USA > Louisiana > Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, Volume II > Part 76
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Wells' Administration .- J. Madison Wells succeeded to the office of governor on March 4, 1865. Upon being installed he made a short speech, and was followed by Gen. Hurlbut, commander of the Federal forces in the Department of the Gulf, who thus de- scribed the conditions prevailing in that portion of the state under military control : "Plantations which used to bloom through your entire land, until the coast of Louisiana was a sort of repetition of the Garden of Eden, are now dismantled and broken down.
Trade, commerce, everything, crippled. * With all these things, this newly organized State of Louisiana has to confront difficulties such as never beset any community of men before. You have to create almost out of nothing. You have to make revenues where the taxable property of the state is reduced almost two-thirds. You have to hold the appliances and surroundings of government, and maintain them. All this you have to do out of a circumscribed territory and a broken-down country, Hence there is eminent practical wisdom in the suggestion contained in the address you have just heard (Gov. Wells' speech), that the most rigid and self-denying economy should be exercised in all these relations which you hold to your fellow citizens."
Soon after Gov. Wells came into office the war closed and large numbers of paroled Confederate soldiers returned to their homes. Many of these were restored to citizenship by taking the oath of
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amnesty laid down by the president of the United States. This added largely to the voting population of the state, and on May 3 the governor issued a proclamation declaring the old books of the register of voters for the city of New Orleans to be closed from that date, and "all certificates issued by virtue of such records to persons, conferring on them the right to vote, to be null, void and of no effect from and after the present date." The proc- lamation also authorized the register of voters "in and for the city of New Orleans, to open a new set of books, to commence on the 1st day of June." The registration annulled by this proclamation had been made under an order of Gen. Banks, and the governor's order led to some conflict between Banks and Wells. Many of the voters registered were negroes, and the governor in his proc- lamation asserted that "nearly 5,000 persons are registered as voters who did not possess the qualifications required by law."
President Andrew Johnson recognized the civil government of Louisiana as reorganized, and on May 29 issued a proclamation of amnesty to supplement the proclamations of President Lincoln issued on Dec. 8, 1863, and March 26, 1864. The oath prescribed in Johnson's proclamation was as follows: "I,
do solemnly swear (or affirm), in presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect and defend the consti- tution of the United States and the Union of states thereunder. and that I will in like manner abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamations which have been made during the existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves. So help me God."
On June 2 Gov. Henry W. Allen (q. v.), whose seat of govern- ment had been at Shreveport after the Federal occupation, issued from that place an address to the people of the state declaring his administration at an end. On the 10th Gov. Wells issued a proclamation to the people of the parishes of St. Tammany, Wash- ington, St. Helena, Livingston, West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupée. St. Martin, Concordia, Madison, Carroll, Franklin, St. Mary, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, Tensas, Vermilion. St. Landry, La- fayctte, Calcasieu, Avoyelles. Natchitoches, Sabine, Caddo. Oua- chita, De Soto, Rapides, Morehouse, Union, Jackson, Caldwell. Catahoula, Claiborne, Bossier, Bienville and Winn, congratulating them on "being restored to the protection of the flag of our country, the symbol of law, order and freedom, and which now waves in majestic power over an undivided nation." In this proc- lamation, or address, the governor adopted a pacific tone and gave to the people of the above named parishes much good and whole- some advice. "It is not my purpose," said he, "to rake up the ashes of the past, by inquiring who has erred and who has not erred in the fearful struggle the nation has just passed through. What- ever may have been the causes of the outbreak, and however bitter may have been the feelings engendered in the hearts of some, it is better that all such matters be buried out of sight forever. It is not the past, but the present and future, we have to deal with.
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You must go to work to organize civil government in your respective parishes. Sheriffs, recorders, clerks of courts and police jurors will have to be appointed provisionally, until elec- tions can be held to fill these offices as provided by law. You must confer among yourselves, and select men of integrity and capacity to fill these positions. * *
* Important elections will be held this fall. Members of Congress and a legislature will have to be elected; and if each parish is provided with proper officers to open the polls, an election for governor and other state officers, according to the new constitution. will take place at the same time. * * * In conclusion, I assure you that no one is more anxious to have the whole state represented in all general elec- tions, and particularly for the office of governor, than myself."
By Sept. 21 the establishment of civil government had progressed so satisfactorily that Gov. Wells felt justified in issuing a procla- mation ordering a general election in every parish of the state on Nov. 6. The proclamation set forth the qualifications of voters, foremost among which was that they should take the oath as prescribed by President Johnson in his proclamation of May 29. On Oct. 2 a Democratic convention met in New Orleans to nom- inate a state ticket. Ex-Gov. Wickliffe was chosen chairman, and upon taking his seat referred to the motto "Welcome all" upon the wall, by counseling the delegates to "forget all differences, all past animosities, and assemble once more under the constitution of the United States." Gov. Wells was unanimously nominated for reelec- tion and the convention adopted a long series of resolutions which breathed a spirit of loyalty to the United States; approved the plan of President Johnson for the reorganization of the state gov- ernments in the South; urged the president to grant a general amnesty to the ex-Confederates; and recommended a convention to frame a new constitution. On the 9th an organization known as the "National Conservative Union" held a convention and en- dorsed the nomination of Gov. Wells. About the same time some friends of ex-Gov. Allen published the following: "For Governor -The Friends of ex-Gov. Henry Watkins Allen, anticipating his immediate return home (he was then in Mexico), hereby announce him as a candidate for governor of the State of Louisiana, at the ensuing November election." Gov. Wells received 22,312 votes, and ex-Gov. Allen. 5.497. Albert Voorhies was elected lieutenant- governor and the legislature was almost entirely Democratic.
Pursuant to the call of the governor, the legislature met in extra session on Nov. 23. In his message the governor confined his attention chiefly to local matters that required legislation. Michael Hahn and R. King Cutler, who had been elected U. S. senators at the preceding session, had not been admitted to seats, and at this session of the legislature Henry Boyce and Randell Hunt were elected senators in their stead. On Dec. 22 the extra session ad- journed, and the regular session began on Jan. 22, 1866. On the 25th a motion was made in the house to appoint a joint committee of the house and senate to report any necessary changes in the
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constitution of 1864. A lively debate ensued. but no definite action was taken. A bill was passed providing for an election of municipal officers in the city of New Orleans on March 12-a date earlier than that fixed by the charter-but it was vetoed by the governor, who urged that "the necessity of anticipating the fixed time for the election is not apparent," and asked for proper guaranties that it would be within his power to see the laws faithfully executed before holding a municipal election. Concern- ing this bill, which was passed over the governor's veto, Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia for 1866 says: "This developed still more clearly the division of sentiment in the legislature, one part repre- senting the disenfranchised portion of the people seeking to recover their lost rights: and the other representing the enfranchised minority, who refused to adopt such measures as would transfer the control to those late in arms." The veto of this bill and some other actions on the part of the governor caused him to lose the confidence of the Democratic party, and the members of the legis- lature requested Lieut .- Gov. Voorhies to take action in all mat- ters where the welfare of the state was concerned.
After considerable discussion regarding the advisability of call- ing a constitutional convention, the legislature sent Duncan S. Cage and James B. Eustis as commissioners to Washington to lay the matter before the president. In the meantime a bill was pre- pared, naming the first Monday in May as the date for the elec- tion of delegates to such a convention, and it had passed to the third reading when telegrams from the commissioners advised no further action along that line, as it would "seriously embarrass the president's reconstruction poliey." About this time a move- ment was started to reassemble the convention of 1864. Promi- nent attorneys declared that such an attempt would be illegal. and a number of old delegates declined to take part in any further deliberations of that convention. This left the convention without a quorum and on July 27, over the protests of Lieut .- Gov. Voorhies and the other state officers. Gov. Wells issued a proclamation for an election of delegates to fill the vacancies. Feeling was aroused and the affair culminated in bloodshed. (See Riot of 1866.)
On Dec. 28. 1866, a new session of the legislature was convened. In his message the governor urged the ratification of the 14th amendment to the Federal constitution, but almost immediately after the reading of the message a joint resolution, refusing to ratify the amendment, was introduced in the senate, and it passed both branches of the assembly without a dissenting vote. Both houses also adopted joint resolutions protesting against the en- forcement of the reconstruction laws recently passed by Congress. but the resolutions were vetoed by Gov. Wells, who issued a proclamation declaring the acts of Congress already in force in Louisiana, and that all elections in the state must be held in con- formity therewith. Fortier says: "Gov. Wells had become so dis- tasteful to a majority of the white people of the state that memo- rials were read in the house praying for his impeachment on
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charges of having been a defaulter as state tax collector in 1840, and having assumed unwarranted authority."
The legislature at this session appropriated $4,000,000 to be. raised by an issue of bonds, for repairing the levees along the Mississippi river, and appointed a board of commissioners to carry out the provisions of the act. The governor disapproved of the board appointed by the general assembly and named a new set of commissioners, directing them to take possession of the records and funds on May 1. 1867. A conflict resulted and Gen. Sheridan abolished both boards and appointed a new one. Wells appealed to President Johnson for a revocation of Sheridan's order, and the secretary of war ordered a suspension of proceedings until Sheri-
dan could be heard. In his report the latter said: "After the adjournment of the legislature, the governor of the state appointed a board of his own, in violation of this act, and made the acknowl- edgement to me in person that his object was to disburse the money in the interest of his own party by securing for it the vote of the employes at the time of election. The board con- tinued in office by the legislature refused to turn over to the gov- ernor's board, and each side appealed to me to sustain it, which I
* * I say now unequivocally that Gov. Wells would not do. *
is a political trickster and a dishonest man.
* I have seen him again, during the July riot of 1866, skulk away where I could not find him to give him a guard, instead of coming out as a manly representative of the state and joining those who were preserving the peace. I have watched him since, and his conduct has been as sinuous as the mark left in the dust by the movements of a snake."
On the same day that this report was made to the secretary of war (June 3, 1867) Gen. Sheridan issued the following order : "His Excellency. the governor of Louisiana, J. Madison Wells, hay- ing made himself an impediment to the faithful execution of the act of Congress of March 2, 1867. by directly and indirectly impeding the general in command in the faithful execution of the law, is hereby removed from the office of governor of Louisiana, and Mr. Thomas J. Durant appointed thereto." Gov. Wells at first refused to give up the office, but when threatened with forcible ejection he decided that "discretion is the better part of valor," and yielded as gracefully as could be expected under the circumstances. Mr. Durant declined the appointment and Gen. Sheridan then appointed B. F. Flanders, who accepted.
Welsh, an incorporated town in the southeastern part of Cal- casieu parish, situated on Bayou Lacassine and the Southern Pa- cific R. R., about 25 miles east of Lake Charles, the parish seat, in the rice district, has a bank. a money order postoffice, telegraph and express offices, and is the shipping town for the southeastern part of the parish. The population in 1900 was 320, but since the discovery of oil in the vicinity its growth has been rapid, and the census of 1910 will show a much larger number of inhabitants.
West Baton Rouge Parish, established in 1807, is one of the
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original 19 parishes into which Orleans territory was divided by the first territorial legislature. When erected as a parish in 1807 it was given the name Baton Rouge, but after the West Florida revolution in 1810 East Baton Rouge parish was erected on the east side of the Mississippi river, and Baton Rouge parish was changed to West Baton Rouge to distinguish the two parishes. This parish is situated on the Mississippi river, and is bounded on the north by Pointe Coupee parish ; the Mississippi river forms its entire eastern boundary, separating it from East Baton Rouge parish on the south and west it is bounded by Iberville parish. The Bayagoula Indians inhabited the country west of the Mis- sissippi river opposite Bayou Manchac, when the French first explored the river from the south, as La Harpe writes in his Journal : "On the 27th (Feb., 1699) M. de Iberville and Bien- ville embarked in two feluccas * * * to explore the mouths of the Mississippi river. * * On the 14th (March) they arrived at the Bayagoula nation." A few days later they
"passed * * * a stream which marked the boundary of the hunting grounds between the Houmas and Bayagoulas." Iber- ville, in his journal, noted, "By exact observations I found its position (the Bayagoula village) to be 64 leagues from the mouth of the river." Iberville left a French boy with the Bayagoulas, who had proved friendly, to learn the Indian language in order to act as interpreter between the Indians and French. The fol- lowing spring Iberville and Bienville again visited the Bayagoulas to see if they could bring about a peace between that tribe and the Houmas, who had been waging war for some months. A truce was effected, but none of the French colonists took up land among the Bayagoulas for about 20 years. The French government realized that the country was settling very slowly, and in order to encourage industrious emigrants to settle in Louisiana and estab- lish permanent agricultural settlements, large grants of land were made to influential persons, who were to colonize their conces- sions. (See Land Grants.) A few trappers and Canadians came down the river from the Illinois country, married Indian squaws and took up land, but the country was practically a wilderness until the exiled Acadians (q. v.) settled the "Acadian Coast" in the latter half of the 18th century. A number of these refugees passed beyond the "coast" up as far as West Baton Rouge, which was almost entirely settled up by these industrious and simple peo- ple. For years the only spoken language was French and the only religion Catholic. The first settlers located almost entirely along the rivers, but as the desirable land grew scarce, settlements were made on the back lands and were called brusles by the people who lived there. A brusle in Louisiana is an interior settlement, subject to intense heat and lack of water. Originally these brusles had an entirely Acadian population, but as the parish became thickly settled many Americans from the older states settled among the French. Upon the organization of the parish in 1808, Judge William Wycoff was appointed parish judge and remained in office
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until 1819. West Baton Rouge has been flooded by the high water of the Mississippi river at various times during its history. One of the most disastrous floods occurred in 1826, when the levees broke; another occurred in 1849; during the entire Civil war period the levees were broken in the upper part of the parish, and as nothing could be done to repair them, the country was hardly habitable for years after the cessation of hostilities. A large deposit of alluvium was left by the successive floods, which added greatly to the fertility of the soil. Since 1882 the levees have been rebuilt a number of times and the levee system is now very complete, protecting the land from overflow. The first mili- tary organization of the parish, known as the Tirailleurs, was formed at Brusle Landing in 1840, and a year later a second com- pany, called the Voltigeurs, was formed. Both these companies offered their services to the Confederate government at the out- break of the Civil war. A third company, the "Delta Rifles," under command of Capt. H. M. Favrot, took a conspicuous part in the battle of Shiloh and the defense of Baton Rouge. The parish is drained by the Mississippi river along the eastern boundary, by the Bayou Grosse Tete along part of the western boundary, while a number of small streams drain the other portions. The forma- tion of this parish consists entirely of alluvial land and wooded swamp. The soil is an accumulation of rich alluvium deposited by the Mississippi for ages past. Lying just out of the cotton belt, West Baton Rouge is essentially a sugar parish. Its lands being peculiarly adapted to the production of this staple crop, the yield is unusually large. In comparison with cane culture. cotton receives little attention. During recent years rice has been intro- duced and its culture is regarded as one of the important indus- tries of the future. Diversified farming is practiced to some ex- tent and truck farming is carried on in the vicinity of Baton Rouge. Fruits grow abundantly in this climate, but are not cultivated to any extent for export. Some live stock is raised by the farmers as a side line, as the by-products of the cane and rice can be used as feed. For many years one of the great industries has been lum- bering. Cypress is plentiful and the logs can be floated to the sawmills on the streams in every part of the parish. The wooded areas, erroneously called swamps, have fine timber, such as gum, ash, elm, oak, cottonwood and cypress. Port Allen is the par- ish seat and most important town. Some of the other towns and villages are Arbroth, Chamberlain, Cinclare, Erwinville, Hermi- tage, Lobdell, Mark and Walls. Excellent transportation and ship- ping facilities are provided on the Mississippi river by steamboats. and by the Texas & Pacific R. R., which parallels the river and has a branch line running southwest from Port Allen, and by the Colorado Southern R. R., which runs west from Port Allen through the center of the parish. The following statistics concerning the parish are taken from the U. S. census for 1900: number of farms. 769; acreage. 59,091 : acres improved, 39,750; value of land and im- provements exclusive of buildings, $1,866,120; value of farm build-
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ings, $759,100; value of live stock. $323.121 ; value of all products not fed to live stock, $878,681 ; number of manufactories, 28: capital invested, $1.654,902: wages paid, $115,209; cost of materials used. $873,472; total value of products, $1,182.308. The population of the parish in 1900 consisted of 2.351 whites, 7,934 colored, a total of 10,285, an increase of 1,922 over the year 1890. The estimated population for 1908 was 12,000.
West Carroll Parish was established in 1877, when the old parish of Carroll (q. v.) was abolished and the parishes of East and West Carroll parishes crected from its territory. The dividing line of the new parishes is Bayou Macon. West Carroll parish is situated in the northeastern part of the state and is bounded on the north by the State of Arkansas; on the east by East Carroll parish ; on the south by Richland parish, and on the west by Morehouse parish. The most important water courses are Bayou Macon on the eastern border and Boeuf river on the western border, while many small streams water the other portions. The formation is chiefly bluff. with some wooded swamp and alluvial land along Bayou Macon and the Boeuf river. The high lands are gener- ally known as the Bayou Macon hills. All the uplands were originally heavily timbered with oak of different varieties in enor- mous quantities, pine, beech, ash, and cottonwood, while the swamp was covered with cypress. Much of this valuable timber has been cut, as lumbering has been quite an important industry, but a great quantity still remains. The soil is varied in char- acter, light on the hills and uplands, and extremely rich and fer- tile in the alluvial bottoms. Cotton is the principal product. but corn, hay, oats, sugar-cane, potatoes, and all kinds of garden vege- tables are grown. Fruits do exceedingly well in this upland par- ish, and large quantities are exported. Pasturage is good almost the entire year and the live stock industry is extensive. When the new parish was created, Floyd. in the southeastern part of the par- ish, on Bayou Macon, was established as the seat of justice. The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern R. R. traverses the parish from north to south, furnishing a direct outlet to the markets of Kansas City and New Orleans for all farm products. The U. S. cen- sus for 1900 gives the following data concerning agriculture, manu- factures and population : number of farms in the parish, 733; total acreage in farms. 49.001 : acres improved. 21.688; value of the land exclusive of buildings, $273,390; value of farm buildings, $102.780: value of live stock. $151.118; total value of products not fed to live stock, $300.047 : number of manufacturing establishments, 10; capi- tal invested. S13.703: wages paid, $1.475; value of materials used. $4,406; total value of products, $12.937. The population of the parish in 1900 was 1.556 whites, 2.128 colored, a total of 3.685.
Westdale, a post-village in the northwestern part of Red River parish, is a station on the Texas & Pacific R. R .. 12 miles north- west of Coushatta. the parish seat.
Western Company .- Louis XIV. king of France, died on Sept. 1. 1715, and Louis XV, at the age of five years, succeeded to the
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. throne. France at that time was in sore financial straits. The recent wars and the extravagances of the late king had left an empty treasury, which Philip, Duke of Orleans, now regent of France, sought to replenish. At this crisis John Law appeared on the scene with a scheme to make France the world's banker, and at the same time secure to himself the nation's foreign trade. Philip listened to him, and in 1716 granted Law the right to estab- lish a bank with a capital of 6,000,000 livres. In Ang., 1717, Antoine Crozat voluntarily gave up his monopoly of the Louisiana trade, his charter having still ten years to run, and on Sept. 6, 1717, a charter was registered in the Parliament of Paris, granting this monopoly to the Western Company (also known as the Mississippi Company), for a period of 25 years, with Law as director-general. Everybody was permitted to take shares in the new company, and Section 36 of the charter provided that "Whereas, the profits and losses in trading companies are uncertain and the shares of the said company can be considered in no other light than as merchan- dise, we permit all our subjects and alf foreigners, in company or for their private account, to buy, sell, and trade in them as they shall think fit." The exchequer bills received in payment for the shares were to be converted into a stock bearing four per cent interest, to begin Jan. 1, 1717, for the payment of which certain revenues of the crown were pledged, and an annuity of 40,000 livres in favor of the company was created, but the company was pro- hibited from anticipating or making use of the interest in advance of its payment. The shares and effects of the company, as well as the salaries of officers, directors or agents, were to be free from distress, except that creditors of an individual shareholder might attach any profits or dividends due him, while such profits or divi- dends remained in the hands of the treasurer. Dividends were to be declared annually and were to be paid in the order of the num- ber of the shares.
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