increasing, absorbing the habitats of these primitive and innocent
people, who retire to some little ridge of land deeper in the swamp, a
few inches higher than the plane of the swamp, where they surround
their little mud-houses with an acre or so of open land, from the
products of which, and the trophies of the gun and fishing-line and
hook, and an occasional frog, and the abundance of crawfish, they
contrive to eke out a miserable livelihood, and afford the fullest
illustration of the adage, "Where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be
wise."

The contrast between these princely estates, and the palatial mansions
which adorn them, and make a home of luxuriant beauty, and the little
log huts, their immediate neighbors, tells at once that the population
is either very rich or very poor, and that under such circumstances the
communication must be extremely limited; for the ignorance of the poor
unfits them for social and intelligent intercourse with their more
wealthy and more cultivated neighbors. This is true whether the planter
is French or American. The remarkable salubrity of the climate,
combined with the comforts and luxuries of home, causes the planter to
spend most of his time there, where he can give his attention to his
business and mingle with his brother planters in a style and manner
peculiar to Louisiana and the tastes of her people. Intercommunication
is facilitated by steamboat travel, and as every plantation is located
upon a navigable stream, the planter and family can at any time suiting
his business go with little trouble to visit his friends, though they
may be hundreds of miles apart. Similarity of pursuit and interest draw
these together. There is no rivalry, and consequently no jealousy
between them. All their relations are harmonious, and their intercourse
during the summer is continuous, for at that season the business of the
plantation may be safely trusted to a manager, one of whom is found on
every plantation.

This social intercourse is highly promotive of a general amity, as it
cultivates an intimacy which at once familiarizes every one with the
feelings, situation, and intentions of the other. Sometimes the
contiguity of plantations enables the families of planters to exchange
formal morning and evening calls, but most generally the distance to be
overgone is too great for this. Then the visiting is done by families,
and extends to days, and sometimes weeks. Provisions are so abundant