The Opelousas courier., 1888-05-26
The Press Convention.
Agyisit to the Land of Evangeline.

tor, and the fifty odd members of the =
auilldriying profession, comfortably =
ensconced in a special car on the Nor !
gan road were on their way to Opelou- 7
sas. The locomotive painted and sigh
ed as though anxious to leave behind ;
the smoke and dust Of the city and to
catch the fresh breath OF the country
air.
On we sped, hurrying through cane
fields and rice plantations, across bay
Gus Des Allemands'and Lafourche, leav-
ing behind Pattersonville, Franklin
and New Ibeaia we stopped for about
twenty minutes at Lafayette for dinner.
Our train was boarded at New Iberia
by a reception committee, who extend
ed to us the freedom of Opelousas.
And now we are hurrying through
the prairies of Acadia and st. Landry
and the scent of the young spring grass
il waited to us. AS far as the eye can
reach is a vast vista of green, until the
| blue of the sky meets the emerald glow
| of the prairie in the far horizon.
Now and then we see the houses and
orchards surrounded by wire fences,
| showing signs of a newborn thrift
patches ofcorn and oats alternate with
seas of ~unuulating grass, over which
the setting sun, as though loath to de
part from so fair a scene, casts the sol-
den glamour of evening. In the ponds
one can see the shadows of the waving
trees, under which sleek cattle are laz-
lily munching the sweet prairie grass.
Even the weary editors catch the infec-
ton of the scene, conversation is al
most suspended, as they feast their
eyes on the beautiful panorama spread
before them.
"Carencro I" shouts the porter in
stentorian tone that sounds as much
like "Canned Crow" as the proper
name of the town. 9
And now we enter the wooded lands
Of st. Landry trees, green with the
gloss of spring foliage, through which
appear the snow-White petals OF the
magnolia, are bathed in the sunlight.
Groves that rival in beauty the famed
groves of Greece, extend their branch
es over the moving cars as Though say
, ing a benediction.
At Opelousas we>are met by IA brass
\ band, escorted to our carriages and
driven in triumphal procession through
the streets of that historic town.
O%pelousas has, to me, a unique charm,
j hard to describe and possessed by few
i cities. The majestic oaks, the old
f fashioned houses, seemed to whisper of
a glorious pastel I've ancient times"
e when Spanish Alcalde upheld the
pride of Castillian rule, and of those
later days, in the good old times be-
fore the war, when Southern planters
had their luxurious homes in Opelonsas
e and the adjacent country and formed
an aristocracy not only of wealth, bni
of culture and of talent. 0pelousas
n has nothing of the parvenu she has q
history and the romance, the pictnr
IS esque air, the hint of days gone by tina
Ie a new town can never possess. What
ever may have been the losses entailea
on the people ofOpelousas by the lat'
war, hospitality was certainly not ont
6. of them, for their courteous hospitality
is is as free and laYish--as boundless a
D. their far -stretching prairies.
n The meetings of the Press Assoeia
t. ton were held in the spacious hall 0
d the magnificent Courthouse, q hand
s. some structure recently c0lapleted. Th
r hall was decorated with great Gaste
Sc Snowy lilies uplifted their delicat
ii heads from mass9s of fern and Spanlsl
Us moss, while roses and geraniums he'll
i'd high carnival. But fairer than the pc
r tails of the lily, mo.e pleasing to TIL
Is eve than the many tints of the rose
It, were the faces and forms of the Opel
ousas bellies, who were out in full fops
of to grace by their presence the session
It. of the Press Association. The variou
Il essays and addresses were each admir-
of able in its way and greeted with ap
IN plause. Mrs. Nicholson pearl Rivers
be and Mrs. Martha Field (Catharine Cole
r. had frequently to be pointed out t
lg friends who knew THERE writings bu
ne not their faces, and Mrs. Julia Rul
Of (Pansy4, of the ShreveportsTimes, an
I'D Miss Addie McGrath. known better a
d. sVivian,'i were the center of admirin
is circles; while Mrs. Bentley and he
apartner i'm matrimonial harness Wer
q. the recipients of much attention.
al Gen Jastremski presided with a
d much grace and dignity as though tn
records Of the Denver meeting ha'
/, never been lost, whilst the Secretary
/; though she had both hands full OWN
!. to onerous duties, acquitted herself j
!: a very business-like manner.
: The drives in the neighborhood {
:, Opelousas are charming, the country
= broken and the roads are shady.
:. Six miles from 0pelousas, pictur
le esquely situated between bayou Car
no ron and the Courtableau, is the tow
N of Washington that, like Opelonsas
r. revels in q wealth of shade trees
Boats land at her wharves, and th
= Southern Pacific passes through he
= ! suburbs. She boasts of an oil mill an
7, will soon have m iron bridge spannin
the Courtableau.
8. Onelonsas is not on any stream, bu
: has communication with the onte
! world by means of the Southern Paci
tic R.R. There are many pretty resi-
~ : = dences in this. place and room for man
: J more. It covers a large space, eac
house having spacious grounds and, q
= course, its flower garden.
al This article would become too leng
s. thy were we to fully describe the enter
IN tainment given by the Opelousas Socia
8. Club,sin their fine hall, d~ecofated~i
4 Japanese style. Suffice to say thu
All their programme was a dainty treai
i and that The dance that closed the ere
ming was a scene worthy of gn artist
n pencil, the dresses of the fair dancer
. and the floral decorations forming
lovely mise en- scene. The picnic d
IWOodWorth Strings. about Il milo am