The Opelousas courier., 1896-03-28
correspondence

Correspondence.
V1CKsBURG, MISS, March 10, '96.
Dear Courier: Since writing to you
last | have seer and heard a good many
things which | think might interest
your readers. I intended long ago to
have written you something about Kos
ciuskO, but | suppose l was too lazy.
This evening, however, as l sit at the
window and watch the rain fall slowly
but steadily there is no excuse, so resign
yourself to a long letter.
The little city with the quaint Indian
name of which l spoke-Kosciusko-is
dear to me for many reasons. Some OF
my best loved relations call it home,'
and twas there when a girl of Is that !
sat at the feet of the "Poet Preacher y
and teacher, Rev. II. A. S. Adams, and
learned some Of life's most important
lessons. There, too, were formed some
of those ties of friendship and girlhood
association which in after years bring
happy lecOllectiODs and which grow
dearer and more important as the years
20 by. remember that 1st day Of April
bonnets and marched off at 10 to spend
LllC 1CSU vi ChO udy plNbICluS I'll nv
woods. What a jolly time it was! We
waded in the branches, swung on grape
vines and made the boys ride US Oh
young pine s%aplings; spread out our
lunches and shared them with each
other; hunted wild flowers, and toward
shutdown crowned with dogwood bios
SONS and wild violet chaplets We steal
thily returned to the school house to get
our books, when, 10! Mr.. Adams and
Miss Ellen were quietly waiting. They
rang the bell and proceeded as usual
| with the lessons-'twas dark when we
got home-and who do you think felt
like April fools7 All those girls and
boys are grown up now, many are dead,
many moved away. | saw several of
the girls-most of them are married and
the sedate mothers of little ones as wild
and full of fun as we we're; the boys
are the business men of the place, and
like most men, wholly occupied in the
everlasting chase after the glittering s.
The old school house is burned down,
and the present set of young ones go to
the public school, in connection with
are to open in September in a 10000
brick school house-and Kos. is no city,
only claiming q population of 5000.
They have Baptist, Methodist, Cumber-
land Presbyterian and Presbyterian
churches. The latter is to be pulled
down and a fine brick church erected in
it's place. The compress presses 10000
bales per year. Now, | knew our Opel
ousas press did that we'll, but then we
raise rice and cane as we'll as cotton and
l could not understand how those old
sand hills. scanned and s~carreas~ith gull
lies, could support the PEBBLE. So l
kept my eyes open to solve he riddle
and I'll tell you the differences | found
between Louisiana and Mississippi,
though | may be wrong in my SUPPOSE
ton that these differences show why the
people in Mississippi are better off and
live better than in Louisiana. They
have beautiful homes built on modern
plans; these homes are handsomely fur
nished and we'll kept the ladies dress
elegantly and put on a good deal of style
wiccsr.eaeir clubs, reception days, etc:
comfort as if all took life easy. Well, !
found out that everybody raised at
home nearly everything they used.
Large gardens and orchards, fine cows
and poultry were the pride of every
housekeeper. found that Prohibition
was established in all but 8 or a Missls-
sippi counties! Blind Tigers? Oh!
yes-but a blind tiger can't catch near as
many boys as q wide awake. Yes,
you hear the howl of the blind tiger just
as we still find thieves in the jails tho
the law forbids theft. Business men
tell me that Prohibition is a success!
And whenever a man says it is a failure
look, and yon will find that somewhere
it has taken o few dollars out of his
pocket. Then, gambling is outlawed
and all games Of chance are prohibited
on the Sabbath. A man cannot in Miss
issippi don his picturesque hunting Co.'S
tune and spend Sunday hunting game.
Dear, dear; if such laws were ever sug-
gested in Louisiana I can see in my
minds eye bow the-gentlemen of the
opposition hould-ahem, put a mighty
cant upOn-Personal Liberty, Arbitrary
Legislation, Religious Freedom, etc, etc.
After spending some time pleasantly
l visited other points. On Monday last
a note from our State w. C. T. u. Pres
ident told me that owing to Miss Will
lard's engagements the State Convention
would meet on 5th of March fabout six
weeks earlier than usually at Monroe, La.
This was the Sd, and Iaway up in Miss
issippi, and the convention to meet on
the 9Th Now l did want to hear Miss
Willard-I can't say it was quite a case
of "See Rome and die"-yet it truly was
with me as l dare say with every w. c..
T. q. woman a much to be desired treat.
So l packed my grip and on Wednesday
for jackson en- route to Monroe.
The Capital City was as usual in a po-
litical stew. The Legislature was in
and the Republican State Con-
vention. l heard a true story WHICH
made me proud of Southern men. The
evening before Miss Willard lectured in
Jackson. The ladies of the local w. T..
I. U. seut an invitation to the Legisla-
ture TO attend the lecture in a body.
the invitation could be accepted
one man arose to his feet and inquired
why this Yankee woman" should be
preaching her doctrines in the South !?
And why should the Mississippi Legis-
lature pay any attention to such invita-
He vas Kissed DOM! And the
Mississippi Legislature paid to "the best
loved woman in the world" a deserved
compliment by adjournipg and attend
ing her lecture. The kicker went too
and be it said to his honor that he apol-
to Miss Willard and the Legisla-
tare for his ignorance. On Thursday a.
n. we left jackson and reached Monroe
at A D. m. Quite an amusing incident
occurred on the train. The Republicans
had adjourned and they crowded the
train. In complexion they were varied,
Of many sha1na Of white black