Passing along this interesting info for the folks on the northwestern border of LA. Joyce +++++++++++++++++ Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999 From: Josephine Lindsay Bass <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: Gateway to Texas From: "Eugene W. Helms" <[email protected]> A few of you were interested the last time I posted about Texas steamboat port of entry at Jefferson. I have just returned from our annual cousins' reunion at Jefferson, and learned a few new things. I had been most interested in obtaining a copy of the rumored book by Jacques Bagur on the history of navigation on the Big Cypress Bayou and Red River. Unfortunately, the book has not yet been published, but I was able to briefly examine the manuscript at the office of the Cypress Valley Association. When published, it will be a very valuable resource for anyone interested in traffic and migration through this area. Bagur will list about 295 steamboats that called at Jefferson, from the first, the "Lama" in March 1845 to the last, the "Anna Tardy" in 1905. Many of these made multiple trips, and the total number of documented dockings is 2,412. Of these, about 2,070 were before the arrival of the railroad in 1874, and only about 342 during the next 31 years. Adjusting for the Civil War years, Jefferson averaged almost 100 dockings per year for about 25 years until the arrival of the railroad. I have seen a photograph in the Jefferson museum showing at least 7 steamboats tied up at the wharf at one time. Bagur's book will list all boats, give their descriptions, and give the dates of all arrivals. I thought some might be interested in the effect of the Civil War on steamboat traffic to Jefferson, so I made a few notes. Here is a summary: Year Number of landings 1858 62 1859 98 1860 46 1861 106 1862 15 1863 21 1864 0 1865 16 1866 187 1867 115 It appears that traffic initially increased in 1861 (more farm products headed east?) and then was almost completely shut down as control of the Mississippi passed to the Federal side. The few trips made were probably to Shreveport, Natchitoches or Alexandria on the Red River. But look at the explosion in 1866! I have read that farmers had hidden out their cotton crops during years it couldn't be marketed, fearing Union confiscation. As soon as that (perceived) danger had passed, cotton simply "came out of the swamps" and crowded the wharf at Jefferson. Another resource that I had never seen before was the book: "Account of a Journey through North-Eastern Texas undertaken in 1849 for the purposes of emigration embodied in a report by Edward Smith London, 1849" Keep in mind that this journey was undertaken only four years after the first steamboat reached Jefferson. It is fascinating reading and I have to find a copy of my own. It contains extremely detailed and practical advice to settlers considering emigration to Texas. A sample: When you arrive at New Orleans, book passage to Jefferson...it then recommends several "suitable" vessels, and warns about other undesirable ones. Then, go the Army Quartermaster in New Orleans. You will be able to buy good wagons at half the going price out of surplus army equipment left over from the Mexican War. There is a good discussion of the comparative merits of draft animals for pulling the wagon: horses vs. mules vs. oxen. The choice: oxen. They are better in the mud, and, when old, can be fattened and eaten. And a word of caution: When you reach Jefferson, do not buy your yoke of oxen in town. They will be of smaller size and more expensive than available from farmers in the countryside. With the number of people hauling cargo into Jefferson, one can easily rent a yoke of oxen or a mule team for a couple of days, and pull your wagon at least 15 or 20 miles away from Jefferson before buying your own oxen. Ah, the good ole days! Being street-smart in those days was an altogether different thing, wasn't it? Gene in Dallas