The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1895-03-09
4 GHOST OF \ PLACE.
TIE STORY CT ASHLEY HALL AND
HCSPTACLE COLONEL BULL.

low the Plant" Eept His Household
Goods From f,lr Hands Of the .'I,aiders."
Pic.urcs Of u %E:,sutifui suburb That Ill
Visitors to Charleston Admire.
Woodlands flick with undergrowth;
tranquil country stiffness, the stiffness
Of a bit Of country comparatively un-
titled and rl,pasturcd; roadways lined
with tall AID stately trees-such the
scene as the clatter Of horses hoofs echo
ing on the hard flooring Of the river
bridCo dies away into noiseless footballs
and tie wheels turn without sound i'll
the yielding soil Of st. Andrews. The
murIrured chorus Of countless pines
charms Us into forgetfulness of the city's
close proximity across the river. Ahead
the way unfolds to us, broad and smooth,
winding between long battalions of an
cient oaks. unified up to their chins in
trees, their massive trunks bound with
ibrous scarfs, as if to veil the scars Of
successive seasons, every twig and
branch and spray hung with streaming
moss. Grand old oaks! Autumnal
storms and April airs in turns have
tossed and kissed their rugged boughs,
yet the giant trunks stand firm. Scarce
!. gap in the uniform line shows where
a g~renadiar has fallen out of ranks, and,
elbow to elbow, they guard the ancient
highway from encroachment Of forest or
field.
Here is an old gateway, the entrance
to the grounds which once surrounded
Ashley Hall, one Of the proudest and
most spacious of the ancestral homes in
this parish. We pass through the use
less massive portals into the driveway
beyond. In the shaded light the avenue
seems dreaming Of the past, for these
great oaks stand guard over the wreck
of all they were intended to adorn. OF
the stately home to which their beauty
formed q fit approach nothing now re-
mains but the crrmbling marble steps
and tall, spirelike chimneys. Little
pickaninnies play hide and seek where
once the flowers in my lady's garden"
grew in trim luxuriance. Only the Ash
ley is unchanged as it ripples by on it's
way to the sea, its waves as blue and
sparkling as when it bore many a boat
ing party from the mansion house.
Ashley Hall was the seen Of a munifi-
cent and lavish hospitality in antebel-
lum days It's owner possessed immense
plantations i'll Mississippi and Louisiana
in addition to his Carolina estates, and
the great halls and spacious drawing
rooms of the St. Andrew mansion were
frequently thronged with n gay COM
pany of the most distinguished people
of the state. The host was p~assionately
fond of the chase and delighted to as
semble about him those who shared in
his love OF sport. Deer hunts, partici-
pated in by famous sportsmen from all
over the south, We're features of every
season. The same open handed generos-
ity that dictated a hospitality SO marked
obtained between master and slave, and
the large retinue of servants at the hall
were a happy, care free set. 1t was ira
ditional that no one was ever sent away
empty handed who applied for aid at
the doors of this plantation home.
This old hall, in which seven genera
tions Of the same family had dwelt, liv-
ing almost ideal lives, met with a tragic
fate. The organized struggle between
the north and south was at an end, but
the ''raiders" were in possession of this
country. They had already sacked and
destroyed every house III the parish,
with q single exception, and that plan
tation was occupied by an enemy more
dreaded eve than demoralized soldiers
namely, smallpox. That frightened
V G rough handed rapacity away, and
venerable Drayton Hall, today famous
for its wonderful gardens, was preserved
inviolate. The knowledge of the fate
that had overtaken the homes Of his
neighbors, and which he felt that q few
hours more would preoipitate upon mis-
own, determined Colonel Bull. Calling
for kindling wood, surrounded by his
awestricken servants, he himself applied
the pine torch to his household gods.
Pictures, plate, antique furniture, val
ued heirlooms-al1 were sacrificed save