Woman's enterprise., 1922-03-10


able question that could arise in the
everyday existence of our great
grandfathers of the Plaza Of Baton
Rouge of a hundred and fifty years
ago-documents of such type and such
form as no one would ever think of
recording today. From the inventories
of SUGGESTIONS, for instance, we may
get fairly good idea of what the
household goods of the average family
consisted. These inventories are ex-
tremely definite and 60 into the mi
nutest details; they leave out not even
the wooden stirring spoons of the
kitchens of 1880. They show US that,
while bed springs were an unknown
quantity to them, the old Louisianians
loved personal comfort, if we may
Judge from the number OF feather
beds listed in most Of the inventories.
Some succession inventories listed as
many as fifteen. From the judgments
recorded against debtors for store
accounts, too, we may learn how the
average mans life was spent. This
man was evidently a great lover OF
hunting, for in the account recorded
against him we find great amount
of gunpowder and shot mentioned;
that one is most probably devotee
of fishing, judging from the fishing
paraphernalia charged against him
And so we may 60 on and on, ven
turing guess here and another one
there as we thumb the fast-fadine
leaves. ProAigacy with money, We
note, was not an unusual attainment
with our forebears of the eighteenth
century; especially was this true
among the most prominent people, the
official class being addicted to tn
habit to very advanced degree. II
the first volume are documents record
ed pertaining to the financial diff
culties of Captain Estevan de Lamor
andiere, of the Post Of Opelousas, il
his dealings with a certain Duclo
mango, of the Post of Baton Rouge
to whom the former was indebted OF
no less than ten "bon pours" or l
10. us. Documents connected will
hundreds of such cases make part o
the records; especially are they mum
erous in the earlier volumes.
The minute details into which al
the recorded documents 60 is worth,
of note. In a judgement, for instance
recorded against Stephen Lavigne W
read the following entry:
Octob-e %. IL mere vache
rougette bien grace de va
leur de 6 ptrs. piece .... u ptrs
which, translated, is, overlooking tn
mistakes:
October s. IL full-grown
reddish cows, very fat, Of
the value Of 6 piastres
each .............................. 72 ptr'
In a store account recorded agains
the debtor we meet with the entry
Decembre 10. Une paire de
bas sole bleue pale vendue
a Mile. Marie, pour son
petit nevue .....................~ D
December 10. One pair Of
pale blue silk stockings,
sold to Miss Marie for her
little nephew ................. s
! In another we read:
July 3. Une bouteille d'eau
de feur d'orange pour
guand il etait malade .... Z
July 8. A bottle Of orange .
! flower water for when he
| was sick ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. Il
This bill, presented to the esta'
of Jean Bass by Jean Fridge, ma
be interesting. In the records it :
written in French:
j July 49, 1901
Food during his illness at
y so cts. a day ...................... o.
Coffin to bury him ........ IL
/ sheet to wrap him after
!, his death .......................... 4
To be deducted 6 days.
work at rs per day Ii
The Governor Of the Plaza, as we
las the commandant of the post, WI
apparently consulted upon eve'
; imaginable question. From St. Jot
, the Baptist comes a letter to Vohan
monde protesting with the great il
|tensity the writer's honesty in h
|, slave dealings. Another comes fro
Pointe Coupee announcing the deaf
of some citizen or other; still anoth
comes from New Feliciana, its o