The Opelousas courier., 1900-07-21
A Trip to Bell Cheney Springs.


For several days previous to the do
parture of n trioof pleasure seakers for
the above named resort, the weather
had been serenely fair and our pros
poets for "A pleasant trip seemed fiat
tering i'll the extreme. Well, the
weather did hold out until our destina-
ton was reached, but how we got there,
only Divine Providence, s"nperbumat
effort and determined persistence can
tell for when we reached what is
known rs Biaeksher's lane and had
gone II short stretch, We f0nnG that he
road had been flooded by previous
rains aud was almost impossible. But
| these rains could not have put it in
| such u horrible condition, for in add.
ton to the ordinary bog holes foand on
any very bad road, HE dirt had been
worn away from each end ut every
bridge, and deep, miIery and immense
sink-hoies appeared which would have
begged n cTane-even of the Sandy
hill variety-if unexpectedly he had at
tempted to light there and the Al
| mighty had not provided him with mean
of flying away. But this is not sill. On
DO small part of this lane, it. looks as
if-and We are told that-water from
adjoining fields on both sides has been
drained into the public road until for II
mile or more a veritable lake looms up
which would afford suitable navigation
for IL light-draft steamer or such a line
of flat boats as n might wish to ope-
rate. This condition Of the public
road continued all the way to Vile
Plate. The balance of tue road to
Deficiency Tin Capt. Haas ward) did
very we'll, with one exception, namely,
that OF Q crossing % mile or two aboveV.
P, where the heavy rains had SD
swollen q stream that the bridge had
fi0ated away-which might have hap
pened on any road. But who is res
pOnsible for the sadly neglected roads
and flooded condition OF the one from
the lane on the way to OpelOusasq 1t
matters not who is, still it ought to
have been remedied, for this condition
Of a part Of this road has existed for
years, and is a disgrace to the parish.
But to return to our trip proper, we may
say that, after leaving Vile Plate,
patching an almost buckleless harness,
riviting a broken shaft, putting eleven
spOkes in II wheel, aud two false ones
in others, we managed to reach Bell
Cheney and struck camp in n twO-room
cottage, which for ventiIation-up and
down, all-around-couldn't be discount
ed by anthing known to modern archi-
lecture.
After eating a late dinner, We went
over to call on the "~Lichtenstein
Gang" composed of Messrs. c. F.
~Charleyiile, Owen l.. Wood, - De-
ley, Mr.. and Mrs. Wilcox and others,
who had preceded us with "a yeritable
caravan of everything conducive to
comfort, health and good living. We,
of course, found them we'll fixed and in
comparatively good spirits. We stayed
only q short time, but tarried long
enough for our benighted, wide mouth |
ed cook, Emanuel, to get hold of a
green watermelon, all of which he de-
molished pulp and rind. It is needless
to say we didn't have any cook, for he
took some sort of congestiva chill aud
fell into o stupor from which he only
aroused at the end of two days. This
necessitated the manipulation of the
by "Toodles," "Hardtimesn
and "Tay," whom if you only know cas-
ually, you car readily imagine Ibid
up. brown" aud according to
Hoyle-"cush-cush and 'jombOitah"
was all the go.
The creek was mp too high to fish: in
and the springs were under water; the
rain being continuous for two days, the
ticks of the soft,shell turtle order aud
the heas De large as miller-bugs and
as ravanOus as W0lyes-vour reporter
thought it was about time To leave, bnt
that in coming he had passed
0Ver one of the best roads in the parish,
he took a spring wagon ride 10 Loyd's
and C%heneyville for his return
trip by rail. The last named place
he was pretty we'll used
mp, but with the magnificent facilities
at Hotel Stewart. Mr.. aud Mrs. S. soon
braced him up for reaching home by the
cars in the morning.
We have always posed as a "wet"
but since nnv wade, swim and dive
10 Deficiency Springs, VIZ shall never
cease To advocate good, dry roads and
vote the prohibition ticket. II. l..