The bee., 1883-05-26
WHERE SUGiR is KING.
A Visit % the Great sugar Game Region OF
Louisiana.

Louisiana
An entertaining staff correspondent
of the Philadelphia Pres writes a
follows 20 his paper from New Iberia
Lal The "Teche is a synonym fo
beauty and the richest fertility. It /,
lovely land, wash d by the waters oi
a bayou large enough to bear crafts
and give this name to the soil through
which it flows. Ii is strange coun
try, nest ing in the midst of running
waters that put out in all dire ,tions
from the Atchafalaya, that strange
and unnatural waterway that now
threatens with destruction by its
devious currents the rich lowlands OF
Louis ana. There may be somewhere
a more delig tful region than this,
but doubt whether, taking it all in
all, there is one having happier com.
bination OF all that tends to the wealth
and comfort of man. 1t has a rich al
luvial soil, such as skirts the banks of
many of our Northern rivers. 1t is as
level as prairie and free from every
obstruction to easy cult walton. The
fields r ca ina easy and generous
yield of the choicest gifts of nature.
Many of the choicest products of a
tropical cline also add their beauty
and perfume TO please the eye and
charm the n ses. The banks Of the
bayou are shaled by the spreading
branches Of the live oak, and even in
the gwamps of cypress and fir trees.
this evergreen monarch of tna forest
stan Is Like lord among his yassals.
While being like in formation, this
plain is unlike The q eat wa ties of land
in the West. 1t is splendidly wooded,
often too well watered and the breezes
fresh from the tropics kill the frosts
of winter. The sun sh mes so warm y
all the year that it keeps vegetation
alive and the flowers in bloom.
1T is a picture-que and romantic
land, -owded with scenes and en-
dowed with a climate that arouse, the
fancy and fill its people with senti-
ment and desire for the easy acquisi-
tion of all that l. fascinating in life.
The atmosph re and nature seem TO
combine not only in gracious offerings
of soil and foliage to man, but in
giving lav.shly to woman, who finds
dwelling-place here the ch icest of
gifts. They grow up b9autifGl and
the form rJun lis well aid early. The
climate and a plentiful use of the open
air make the faces fresh and cheerful
as full moon and paint their cheeks
with the bloom Of "the peach, that is
the emblem of beauty"
1t is no won Ter that this country
and this p3ople wear th most romantic
traditions. Long years ago it was
settled by the Acadiaas, who, after
their ban shment from over the ocean,
wandered into this land Of dowerS and
sunshine from the ban IS IF the great
lakes Of the far North. French Is
still the native tongue of the parish,
and the "reminiscences of the weary
wanderIngs that preceded the settle
ment OF the Acadians in this fruitful
region are still tod around the b earth
stones of The descendants Of that race,
who first settled here, cleared away the
waste and plantel crops. 1t was here
that Longfellow found much upon
which to build his great poem, and the
story Of Evangeine is to- lay the pride
of the ma i've creole. A great oak tree
on the banks of the Teche is still
pointed out as one spot whe: EVange-
line and Father Felician rested after
they had missed Gabriel, on the waters
of the Atchafalaya. The tree still
bears her name and is sacre 1ly pre-
served. The peOp e respect the fiction
that the poet built for them as though
il was the most sacred fact of history.
Rich and lovely as the country is, il
pays an ample penalty TO the caprice o.
nature for its superior charms. 1t is
encompassed with anetwork of streams
that seem TO reverse all natural laws
in their rise and f,w. Every bayou in
the lowlands of Louisiana will over
spread its banks at the whim of the
Mississippi, for all Of the numberless
AM naneless ones that drain the
State south Of the Red river draw their
water from the "Father Of Rivers
Nature, when it ashioled this land,
dug y trench along every ridge or
gave the water license to doit. There
fore the highest land is "long the ranks
of str cam, and the drainage is from,
instead OF into, the bayous This curl
Gus ersal of the general Law govern
ing waterways natu al y brings the
homes of the plant rs upon the banks
of the rivers from which the great
estates slope back, and the acres that
are planted are usually lower taan the
water flow. For this reason the bayOu5
on either side. especially in the coun-
try about VIII ch j an writing, are
skirted for miles by beautiful homes
and fourishing plantations, where the
sugar cane gr lws in its peri ction and
where the beautiful foliage and lovely
flowers make a fitting home for the
hamming bird and honey bee.
Crafts of ordinary dimensions can
come direct from old ocean and take
the products of the soil from the home
of the planter to the markets of the
world. Is it any wonder, then, that
people so favored by nature should
live in ease, if not in luxury. and
grow contented and even careless
under the influences of a climate that
gives no spur to tie energies and
makes no great demands upon the La
tent resources.
It is perfectly natural that these
people should have but one thought,
and should pay homage to but one
product. Sugar is here the master
and the man. The planter who brings
care and intelligence to the cultiva-
q An p. l.. Il, Il