San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-08-16
NEW ORLEANS cAskET GIRLS.
How the Families of Some of That City's
Four Hundred Were Established.


Crescent City Of to-day can trace their
descent backward to the time of the
! foundation of this colony, but that IS
a page perhaps that they wish to be
! skipped. Nearly century and half
| ago, when France sent over number
of broken-down officers and convict
| soldiers to colonize Louisiana, it was
| soon discovered that there was a
scarcity of women. The soldiers made
raids upon Indian villages and cap
tured many dusky mates, but they
could not be domesticated, and, be-
sides, numerous wars followed.
However, the wife of the colonial
governor had an expedient Why
could not women from the reformatory
institutions of Paris be shipped over
to become wives for the soldiers? The
soldiers would be none the wiser.
Some women who would trample
upon the outcasts of their own sex do
not hesitate to impose them upon men.
Accordingly, as an experiment, two
dozen girls from the reformatory pris-
on La Salpetriere, Paris, were shipped
to New Orleans, in charge of the ma
iron of that institution, who vouched
for the good character of each, and
was charged with the duty of seeing
them properly married. Their arrival
created great excitement in this vii
lage of wooden shanties. The COVER
nor received them in state, and they
were escorted by troops to the COVER
nor's mansion, where they became
guests of the state. Each had square
box of clothing, and they were known
afterward throughout the colony as
ia files de cassettes," or ''the casket
girls" as the box containing their new
articles of clothing was in the shape
of a casket.
The governor distributed the prizes.
He selected the most worthy of the
soldiers, to whom he distributed the
women by lottery. 1t is stated that
there was some exchanging of brides,
but, as a rule, the allotment of chance
was ablded by.
In few months, however, there was
trouble The ''petticoat rebellion"
broke out, and the casket wives
threatened to return to France if they
were not given -four bread instead of
corn bread. They held that they were
entitled to as good fare as the officers
wives were. The local poet did up the
petticoat rebellion in humorous verse,
the casket wives were given their ra-
tions of -four, and the rebellion ended;
but it is not forgotten, even to this
day, by the preservers of tradition in
the old French quarter, who silence
gossip by referring to the scandalizer
as descendant of la file de cassettes.
Other shipments were made until the
come respectable. began to turn up
their noses and object to the importa-
ton of Immoral women"
Some of the leading citizens came to
the colony under lettres de cachet, be-
ing exiled for political offenses or
crimes, and some of the high-strung
dames-neither maid, wife nor widow
who were exiled from France as no
better than the casket girls, became
leaders of society in the colony.
But the arrival of the emigres dur
ing the French revolution revolution
lied colonial society, from which date
the blue-blooded creole aristocracy of
to-day trace their ancestry.
Manon Lescaut, who live in opera
and drama, was one of the first in
stallment of female exiles, and an
original casket girl. 1t will be re-
called, however, that the wild Cheva-
lier des Grieux, who accompanied her,
| claimed to be her husband, and she
| was not placed in the lottery. But
| later on, when they determined to
| marry, and told the governor, the un-
| principled Cadillac, of the deception,
he decided that the beautiful Manon
should be given to his nephew in mar
| rage. This led to moonlight duel
/ with swords between the chevalier and
the governors nephew, and the flight
of the chevalier and Manon. When he
was found, insensibe from grief, by
the side of her corpse, wound was
found upon her breast. Wheth er both
attempted suicide or whether he killed
her was never known. The military
court acquitted him of the charge Of
murder, and afterward his father, Ad
miral des Grieux, who had been com
manding feet in Cuban waters, took
the wild chevalier back to France
The Able Provost sent a representa-
tive to New Orleans to gather materia
for his charming novel. There is {
painting in an art gallery showing
Monsieur des Allards debating the in
cidents in the life of Des Grieux anC
Manon Lescaut, and he has the only
genuine picture in existence of tn,
beautiful and fascinating Manon Les
caut. Her remains were buried in tn,
old st. Louis cemetery, and, unit
about generation ago, there was al
old tombstone beneath the shadows o
: huge oak tree draped in graceful
folds of sad colored gray moss, as if il