The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1849-05-01
MIR. MERRITT's LETTER.
[Concludea from No. 33,1

tenants IN New Orleans. By the by,
old Jacob Barker, one Of the chief stock
holders in St. Charles, is the same Jacob
Barker, who formerly figured so extern
slvely In Judicial matters in New York.
lfyou reco|lect right he left New York
some years since, under somewhat unra-
vorabIe circumstances pecuniarily. He
is now a resident of New Orleans, and
very wealthy. Can say anything ia
vorabIe for The cleanliness Of the City?.
not word. wish | could, for ii there
is any city in the country whose natural
position, climate, and people, require care
in this respect, it is New Orleans. But
their common council appear to have fell
into genuine Rip Van Wrinkle sleep,
for their side walks are completely cho-
ked up with merchandise in the shape Of
bales and boxes, therstreets coated with
dirt and filth, and their under-g round
rooms emIting..a stencil which almost for
ces It's victim to the earth. This arises
from dead water, and must generate
large proportion Of the disease, for which
New orleans is so justly celebrated. But
as | have prolonged this part Of nay sub
Ject, to greater length than ex pected
when commenced it, let me close it by
proceeding TO another, where the scene
changes and the mind is enlivened, or
depressed, in proportion as the interest
produced by danger, or aDtic! pated wealth
and glory, increases or dminishes. To
our little bark then, | will conduct YOU.
She is two masted fore and aft Schoon-
err, Of gig tons burden, with full crew
of raw, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Yankees.
We have "a passengers OH board, 90 in
the cabin and 81 in the storage, all bound
for the gold mines Of California. We
let Orleans on the evening Of the 9Th
January, in company with the steam
tow-boat Gen. Taylor and arrived at the
Gulf the next morning about o'clock, a
distance Of $50 miles. This was fast
running, 100 fast for any General except
Taylor, to accomplish. 1t is the motto,
that the General never surrenders, This
may be true in Military and Steamboat
exploits, but not in political, for the Gen.
erals tactlcls failed him in the hour Of
greatest need, and he was compelled to
ung lorlous y surrender to the Philadel-
phla Convention. But truce to the
General and his name-sakes, his victo-
rles and surrender, his military expert
ence and manifest lack ofpoltical kno,vl-
edge. As the Steamer cast off our cable,
up came small boat moved by four men
at the oars and one at the helm. As the
little craft came along side, the man at
the helm, who was short, strait and re-
markedly pompous little seaman Of about
fifty, hailed US by inquiring if we want
ed pilot. The Captain answered in
the affirmative, when the little fellow
mounted the ships side, planted himself
upon the hurricane deck and in a gruff
tone ordered the men to haul in the ca
BILE. This order not being obeyed as
readily as he desired, he sang ont again,
haul in that cable. Some Of the smaller
ropes having got tangled with the cable,
it required some little time and exertion
TO prepare for shipping it. This excited
the Pilot beyond his capacities to endure,
and just as our willing crew commenced
shipping the said cable, he broke forth in
angry tones, "G-d-D-m your lubber-
ly pates, ship than cable or iii run your
old tlat-boat spang on to the reef" This
elected from the sailors some little MUIR
muring, but they finally obeyed the wink
of their Captain by redoubling their ex-
ertions, shipped the cable, hoisted all sail
and with the little Pilot at the helm, were
soon safely beyond the reef, when the
Captain resumed command Of his craft
and steered a South Easterly course with
ythe wind dead ahead. For seven days
were we beating about in the Gulf, max
ing perhaps 40 or SO miles in twen.y-four
hours. On the evening of the 18th day
however, the wind shifted around to the
North West, and our little craft bounded
through the water at the rate Of knots
an hour, which brought us in sight Of
Cape St. Antonio the next morning about
10 o'clock. We doubled the Cape abou,
3 o'clock P. NJ. and sailed along the south
coast Of Cuba, some two miles from the
land. The greenness Of the grass and
leaves upon the trees and the fragrance
which they omitted were realzations
which man from the North, and {
stranger to the Sea, eight days from land
could not but experience the most pleas
urable sensations. We had fine sum
mer breeze for running down the coast
| remained upon the deck until late
hour in the evening and even then loune
it difficult to take my eyes from scene
which commanded every poetic impulse
| slept but little that night, owing eithe
to the heat Of the climate, which fine
lessons the quantity Of sleep required, Of
desire to pursue my observations
which were necessarily broken off the
preceding evening. The earliest dawr
found me upon deck and in conversation
with the Pilot. Over our larboard bow
and some twenty miles down the coast. he