St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-02-13
CHAPTER NXVI.
CONSUMNIATE yILLAINY.

w men EraStlS ana MIS-. PARSONS
reached the Slough, they found Lucy
very sick: the shock received at learn
inc Of the death OF her father and
Johnny, while in her feeble condition,
having still further Frustrated her and
brought on low fever, from which
her recovery was slow.
From the hour Of her arrival, Lucy
mother became her nurse, waiting upon
and watching her with all 4 mother 5
solicitude, and the new demands thus
made upon her affections and sympa-
thies forced her in Il measure to with
draw her thoughts from the dead and
fix them again upon things OF this life,
and so very probably prevented her
from sinking into Il condition where
morbid watchfullness for death, as the
only release from the memories of the
past, would have slowly consumed her
life.
Then, too, there was the baby. A
wonderful baby it was. All babies are;
at least IN the opinion of their mothers
and grandmothers. Ii there was ever,
anywhere, an exception to this rule,
| the writer never heard of it, and GER
tainlv this was not one. The youngster
was as fat as three-weeks-old babies
ever are, and of the same beautiful color.
He had fine head of hair--in pros
pect-and had already made two weak
little attempts to put his toe into his
mouth, which everybody said was very
remarkable and showed wonderful
genius in one SO young, and Lucy lust
knew he was the sweetest baby that
ever lived; so he was She first
thought of calling him Erastus, after
his father, but finally decided to name
him John, after her own father and
little crippled brother, now dead and at
rest upon the mountain side.
After the arrival of the household
goods belonging to Mrs. Parsons, the
baby was placed in the little wheeled cot
that he might be the more easily cared for
during his mothers illness, and seeing
him there, by degrees there came to the
breast of Martha Parsons feeling halt
as if this was her own Johnny made
well again by the angels, Just as he
was when he first came to her. But this
could not remove wholly the awful
sense of loneliness and loss, and the
gray in her hair became more and more
prominent, and the stopping OF her
form more and more noticeable as the
days went by.
When Lucv's health was finally re-
stored she again took up her round OF
household duties known to every farm
ers wife, only permitting her mother
to do such portion as seemed pleasure
to her, and both she and Erastus sought
in every way possible to fill her declln-
in n wars with comfort
Meanwhile the contest between the
railroad company and s'se settlers con-
tinued Although having notified the
settlers to vacate their homes unless
they were prepared to pay their full
value, including all improvements. the
company made no immediate attempt
to force compliance with their demands.
, To do so would bring the whole matter
prominently before the country and
raise such a storm of indignant protest
from the whole people as not only te
force the company to relinquish then
claim to the homes of the settlers, but
to the entire grant OF many millions o.
: acres.
The conspirators we'll knew that they
had complied with no portion of the
, terms required in the. grant, and tina
until they did so they could have ne
t legal or equitable rights thereto. They
had decided, however, to obtain the
r lands without complying with the terms
' of the grant, and their policy was tt
= harrass the settlers by threats, and il
: every way possible to incite them tt
such acts of violence as would bring
, them in conflict with the State or loca
: kauthorities, while the officers of TIT
r company stood ready to appease an.
e public sentiment that might be stirred
up against themselves by asserting thei
e readiness to submit to arbitration o
o the decision of the courts, and it wa
o in pursuance of this policy that the
made no immediate attempts to enforc
q their orders to pay or yacate.
# When it became evident that the
q were to be forced into long and eS
4 pensive contest in defense of thei
k homes, the settlers had formed them
a selves into a league, for the purpose c
It employing counsel and taking whateve
n other steps were possible for the pre-
# lection of their rights. An appeal wa
! made to O. Fl. Browning, then Sec1e
q tary of the Interior, at Washington, fo
g his decision regarding the claims OF th
o company and of the settlers. MI
IS Browning examined the matter careful
It ", listened patiently to the argument
Is of the attorneys of the railroad CON
4 nanv and decided that the compan