St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-10-03

balm from the salt sea waves TO md
not freemen, but, delying in mines and
upon leagues and leagues of the richest
farming lands upon the continent-a
million serfs.
CHAPTER VII.
" A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY"
"I say, mother. it wasn't such a bad
thing for US after all that they driv us
off Of the Suscol Ranch" said John
Parsons to his wife one morning, as he
came under the rough porch that had
been put up in front of the shanty.
He had just finished helping Erastus
get ready to start to market with the
usual load of fruit which they were now
selling daily.
I'm sure fruit and poultry -raisin' is
heap pleasanter than raisin' wheat,
and there's more money into it, too.
"Only think, we've been here less
than five years now, and we've got all
the fruit CROWN that we kin all of US
tend to, and the money is just a rollin'
in. If the rest of the crop pans out as
well as it has so fur, we kin build a
new house with verander all around
it next year, and have money left to
send the girls down to Frisco to
school,
YES, we are getting along very nice
w." replied his wife, . ''and ought to
be thankful, I'm sure
Gas soon as we git a new house
built continued Mr.. Parsons, 1--WE
must begin to save up money to buy a
ranch som'ers nigh about here for
'Rastus, fer s'pose we can't in reason
expect the boy to stay with US always.
Human natur' don't change much, [
reckon; it's the same on the Pacific as
it is on the Atlantic coast, and ] hahn t
forgot that was mighty anxious to get
a place of my own fore / was as old as
'Rastus is; specially after I got ac-
quainted with certain girl with cheeks
the color of them there peaches hang
in out there in the sun, and eyes that
sort of made me hot and cold by turns,
a-wonderin' whether they was encour-
agin' me, or takin' note of the size of
my cow-hide boots, whenever they
looked my way.
..Not, he continued, ltas I've mo-
ticed that 'Rastus seemed particularly
took with any of the girls round here
leastwise them as lives far around
here, = he added. looking hard at his
wife, as if endeaYoring to read her
thoughts.
IF Mrs. Parsons understood what her
husband was thinking of, she made no
attempt to reply, and after waiting a
second or two, he began again:
Il don't see as Rastus appears to
take particular to any of the neighbor-
ing girls, but whether he does or not:
whether he takes wife from close by
or furder off, it's only fair that we help
him to start He's been true as steel
and as kind as if he was our own son.
and I'm a reckonin' if he and one of
the girls should sometime take a no
ton to hitch up and work in double
harness. there wouldn't be any objec-
tons; eh, mother?''
1.-The girls are not old enough to get
married, John, returned MRS. Par
sons. Jennie is not sixteen yet and
Lucy is two years younger still hope
that neither of them will think of such
a thing as marriage for a good while.
Erastns himself is not quite twenty-one,
and although many young men marry
as Young as that, | do not think that
Erastus has any such intentions. Not
that be has ever said anything to me;
but as you say I have not noticed that
he appeared partial to any of the neigh
boring girls, although he is favorite
with alt; and as for Jennie and Lucy,
they probably seem to like him like sis
tiers; indeed, he seems like SON to me,
and whoever he may choose for q wife
when he does marry will get an honor
able man for q husband and one who
win be kind and loving, am sure. !"
seThat's 50, replied John, Rastus
AIM fellow that viii ever go to knock
i'm his wife and babies around, if he
ever has any. But I 'spose it ain't nc