The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1889-06-29
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PART /.

LafOurche, passage must be taken on
some gOOd steamboat, from whose
decks one can see the lovely valley,
spread out as IL map, for miles and
miles, until the vision is arrested by
the great forests rising i'll the distance,
which form the outlines to this won
derfpl tableau.
Not having had, for many years, all
opportunity to obtain a good view of
that portion of the Lafourche basin
found between Thibodaux and Dom
~aldsonville, and accepting a kind invi
tation from Capt. L.. +. Schneider to
make Il trip with him on his fine steam
boat, the Belgrade, which he has lately
purchased, renovated and fitted up for
that trade, | embarked last Sunday
morning ut 6 o'clock, for the purpose
of reviewing places and eel which,
more than a generation ago, were IA
miliar to me, and of recalling memo
ries long since passed away.
The Belgrade left the wharf at s
O'Clock. The sky was cloudless, the
air refreshing, and everything indicat-
cd that IL pleasant and agreeable day
awaited the traveller.
Ere the little boat had gotten under
full Roadway the wonderful beauty
and agricultural magniticence OF the
adjacent country appeared to the eye.
l soon perceived that the Lafourche
valley had experienced many changes.
and great transformations. The dense
forests which appeared in the distance
seemed to have been removed, far to
the rear, aud places that / recalled as
sWamps were now green with growing
crops, showing the progress and en-
ergy of the landed prOprietors. 800
Upon ground once occupied by small
sugar houses now stand magnificent
structures, containing machinery and
apparatus which cost fabulous sums +;
SO that M can almost say that barrels
of sugar are now manufactured where
formerly only pounds were obtained.
On either side of the bayou are the
fields Of sugar cane, rice and corn, re-
viyitied by the late rains and spread
out as far as the vision could reach, |
waving in the gentle breezes as the
waves Of the deep sea. Here were
long rows of corn, tasseled and silked /;
then rows Of sugar cane, straight as an
arrows flight, extending far beyond
the range of vision, and occasionally a
square of rice, green and vigorous,
banishing from the heart of the plan
ter the anxiety with which he has |
lately been worried.
On either bank are mansions and
cottages and cabins-the homes of the
wealthy and the poor-half concealed
in great parks, deep shaded groves
flower gardens and trailing
vines. On one side is the large, roomy
dwelling Of the planter, partly hid in
a forest of oak, ash and magnolia,
whilst opposite are the lovely cottages
OF the farmer, surrounded by the ca
talpa, the china and the pecan, OF,
when newly constructed, by shrubbery
planted, whose leaves for the
first time glitter and glimmer in the
warm sunshine. And all along the
route Of thirty-four miles this grand
OF loneliness, of beauty and
variegated scenery is forever changing.
Bayou Lafourche, itself one of the
most attractive and lovely streams of
water to be seen in any land, meanders
quietly through these enchanting
views. In each of its long, gentle
the scene constantly presents
new attractions, and occasionally, as
it Strengthens itself out in q line for q
mile or two, the magnificence of the
view presented causes the traveller to
fancy himself transported into one OF
the oriental visions Of the Arabian
And as the shadows of the evening
begin to lengthen, are een fair ladies
anu stalwart youths amusing them
selves in the shade of some gigantic !,
live. oaks which have been standing
for centuries, children playing under
the shadows Of great pecan trees,
perhaps by their great grand
fathers a century ago; lovers promen-
adlhg in the deep recesses of enchant-
ing grOttOs, whilst the fathers and
mothers, seated upon the balconies of
their happy homes, supervising all,
present a scene Of pastoral beauty and
rural, charms unsurpassed in any land
where the eye is not relieved by the
OF lofty mountains as q back
ground. ! Would they improve this
sceneryf -ea1 3lf IL f1isbi in a.tl
And these views and these scenes
llsing before the traveller at every turn
Of the wheel Of the, gallant little
gliding over the smooth wa
tiers, changing At every turn in the
stream, continued all along the route,
my eyes were fatigued looking
upon the attractions and loneliness
everywhere displayed, and l rejoiced