Madison Journal - How Delta Was Saved From Going Into The River Date submitted: June 15, 2014 Submitted by: Richard P. Sevier USGenWeb NOTICE: All documents placed in the USGenWeb remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities, when written permission is obtained from the contributor, so long as all notices and submitter information are included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. ************************************************************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. ************************************************************************************************ How Delta Was Saved From Going Into The River Madison Journal November 6, 1926 TALLULAH MAN TELLS MEMORIES OF 50 YEARS AGO How Delta Was Saved From Going Into The River-V. S. & P. Only Railroad Editor Herald: I arrived from St. Louis, Mo., September, 1874, at the age of 14 on Capt. Carry's large side wheel ferry which ran between Vicksburg and Delta long before the cut-off in the river was made. I at once got employment with the firm of Maxwell and Goodman, merchants, doing a large dry goods and grocery business. Delta at that time was the Parish Seat, and the largest town in Madison Parish, and had 13 stores doing a large business, namely: Maxwell & Goodman, I. W. Simon, T. P. Coats, J. S. Richardson, J. O. Bradfield, J. J Dundas, D. O. Brine, Thompson & Larkin, I. L. Hardy & Co., Sam Cahn, Spencer & Larkin, Irwin. Shipped 90,000 Bales of Cotton Delta at this time shipped ninety thousand bales of cotton. The V. S. & P. Railroad, only 72 miles long, between Delta and Monroe, was the only railroad in north Louisiana. Most of the cotton raised between Monroe and Delta was brought to Delta by the V. S. & P. Railroad and shipped from there by the steamers R. E. Lee, Natchez, Pargoad and J. M. White. These boats had a carrying capacity each of from five to six thousand bales of cotton. Two years later, 1876, there was a very narrow strip of land from Delta to Desoto, opposite the Anchor Line elevator at Vicksburg, about two and one-half miles long. The narrowest part of this strip was where the transfer boat lands on the Louisiana side. Saved Delta From the River To save the town of Delta from going into the river every available man from Delta went up to a point opposite Vicksburg and sank 25 pound cans of powder 10 feet in the ground at a point where the land was 300 yards wide, and cut a channel in three days, and Anchor Line boats were going through this cut-off soon afterwards. We saved the town of Delta from going into the Mississippi River. I was only sixteen years old at this time and my part in this work was to go to Vicksburg at 9 o'clock that night and purchase from the Louis Hoffman Hardware Company enough fuse to set off 25 cans of powder. This was quite an experience for a boy of my age. Next morning, after we blew up the narrow strip that made the cut-off, the Vicksburg Herald notified us that if we came back they would have cannons on the hills of Vicksburg to prevent us. Mr. George Yoste and Ham Wright will remember this event. -An Old Resident of Madison Parish.