The weekly echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1868-1876, 1875-08-19

/ mere ana there, three, tVe and ten
miles from each other, along the
various little bayous that traverse
the country. The frank and cor
dial reception one meets there re-
calls to mind the old-time hospi-
talitY of the first inhabitants of
Louisiana, which, alas is gradu-
ally disappearing. In their kind
and simple manners there is no
ostentat!on nor restraint, and the
eagerness which they evince TO be
agreeable to their guests reveals a
bright side of their character. For
instance, we never stopped at a
house but what the proprietor,
learning that we had come to fish
and hunt. procured for us q pack
Of hounds, with drivers and
hunters, or a guide to pilot us aud
keep us company while fishing
and a day or two afterwards, when
on the point of leaving, We spoke
about pecuniary remuneration,
they would simply but firmly de-
cline to accept anything and, ia
most instances, would exact from
US a promise to return in what
they called a more favorable sea-
son for the sports we were in ques
of. | would mention among those
who shoWered upon us every kind
ness, Messrs. John Hes, Hollins,
Wilmington, Lewis Ford, A. Daw-
son Cole, Harper, A. Smith, Hon.
G. W. Richardson, and others
whose names / do not recollect.
The crops of all kinds in these pine
woods are excellent-finer than any
raised since the war-and can compare
with those raised on our prairie lands,
Cotton, corn, rice, sweet and Irish po.
tatOes, melons and fruits grow as well
there as here. And there they possess
the advantage of being able to raise
cattle, sheep, hogs, etc, without fear
of having them stolen as they are here.
ID every house, no matter how poor
its inmates, there is always an abnn-
dance of salt beef or pork, butter, milk,
etc. The air is pure and salubrious,
there are no sWamps, with their nox-
iOus vapors and miasmas, to breed fe-
yer and disease, and hence the general
health is excellent,
The deer is gradually but steadily de-
in these forests there are,
however, still great many in the
vicinity of Sugartown, at the north
eastern extremity of Calcasieu. Fine
fish, trout principally, abound in Bun
dicks Greek, Barnes Greek, Whiske-
chitO and Darbonne, although these
streams are frequented during the
whole summer by fishing parties, many
lf whom 60 from our own parish.
SugnrtOWn is a small village situated
on the road leading from Lake Charles
10 Alexandria, at about 65 miles from
either of these points. The communi-
cations between Alexandria and Lake
Charles are had entirely by land and
Lake Charles loses the handling of a
portion Of the crops Of the
parish, which is hauled to Alexandria,
distance Of % or so miles, although
aised at only As or 30 miles from Lake
Charles. This diversion is due to tho
act that the public roads OF the parish
i Rapides are kept in better condition
han those of Calcasieu, and to the
,ther fact that the producers obtain &C
Alexandria better prices for their pro-
Iucts, and pay less for the goods they
seed. The meroL ants of Lake Charles
nd the parish authorities of Calcasieu
hould make a note OF this.
To conclude, / viii say that the twen-
y-four days spent in the parish Of Cal
asieu, and especially the fifteen days
70 spent in its immense pine forests,
-ere an uninterrupted series Of pleas
res. We had fish and deer meat i'm
bundance, and when we left those
MET s0litudes it was with mental
romiso to return if the opportunity
lould ever present itself and enjoy
nee more the sports of the rod and
un and the quiet aud unostentatiOus
Of those kind and generous
eople from whom we sopaT Atea with
sgret, Lbs,
We are happy to sec that prac-
oal ,.,cnrytrYrt3nr hae harnr, ~