The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1897-05-22
SCHOOL CHILDREN
Spend a Day in the WOOds-An
Enjoyable PicnfS.


Enjoyable Picnic.
To The Lafayette Gazette:
in and around Carencro held their annual
picnic. The day t" all appearances was
bad one. In the morning an ugly black
cloud could be seen in the South, which
the morning advanced. the weather
seemed to brighten. and SO did the spirits of
the children, who could be seen running to
and fro preparing for the days frolic. As
early as Q O'Clock vehicles and wagons of
all descriptions could be seen making their
way toward the woods, to participate in the
days enjoyment. The site chosen for the
by the side Of vermil;o" Bayou. vermiI;on
bayou is large body of water. and
do not think it amiss to give a little
DESCRIPTION of it here. The Vermilion bayou
takes its rise from 4 small puddle of, water
black berry briar. The course is westerly,
running about half mile; from thence it
turns to the North Strengthening out into
narrow stream, and runs so for three miles.
This part of the Vermilion is known as
Coulee des Comeaux, which is very narrow
and shallow. After the Coulee des Co
meaux comes the Coulee du Bout de l1le,
running northerly. Coulee du Bout de r1le
beginning of the woods.
There died in the last century, masta-
don, whose bones were collected by a
French naturalist shortly afterward and
shipped to the Musee du Jardin des Planteurs
of Paris, but were unfortunately wrecked
and lost at sea. The only relic of the mas
tadon femur leg bone that was
kept by the first Guilbeau, and used as
pestle to bruise indigo which was then cult
waited in the Attakapas country. Buzzards,
in uncountable numbers, hocked to the spot
to feed on the mastodon's fl .sh. The In
dams then living in the country, unable to
carencros; and from the spot where the
mastodon died, the river takes the name of
Carenclo bayou. Carencro bayou is long,
tortuous, here and there shallow or deep; it
runs easterly, abruptly turning to the South,
and takes there the name of Bayou Tonton;
losing its name as it flows southwark to take
the name of Pont des Moutons till it again
takes its official name Vermilion. All along
the river there are Sccneries of indescribable
beauty; the land is rolling and billy, GOV.
cred by majestic, peculiar oaks and gums.
The Vermilion has very many tributaries,
but the most important ones are the Styx
Coulee, passing through the town of Caren-.
GRO, and the Beau Basin, emptying into
swamp. Indian mounds are yet seen in the
woods near the banks of the bayou, and it
is not known whether or not some we're ever
dug. Numerous mineral springs line the
banks of the bayou, and near by one of
these springs lay the camp tor the picnic
The crowd had all assembled at IL O'Clock,
and circle was formed for the young
Guidroz, from the Carencro school, made
the opening address; he begged the audience
TO Look upon the efforts of his schoolmates
with leniency, for, being but little boys and
girls, he hoped that their shortcomings
would fall into oblivion by the good will
they showed in trying to entertain and
amuse their friends. This was followed by
several reci'a,ions and speeches. 1.-The
Drummer Boy of Shiloh,'' by Henry
Guidry; a speech, by Geo. Crouchet; Tenn
perance address, by Jules Arcenaux; ''Cher-
ish Kindly Feeling by Leon Prejean; and
Simon Dupuis, Victor Dupuis and Lulie
Guilbeau; all of whom are from the Caren-
GRO school. Special praise is deserved by
Mr.. Toll, who has had these boys under his
control, and has fitted them for their ap
pearance. Then came the browning of the
May queen, by the girls of the Carencro
school, which was conducted under the able
tutorship of Miss 6. Franoez. The crown
ing of the May queen was the success of the
evening. Miss Elmirc Estilette made very
dignified queen. The pretty Louisa Jones
acted the part of fairy queen with grace
that seemed natural to her. Besides these
were Miss I-aure Mangon, siste, Nymph
and twelve other Mayors. All these young
FAIRIES played their parts to the admiration of
all present and Miss Grazielia Franeez, who
has trained them we'll. deserves that success
the performance and the crowd parted to
their separate tables, where dinner was
served. The following teachers with their
respective schools were present: Mr.. II.
Toll and Miss G.. Fraucez OF the Carencro
school, Mr.. I. ] Breaux of the Domingues
school, the charming Miss E. Olivier of the
Roger school, Miss NJ. r. Toll of the 9th
ward Cormier school, Miss Il. Richard of
the 9th ward Broussard school, Mr.. ]. G.
Martin of the St. Charles grid ward school.
The picnic was quite Il success and proves
the able managership of Superintendent C..
LatolaiS. T.. NJ. II.
We were treated to some exuui-