White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1922-07-02

ffaAa ~ DHA 0& 1919
realized that the day was not going
to brighten appreciably. Instead. 1t
remained very cloudy and gloomy,
with a chill threat of rain In the air.
Weather mattered little TO Gramont.
When finally the excellent highway
was left behind. and they started on
the last lap of their seyenty-mile ride,
they found the parish roads execrable
and the going slow. Thus, noon was
nj hand when they at length pulled in
10 Paradis, the town closest to Lucie
L.edanois' bayou land. The rain was
still holding off.
Too cold to rain,' observed Ora
mont. Let's hit for the hotel and
get something TO eat. I'll have to
locate the land, which Is somewhere
near town"
They discovered the hotel 10 be an
ancient structure, and Boosting prices
worthy of Laftte and his buccaneers.
As In many small towns Of Louisiana,
however. the food proved ft for n
king. After u light luncheon of quail,
crayfish blsque, and probably Illegal
venison. Gramont sighed regret that
he could eat no more, and set about
inquiring where the Iedanois farm lay.
There was very little. indeed. TO
Paradis. which lay on the bayou but
well away from the railroad. II was a
desolate spot. implanted and unkempt.
The parish seat of IIouma had robbed
II of all life and growth on the one
hand on the other, the new oil and
gas district had not yet touched II.
Southwark lay the swamp-fully
forty miles Of 1t, merging by degrees
into the Gulf. Forty miles of cypress
marsh and winding bayou. uncharted,
UNEMPLOYED save by occasional hunters
or semi-occasional sherlffs. No man
knew who or what might be in those
swamps. and 10 n cared 10 know.
The man who brought In fish or
oysters in his skin might be n bayou
fisherman. and he might be a muir
derer wanted In ten states. Curiosity
was APT to prove extremely unhealthy.
Like the Atchafaiaya. where chance
travellers find themselves abruptly or-
dered elsewhere. the Terrebonne
swamps have their own secrets and
know how TO keep them.
drumont had no difficult, In soeat
Ing the Ledanois land. and he found
that II was by no means In the swamp.
A part of IL. lying closer 10 Houma,
had been sold and was now included
In the new oil district. It was this por-
tion which Joseph Malllard had sold
or.
Tie remainder, and the largest pOr-
ton, lay north Of Puradis and ran
along the west bank of the bayou for
half n mile. A iong-abandoned farm,
II was high ground. with the timber
well cleared OF and exeellently To-
Gated but tenants were hard 10 get
and shiftless when obtained, So that
the place Ind not been farmed for the
last five years OF more. After getting
these facts. Gramont consulted with
Hammond
Wed better buy SOME grub here In
town and arrange 10 stay II couple OF
nights on the farm. II necessary" he
said. There are some buildings there,
so we'll find shelter. Along the bayou
are summer cottages-1 believe some
Of them rather pretentieus places
and we ought TO find tfie road pretty
decent. It's only three or four miles
out Of town"
With some provisions piled in the
car, they set forth. The road wound
along the bayou side, pust ancient
'Cajun farms and the squat homes OF
fishermen. Here and there bad been
placed camps and summer cottages,
Nesting amid groups Of huge oaks and
cypress. whose fronds of silvergray
moss hung In dropping clusters like
pale and ghostly shrouds.
Watching the road closely, Gramont
suddenly found the landmarks that
nad been described to him, and or
dered Hammond to stop and turn in