The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1888-12-01
10 Dleu.

lCatllafN IN Ino -fiorat kioiH0.1
On q desolate shelf Of sand that lies
lonesoWeiy In one Oft the unfsequented
baysT &s9S III tke L0u,sisna coast
there Is 4 1itV1es Trench settlement
going to- lh.s day by the sweet name
Of "La Rose do Dieu." 1t IL a dreary
place for people to live, and the few
houses that are on the island are hud-
died toge(t16f It tts Highest point, per-
ching on wooden stilts away up 10 the
air like heck Of SEQ fowl, with moth
log around them but tho long silver
green sea PUSHES, the ugly wild Indigo
plant andfA ew Wind prickly
ash lrses that seem to creep across the
SAND heaps ike 30 many big green and
gray spiders. The houses were built
long shss oGs,4eeksge OF teak tlnabers
aud ID clsspsSns eaken posts, and
hsv< Aq4esssSsiisios look. They are
bare OF furniture, with bunks instead
Of -belsteads, without any signs OF
coni8 hed pt,eihome-hesrtti ID oniytl
q dad @hatowed cut In the sand,
aiJnud Witch d board chimney has
been hoisted, and on ~ this the house
has been built. In Mere Atadin's
hoasa "a huge turtle shell which
does duty for cradle, and for the last,
oh. ever 80 many years, It has been
the duty ,of!tO,d Chris to rock the
successive tables to sleep In this shell.
Old Girls Is dumb Danish sailor, a
bit of wreckage himself cast DIP by the
sea at Mere Assdin's door, and who
tsuS stAtd there ever since.
AS 10 tho villagers, they are all Ot
XII "a p1e ianother and 10 Mere Alautn
Kin aud Kind as well, since a cross
word, an unlOvety act or cruel deed
has never been known among them,
tat least not since we received La Nose
de Dieu," Mere Aladdin will say. The
people OF this odd, bleak little Settle
tnent asss Hshlng, folk. Each family
owns aSNis0eNo-that is, boat hol-
lowed 6GkR burned out OF q cypress
log-a p1a11e aud = cast net. Every
morning tt aeher or the mother will
lump into NJ plrogue and paddle out
into the bay, where single throw OF
the net will bring up enough shrimp
snS1mailet fot the days needs. Be.
tween them all they own lu9gar,
and occasionally Joseph and Emile
sail away to the Chentere CAmtnada,
whore they exchange their cargo Of
dried ash for portions Of sugar, coffee
and. cloth, that are evenly divided
out between ~ the islnilies. s
In the midst Of these poor homes Ia
cue little howell or shanty that sets
squat on the ground. No one lives In
1t, bA it's the cleanest and sweetest
aud ,neAtest otau, aud II you should
cross Its low threshold you would be
startled 70 see directly In the center Of
haAO Nm a Nyn or
cred with henped ashes of rose leaves,
andsat the head, away from the sweet
sunshine, from the free air, here grows
In this salty soil wonderful rose tree.
1t aA0uthern rose, with huge, lus-
cto9 Gus " blooming aiabsster petals,
Tuned I'm dints Of smother-Of pearl.
Hef6 on ne Island In the semi dark Of
this old teak cabin the rose blooms
only once a year, and then II puts
iosshsbut one white blossom. II Is a
mystical rose, and because OF Its
strange ways aud of some other things
the simple fishing felix have come to
call u aud their settlement "La Rose
K&RAdsy's skin ride away from
Thu ki,kAi there lived before the time
Of, .sLs Rose'' gentle old Creole
priest, known In all the parish as
Father Colin. He had already cele-
bratSd his golden jubilee az priest at
La Chapetle, and there was not wife
InstAe parish WHOM he had not mar
ried, nor babe that he had not chris.
tened, norsa soul whom he had not
confessed. Most OF his life was spent
oAfhosSeback riding over the sstrembs
ling pratrie,"f visiting his stmpie-
hearted pafishio0ers, aud when he was
moi on such brands he was always TO
he0qh6 insths ;rose-9arsien behind the
church. The rose-garden was Father
Collins wife and children. 1t was the
wonder Of the state, and often visitors
came fs0m afar to see It's glories. The
lnlle church stood like a violet-huetl
dove with wings outspread aud be-
hind IL, trailing away like a sweet
garment of bloom, was this beautiful
9astleu. Il What trellises there were Of
Mateshal Neil aud Marie Henristte
What royal stalks Of the pale, pink,
th0sny beauty, ssIIer Majesty" Wha,
tiny rows Of Picayune hoses. What