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What Louisiana
Offers the Tourist
21
be found in America, and scenes symbolical of historical events.
Entering Louisiana on No. 90 from Texas, the traveler passes through Sulphur, Lake Charles, Welsh, then Jennings, where oil in the state was first discovered. The next town is Crowley, the ?rice center of America,? in the heart of the prairie region. In this section the tourist travels for miles through rice fields and sees irrigation plants, threshing machines, and binders in every direction. Later, at Eayne, still traveling eastward, the tourist sees one of the largest frog markets in the state, and many more rice fields.
Lafayette is the next town on the Old Spanish Trail. This city, home of Southwestern Louisiana Institute, is famed for its hospitality, and in the early spring of the year it is one of the most beautiful towns in the South. Hundreds of azaleas have been planted here, and provide picturesque beauty each spring.
From Lafayette the tourist goes to New Iberia, in the heart of the Teche country on Bayou Teche. Some of the most beautiful colonial homes in America are in this area, and at St. Martinville, on State Highway No. 25 a few miles northward, is the Evangeline Oak, made famous by Longfellow?s poem about the French girl who waited there so long for her lover. At St. Martinville also is a statue of Evangeline, a gift of Dolores Del Rio, motion pictures actress.
Nine miles south of New Iberia, reached via Louisiana Highway No. 25, is Avery Island, fourth of the row of five picturesque oak-clad salt-dome ?islands? in this region. This is the home of the famous Jungle Gardens, with its great variety of tropical and sub-tropical plants, and is also the site of a large private game sanctuary. A few miles southwest of New Iberia, on State Highway No. 25, is Abbeville, near the Rainey Game Refuge. This is also one of the most picturesque towns in Southwest Louisiana.
From New Iberia, continuing eastward on No. 90, one travels to Morgan City, through several smaller but historical and picturesque villages and towns. The whole length of this route is a constantly shifting panorama which is intensely interesting. ?Here is a modern sugar


Green, John A. 020
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