St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1880-08-21
Still this vast belt Of timber will al

Still this vast belt Of timber will al
ways be of great value to the parish
for building and fencing materials.
Until such time as the prairie lands
shall be settled, this body of land
will not be sought for farming pur
poses, owing to the great labor re-
quired for clearing the same.
Continuing up the Courtableau to
the junction of the Bpuf and Croco-
Ollie, we enter one Of the most beau
tiful portions of the parish. On
either side of the BHuf are seen large
and valuable plantations, covered
with luxuriant sugar-canc, cotton
and corn.
THE SOUTHERN SECTION.
We now proceed to give some i'll
formation in regard to that portion
of our parish lying to the south of
the town of Opelousas, and extend
ing to the village of Grand Coteau.
Upon leaving Opelousas we enter
the timber which borders bayou Cal
Than. Leaving this short distance
after crossing the said bayou, we
enter the prairie which spreads east.
ward from the bayou Plaquemine
Brul1e. Following the edge OF this
prairie for a mile and half we en-
ter the heavy timber Of bellevue.
The railroad and old stage road pass
for some five miles through forest
of magnificent oak, magnolia, hick-
ory, ash and other valuable trees,
when we debouch upon the beauti
FIJI prairie where stands the ancient
village of Grand Coteau.
The land of this prairie is very
fertile, and produces fine crops Of
cotton, corn, oats, etc.
The famous ST. Charles College,
in charge of Catholic clcrgymen, is
situated at Grand Coteau. 1t is al
old but large institution, capable Of
accommodating couple Of hundred
or more students. The Convent of
the Sacred Heart is located here,
under the superindence of JesUits.
Before the war these two Catholic
| institutions were very iiourishing,
as many of our best citizens received
u fine education, and many of our
most accomplished women their tut
ton within their walls. They have,
connected with the seminaries, q,
model farm upon which they raise
stock, as we'll as everything re-
quired for the support and comfort
of the institutions. The chief attrac-
tons of the village are the superb
gardens and shrubbery with which
it is surrounded. Everybody here
seems to be living in ease and com
fort. The railroad depot has been
located about one mile west of the
village.
WILD GAME, ETC.
Many portions of st. Landry
abound i'll the finest of game. In
the fall and winter, and the early
part of spring, ducks and geese are
to be found almost everywhere about
the ponds and sloughs, which are
quite numerous i'll the prairies.
Prairie chickens are pretty album
dant some distance west Of Opelou-
sas, as also sn.pe, quails, etc. Bear,
turkeys, deer, and all sorts of var
mints, roam the dense woods bor-
dering on the Atchafalaya, Calca-
sieu, BGuf, Crocodile, and other
streams. Our hunting grounds afford
much pleasure and recreation to
sportsmen, and not a few Of them
literally pass the hunting or game
season with gun i'll hand and a
brace or two of ll-trained pointers
or settlers at their heels.
The finest kind of fsll-trout,
bass, white and sun perch, and all
other varieties of the finny tribe
can be caught i'll our larger streams
and lakes and lagoons.
TEMPERATURE, LOCATION, ETC.
The location of the table lands of
st. Landry is high above overflow,
and, in point of health, will com
pare favorably with any portion of
the Western States. The average
temperature Of the summer III this
section Of our State is 81 degrees,
but is not felt to be oppressive owing
to the regular sea breeze which re-
freshes and invigorates. Strangers
are struck with the beauty and cool
ness of our nights. There is not ex-
perienced that lassitude in the morn
ing which is felt at ST. Louis and
other points in the North after en-
during the stifled and heated atmos-
phere Of the night. Sleep is enjoyed;
and the only trouble we have eXpe-
rienced is, in being willing to retire
to rest and lose the enjoyment of
Southern night. Its soft and balmy
air, the clear and limpid armament
above, the sweet song Of the mock
ing bird, all conspire to charm us
into forgetfulness of E'dull and
carlling cares,' and we rise from
such night of slumber with health,
and spirits and strength renewed for
the labors of the day.
We most urgently request the
stranger and pilgrim to turn their
faces to our land of prairie, careful
ly look at it's position, it's resources,
it's beauty and productiveness, and
then we ask no more.
POPULATION OF THR PARISH.