Thursday – November 9^th
Just out of Orange we cross the Sabine River on a ferry and go up a canal for 5 miles. See some alligators and lots of snakes. Pass Lake Charles a nice little town of about 15,000 population, situated on the banks of Lake Charles. Cross ferry at Mermentau over the Mermentau which is supposed to be the deepest river in the world for its width being 90 feet deep. Lots of sugar cane, wheat, rice and potatoes are grown in this section. Had a wreck and broke the top and windshield. Camp in a cane patch.

Approximate mileage 77.3 miles.

They continued on the Old Spanish Trail all day.

The Sabine River ferry was outside of Orange and was called Ballew’s Ferry. It was replaced by a swing bridge in 1927 which helped to alleviate a traffic bottleneck along the Old Spanish Trail.

The Mermentau River is a tidal river whose width from its banks is 250-1000 feet, however through the lakes it can be up to several miles wide.   The low water depth is 10 feet.   The depth isn’t the 90 feet that he said. He may have been trying to say that since the river can be miles wide when it has a depth of 10 feet, that it is the deepest wide river.

[Ferry crossing Sabine River], Photograph, n.d.; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth37027/ : accessed June 03, 2014), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Heritage House Museum, Orange, Texas.

A Cane Patch Southern Matters, accessed 2014-06-06 Sonny shared the image with Southern Matters

Lake Charles Courtesy of Louisiana Travel Destinations

Friday – November 10^th
Roads are better but we have two punctures just the same. Cross the Red River just before we get to Morgan City on ferry. 190 feet deep but very wide. Get to the old Mississippi River and cross on ferry about 5:00 p.m. Hit New Orleans and go to P.O. for first time. Got three letters which helped quite a bit. Have some trouble getting located since New Orleans does not have a tourist campground. Finally got located in the suburbs about 9:00 o’clock.

Approximate mileage 211.5 miles(part 1, part 2, part 3 ).

They continued on the Old Spanish Trail all day.

The Ferry at Morgan City was called the Berwick Bay Ferry and was not replaced by a bridge until 1935.   It actually went over the Atchafalya River, not the Red River.   The Red River does flow into the Atchafalya River, but the river at Morgon City is called the Atchafalya.

Bird’s Eye View of New Orleans, L.A. Showing Crescent Formed by Mississippi River	La Fayette Square, New Orleans, La.	Lafayette Square showing Post Office, New Orleans, La.
Ferry Across Mississippi (early 20s) Courtesy of Old New Orleans)	Canal Street (early 20s) Courtesy of Old New Orleans

Saturday November 11^th
Sleep lots and listen to the whistles as they blow in memory of November 11, 1918 – Armistice Day. Mitch and myself work on Ford till noon, while Tuttle and McDonald go uptown and get some dope on the roads. Leave New Orleans about 2:30 p.m. and drive by the banks of the Mississippi all afternoon. Camp in Mr. Blakley’s store lot at Lutcher, L.A.

Approximate mileage 50.7 miles.

Armistice Day celebrates the end of WWI which took place only 4 years before this trip.

It looks like they went into New Orleans then traveled back up the other side of the Mississippi. They left New Orleans on both the Jefferson and Jackson Highways.

The Jefferson Highway was an automobile highway stretching through the central United States from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Other Jefferson Highway Resources

• Jefferson Highway Association
• Jefferson Highway Facebook Page
• Iowa DOT Jefferson Highway Page

Jackson’s Military Road was a route from Nashville, Tennessee to New Orleans, Louisiana. After the War of 1812, it was improved with federal funds and was named after Andrew Jackson. The route later became part of the Jackson Highway which connected Chicago to New Orleans via Nashville.

Jefferson Highway Route Marker

Jefferson Highway Map from the 1922 Jefferson Highway Tourist Guide courtesy of Jeffersonhighway.org

Jackson Highway Marker

Jackson Highway Map form the early 20’s Courtesy of John Murphey