The Opelousas patriot. [volume] (Opelousas, Parish of St. Landry, La.) 1855-1863, 1856-10-25
THREE THOUSAND TN THE
FIELD
Immense Enthusiasm!

Immense EMthusiasm'
The Fillmore Mass Meeting at Washingto
on Saturday last proved to be the largest an
most enthusiastic gathering of the yeomen al,
the fair Of Old st. Landry that was ever wit
messed in the Parish, on any former occasion
The day was lovely, all Nature seeming t,
smile upon the efforts of tie friends of th
Union to preserve intact the ever7glorious in
heritance which was transmitted through sea
Of blood to their favored posterity by our pa
triot ancestors. 1t seemed as if their spirit
looked down approvingly upon the immens,
asscmbhgethat had come together to cemen
and ratify their appreciation Of the heroic deed.
and sage counsels which have thus far secured
to the Sons of Columbia " life, liberty and the
pursuit Of happiness"
At on early hour in the morning, carriages
with fair occupants, equestrians and pedestrians
from all parts Of the Parish, as well as visitors
from adjoining Parishes, began, to pour into
the town from every avenue, filling the streets
with crowds, and presenting the ~liveliest ap-
p%earance. At ten o'clock, the procession was
formed, and after moving in martial order
through the principal streets, turned toward a
delightful shady grove a little north of the
town, which had been selected by the commit
tee OF arrangements as the spot where the
meeting aud barbecue wene to take place.
First came a band Of music, composed en-
tirely of native talent" Then followed a
superb carriage, drawn by four spirited steeds,
in which were seated thirty-one of our fair
Creoles, all dressed in white, and each "fayre
ladye" bearing a banner upon which was in
scrlbed the name Of a State represented by her,
and the Inscription " Fillmore and the Union.''
Next came a long line of horsemen and car
rlages, composed Of delegates from Opelousas,
Petit Bots, Bots Mallet, Grand Prairie, Vile
Plate, Big Cane, etc. etc. The rear was
brought up bya miscellaneous crowd, among
which we took our position, and moved on
ward to the place of meeting, where we arrived
just in time to observe the fine arrangements
that had been made for the comfort Of all. and
to stake q note" Of the organization of the
meeting, which was done by the appointment
OF the following officers, each name being re-
ceived with loud shouts Of welcome:
President-Cyprien Dupre.
Iacs Prsstaents-Etienne Fuselier, James M. Por-
Ter, Christopher Steel, Elisha Andrus, Louis Soileau
pere, A. II. Gradenigo, Isaac R. jackson, Laurent Du-
pre-, Pierre Wartelle, Dr.. ]. M. Thompson, Don D.. 8,
and Lastie Dupre.
The officers took their positions upon the
handsomely arranged and tastefully adorned
stand, upon the front of which appeared the
blazon "1he Constitution and the Union" and
in the rear, a little more elevated, "Fillmore
and Donelson," in letters formed from leaves Of
evergreen. AS soon as the organization was
completed, the President announced the order
Of proceedings for the day, and introduced to
crowd that old, stanch and tried Wing and
American, Judge Moore Of st. Martin, who
was received with great applause, and who ad-
dressed the audience in French for about an
hour in his usual sound and sensible manner.
Adolphus Olivier, Esq, of Franklin, then
the stand, and for nearly two hours
poured forth q stream Of eloquence, which was
received with the widest demonstrations of de-
light. We have frequently heard Mr.. Olivier,
have heretofore paid to him his just tribute
rs q talented and accomplished orator; but we
never heard him equal his effort on this
occasion. 1he clear and logical manner in
Which he reviewed the present bogus Demo
ratio party, proving upon them the charges
u corruption, inconsistency, disunion and fill
'ustering, as well as the odlous doctrine of
quatter sovereignty, was q master piece. and
tamped him, in the minds of the thousands of
honest and intelligent listeners, as one of
he first speakers of the times. We would like
o give a synopsis of his remarks, but time and
pace forbid. He was succeeded by
Hon. Glendy Burke, of NewOrlean who
the time until the dinner hour in
ealing some heavy blows at modern Democra-
y and its corrupt, demagoguical and uuscrupu-
JUS apostles.
II any thing, the arrangements for dinner
'ere more perfect than those for the meeting.
\ table several hundred feet in length, CAPABLE
{ accommodating over six hundred ladies, and
pom which had been spread an abundance of
he delicacies Us well as substantials of life
18th suspicious looking glass vessels inter
1ersed at short and regular distances, was i'm
ediately filled with the fair alone. While the
cry excellent barbecued meats, the rich con-
ctions and the generous wine were being dis
lssed' we had an opportunity of making a
correct estimate OF the number of
,rsons present, which number could not have
zen less than THREE THOUSAND there were
more, but We speak within bounds, =.
After dinner, Mr.. Olivier addressed tle '
for an hour in French, %eliciting ran
rous applause throughout the whole of his |,
marks. q
Hon: John E. King was then called for, and C
a few short remarks, appealed to the pa-
otism of all present to rally to the rescue of =
e Union Of the States, nov threatened with ci