The Detroit times., 1913-07-15

milk and musn ana Was pidN tH@ "''"
The hound pups before the palmetto
thatCh. Michigan stole ont OF tne
Hooded fores, with the Bia Woman
In his pirogue She came TO stand
over the child listening 90 the con.
fused tales OF the wooden legged
swampers who did their best go ~.
plain And the promises 'hey made
II she would only stay and help them
rear the guest 10 be lady they
. would roam no more They would
stay and tend the lNy boom for me
| lumber company. ana eaten fish ana
crabs for the trade boats, ami ouiid q
| leanto on the house. and buy ilct
! and red beans and mOlasses ana
| shoes-Oh the wonderful Things ih'N
would do Il the Ba woman would
only stay and rear the child 10 be
lady
The Bia woman looked down In
/ dianfaced and stolid, bur when me
/ guest came without fear and took her
hand and smiled ny. the shifty-looted
! basketmaker knelt and wiped the M
! tie ones face And al nighUali she
! came again with an her goods. pad
ding through the woods by trails
! that none. hut the hardest rappers
! eyond the forty-arpent line could
! ollow Nothing she cared that ola
J Man Captain had rejreated 10 he
swamps in o. aud had never surren'
dered nov that Michiglu, who gain
ed his name through being captured
nv the cavalry OF thai state, had fol
! lowed Old Man Captain because Ger
tainy n Old Man Captain wouldn
| surreuder. and the Government up
North wouldn't surrender why one
must stick 10 Old Man Captain. she
came because the child smiled at her'
| and she was alone She had lost tohr
! brothers and sisters IN the great
storm OF la Cheniere and me years
since She had been with The plrogue
makers a. the Lake Salvador TEN
pie. or ~ an evil shrimp camp on
John.the Fool. and once she had fol-
lowed seine crew 70 the open gull
pulling an oar in the CLASSY Gains
with the best OF them but coming
back better neither in money nor
morals
Long years after. in her bright
world the child had a memory or the
Indian basket maker. stolid, her black
hair hanging straight behind her ears.
In which were two brass rings, kneel
Inc 10 blow the Goals in the clay fur
mace and roasting live crabs, watch
ing them writhe with the calm OF the
savage And another memory Mas OF
the Indian woman taking her miles
through the swamps in her slender
pirogue 10 meet some priest who
came on monthly visits from the low
or coast plantations, and thereafter
The child came 20 know that she had
been named Aurelie because that
word was found on her rosary. Then
came a tumble Of child remembrances
so fantastic that she came &c think
they must be dreams of the long
hot adavs and wonderful sunsets over
the shoreless lakes the mornings ali
aglitter under the moss-plumed cy-
press. the cardinals and mocking
birds Aitting above he floating hya
| cinths around their tiny garden
Many summers Eurelie watched the
eternal procession Of The hyacinths
past their palm hut. sometimes SC
choking the bayou that II was sea
Of purple. bur one in which no boat
could move not even the log steamer
which came down now and then 10
tow a raft up to the great river TO
the North
She grew with many generations
OF hound pups from the day OF Ponto
and Flora They built palm thatch
when the old ones sagged in the July
rains. or the floods from crevasses
drove them into the tree platform
built In a live-oak for Just such dan
gers In summer the two old men
toted moss from the black swatp
and sold II TO the trade boats. in
winter they trapped and hunted and
ran the crab lines. and all these
months and years Old Man Captain
lived In q great expectancy. or wNar,
none exactly knew. Not even Michi-
gan. who sometimes would shake his
head and confde 70 Aurelie that 'Old
Man. he done gone clean crazy this
time"
Old Man would sir for hours re-
garding Aurelie as she played on the
hard packed earth before the thatch,
his vague blue eyes Ii, with his Wis
ion. Then at times he would mutter,
or al night would get up 10 pace the
Eath between the hut and the bayou.
calling out phrases OF the mighty
drama IN udd NOAtAFu HE u hiiAs
II was Lee OH his biz
white horse, Or Stonewall rarin' and
chargin'. or AT times II was Of lea,
La Elites pirate treasure buried
somewhere from Plaquemine 10 Grand
Terre and which AureiIe was 10 find
aud So enrich the Confederacy that
the old gray lires would rise lrium
phantlv. Yes Aurelie was 70 lead
EN- to occupy The land
PIT one summer Old Nan Captain
was no. 30 we'll lie did not follow
Michigan TO The deep vamp for moss
or turtles. but Nas content 10 sit and
? end the fly boom az the end OF the
canal While ku-elic chartered, and
.hc Eia woman woye her crab bas-
! els. Old Man Whitfield on Michigan's
Christmas leg which hr KEEP; hidden
under Tho coil Of tao boom chain
Michigan knew Il was there but he
pretended ignorance and everybody
helped along the gay deceit Christ