St. Landry democrat., 1884-04-12

our ambitious minds to go out boating
in the scow. To be sure, there were
'.white ladies riding on the bic blue
waves out in the channel, but they
might have been witches straddIino
i their broomsticbs for all we thought or
cared for we were amphibious in those
| days, so far as fraternizing with water
snakes, crabs and long tailed sea-nettles
frothy surf. with the brown fin of a
shark looming before us between the
rise and fall of the waves. 1t was a
ramshackley old boat, grmy with oys-
ter shells and Shiny with fish bait and
scales. There were greerish crab claws
/ plastered about her sides and floating
on her leaky bottom, and the bailing-
can, as matter OF course, was nowhere
to be seen neither was her rudder,
neither was her anchor, neither were
| her oars!
Wedged in as uncomfortably as Cleo
patra's crew in the picture, and unable
| to row or steer, we showed her off in the
heavy surf. and being both fools and
children, trusted to Providence to keep
us along the shore. The first thing we
IdIuGE
liked webbing, chorus went mp to
that effect in seven grateful yells. Then
we rocked-the cradle in the tree-top
wasn't circumstance to the way we
rocked after we left off webbing! Then
the rain beat on us in sudden gust,
and the ''white ladies" loaned over the
sides of the scow and INFO our laps with
a rude familiarity to which no genuine
white lady should descend. After that
the deluge! Yes, our Heayen-ordained
nurse was flirting round some invisible
corner with the elements, after the FASH
ion of earthly maids and tangible police
men, leaving her panic-stricken charges
to the mercies Of the cruel, greedy
waves! / think even Baby Dixie real
lied that water up to our knees meant
sinking, and that sinking meant death
and so there was nothing to do but
shrek for poor dear daddy, with
childish faith that he could save us,
and, falling him, to make up our seven
small minds to sink the very best we
knew how, and all go to Heaven in a
bunch.
It was quite plain the crazy old tub |
had made up its mind to 20 to the bot |
tom, and the beautiful persistency with |
which she settled to her work would |
have sent MS down with sickening swift |
ness, only that Providence, remember
ing us at the very last moment, rushed /
to our rescue in the shape of Captain
Dan!
To say we adored our next-door farm
er but stability expresses the devotion
with which we assaulted the preserver of
our useless little lives. Ali along, we
had known him simply as the man with
: beard, and bothered no more about
him, but saoD!!
Tin cans of my childhood, how full 20
stopping we kept you with bait! Oh,
loft crabs, quiyering like unto live poul-
ices in dingy nets! Oh, fat, purplish
Oh, brown-snouted CLANS!
We beat up partridges from the russell
hedges, and while his gun was smok- ,
NC, hunted the stubble to bring them ,
0 him warm and wet and dead. We
ct him into the secret Of every nest and $
'urrow in the chafy pines, and bis
cred ourselves in the corn-held fighting {
narauding crows. We even extended {
ur love to the old mare that had come /
one from the war with him all ribs ,
nd horsehair--and to the rusty little g
shing- smack that had helped to save
ur lives. {
He never made US feel, God bless !
i'm! that we were not delightful to +
axe upon, or that we might be less ae- /
ressive in the way of teeth and nails 8
nd heels. There was always a bright $
1rt of welcome in his brown freck1ed q
ice when we scanpered across fields or 8
long roads to meet him, and his was .
LWays the first cheerv word always ),