Woman's enterprise., 1922-02-10
ment as a general under jackson (fou

ment as a general under jackson flour {
vaurs later inevitable. e
Mrs, Lucretia Bridges, daughter OF
the Elizabeth Thomas mentioned IN
the will, is his only living grandch'ld'
and ic one of the few people who
knew him personally. She was eight
teen when her grandfather died, was
one of his favorites, and even now her
trembling voice becomes strong and
her bent figure straightens when she
speaks of her grandfather. But the
master-weaver, Time, has fashioned
many figure Of her quaint pattern
and curious design in the carpet of
years behind her, and in trying to
recall incidents in the life of General
Thomas, she is drawn on to tell many
anecdotes of general interest.
She tells of the time Henry Clay
came to Baton Rouge and how General
Thomas was the first to greet him
there on the wharf where every one
had gathered, and how they embraced
each other gladly, having been Old
Kentucky chums. Mating was spread
from the wharf to the garrison-now
the barracks of the Louisiana State
University-for Clay to walk upon.
That night, all Baton Rouge came up
to dance the polka, minuet and Vir-
ginia reel, at the big ball given at the
garrison. As the grey-uniformed ca
dets of today trip jauntily by to the
pavilion to dance the one-step, "jelly
roll' and other dances of the present,
can you not picture the shades of
their great-great grandparents Gid
ing through the stately dances, a cen
tury ago, with their powdered hair?
Gas for the state house." said Mrs.
Bridges, zone of the main reasons is
was moved to Baton Rouge was be-
cause Grandfather, who was in the
Legislature, said he just couldn't
stand the trip down to New Orleans.
He was very stout at the time and it
was such a slow, hard trip by boat
to New Orleans in those days. They
finally got the Legislature to meet
ere in Baton Rouge. In little while
they had the state house built"
"Talk about conventions" she con-
tinued, "they don't have conventions
like they used to have in those days.
remember big Whig convention
from all the parishes roundabouts
The people in Livingston parish bull:
two-room cabin, put it on wheels
and hitched eight yoke of exen to it;
then they rolled it from Livingston
to Baton Rouge, bringing in all he old
Revolutionary veterans. Grandpa
was one of them. They gave the cabir
to him afterwards. 1t was the Tyler
+ Harrison convention. 1t was held or
j. the other side of the old university
i now the, Institute for the Deaf ant
e Dumb, in beautiful spot. | believe
you call it Williams Grove now
j. Everybody was there-ladies and all
r, The ladies of the town had made ;
e big banner and presented it to tn
IS parish having the most delegates
e My! the girls don't seem to think t
e take the same interest in politics tha
} they used to in those days. At tina
1t time girls wearing big sashes, so the,
It had printed on them in big letters
% 'Whig or no husband
n Having lived in Kentucky, grand
n father often had business there. Full
n tons boat wasn't on the river ther
II One time he was going through tn
j. country with twenty men. When nigh
e came they lit fire to cook the ra
tions. Grandpa said, Boys. YOU
d better put that fire out; it will dra,
m Indians But they wouldn't, so h
re left. Eight of the men went wit
" him. The next morning when the
IS returned there were thousands of In
st dian tracks, but the other twelve me
e. had disappeared, never to be see
A. again."
h, Mrs. Bridges says that she has ofte
J. heard her grandfather, when speakin
r. of the Battle of New Orleans, sa
le that the histories gave Jackson all tn
t. credit, but Of it hadn't been for Pirat
n Lafitte and Dominique You, New Oh
ID leans would have been lost.
IN "My grandfather married twice
continued Mrs. Bridges. 81 remembe
how he used to tell about the time
~ was courting his first wife. She wa
" his first cousin, a Miss Craig, fro1
ii Virginia. She was very wealthy an