Lake Charles commercial., August 13, 1881, Image 1

About Lake Charles commercial. (Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1881-1898

Image provided by: Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA

                
*
s***'
♦
VOL. 1.
LAKE CHARLES, CALCASIEU PARISH, LA., SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 1881.
NO. 6
LAKE CHARLES COMMERCIAL,
PIBLISHETI EVERY 8ATTROAY, 11Y
.JOHN McCORMIOK.
PRICE OF SFTBSGEIP1ION:
Two Dollars a Year.
AT) VERT J S ING RATES :
IVr Square, (1-0 lines or less), first inser
tion, $1; each subsequent insertion, 50e.
Legsit ndverttseiuents, (1(10 worn« or
less), first insertion, $1; each subsequent
insertion, 50c.
Liberal discount to those who adver
tise by the year.
Entered nt the Post Offiep, Lake Charles,
Ln., as second class matter.
LAKE .CHARLES, LA.
SATl RftAY, : : : : AUGUST .3, 1SSL
Agents for tlie Commercial.
•1 no. H. Poe....................Bagdad.
J. W. Harrison.....West, Lake Charles.
C. Mayo.......................Opelousas.
**at" Subscribers wiio fail to re
ceive their palter, will please noti
fy us of t<he fact.
Judge H. I). Read is having a new
dwelling house built.
If yon want some good bottled
beer, call on Win. C. Fricke.
Governor Louis A. Wilt* is re
ported as being quite seriously ill,
at his residence, in New Orleans.
The schooners Mary Lynch and
Lottie Mayo, are at Schindler & j
Valverde's ship-ways, to undergo
geueral repairs. I
--- s « < - j
Thanks to Messrs, G. M. Gossett,
E. A. Perkins, W. I). Jenkins and
J«w. H. Poe. for subscriptions to
the COMMERCIAL. j
______ I
H. D. Nix shipped a ear-load !
(60,000) of shingles this week, *o \
C>. T. Perkins, Term! lion ville, and ,
ions plenty more of the same sort
—__— » —--j
Read the advertisement of C. II.
Lrwee, in another column. Mr. :
Bruce is prepared to do all work
in his liiiein a satisfactory manner. ;
Give him a call. I
" * 1
- There are now seven prisoners
T, . , T „ . I
in the Parish Jail awaiting their :
trial at the next District Court, six
colored and one white. The popu
latiou of the parish is about 11,000
white aud 2,000 colored.
Beaumont, Texas, is now an in
corporated town. An election for
town officers was Jield on the JOth
inst,, When John C. Craig, was
elected Mayor, and John Keith, J.
Blanchet, L. P. Ogden, A. J.Gilder
and F. E. Adams, aldermen.
Grave apprehensions were en-
tertained during the past week
concerning the President's condi-
tion. Another operation had to
be performed, which proved sue- j
cessful, and the patient has Since
been oontiuaally improving.
- * * * -
Special attention is called to the
addition made to the advertise- j
, „ . ,,
ment of E. Kaiser & Co to,.,- oI
room for their large stock of fall
and winter goods. Call at ouee,
and secure good bargains.
See H. I). Nix's advertisement
in another column. Go to Nix, if
you are naked, he can clothe you ;
if hungry, he can and will feed you ;
if dry, he can n et you, and if you
re going West, on Horace Grec
ey's advice, or coming East, ou
your own better judgmeut, he will
cross you over the river.
We invite particular attention to
the advertisement headed "For
Sale and Rent." The Haskell
House is one of the hest knowu
hotels iu the State.
They are j
closing out their summer stock at
reduced prices, in order to make'
There is ai
niut of money in it for a mau who
understands bis business. i
The Store house offered for sale,
ts as good a location as tlier<; is in ;
town, a new building, and in every !
way a desirable investment.
j
A singular combat was.witnessed
a few days days since at Nix's ferry.
On going to his store, early in the
morning, his son (who sleeps in the
store) called Mr. Nix's attention to
the fight going on, between two
large fish in the river. They must
have fought several hours, for
Johnnie Nix heard them, before
day, splashing and making a fear
ful noise in the water. About sun
rise one of them threw up the
sponge and turned over on his
back. Mr. Nix sent one of his
hands to the rescue in a boat. The
mau towed the fish ashore, and it
died in a few minutes after it was
landed. It proved to be what is
known, in our waters, as a shovel
fish, and measured about five feel
in length. From the wounds and
gashes on the dead fish, his antag
onist must have been an alligator
gar-fish.
We wish to call the attention of
the residents of this parish to the
card of Mr. L< L. Bourges. He
comes amongst us^highly recom
mended by his Excellency the Gov
ernor of this State and others of
equally high repute. The young
gentleman, is eminently qualified
to conduct a first class school, be
ing a graduate of the La. State
Seminary of Learning and Military
Academy, an A. B. and LL. B.
and having had six years experi
c,ice iu the schools of New Or-
I *©»¥». We therefore take pleasure
j iu recommending him to all who
have children, whom they wish to
enjoy the benefit of a thorough
education.
j ™ ~ ' 7j- I ,
I There are at least forty schoon
! er8 eUÄa ^ d in the luiubcr trade of
\ <*•*<•«"«« "* v er, aial witli the
, mill04ld facilities, it is still impos
to get the lumber away from
the mills. Last week the Goos
mill wharves were so crowded
w Rh lumber that Mr. Goos had to
throw a large quantity iu the river, J
to get it out of his way, so as to i
continue sa wing. The lumber will j
ll0 t be lost, however, as it will be
floated 1o the railroad landing,
. , , , ...
hauled out, and shipped by rad.
m » a
We are indebted to Mr. G. Gar
denial, the courteous telegraph
eru Louisiana. From the appear-
ance of lii8 paper he has a good
patronage. Mr. Prather is an old
typo and editor, and we wish lu'm
success.
. 1 , ~ ~ „
A special from Beaumont to the
*
operator at the Railroad depot, for
the very useful report of shipment
of lumber and cross-ties, by rail
road, from the 1st to the llffh of
this mouth. Our inteutiou is to
continue, with the assistance of
Mr. Gardemal, the publication of
this interesting business item of
Lake Charles.
We have received a copy of the
Ashley County 'rimes, published
at Hamburg, Ashley County, Ar
kansas, by Mr. Win. Prather, well
known to the craft iu southwest
N. O, Democrat says; "Our ship
_ ,, „ . .
lu,ub ^ tUe
August, averages seventy cars daily,
the heaviest business ever known
here." • r / i
We presume this number must
include cars passing through from
Lajic CliayU'8 and Ora nge?
New Oilcans has now a Com
mittee of Public Safety. The C.
Ö. P. S. is the outgrowth of a de
fective police, jitupid juries, execu
tive clemency, and the consequent
increase of lawlessness and crime.
The organization is » secret one.
We publish the first official pro
clamation in another column.
We call particular attention to
the new card of M. J. Roetoet.
The flues manufactured by the
Galveston Artificial Stone Works
have been iu use iu our town for
several > ears, aud have given uni
versai satisfaction. Go at once
and get ouo, and comply with the
ordinance of the Town Council.
A Xcw Era for Lake Charles.
The mill owners and lumbermen
, „ , .....j
of Calcas.en have at last realised
the fact that they can no longer
absolutely depend upon the nucer-,
tain mes of the river for their sup-;
. /
ply of timber and logs. The
^ x ,
maud for lumber, at this point, has
been constantly increasing since
the day that the first saw-null was
erected at Lake Charles, and this
demand has, to-day, reached such
proportions that our twelve saw-j
mills are strained to their utmost
capacity to fill one-half of the or
ders sent to them. Any interrap
tion in the supply of logs is, there
fore, a serious loss to them, and
we are glad to see that serious
,.
steps are being taken by some of
or.r citizens to prevent any such
contingency in the future.
We had occasion, in a previous
number, to allude to a project then
,
on foot for the construction of a,
steam tramway, through the ptue|aaw
region, for hauling logs to tide
water iu the river. We aie now
in possession of facts which enable
us to assure our readers that this
. . , ....
pioject will be earned into execn
tion at an early day. Our parish
ioner Mr. A. J. Perkins, was this
week in the timbered country, se
lecting the location and course of
the road, which is to be constructed
in the interest of the firm of A. J.
Perkins & Co., of which lie is the j
senior partner. This road is fo. j
tended to strike tide-water, on the
... . ,, , w ' ,
est J orb, and to run up through :
the northwestern part of the par- j
ish.
We have also been informed, by
our townsman Mr. IL C. Gill, that
a surveying party is now iu the
field, or rather, to speak more tech
nically, in the woods, locating an
other road, which is destined to
run north from this place, and to
tap the main liver near the mouth
of Marsh Bayou, about forty miles
by water from Lake Charles,
The early construction of this
road, which is to be, for the pres
eut, ;i tramway haul logs bj
horse-power, may be considered a
certainty. Mr. Gil), iu whose in !
te) est the road and tramway are
. , . , 1
to be built, lias already purchased |
the land through which the road is j
to pass; he will, at once, have a j
portable saw-mill on the ground to J
saw the material for tramway and !
, .
earners, and promises a speech'
. . , . , , ~ I
completion of this long wished to r
enterprise. Ia due time, if the busi
ness j ustifies it, he will convert his ,
horse-power iuto a steam tramway, i
We wish these gentlemen all the !
,, , :
success they deserve m their laud- ■.
able euterpnses. The great lum- j
ber interest s of Lake Charles looks
up to them with the brightest an
tieipations for the future, and the
day that our log-men, mill-men and
lumber-men will no longer be de
pendent upon the rise or fall of the
Calcasieu River for their supply of
material, will be the dawn of a new
era of unexampled prosperity upon
Lake Charles.
Last Saturday our town, aud par
ticularly the vicinity of the Court
House, looked like the first day of ,
Court term. The fox sales, to take
place that day, had drawn a large
crowd iuto town. All the property
advertised, except a very few, sold
without competition. Fifty cents
and one dollar each adjudication, ;
befog about all that was offered, ;
and treue rail v whoever cot in the
and general y whoever got iu the, |
first bid, had the property knocked
down to him.
We have received a eopy of the
Terrebonne Times, a new paper
published at Houma, Terrebonne
parish, by the Terrebonne FubJish
ing Company, witli Mr. If. M. John
son as editor aud business mana
ger. The Times is a large eight
page paper, well printed md aWy j
edited. We X with pleasure. !
---■—e* 1 "»---------—
Advertise in the Commercial.
Killed By Liohtnino. —On
Friday 5th inst., Mr. Gustave Lan
i, T . , .
dry, who lived on Lacasme, during
: a ttlmder sf<ir wa8 8itting in his
j ho „ 8e ^ his fam51 when the
cllilnne wa8 8trllck by ligh t nin g.
_ ..
i Ine electricy went down the ohim
i nep, entering the room, killing Mr.
^ illste ntl V , and seriously in
, jnrl hig , notM>r . in . law . N() other
. membor of the family wa8 , lurt
an(1 t , ho old M y wj|| recovm ,
-— ------
Bagdad Siftings,
j We have had refreshing showers
for a week past., but not sufficient
! to cause a freshet, but we have had
! plenty to cause us all to east our
: C - TCS heavenward in anticipation.
1 latz & Moss and Stanton & Co.,
„[are driving ahead, with a good sup
j ply 0 f fogs; but lumber is accumu
| lating so that there will soon be no
| wharf room, unless schooners
; ma, ' e better trips.
L, L'ttchie Hansen, a laborer at
! Stanton & Co's mill, accidentally
got bb} hMld (iang , lt hl the „ dg ,J
ptue|aaw and mangled his thumb and
j forefinger to such an extent that
( both had to be amputated. Ur.
: ^° 88 attended him.
j. A «?. od " la " v ,ne, ' hav ? . come *"
! here the past week seeking om
pfoymeut, and idl have been suc
j I.v convinced us that there is more
j timber being put in the streams, iu
ft?* 8 f ectiou ' t),is 8ea80n ' fl,an Uas
been for U1I.V previous years—and,
: moreover, the log-men are taking
j special pains to have only A No. 1
cessful in finding ready work and
good wages, at the mills, and tie
camps above here. Come along,
gentlemen, we can find lots of work
for you, and good pay at that.
A few days' sojourn in the West
Fork timber district has thorough
logs hauled. They ha ve come to
the conclusion that " l)t nikilo nihil
fll" and they are right. The pres
ent good prices for timber is very
encouraging, hence their idea for
pushing tilings ahead in good sea
son. There is but little doubt that
in a short time those mills that are
investing before hand will be well
supplied witli timber, and of the
liest quality at that. K. & O. E.
West Lake Charles Jottings.
Hot! Hotter! Hottest!
Give us a breeze! breeze! breeze!
Norris' mills have suspended
operations for a month, iu order to
P re P are for tlie fcU t,ade -
P ^ ,hee ' fl ,°® U .P W,e rl '^ r '
<»ii the market here, selling at
twenty-five cents a buchet.
Mr. A. J. Perkins returned Fri
day evening from a tour of iuspec
tion in the pine woods, where lie
* lay looking tor a site tor his
steam tram way
J
The saloon owned by Mr. W. C.
|ß U8b jy ojieu at all times to the
public. Wiley, the genial bar-teud
er, will serve liis friends with dis
l>»teh. Give him a call.
The schooner Hermes, loaded
with ineux, wlule m the act of tak
^ <lv ^ ri , we la8t , Mouday ev .
euingr, struck a snag iu the lake,
aud filled her bold witli water. She
is "<»w on Clooney's ways for re
pairs.
The writer returned front a trip
to Caleasieu Pass Wednesday, feel
ing greatly benefitted by the de
lightful Gulf breezes that he en
joyed while there, Capt. Monroe,
Collector of Customs for that port,
came up at the same time and will
remain here until Monday. The
crops at the Pass are good, witli
the single exception of the orange,
(not eveu excepting the mosquito.)
which vvas considerably damaged
by the cold w eather. The yield will
, _ .
j*
visitor at that place,
a welcome
" Nac Nud."
Col. RooKwiy.L will present to
Congress, when it meets, a bill ap
propriating <>10,000 for repairing
refurnishing the White House.
Wbi,e Congress will undoubtedly
t ifc will probably, at the
t ime, decide upon erecting a
new Presidential mansion in some
more suitable and desirable portion
of the city. The White House has
been notorious for its insalubrity,
nearly everbody living in it suffer
ing from malaria. The building,
moreover is very costly and ex
pensive, Congress being called on,
every year, to coutribute from 10
to 2(i per cent of the cost of a new
building for repairs. It would be
^«omy* to* prôcW at'orn-e to
enact a new house and stop lavish-
ing money on the present one.—N.
O- Democrat.
PERSONAL.
L. Crager, representing Green
leve, Block & Co., of Galveston, is
on hand with his samples.
Ben Asher, from LeGierse &
Co., grocers of Galveston, is here
with a smile on him like an over
seer's wages.
!?. A. Fairchild, merchant from
Nibhlett's Bluff, was on hand last
Saturday. He looks as fat and
happy us usual.
Wé had the pleasure of a call,
Tuesday, from Dr. L. N. Mims.
He reports peace and plenty pre
vailing in his neighborhood on the
Sabine.
Mr. Henry Welsh, from Welsh's
Station, was in town last Thursday,
and called at our sanctum and got
a receipt for a year's subscription.
You may rest assured he was a
weleofue visitor.
M V. C. F. Ilfrey, a merchant from
Cedar Bayou, Texas, paid our town
a visit this week, prospecting. He
expressed himself as being agree
ably surprised at the appearance
and extent of the Lake City.
Mr. J. W. Harrison, the efficient
book-keeper of Perkins & Miller,
West Lake Charles, who has been
rusticating at Calcasieu Pass for
several days, returned lust Wed
nesday, and is again at liis post.
We were agreeably surprised,
last Saturday, at havingacall from
onr friend Sain Haas, of Bayou
Chicot, St. Landry parish. Sam
always has an eye open to busi
ness, and in proof of same, he in
vested $ 1162 cash, in three pieces
of property at sheriff's sale, and
subscribed to the Commkhcial.
Come again Sain.
We were favored by a call this
week from Mr. Jean Caste X", of
Mertnentau. He reports the rice
crop in his neighborhood, almost
a failure, on account of the drouth,
although above and below him the
crop has not suffered so much. He
left a kindly souvenir in the shape
of a two-dollar William, for one
year's subscription.
TO THE PLBLIO,
Proclamation of the Committee of
Safety,
OUR OBJECTS AND PURPOSES.
1. To insure full protection, in
life, liberty and property, to all
good citizens; without distinction
of party, race or nationality.
2. To suppress, at all hazards,
crime aud rowdyism.
3. To coerce our public servants,
both high and low, to the full, faith
full and fearless performance of
their duties, and to afford them
protection iu the discharge, of the
same.
4. To see that the monies collect
ed from the people of this common
wealth in the shape of taxes, licen
ces, reyehues, etc., are economi
cally ami judiciously applied to
the use of the government—to the
payment of the principal of the
puqlie debt aud interesst thereon,
and to see that the monies are not
sei veri^d to the use, support and
perpetuation of any infamous
rings.
To see that the laws of the
commonwealth, especially the
criminal laws, are strictly and im
partially enforced; and to ferret
out suppressed evidence and un
willing witnesses in all important
State eases.
6. To prevent undue influence
on the pardoning power.
7. To watch with vigilance the
jdiffemit branches of our govern
ment. and whenever ami wherever
we And au unfaithful public servant,
or a wrong done the people, to see
that the servant is punished ac
cording to his guilt, ami to Sweep
away the wrong, that right may
rule, w order of
Cojnu'iTWi or Brume Sai'hit.
The swiftest bird, probably, is
the eagle of the sea, or frigate, bird
often measuring sixteep feet from
tip to tip. It hovers utau elevation
of 10,000 feet when a storm sweeps
over the ocean. if it wishes to
travel, says a French naturalist, it
can almost annihilate spare. It
eau breakfast iu Africa and dine in
America. This bird reposes ou its
great motionless wiugs, literally,
"sleeping on the bosom of the air."
Lake Charles Gommekciai,.—
This is the title of a new weekly
journal lately star ted. in the town
of Lake Charles, La., by Mr. John
McCormick. It is handsomely
printed, ably edited, and brimful of
well written editorials and choice
selections. Brother McCormick,
we wish you every success.—Ash
ley County (Ark.) Times.
as
to
as
of
iu
is
&
a
[Communicated.]
Can Calcasieu be Made an Agricul
tural Parish!
No.
In my last I treated upon the
prairie lauds of the parish. In this
I propose to notice the timbered
lands and the uses they may be
put to. In doing this 1 shall con
fine myself to the lands upon either
bank of the Calcasieu river above
and below Lake Charles; leaving
the other portions of the parish to
be treated of at some future time.
Upon each bank of the river be
low Lake Charles the laud is high
and run sloping back froiVi the
river a long distance to the
swamps, forming an elevated ridge
of good rieh land, capable of befog
cultivated, and wiiicli would pro
duce; with proper cultivation, all
diversities of crops of the State.
Corn, cotton, oats, rye, barley,
fruits, grapes, vegetables and ce
reals of all kinds, can lie raised in
abundance. . , t .
A great part of the above lands
are lying in a wild slate, waiting
for and inviting the husbandman
to improve them. Above Like
Charles, the same may be said of
the formation of the land. Rich
ridges of land covered with heavy
timber. These lands can be bought
cheap, and there is enough timber
growing upon the land to more
than pay the purchaser of the land.
This timber is mostly pine, aud is
hear the river, down which it can
be floated and sold to the mills at
a good price, returning to the
owner a good per cent, on first
investment.
Now, those lands coiddbe made
ns famous as the Rhine lands of
Europe, if the right kind of people
would take hold of them. If the
German citizens of the parish
would use their influence with
their friends in the fatlierluud, and
induce them to come here and take
hold of these lands, they could
soon make a fortune.
The Germans are proverbial for
their industry, frugality and good
conduct. They understand the
culture of the grape, and the mak
ing of wine, better than corn or
cotton, and these river lands are
well adaptetl to the culture, of the
grape, and the yield would bo im
mense. The juice of the grape is
worth about two dollars per gallon
at the vintage, 'which would amount
to a large sum per acre.
Besides the grape, the peaeli
could also bo cultivated, and a
large crop gathered every year and
shipped to Ht. Louis and Chicago,
auil sold at a good price. They
could bo put in the Chicago market
some weeks before any others, and
reap the first market price.
It is seldom that there is a fail
ure of the peach crop, so there is
but little risk to run. All that is
needed is men who are not ufraid
to work to take hold of the.niatter,
and, in a short time, this parish
would rival the old world iu its
rich grape juice aiid fruits.
Heb domadal.
The Assassin Guitenn, Likely t o Spend
Twenty Instead of Ten Years in
the Penitentiary,
The Washington (J). O.) Law
Reporter, a Weekly, has an edito
rial article on "Assault with In
tent to kill," in which the inade
quacy, defects and incompleteness
of the Criminal Co dp of the Dis
trict of Columbia are pointed out,
tint which reaches the conclusion
that instead of the maximum pen
alty for Oulteau's offense being
eight, or in case of two indict
ments sixteen years, it is accord
ing to la w twenty years, imprison
ment. Theurtiele quotes a repeal
ing section of a law relating to
manslaughter and all capital felon
ies Hint crimes except murder,
treason and piracy passed in 1875,
which the writer claims repents
the law of 1805 fixing eight years
as the maximum penalty for the
tirst offense of assault with intent
to kill. The 1875 law fixes imprison
ment at not less than seven nor
more than twenty yeaas.
A facetious bru)tciiiaii on the
Central Pacific railroad (jvled out
as tlie train was about entering a
tunnel : "This tunnel is about one
mile long, anil tiie train will be
four inimités in passing through it.
The train dashed into daylight
again iu four seconds, aud the
sceue in the car wbb one for a
painter. Seven youngJadies were
closely pressed by fourteen pairs
of masculine arms, fourteen pairs
«flips were glued together, and
two dozen whiskey flasks 'flashed
iu the air.