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Show 8.8 EMIGRAN'l''S GUIDE. that the period cannot be very remote when the river was absolute .. ly closed. Red ceJar is vtry plentiful on Red river above thr 5tate ~f Loui.-iana: logs of thi;.; tree are f,,und lnuged in the banks of Red river near Natchitoches, but nom~ now come down tbe strt>am . The ccd·ar is fn'f}Y en tly fouud on the bank as Jow as Alrxflndria at the R:tpids. lh pre!'=ent existence i~ no doubt to be attributed, like that of the cypress, to the great durability of its wood . Between GranJ Ecor and the t~tw n "f Natchitoches, most of the stream of f:{ed river is again re-ur.itt··d. 'rhi~ L, howen'r, the case 6nly at lnw water ~ ht• tl~ the river is ~w,·Jicd by spring floods: sew·ral outlt=-ts flow frf,rll tbt main stream beh\'t-Pll Grt-1nti Ecr1r and Cam pte. These outlets flow into Bl ack lake :md alirw riv<•r:;, and final!y join Red river again by the !·.I ream uf Rigolf't de bon Di,~u. St>v<~ ral uut~ lets lea,'e the Rigolet de bon Dieu, anu flow i11to the Hietan river; and beforl:' tbe lottt'r joins Hed ri\-er tbe outlf-t of B(lyou hapide Jeaves th.· t stre am frun1 tbt right shore. 'I'be W(lter on I\ entt--rs this latter outlet at high w·1ter '"'' beu all the rivers arf' low, Herrphill' ~ creek, that enter~ Bayou Rr~pide, presents a curious spectacle l11 the traveller. Thew; ter of Hemphill's creek is very lintpid, and imrnecliately on falliug into the chaunel of Bayou Rap ide Jiv ides; or1e part flow iag south joins Red river at the town of Alcxalld ria ; the oth£>r north, into Ret.! river below Gilliard's plaut at ion. Ou• of Bf!you H.apide several outl~t~ flow. forming by th~ir jur1ction Bayou Breuf; which in its turn contributes with Bayou Crocodile to form Courtableau river, in Opel0usas. Jn the penin3ula between Red and Ouachitta rivers, rise several small streams, part of whicb fall into the latter, and others into the former. Of those which unite with Red river, the principal are Bodcau. Da· cheet, Bbck lake, Saline, and Hie tan rivers ; the tributaries of Ouachitta are Derbane and the united strearns of Duadonwni and Little 'Fiver, enterjng Ouachitta uuder the name of Oc·:1tahoola river. Upon all these streams the land presents great sameness: the soil and timber are, in the particular, relative positions very near specifi~ eally alil\e. Tbe ?pproxnnatlon of the earth to ,the surf<lce uf a real sphere in all Loui~iana, is proved by the distance to which thosP. fore~ oing .rivers are re~~ered stagnant by the elevation of the Mi5-,is ippi m sprmg floods. I he streams at low water flow with consi<ler~ule Yel?city; but when the Mississippi anJ Hed rivers are s~ elled by sprmg flcods, the valleys of tbeir triuutaries are rendered completely stagnant ah.nost to their ~ources. TIH:! country is billy, but does not appP~r to nse gradually from the level of the ocean, but to stand upon a plam. Indications of iron are almost every where visible. The hills rest ~pon sand stone slate. HuundeJ pebulec, form in many places the mcumbent stratam. Salt springs~ are frequent upon all the streams *No term is more freq11ent than that of salt sp1·ing: it has been used by the autho~· from respect to common usnge; "hilst lw i consciou~, that con·t>etly speukmg, .no such ~liiu~as.a sa~t spring ~xi~ts In all places where salt (munate of soda,) ts ~ou.nd 1n the mterwr· of tL•s contiuenr. its p1 e~ence is kno'" 11 by sandy tlats Simtlat• ~o the beeches of a river·. FrLOJ the IJ'Pquency of salt upon tue eaa·th's surfaae m the valley of the Mi:ssiisippi, and also from that mwerli\. EMIGRANT'S GUIDE. 89 between Ouachitta and Red river inclusive. Two or three of those spring~ are in operation, the principal of which are Postlethwait's works on Sabine and Red river. At the place where this manufactory is e~tab1isbeJ, any quantity of salt might be made, that the exigencies is of the neigh bot~ ring country could demand. The inhabitants ofN atchitoches, Rapides, and other settlements in the vicinity, are now sup plied ~itli ex~eHent salt _from one to. two dollars per barrel. Upo,n <?uach.Ilta na Dugdomont are salt sprmgs equaily ~apable of productwn w 1th th.at ~rought ne::tr Natchitoches. As the population increases, these repositoTJes ot one of the most nece.ssary minerals will be opened, ar-1d their stores distributed for -general u.se. A :referezlce to the table facing page 9 of this treatise will show the presen~ very inad ~quate population, and the great disproportion be~weeal tae land clatmed. <md set~led by inuividuals, and that yet held by the govefnment ot the Umted States. In respect to landed proper Y, there is an ssential uifference between the north and south sides of Red river: in the parts of Louisiana in the latter section the best of the soi! is alienated to individuals; in the former, the far greatest part of the surface and much of the best land remains yet vacant. This is peculiarly the case with an extensive and ver-y fine boJy of land upon th " creeks that flow into Dacheet river and lake Bistineau, and also upon the waters of Derbane Black lake Little river and Saline rivers west, and upon the Tensa~ Ma~on Bre'ur and som~ smaller streams east of Ouachitta. · The lands east of lak~ Bistineau, upon the creeks that enter that !ake, and upon the margm _of the_l ake itself, are of a mixed character. .f~ e bolto! s are often wrde and the soil of excellent character. In tlus pi ce ar~ the only arable parts in Louisiana of that species of lanJ knuwn m the northern states as bottom land. The aiJuvial banks o the M ·ssis ippi and irs enterlocutory streams thouah com. P?sed of si1~1"dar materials, present an aspect very diffe'rent fr~m that kmd of su~bc.e, kno~~ as bottom grounds, on the waters of Ohio and the A tlantt~ nvers. I he former jncliue from, and the latter towards t~e . respective streams upon whose margin they are found. In addi~ wn to the bottoms, are also much of that kind of land known m the southern states as hammock land. The side of the hills are frequently composed of ~econJ rate land clothed with pine,' black ~ak, red ~ak, ash, black hickory, and dogwood. This latter descript:. on o.f soil wo~ld no ?oubt.suit t~e culture of small grain. This t act Is ~et entirely unmhab1ted, oJ course it is only by analogy that the quality of the land can be estio1ated. No country can ba\'e the adv~ntage of finer s~rings. of water. Though comparat.ively less exte~ stve~ the productive soJl of all the peninsula between Red and Ouaclutta nvers, presents the same qualities and varieties as on lake :Bisti- ~eing. f~und by digging, there ~re ~1any reasons to believe, that the entire sur-a~ e 1ests upon a superstratum Impregnated with salt. fit fb~ ~·atet:s of ~ed. l'iv.~t· are at N at.chito~~e~ so br~ckish, as to be rendered uut. he 01 .¥~e,. e1the1 fo.• d1mk ~·· cookmg. lh1s qnahty of the watt!t' at·ises from · , 50d1 th10ugh wh1ch Red r•vet· liows; many of the tributary streams are com~ J>Otie o ! excdlent, pure, clear, aud sweet water. 12 L |