| One of the hardest working, ingenious men that I have ever known was Atlas Lovell. Atlas was a small thin man made of muscle and bone that derived his energy from coffee and cigarettes; he was the best trawler on Bayou du Large. Atlas owned the biggest boat on the Bayou called the Captain Atlas, which was built farther up Bayou du large by Duce Deion, the best boat builder on the Bayou at that time. It was 52' in length made of cypress wood planking with a 12''x 12'' oak keel with a 671 Detroit diesel engine and equipped with both po-Pierres and otter trawls. Every time Atlas went out he came back with the boat loaded with shrimp.
Duce Deion is a story in itself, he was of American Indian descent, a master cypress boat builder. His boats
had such beautiful lines, they cut through the water like a knife making hardly a ripple. Duce built his boats near his house located on the right descending side of the Bayou about a mile south of Falgout Canal. He had three hard working sons that helped him build boats with amazing speed. In the winter Duce's entire family would go to his trapping grounds in the ''West'' across Lake De Cade.
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The Captain Atlas
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