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sand mounds, and their mode of formation is still a mystery to the 

 geologist. The theory has lately been advanced that their forma- 

 tion is duo to the action of gases in the inferior strata, which formed 

 a kind of crater throwing up the sand from beneath. But this 

 explanation is by no means satisfactory. It is well known that all 

 vent holes for the exit of gases, as well as volcanic scoria, are gen- 

 erally in the form of a funnel, and as sand is of a shifting charac- 

 ter, its suface would not assume a convex form where the funnel is 

 broadest, but it would present the shape of a concave cap, the cen- 

 ter column of sand being drawn downward by the force of gravity 

 through the narrow tubular end of the funnel, while the broad 

 upper part of the funnel would support the layer of sand in position 

 in proportion to its greater or less obliquity. But the shifting cen- 

 tral column must necessarily fill the space left vacant by the sub- 

 sidence of the upward pressure of the expanding gases, for we have 

 no evidence that these elements, if they ever existed, are in active 

 force now. I think it would be almost as reasonable to suppose 

 that these mounds were formed by whirl-winds like snow drifts or 

 mountain -like waves, and were afterwards fixed in their position by 

 the vegetation which subsequently sprung up, which bound together, 

 as it were, the shifting sand grains, no longer exposed to the dis- 

 turbing action of the winds. 



I have seen no animals of any kind in the prairies, except snipes 

 and a few other prairie birds, and some land terrapins. I was 

 struck, however, by the very remarkable fact that I had not met 

 wfth a single freedman, either in the road, the Creole houses, or the 

 field, after traveling a distance of ninety miles. The only exception 

 to this was a colored family residing about seven miles from Lake 

 Charles, who cultivated a piece of land on their own account. 



The Creoles and their boys not only do their own plowing and 

 planting, but the poorer Creole women also work. They go gener- 

 ally barefooted, wear colored handkerchiefs on their heads, cook, 

 spin, weave, sew and knit, cut wood, make fires, nurse the babies, 

 and do all other household work. The settlements are so scattered, 

 and the houses so far distant from each other, that there is hardly a 

 schoolhouse or a church to be seen anywhere. There is no post 

 office between Opelousas and Lake Charles. 



A rapid influx of an industrious population would soon change 



