic on the Mississippi and other important rivers of the west, 4 general classes of men came to be recognized in connection with the same-proprietors, navigators, operators and deckhands. The upper ranks of the steam-packet business furnished the Southwest with many fine types of men. "The typical captain of the first half century of steamboating in the West was a man any one was glad to number among his friends and acquaintances. But between the pilot-house and the deck lay a deep and significant gulf-not impassable, for it was frequently spanned by the worthy. Until the Civil war 'deckoneering' was largely the pursuit of whites. A few plantation owners rented out slaves to steamboat owners, but negroes did not usurp the profession until they were freed. This was contem- poraneous with the general introduction of steam railways." (Hulbert.)
Not only did the war of 1861-5 put an end to the days of "deck- oneering" by white men, and to the "coasting" trade of the flat- boats, but it also marked the passing of the old gambling days on the steamboats. For more than 30 years the steamboats had been infested by a swarm of sporting men who almost lived upon the Mississippi and Ohio. Opulent southern planters traveled largely by steam packets and were a source of revenue to many of these
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card-sharps. Gambling, like drinking intoxicants, implied no social ostracism, and men of national reputation whiled away the long hours of leisure during a voyage by indulging in games of chance. Thousands of dollars were often wagered in a single night in games between the gamblers and rich planters, until the evil finally be- came so great that owners, in order to reestablish the reputation of the river boats, were at last compelled to prohibit all such pastimes.
Probably no interest in the Mississippi valley suffered so much from the effects of the war as did steamboating, especially at the South. Upon the cessation of hostilities, those who had survived and saved their boats, or could build or buy others, made a de- termined effort to reestablish themselves in the business, and many were soon conducting a flourishing trade. But in the mean- time the war had given their natural enemy-the railroads-a great impetus, and river transportation began to wane. Steamboats still ply the Mississippi in great numbers, and throng the docks at New Orleans and other important points, but broadly speaking, assailed by the fierce competition of the ever expanding railway lines, the steamboat business on the Mississippi and smaller rivers is only a fraction of its former volume.
Sterlington, a post-village of Ouachita parish, is situated on the Ouachita river and is a station on the Little Rock & Monroe R. R., 12 miles north of Monroe, the parish seat. It is in one of the richest cotton producing districts in the state and is the supply and shipping depot for a considerable area of the rich Ouachita valley.
Stevenson, a post-hamlet and station in the northwestern part of Morehouse parish, is on the New Orleans & Northwestern R. R., 10 miles northwest of Bastrop, the parish seat. It is one of the shipping and supply towns for the western part of the parish.
Stille, a post-hamlet of Vernon parish, is located near the north- eastern boundary, 10 miles west of Nelsonville, the nearest railroad station and about 22 miles northeast of Leesville, the parish seat.
Stoddard, Amos, soldier and author, was born at Woodbury, Conn., Oct. 26, 1762. a son of James Stoddard. The first Amer- ican ancestor of the family was Anthony Stoddard, who came from England about 1630 and settled at Boston, and whose son, Solomon, was the first librarian of Harvard college. Amos served in the American army in the Revolutionary war, and after peace was restored became clerk of the supreme court of Massachusetts. He studied law and was admitted to practice, but in 1798 he was com- missioned captain of artillery by President Adams and assigned to duty on the western frontier. On March 9, 1804, as the repre- sentative of the United States government, he received the transfer of Upper Louisiana from the Spanish officials at St. Louis, where he remained as the civil commandant until Sept. 30. of the same year, when he was relieved by Gen. Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory, and ordered South. In 1807 he was promoted to major and subsequently became assistant quartermaster. In
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the spring of 1813 he served under Gen. Harrison in defense of Fort Meigs, where he was wounded on May 5, and died six days later. Maj. Stoddard was a member of the U. S. Philological -- ciety and the New York Historical society. In 1812 he published a work entitled "Sketches, Historical and Descriptive of Loui-i- ana," which contains many interesting facts regarding the province. He was also the author of a work entitled "The Political Crisis."
Stonewall, a village and station in the northern part of DeSoto parish, is on the Texas & Pacific R. R., about 15 miles north of Mansfield, the parish seat. It is the center of trade for a large distriet in the northern part of the parish, has a money order post- office with one free rural delivery route, an express office, telegraph and telephone facilities, and in 1900 had a population of 100.
Stonypoint, a money order post-village in the northeastern part of East Baton Rouge parish, is on the Amite river, 6 miles south- east of Pride, the nearest railroad station, and 20 miles northeast of Baton Rouge, the parish seat.
Stovall, a post-hamlet of Jackson parish, is situated near the southern boundary on the Tremont & Gulf R. R., 15 miles south of Vernon, the parish seat. Its population in 1900 was 37.
Strader, a village in the extreme southern part of Tangipahoa parish, is situated on the Illinois Central R. R., 12 miles south of Hammond. It has a money order postoffice, telegraph and express offices, and is a shipping point for the southern part of the parish.
Straight University .- (See Freedmen, Higher Education of.) Strikes .- (See Labor Troubles.)
Stuart, Ruth McEnery, author, was born in Avoyelles parish. La., a daughter of James and Mary Routh ( Sterling) McEnery. She received her early education in New Orleans, where she re- mained until 1865. On Aug. 6, 1879, she married Alfred O. Stuart, a cotton planter. She began writing at an early age and is the author of many charming tales and stories, among which are: "A Golden Wedding," "Carlotta's Intended," "The Story of Babette,' "Solomons Crow's Christmas Pockets, and Others," "George Wash- ington Jones," "The River Children." She now resides in New York city.
Sugar .- Louisiana is the great sugar producing state of the Union. Sugar-cane of the Creole, Malabar or Bengal variety was first introduced in Louisiana by the Jesuit fathers in 1751. This species, though sweet and tender. was objectionable on account of its stiff, thorny leaves and the fact that it was very susceptible to frost. For the first few years nothing more than syrup was made from it, but in 1758 Joseph Dubreuil built and equipped a mill on his plantation for the manufacture of sugar. His example was fol- lowed by Destrehan and others, but the sugar made by these early mills was poorly granulated and very wet-good enough for home use, but not fit for export. In 1765 an attempt was made to ship some of it to France, but it leaked out of the casks so badly that the experiment was not repeated. With the cession of Louisiana to Spain came a suspension of industrial activity and the sugar
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industry, along with others, made but little progress for a number of years. In the meantime the Creole cane became deteriorated or "run out" by constant reproduction, and in 1790 the Tahiti variety was introduced. The following year the negro insurrec- tion in St. Domingo drove a number of white refugees to Louisi- ana, among them two Spaniards-Mendez and Solis-who had been sugar makers in St. Domingo. The former established a distillery at New Orleans for the production of rum, and the other erected a syrup factory. It was from these two men that Etienne de Bore proenred the canes for planting when he decided to try the experi- ment of making sugar. Concerning de Bore's first effort in this direction, Cable says: "In the whole picturesque history of the Louisiana Creoles few scenes offer so striking a subject for the painter as that afforded in this episode: The dark sugar-house ; the battery of huge caldrons, with their yellow juice boiling like a sea, half-hidden in clouds of steam ; the half-clad, shining negroes swinging the gigantic utensils with which the seething flood is dipped from kettle to kettle: here, grouped at the end of the bat- tery, the Creole planters with anxious faces drawing around their central figure as closely as they can; and in the midst the old mousquetaire, dipping, from time to time, the thickening juice, repeating again and again his simple tests, until, in the moment of final trial, there is a common look of suspense, and instantly after it the hands are dropped, heads are raised, the brow is wiped, and there is a long breath of relief- it granulates.'
The industry now went forward by leaps and bounds. Seven years later New Orleans was the market for 200,000 gallons of rum, 250,000 gallons of molasses and 5.000,000 pounds of sugar. In 1817 Jean J. Coiron, a native of Martinique, came from Savannah, Ga., with a small supply of ribbon cane, which was planted on the St. Sophie plantation, below the city of New Orleans. In 1825 a schooner load of these canes was brought and they were found so well adapted to the soil and climate of Louisiana that in a few years they practically supplanted all other varieties. In 1830 Thomas A. Morgan, of Plaquemines parish, introduced the vacuum pans and this gave a further impetus to the production of sugar. Valcour Aime, of St. James parish, made also at that time many costly and successful experiments in refining sugar. Thompson, in his Story of Louisiana, writing of the year 1832, says: "The sugar industry of Louisiana was now at the high tide of pros- perity. There were more than 700 sugar establishments in the state and the traffic of New Orleans was enormous. The river was almost blocked up with ships from every country, and every wharf was packed with lines of steamboats, one behind another."
In 1840 there were 40,000 people employed upon the sugar planta- tions of the state, which were turning out annually 70,000,000 pounds of sugar and 350,000 gallons of molasses. Large as these figures may appear, they indicate only a beginning. In 1861 the ouput had reached in round numbers 528,000,000 pounds of sugar and 34,000,000 gallons of molasses. Then came the Civil war, which
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paralyzed the industries of the South, and as late as 1870 the sugar crop of the state was less than 100,000,000 pounds, but it neverthe- "less showed an increase of about 4,500,000 over that of the preceding year. When in 1888 it was proposed by Congress to reduce the duty on sugar, a delegation of Louisiana planters went to Wash- ington to protest against the reduction. Concerning this agitation Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia for that year says: "Against the claim that the sugar industry was non-progressive, and that, as the sugar-cane had never become thoroughly acclimated in this coun- try, the domestic product could never be raised to a plane of suc- cessful competition with that of foreign countries, it was shown that, in spite of the destruction of the sugar industry by the war, it was promptly rehabilitated, and from 5,000 tons at the date of resumption, the production has been increased to nearly 200,000 tons. This great progress has been made in the face of extreme depression in prices, lack of adequate capital, and frequent dis- asters from river floods. That sugar-cane had not become adapted to the climate, was also conclusively denied by the recital of the fact that the sugar-crop has never failed, while nearly every other crop in the country has frequently met with disaster. Besides, the productiveness of the cane has been steadily increased by careful cultivation, and has been demonstrated to be susceptible of still greater improvement. The progressive spirit of the sugar-planters was proved by the fact that, in spite of scant means, such im- provements have been made in extracting machinery as have up to date resulted in almost doubling the ouput of many sugar- houses."
About this time a movement was inaugurated to establish the sugar experimental station and school at Andubon park. The school was afterward instituted, with about 45 acres of ground, including the site of de Bore's first mill, and it was here that the centenary of sugar manufacture in Louisiana was celebrated with appropriate ceremonies on June 30, 1894, when the first class, con- sisting of 3 members, was graduated. Recently seedlings from Demerara in British Guinea have been introduced and propagated by the experiment station. Seedlings of the new variety of cane have been distributed all over the state and promise well. In 1905 the crop amounted to 720.554,948 pounds of sugar and 23,727,735 gallons of molasses. St. Mary's parish reported over 121.000,000 pounds, and Lafourche comes next with over 72,000,000 pounds. There were at that time 225 sugar houses with vacumm pans, which process obtains abont 3,000 pounds to the acre, the open kettle method securing only about 2,000. In addition to the crop reported above nearly every farmer had his "little patch" of cane for the purpose of making syrup for home consumption, and it is esti- mated that 500,000 barrels of molasses were produced outside of the sugar belt proper. As these farmers use the old-fashioned "horse-mill." which extracts but little over half the juice, there is a great waste in this method of manufacture. Formerly every planter owned his own sugar-honse, but late years have witnessed
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the establishment of central factories, in which the introduction of better machinery and more approved ways of production have increased the profits of the business. As it is Louisiana annually raises over 300,000 acres of cane, her crop supplying about one- sixth of the sugar consumed in the United States.
Sugartown, a money order post-village in the northeastern part of Calcasieu parish, is situated on the Shreveport, Alexandria & Southwestern R. R., 3 miles south of the northern boundary of the parish and about 17 miles east of DeRidder, in the great pinery of the northern part of the parish. It has sawmills, and other lumber- ing interests, and is the shipping and trading point for the vicinity and in 1900 reported a population of 200.
Sueur, Pierre Le, who arrived at Biloxi as a passenger in the Gironde in Dec., 1699, was a geologist of note, celebrated for his extensive travels in Canada and his long residence among the dreaded Sioux Indians of the far northwest. He had been a com- panion of Nicholas Perrot, when the latter. on May 8, 1689, took formal possession in the king's name of the countries and rivers of the Upper Mississippi, in accordance with the general cominis- sion given him by the Marquis de Denonville, governor of New France. There is some authority for the statement that the river St. Peter (Minnesota) was named in honor of le Sueur, as he had explored this stream as well as other branches of the Upper Mis- sissippi. He had also learned from the Sioux of the presence of an extensive copper country in this vicinity. Le Sueur arrived in the colony in 1699 in the interest of M. L'Huiller, farmer-general of Canada, his chief mission being to exploit the mineral wealth which he had previously discovered in the Sioux country. After an unavoidable delay of several months, he started on his long voyage up the Mississippi, accompanied by 25 men, among whom was Penicaut, the carpenter-historian, who has related the story of the expedition. Several months were spent in stemming the mighty flood of the Mississippi, and about Sept. 1, 1700, they reached the mouth of the Minnesota or St. Peter river, above the present city of St. Paul. Le Sueur states in his journal, that hav- ing traveled 207 leagues from the Tamorois (an Indian village in the Illinois country), he left the Mississippi to enter St. Peter river. They ascended this stream as far as the Green ( Blue Earth) river, and then entered that stream. They reasoned that this was the copper country, because of the greenish-blue color of the soil prevailing on its banks. It was now October, and the nights were becoming very cold, and Le Sueur found it necessary to construct a fort and habitations for his men to protect them from the icy blasts of winter. As the Sioux Indians objected to the post, he told them that he only came to trade in beaver skins, and concealed his real purpose to explore the mines which were thought to exist here. Ile named his fort for his patron, L'Huiller, and the French- men spent a long, dreary winter here. On April 3, 1701, when the snows had melted, 12 men and 4 hunters set out for the reputed copper mine, distant about a league from the fort, and there in a
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comparatively short time they extracted some 30,000 pounds of ore, from which they selected 4,000 pounds of the best. The men then returned to the fort with the ore, which filled three canoes. Meanwhile, the Indians had come to the fort in large numbers to exchange their furs for the merchandise Le Sueur had brought with him, and he obtained several hundred valuable peltries. He also entered into a peace pact with the three leading chiefs of the Sioux, but this arrangement did not prove to be permanent. Early in May he started on the long return journey to the mouth of the Mississippi, leaving M. d'Eraque with 12 men to garrison Fort L'Huiller. The little garrison not long after ran short of food and ammunition and were attacked by the Indians, who killed three of their number. They therefore abandoned the fort and also re- turned to the mouth of the Mississippi. The ore brought by Le Sueur was later sent to France, "but," says Penicaut, "we never had any news of it since," and it was presumably pronounced of no value. Aside from the valuable furs brought by Le Sueur, and the geographical knowledge gained, the expedition had proved valneless, the terrible hardships having been endured all in vain. He had not even succeeded in establishing a permanent post among the Sioux to hold that warlike nation in subjection.
Sulphur .- A handbook on the mineral resources of Louisiana, issned by the state commissioners of the Louisiana Purchase ex- position in 1903, says: "The richest mine of sulphur in the world occurs in southwest Louisiana, at Sulphur City, in Calcasieu par- ish. It is now shipping over 500 tons of sulphur daily and will, it is said, increase this output in the near future to 1,500 tons."
For some time after the discovery of sulphur in this region, trouble was experienced in mining it on account of the beds of quicksand overlying the sulphur deposits. In 1895, what is known as the Frasch method was introduced and has proven to be a suc- cess. By this method a pipe is sunk through the quicksand, super- heated water is forced through the pipe under heavy pressure, the sulphur is liquefied by the hot water, and being heavier than the water falls to the bottom, whence it is pumped up through a smaller pipe and drawn into tanks to solidify, after which it is broken up for shipment. From borings made by the company working the deposits, it is estimated that their holdings overlie at least 40.000,000 tons of sulphur, worth $100.000,000, and it is prob- able that investigation will develop other fields in the vicinity. How well the prediction of the exposition commissioners has been realized may be seen from a report of the U. S. bureau of manu- facturers under date of June 17. 1908. This report says: "Owing to the development of the Louisiana sulphur deposits the imports of sulphur into the United States have been decreasing. The re- ceipts in 1905 were 83,301 tons, worth $1.522,005; in 1906. 72.404 tons, worth $1,282,873; and in 1907, 20.299 tons, worth $356,739. American exports of sulphur have, in the meantime, increased from nothing in 1905 to 14,437 tons, valued at $289.474, in 1906, and to 35,925 tons, valued at $734,749, in 1907." As most, if not
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