The Opelousas courier., 1902-03-22
THE RING IN THE OLD OAK TREE.
Indian Legend that is Told in o Beauti.
full Gulf Coast Town.

'''- VsSA tN IFE OIO ORN ANE6s
Indian Legend that is Told in o Beauti.
full Gulf Coast Town..
Every foot of ground around this
town Is full of legends. Stories of In
dams, stories Of Bienville and Iberville
and all the rest of the gentlemanly ad-
v~enturers, and some adventures who
were not gentlemen, can be had here
Tor the asking. Something of the
dreamy charm which these ancient
oaks cast over the wanderers from
France and Spain and other countries
is with them still. There is the same
reposeful sky which bends over the
SHINING waters Of the bay, the same
Quietude which one finds among old
places, as if age had given them a
respite from the strenuous toll of a life
OF conflict, the same gentle tones
among the people, as if they were
afraid a loud voice would wake some
of the spirits of the restless men of
long ago. 1t is hard to stir the feeling
Of energy in the coast towns.
No visitor to Biloxi goes away with
out seeing the ring in the p~atriarchal
oak In the yard of the rectory Of the
Church Of the Redeemer. How old the
tree is nobody knows. But it has been
here for at least two hundred years.
There is a record running that far
back, and it was a big tree when the
record began, and the ring was there
when the story was started. 1t stands
today in silent grandeur. The trunk is
knotted and gnarled, and the limbs
are bent as if with the weight of years.
There is one of the most beautiful
legends OF the whole coast country
wrapped in this tree. The tree cannot
talk, so the people must do the talking
for it. They say that long before the
French came, long before there were
any Spanish in Louisiana, long before
there were any white faces in all the
long stretch of beautiful coast, there
was a chief whose daughter loved a
brave. She pleaded with her father
for permission to marry her lover. She
pleaded with all the eloquence and all
the Vehemence Of Indian maidens. She
prayed and threatened, but the old
chief had chosen another for her hus-
band, and he would not consent to the
change. The girl was importunate.
Like all maids in love, she could not
see that any other man in the world
approached the brave Of her choice in
all the arts of war, in the chase, or in
those things which go to make the per-
feet warrior.
Day after day she besieged the old
parent for consent to wed the mar she
had chosen from all the rest of the
tribe, and day after day the old man
steeled his heart against her appeals
and grew more and more obdurate.
One day when the girl had been ex-
c~eptionally suppncating, the father
pointed to a giant oak and said: When
a ring grows in yonder tree then will
I consent to your wedding, but not till
then"
The girl thinking all was lost, left
him in tears. But that night a great
storm arose, and when the morning
came there was a perfect ring in the
tree, caused by the interlacing Of two
branches. The chief was won over. He
thought the great Sun God had sent
him a sign of approval, and his I'M
willingness melted, and the maiden
and her lover were married and lived
to a green old age, the young warrior
in time becoming the chief Of the
tribe.
That is the story they tell. Any
way, the ring in the oak is there. II
can be seen of all men. The place is
a favorite resort, partly for the tree
and partly for the beautiful surround
ings, the old c~hurchyard, the ivy
covered rectory and the magnificent
view of the beach beyond. Many pho.
tographers have taken the view
through the ring. In order to do this
it is necessary to climb on a s~tepladder.
because the ring is in a limb which
branches from the trunk in almost a
right angle. They not only tell you
the story, but show the spot where
the girl fell weeping at the last refusal
of her father. And If they can show
you the tree and the very spot where
the girl fell, how much more proof can
they offer? The girl is gone and her
husband is gone, and the tree and the
spot are all that remain.-Biloxi
(Miss.) Letter to New Orleans Times
Democrat.