Draft of first pages of unpublished manuscript "The Great River"
Dublin Core
Title
Draft of first pages of unpublished manuscript "The Great River"
Description
Typed pages showing first pages of unpublished manuscript with FPK's edits and corrections.
Creator
Frances Parkinson Keyes
Source
From the collection of Frances Parkinson Keyes, Special Collections, University of Vermont.
Date
Unknown
Contributor
Digitised, transcribed and encoded by Harry Gilpin
Identifier
Box, 6, folder 3.
Document Item Type Metadata
Text
"THE GREAT RIVER"
I - THE MIDAS TOUCH
Near the northeast boundary of Louisiana, the Mississippi winds on its way to the Gulf in a series of great, tortuous loops. But its swift current, constantly seeking a more direct route, occasionally cuts across the narrow neck of a loop, so that many of these now form lakes shaped like oxbows, some of them entirely closed and some of them open on one end. The land thus embraced is as rich as any in the world; for thousands of years, Ol’ Man River, in each flood season, has been bringing down tons of rich soil from his upper regions and depositing them here. The lakes themselves furnish water for the cattle which graze ion the lush land, and abundant sport and recreation, not only for the people who live nearby, but for the hundreds of visitors who come to fish and hunt.
Among the great plantations fortunately located in this region are Lake Grove and Evergreen*, the plantations of the David Lides, to whom we have already referred in connection with their fine herds. These plantations form a cattle empire in themselves, but they owe their origin as such to Mr. Lide’s predilection for sport. It was this way:
*The Lides’ Evergreen should not be confused with the plantation by the same name near St. Gabriel, or still another by the same name, near Vacherie.
Apparently, the designation of Evergreen was a favorite among planters.
I - THE MIDAS TOUCH
Near the northeast boundary of Louisiana, the Mississippi winds on its way to the Gulf in a series of great, tortuous loops. But its swift current, constantly seeking a more direct route, occasionally cuts across the narrow neck of a loop, so that many of these now form lakes shaped like oxbows, some of them entirely closed and some of them open on one end. The land thus embraced is as rich as any in the world; for thousands of years, Ol’ Man River, in each flood season, has been bringing down tons of rich soil from his upper regions and depositing them here. The lakes themselves furnish water for the cattle which graze ion the lush land, and abundant sport and recreation, not only for the people who live nearby, but for the hundreds of visitors who come to fish and hunt.
Among the great plantations fortunately located in this region are Lake Grove and Evergreen*, the plantations of the David Lides, to whom we have already referred in connection with their fine herds. These plantations form a cattle empire in themselves, but they owe their origin as such to Mr. Lide’s predilection for sport. It was this way:
*The Lides’ Evergreen should not be confused with the plantation by the same name near St. Gabriel, or still another by the same name, near Vacherie.
Apparently, the designation of Evergreen was a favorite among planters.