St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1893-03-25
AS OTHERS SEE US.
THE HARPER PATTY VIsIr CovIxG.
TON.


When all the country north Of the
Carolinas was locked in the embrace
Of winter, it happened that q Harper
party. then at New Orleans, saw
the first budding of summer at q
quaint nearby watering place. The
Mardi Gras was over, Lent was be-
gun. and the people Of the gayest
city in the country were eager for
rest. In the little steam yacht
Helen, owned and commanded by
Mr.. Horace Fletcher and Mr..
Thomas Sully, this little party
made . trip across Lake Pontchar-
TRAN and up the Tchefuncta and
Bogue Falia rivers, streams as odd
as their names, and names which
only look hard, for they pronounce
themselves when seen in print, and
spell themselves when sounded.
The Tchefuncta is the main one,
and is . watery pathway through .
great region Of gum cypress and
oak into the beloved "piny woods"
There the New Orleans people 60
for shade and rest as we Of the
North seek the sea breeze and the
mountaine.
The cxcursiOnists remember it
was in early March saw the
first touches of spring in The country.
the first sprays Of tender green, The
first lilies and blossoms Of yellow
jasmine. and, far on high, great
balls of vivid mistletoe providing
slow old trees with an appearance
Of foliage. Since nothing responds
to the first heat of the sun with the
promptness of the Southern darby,
he too was out in force, fishing from
bateaux. and greatly liked to be
hailed and spoken to by passing
voyagers. The fishing was for
green trout-a combination of our
mountain trout and black bass
caught with live or artificial minnows
Turtles and alligators were there,
but hidden and alternating still.
The soft colors Of the scenery
were wonderful. Many soft grays
were in the reeds and woods and
bushes, and here and there were
gentle reds, and mild pinks, with
the new green on the tree limbs,
and the deep blue over all. When
the piny woods were reached the
ground became white sand and
every background was the deep
dark green Of the changeless pines.
Every evening there sank below the
horizon . blazing red sun, and there
rose an orange moon that turned
into q giant lemon afterward. This
beautiful effect is peculiar to South
ern Louisiana sunsets, and Is almost
alone worth going there to see.
The destination Of the summer
seekers was Claiborne Cottage"
at Covington, on the Bogue Falia.
It proved to be q row or cham Of
pretty white houses, some one-story
tall, and some twice Is high, but
all banded with wide verandahs, all
revealing bare floors in every room.
all fitted with great open fireplaces
and heaps Of pitch pine fagots, and
all the bedrooms SO exactly alike
Gas to neatness and the washstand,
bedstead and bureau each contain
ed) that If the Duke of Westminster
and . Georgia Cracker" came
there to lodge At the same time one
could fare no better than the other.
When the excursionist ladies reach
ed their rooms they were paled by
the discovery that all the chambers
were alike in another respect--each
had two windows with sash curtains,
but no shades, and were therefore
as wide open to the public gaze as
. barouche in Fifth avenue. A
council Of defense was called, but
while it sat the servants closed some
Of the outdoor shutters, and peace
perched triumphant on the ladies'
brows. It was nearly bedtime, and
the same servants heaped logs in
the fircplaces, touching matches to
them As il they were gunpowder,
aud went away leaving the firelights
dancing and leaping among the very
shadows that they cast.
Morning came, and the visitors
walked out into the perfumed air Of
the balsamic and fl0wer-scented
wood. They saw that the houses of
Claiborne Cottage" stood in .
clearing walled at . distance by
pines. The apple and pear trees
bloomed like great b0quets in the
garden back Of the houses, and any
where within . walk Of five minutes
might be gathered the blossoms Of
the spiraea. Towering almond,
magnolia, swamp or winter magno-
liza. yellow jasmine, dogwood or lit
tie blue wood violets and blossoms
Of the bay tree. The thermometer
was &c degrees above zero in. New
York, and the news from New En-
land and the West was all Of bliz-
yards and sn0wst0rms.
There were many tempting roads
in the dry and wholesome woods,
and the excursionists travelled far
in . carry-all behind four horses.
The air was soft and fresh, the
ground was blue and white with
violets and starry flowers, the
Spanish moss was only sufficient to
be-whisker the trees and make them
lCoE O1A vSfhCut aa6donsnn Tho