St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-01-06
JOE LAMBERT,S FERRY.

1t was a thoroughly disagreeab1e
March morning. The wind blew in
sharp gusts from every quarter of the
compass by turns. It seemed to take
especial delight in rushing suddenly
around corners and taking away the
breath Of anybody it could catch there
coming from the opposite direction.
The dust, too, filed peoples eyes and
noses and mouths, while the damp, raw
March air easily found its way through
the best clothing, and turned boys skins
into pimply goose-hesh.
1t was akout as disagreeable morn
ing for going out as can be imagined;
and yet everybody in the little western
river town who could get out went out
and stayed out.
Men and women, boys and girls, and
even little children, ran to the river
bank; and once there they stayed, with
no thought, it seemed, of going back to
their homes or their work.
The people of the town were wild with
excitement, and everybody told every
body else what had happened, although
everybody knew all about it already.
Everybody, I mean, except Joe Lam
bert, and he had been so busy ever
since daylight, saving wood in Squire
Grisard's woodshed, that he had neither
seen nor heard anything at all. Joe
was the poorest person in the town.
He was the only boy there who really
had no home and nobody to care for
him. Three or four years before this
March morning, Joe had been left an
orphan, and being utterly destitute, he
should have been sent to the poor
house, or g bound out = to some person
as sort of servant. But Joe Lambert
had refused to go to the poor house or
to become a bound boy. He had de-
.clared his ability to take care of him.
self, and by working hard at odd jobs.
saving wood, rolling barrels on the
wharf, picking apples Or wedding on
ions as opportunity offered, he had
managed to support himself after a
manner as the village people said.
That is to say, he generally got enough
to eat, and some clothes to wear. He
slept in a warehouse shed. the owner
having given him leave to do so on
condition that he would act as a sort OF
Waterman on the premises.
Joe Lambert alone of all the villagers
knew nothing of what had happened;
and of course Joe Lambert d d not
count for anything in the estimation Of
people who had houses to live in. The
only reason have gone cut Of the way
to make an exception of SO unimpor-
tant person is that think Joe did
count for something on that particular
March day at least.
When he finished the pile of wood
that he had to saw, and went to the
house to get his money, he found no.
body there. Going down the street he
found the town empty, and, looking
down cross street, he saw the crowds
that had gathered on the river-bank,
at.last that something un-
usual had occurred. Of course he ran
to the river to learn what it was.
When he got there he learned that
Noah Martin. the fisherman who was
also the ferryman between the village
its neiphbor on the other side of the
river. had been drowned during the
early morning in a foolish attempt to
row his ferrY-skiff across the stream.
The ice which had blocked the river for
two months, had begun to move on the
day be ore, and Martin with his wife
and baby--a child about year old
were on the other side Of the river at
the time. Early on that morning there
had been temporary gorging of the
ice about mile above the town, and,
taking advantage of the comparatively
free channel, Martin had tried to cross
with his wife and child, in his boat.
The gorge had broken up almost i'm