The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1920-02-14
TRIP OF THE GOOD
SHIP JOHN N. PARKER
AS Told by One of Party Who EN-
barked on Maiden
Voyage.

In the wee, small hours of the End
of February, a vehicle might have
been seen winding its crooked way
through the streets of Welsh, making
short stop here and there, taking
on passenger with more or less
dunnage 'TwOuld suggest that a
chicken thief, or possibly an ax1man
was stalking abroad, as one Of the
party had swiped an ak and was flour
ishing it in the night breezes. Nay,
nothing but amity and good mirth pre-
vailed in that taxi cab until it reached
its destination at the big plant of the
Welsh Canal Co, where but a few
days previously had been launched the
newly built and cute little craft The
John NJ. Parker" It's builders and
present owners, Messrs. A. B. Hall
and Ed Bower had planned for its
maiden effort a trip to the Calf of
Mexico.
Mr. Hall had let it be known among
a few of his fellow townsmen that
they could ride if they could behave
and several were found who were vii
ling to stack up their behavior against
as good thing as this promised to
be- Mr., Hall had assured all that
none would be allowed to spend any
thing on the trip, as he was paying
the expenses out of the money he
lost on the Parker-Stubbs primary
election.
All were prepared to meet the larg-
est and widest game of the marsh or
Forest, also any denizen of the Next
can Gulf that might fall before our
boys.
The Bark Jared forth from the tran
gull little harbor in which it was
launched passed the narows and head
ed for the reaches of the great sea,
receives the first rude shock, the
ground swell of the mighty ocean.
Progress! Aye! Aye! The taxi driver
hadn't more than settled himself in
his seat when all was in readiness on
the new water craft. The helmsman
at the wheel, with firm grip a quick
and alert eye, cries aloud; Aye! Ho!
The chief engineer touches the but
ton and the profoundly quiet thing
springing into nervous action takes
the water and glides amid stream as
beautifully and as gracefully as a
Boston chorus girl in her happiest
roll
THE John NJ Parker had plowed
the swollen but placid waters of Bayou
Chen at record speed until we had
reached the draw.bridge on the Thorn
well road, where, after short delay
with few profanities we pursued our
downward course in the dawning quiet
ly. A gunshot from the prov, and J.
G. Ewing had bagged the first game
of the voyage. All was mirth and good
will.
We had progressed afar and the
writer happened to see one passenger
beCon to another and said to him,
after the other had comfortably seat
ed himself: DO you know there is
millions in that moss?" pointing to
a moss strewn forest. The neighbours
reply was ITO hill with your millions
were out for fun, and I'd rather. see
a Hawaiian toe dance to the tune of
An Irish Lassie' in the moonlight out
beyond grad-dad's barn than to have
all the millions you ever can have
picked outen that id stuff" and he
pulled down one corner of his left eye
and beat it back to the corner where
there was no thought of sordid wealth.
! We had forgotten to mention in its
proper connection, that a red squirrel
had been cited setting on it's bushy
tail on the butt of a giant cypress
that CHANGED to lean across the stream
and after few hurried quacks, sever
al spasmodic jerks of his ponderous
tail passed athwart the Prov of our
boat, betokening good luck, thus max
ing good cheer better.
After passing many, many points of
historic interest, all of which our pilot
would fully announce in passing, we
partook freely of the good eats our
host had selected and prepared and
which were filed high in MANY places