Thomas County cat., 1886-12-02
A LOST OPPORTUNITY.
A Tale of Disappointment from
Queue TOrtue."

In ar out-of-the-way section of what
is known in Louisiana as the Attakapas
country lies the little prairie of Queue
Tortue. or Turtles Tail. Its ;nhabit-
ants are the descendants of the original
Acadian settlers, and for over
century past they have kept almost en-
tirely to themselves, marrying and
intermarrying. SO that every resident
there is related to every body else in
the prairie. They have decided
distaste for any thing that tends toward
progress, and the habits and manners
of their fathers are followed as pieous-
ly as are the instructions OF their
priest. Simple-he arted. gay and i'm
Sued with ali the esprit of their French
ancestors, they are probably as con-
tented a people as can be found on
either side of the Atlantic. Raising
cattle, tilling some cotton and loving
their families, they entertain but little
regard for what is transpiring in the
great world beyond the boundaries of
Queue Iortue. Their wants are but
few, and with enough coffee, tobacco
and corn, they live contentedly to a
ripe old age. Strong in their affections,
family ties are held in reverence. and
fourth cousin receives as hearty q
welcome at their simple homes as a
brother or near relative. They are,
however, exceedingly shy of strangers,
and it requires long residence in that
locality to secure even the faintest ap-
proach of intimacy with them.
Near the center of the prairie. in a
plain cottage of four rooms, the Pom
pom fami lived in that bucolic sim
plicity which had given such longevity
to their ancestors. To the observer it
would seem that the same strings of
red peppers were hanging from the
rafterS that were picked in the forties,
and the same little black coifee-pot
was resting beside the hearth out of
which their grandsire. Pierre Alcibiade
Ponpon. had taken his morning cup
There could be no question about the
furniture. for all of it, save one modern
bedstead. purchased in later times for
the girls, was of so primitive type it
was even eloquent of its antiquity. At
one end of the gallery an antiquated
Eand-loom told where the family nan
kin cottonade came from. and col
lection of empty sardinc boxes under
the house suggested newly ac-
quired tastes not entirely in keepin Q
with the primitive character of the
aforementioned loom. -Four yellow
haired dogs dozed languidly in the
afternoon sunshine on the bare patch
of earth in front of the domicile, now
and then mastering up sufficient energy
to 90 through sort of banjo-picking 9
vibratorv movement with the left hind
leg. as they sought TO remove the
predatory flea.
Beyond, the swells of the prairie
vent rolling away in the distance like
great billeYs of green, with here and
there knots Of cattle like bits of sea-
weed afioat on the surface. Still be-
yond, sky and grass met where it APP
peared the world ended. Skirtings OF
cypress in some directions told of me-
andering bayous. and once in a while
thin column of smoke indicated the
position of the nearest houses, some
four or five miles away.
1t was bright October afternoon
and the air was fragrant with the odor
of the rlpening grasses and flowers OF
the prairie. Great white clouds in
broken outline lay along the horizon
like mountain ranges. the sides OF
which were riven by gorges and can
yons of shadow. A crew of nomadic
white cranes were pluming themselves
at a water hole about quarter OF a
mile away. while above. seeking the
shelter of the far-off sea marsh. wisps
of blue-winged teal were scudding be.
fore the first north winds of the
autumi. Tied to china tree near the
Pompon dwelling. with dropping head
and eyes half-ciosed, stood small
Creole pony. as uncanny a lookir 2
quadruped as horseman could well
imagine. A rough saddle with heavy
wooden stirrups, a rawhide bride with
strong curb bit aud saddle blank ct
made of moss. were the only orna-
ments of the little beast Din,inutive
as was the animal, 1t was evident from
the length of the stirrup straps that his
rider was quite tall individual
Such surmise would have
Aeen at once corroborated by a glance