The sun., 1900-10-07
THE FATE OF LAST ISLAND.
THE DESTRUCTION OF GALVESTON
RECALLS A FORMER TRAGEDY.
Four Hundred OF the Best-Kuown People OF the
south Sent From MERRY ymaking 60 Death
BY Great MaNe From the Gull OF Mehleo.
From The 81. Louis Globe Democrat


cyclone Sept. l2. 1856
Last Island was a long, low streak Of green
bound around the edge with a line Of intensely
white sand Seen in those days from the Lou
isiana mainland (niteen miles away, the lower
end Of the Parish of I.afourche) and part OF
the Parish Of ST. Mary stthc garden Of Loulslana)
IL seemed but n slender bit Of green floating upon
the bosom Of the summer sea. AZ YOU drew
nearer the land displayed it, charms. The
island proper was about seven miles wide
by about twenty five long. The soil was
very rich and highly cultivated. Propin-
quty brought out as in delicate photo
graph all it, lines Of radiant beauty. or
forest. so deep and dense In the far South. there
was none But few enormous live-oak trees
had grown upon the island, and In the weird
light OF the seml-tropic moon covered from
crown to lowest bough with a long, gray moss
Of the latitude, they seem Ike great giants
wrapped in their funeral robes. waving their
arms aloft as they fed from "a coming oies HB.
Beyond these there were no forest trees, as !
have said The island was but one long sand
spit (only few feet above the highest tide
level of the seal, covered with everything
green But 1t was a very Eden Of flowers.
Tho fallen leaves Of the nve-oak Tor centuries
had created in their decay a bed of rlCh al
uvium, which artificial means hud greatly IN
creased The cver-warm air from the further
south seas had given 10 the shrub growth an
extraordinary richness Of yerdurr The orange
md lemon trees. tie olive tie o.eander (which
in Louisiana is tree thirty feet hiG), all OF the
tribo of japOnlCas, and tho scented summer
flower, iessnmine yellow and care, and hun;
dreds Of others unknown here, made the island
coruscqnt with brilliant cqlqrod blooms III
beautiful In the vegetation of the Semi-tropics
here found it, most conrcnalhOme
eyCnns when he drs sgn IN Tg3i tra doTp tba
,ea, the air would he heavy with sweet but
unfamIlier flower odors. You would be en-.
from the heart Of Ia" great white Persian ies
samine. All. the drealy, happy life OF that
wonderful isle in the ddys Of long ago. True
il was watering place with most splendid
surf bathing on the side next the open sea.
But IL had none of the garlshncss Of sea-
coast places of later days. It could never
have been like Long Branch or Cape May.
To gamblers and games Of the hali-world Last
Island was as dinicult as Paradise IL was
who watched the gangway Of the boat ns the
| passengers came on board Tor the enchanted
isle as for Adam to return TO Eden when II
sword. The men who gathered there were
not strangers to each other, for in Louisiana
then everybody who was anybody knew OF
his social equal, If he was not a personal ac-
quaintance, no matter In what region he lived
So here was spot not very much known 10
the outer world, where could gatnor. when sum-
mcr days became long and the dog star ragged
the great cotton planting naguateS OF IOul9i-
ana, Mississippi and Alabama, or the rich
courtly Creole sugar growers from the Bayou
lafourche country or the Cote dor. Oh the Mis-
slssippi River, and their congeners, the Aneri-
can sugar planters from the FeIiclands and
wealthy, aristoCrntiC Rapldes
Once a year the very cream Of the coun-
tryside gentry from the states have named,
with a sprinkIing Of wealthy city mch, merth-
, ants and factors from New Orleans, a few
bankers. popular cleTgymen from the rich city
parishes-who enjoyed good living and be-
levcd st. Paul was right when he eNhorted
Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach )
sake all these people, with their wives and
daughters. would congregate at Last lsland and
I Rl.f t.ft lone q aTfsah
! cuisine, produced by cordons bleus drink
sparingly generally--of the good red wines Of
| France for your old-time planter. especially
| If he was of creole blood. never abused Gods
| good things"-take daily, plunges into the
! warm surf. and thus decoronsly enjoy a
month OF dolce far niente. Never
women loveler II was the very paradise
Of gentle. graceful. fGolrteogs attention to
! shrined, for who could resist the wtchery
| Cf the pcrtumed summer night or the dark-eyed
old story u d there that old story but over new
| which Adam first whispered amid tho roses
that bloomed supernal in Eden! And some
| times but not often, the scene varied Men
| were younger then, and the blood Of youth ever
| runs hot A quick word on the promenade a
jealous look AZ the ball and early next morning
| CLEAN of the long, slender, tri-CulOred duc!lng
! sword on the broad hard, white beach or "a pair
OF daGng H1t9s pail pnIl9 d e SNGfE SefEG%5n f1aH
| mahogany case A few passes with the steel.
! and a man would lie prone "a his blood red
| dAned the sand, run through the body. or the
! sharp crack Of tho duelling pistol and a limp,
white Ced body forever still, would be silently
carried back to the hotel But this was, not
| often II was tho gentle, kindly, harmless,
| courteous life OF the master Of the monks OF
| Thelema, whose sole injunction was Fay Qui
The season Of 1858 at Last Island was one
| Of the most charming ever known since Ihe
| famous Watering place had been established
| Never did brave men and charming women
| al n this charming TpudpIyOlla in
! greater numbers or in q fuller. finer spirit Oi
happiness and ,hopctal expectation The sea;
| proper fllled, but the dozen or 50 of cottage.
| generally known a. the bachelors quarters
| we're all occupied b. a. hlgh bred. as gallant
| and gay company OF gentlemen ~ the entire
| South could show II was agreed that greater
| number of representative Louisiana, Alabama
| and Mississippi men and women had never
been gathered together at any Southern water
ing place before The season had been fortu-
nate in other respects. Thus far none of those
| have been mentioned before. had occurred
| The cool, white beach had not known the nas h
OF the cohctcmaric or the crack of the deadly
duel ling pistol that season, The, Southern
women particularly hated these things, but
what could they do? Thus far they had escaped
any of these horrors and. for that. gentle h arts
| fun Of kindly happiness and good viii to all
The morning Of Sept, 10, 1864, was one Of
| almost unearlhly loneliness. The sea was
| sometimes a. smooth as translucent glass
| now as green A. an emerald, then sapphire
lued, It's surface was covered Wltn laln'lSh
| misty haze. H. lovcllueSs was surernal, The
| fishing boats in sight seemed like great white
| sea birds trailing their wings as they Dasked
! in tie morning sunbcams. They We're
! softened in the sem-mi-t dclicaiely vapor-
| ized % an ethereal beauty. Toward the main
| land the forest visible seemed gray and vclled
| in diauhaUulS uebulou~ vapor, But II was
| early then, and the sun had scarcely had time
to drive away the ghOStly gray fog offended
! with that of the seal from the great l.afOurchc
! marshes lying along the nearest shore. As
the sun rose higher the sea mist vanished
+ But such a day a. II was! The thermometriC
/ measurement of September in Iouisaua I-
/ no; greatly different in its altitude of heat
/ from that of New York or Washington. This
! dav, however. there was such a dOwnpour
. of solar warmth that n" island WIS almost
burning. Gentle pulls # wind blow and Ri
| rpd the sea water and turned II INTO orGlcs-
| cent green. But the cooling sea hree2c,, Ic-
| viving and refreshing all living things, did
| not come The day vas unCuniort7Ne. Men
| wandered about listlcSsly. Polite, II was
! the great KuON Nothing year yet talked 81 IN
| Louisiana political anIal,-eycn ceased "a
| charm In Tie, air there was a stiffness a~
! though Nature was watching and waiting IN
/ silence hleful. mysterious. OminOu-. The
| sunset that evening Pllright"d the tmid souls
! II went down in the west, ana the sky red n
! vPrmrh. an angry sun. and lett the OCcld'nt
! Llpziug across the waves ~ though a world
| was In flame III that u,giI' the haIo Usher
J mcu "a curious, ~uUcr>il liiul. class, hlN span
| i,h-Italinu and half creole, taking to the waves
likn sen i,ull-l hCurd ont at sen strange sounds