New-York daily tribune., 1844-07-03
Life in Mississippi and on the River.
Correspondence Of The Tribune.
Nrw.ORrrAx, luna u l5li


NEw.ORLEASs. June 4. l64i.
Having spent month in Mississippi, take
the liberty of making few remarks on hat much
abused State. From the reports which reach the
North, ore would be led tn expect to SEE dali,
duels and strrrt. Ihrs OF the most b,rbarnus cha.
racter as specimens Of Mississippi Public Life
and drunkenness. gaming and swlndilng. as cnm
mon exh brti-n- of soai character. II Is su-
pris,ng tog s!ande's ike these are believed of u
~ opc who, lar from indulging in back biting
their neighb.rs and displaying RI tous spirit.
arc in .a:t 20 b: ranked among the most blanc
and courteous people ever me, with. 1t Is true
that du.s occasionally occur. but they are every
day becoming less frequent. In many Instance,
no owever, the FIST ntimdllnn received Of the death
of an estimabe citizen is from some Northern
D per, which gives him the satisfaction or mortl.
ficaton whichever you please to Call 1t, OF read
ing his o wn death and burial some weeks before,
resulting from bar rbarous duel, which never took
place but in the lively fancy of the writer. Sew
eral instances of this might be given, much TO the
annoyance of the gentlemen named. The cha
racter of the people of Mississippi with whom
have had the pleasure Of assoclating, is marked
by a high degree of intelligence on almost every
subject, while frank cordIality relieves the
stranger from all embarrassment in pirtdklng OF
their generous hospitality.
Education here is not neglected Three Col
leges of the most respectable character find am
plc support within the State. In all the towns
and vIiiapes male and female schools are MAN.
tanned by private means, while in every township
there is at least one school, to the support of which
the sixteenth section is appropriated by law.
Religion, also, is far from beIny neglected, and
the most liberal liberation exists toward all sccts.
The Ministers of the Gospel, when travelling in
discharge of their duties, are permitted TO pass
free of charge on all public conveyances prnoi
of hberaIilv which might be initiated by those
who scotf and jeer at .Misslssippans as people
devoid of morality.
Drinking shops, regret TO say. are far too nn-
merous, and to their unhappy influences may be
traced many of the occurrences which every good
citizen depl0res. But there is growing dlspnsl-
ton to extirpate the evil and there is reason to
hope that the effort will be successful.
Have you any curiosity to know what sort ofa
place is Yicksburghl q town that is better known
in Europe and America than time -honored Capitals
II is situated on the side of hill in close proXi-
;tv IN the remains of an old fnrt erected hv tho
rho carly Spanish settlers and an account Of
which will be found among the first records Of
the country. 1t is washed on the West by the
Mississippi River, which 1T this place r"ns due
South. Ii is u corporate City and contains about
5UO souls the streets run parallel TO the river
and at right angles. They are, however, unpaved
In dry weather clouds of dust arise from every
foot STEP and in the rainy season the mud IS knee
deep. Hardly any ono travels on foot. The
steamboats, land their passengers on boats rnoorcd
at the levee to receive them, the rise and fall ID
the water beng too great admit of building
docks. These boats are great conveniences, al
fordinq shelter and protection to passengers and
baggage at any hour oil the day or ni2ht' and
the nronrietors are always polite and attentive
We left Vicksburg on Tuesday morning in the
the steamboat Yazno, under the comm md OF
Capt Brenham, whose eff,rts to promote The COM
ioris and convenience Of his passengers, and IN
doinp NIL IN his power to preserve order and de-
corum. are deserving OF all praise. Any yone would
b,v. been dcligh,ed with The Specimen "i NiSs's-
.;,,,; life on board the YdzoO. There was no
| ,,rphI;up not even card displayed during
rho ,riu-,here was litie or no dfinkl"g. the pas
..ppers all seemed satisfied with the wine lnrn'6h
| -6 ~ The dinner table ny The Caraln, and when
| ,~,nIe are satisfied tn drunk clhrrt m"dtrrtelI
,,st,t. q, brandy and rum, they exhi'ii d'rp"-'
r,,,p tn s.,cjry whlrh de>crv's men nm hhd praise
| I'm, accou.ts rec. wed ~ the North. h' ihe w''
.nd d,sg. ac.aui conduct OH the MISSISSIPPI ai'
y,eal, .x4egrrn'ed.
A,unny one h0nd,ed passengers, every thing
vas Ms vv.,l conducted and a. qn"t rs on any :"
.h- North River ho,is. ln making comparisons
., ought 81 he "'rne in mind IN Il large n"fioe
assembled iuyeh"r 'nr .~ days III IN" No'u'
m, ht be apt T., while a~ay time nv c"r' p.s'i"s
and rrmains a. here The c"nn'r, brtwc''i '';s
-, q, and Ne~ o ealIs Is heau'huI ana I've. h'
K YER has hccn n-lng Tor some t'Ii'e ana ~ "'n"'
va:rs hns owe flowed us banks MANY plan sl"''
ar. c"Inplrt,ly undtr wafer and me s'ghl OF ~"
,rhoue-. in the river. and the ""cnptn- sh"''S Il
! Skif1s from point to po his ~ 'ua'cl'us "a
oearnncc In many places the 'eV'e IN" s''.'
wsv snn large numners of hands were eng"geo III
thriving no rmbankments To keepthe water out
A, ,;mes the stramboat was above the evel"f tnt
land which few weeks previous was above ln'
w,,er from twenty TO thirty FIVE ieet mn
gives. I suprose, a lair idea of The Dykes oi mol
land. For nearly the whole length ol the H'lsS's
s;pni below this, the banks on bnlh SIDES are
per,ect level for many miles and ae skirted IN tht
rear ground by forrslso OF the most beautiiui Iees
The Sugar fields looked as regular as II the Cah'
had been planted with rule; as far as the eye ca'
seach, continual acres of Cane now almost iiifct
leet high and of The brightest green inrm a beau
t,fu prospect The residences Of the PLANTERS art
t"ondsd "Sns s"' by he "5he os
lnps varying from ten to fifty and even upwards
in numbers. neatly whlte-washed with black 'o's
The mansions are surrounded with Grape my rue
magnolias, the Peccans, Cape Jessaiinss ah'
W,mosas. and the contrast formed by the varle
ty OF trees and flowers, heightened by se'en'
and cloudless sky and smoo h rolling river forms
a scene oi beauty that even the noble Tucson
cannot surpass. Sunset on the Mississippi Is
mos, ,eaut.iul sight, and lew can leok upon tn
deuarti,7g orb without feeling wonder and ADM
rstion. A delightful breeze sprlngsu up as the SUI
;s s;nk;ng beneath the horizon, the verdure OF tn
fields takes a darker tins-lhe East reflects th
most brilliant yet mellow colors' and the rive
nresen,s the inverted forms the clouds assume
TInconsc;ouslv l:began to contemplate eplcturt.
+ as1ed At il viii, enthusiasm and ecstasy unit