Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-03-18
Correspondence of the Spectator.
STEAMER BELFAST"
Miss. River. March 2. 1857.

Eds Spectator "a little gossip, and few
adventures said Sidney Smith, ARE very well
from travellers, even in countries little known
though few care whether their supper at any
given village was milk without eggs, or eggs
without milk" Gossip and adventure are the
only staple for hasty letters from the travel
worn Valley of the Mississippi.
The sun was sinking in the Mexican Gulf as
my last letter closed, and its morning beams
greeted our entrance to the Crescent City. The
St. Charles Hotel was throngcd with visitors OF
every variety, from the aboriginal to the fresh
est importation from foreign lands The kind
ness of a friend alone secured me room with
out the usual quarantine, and even this special
favor found me domcied in No. 550-a distant
part of the city, apparently, but in the same vast
building The room was pleasant when once
attained, but the way to it was as hard to climb
as if it had been flames proud temple" But
rs the contented voices of the ladies reached me
from even higher numbers l compromised
on the idea of visiting my room only once
week.
The situation like other desperate places, had
its advantages, and from the bulls eye" win
dow had a fine ''coup doeil' OF the city and its
urroundngs-spreading like crowded panora-
ma of unceasine interest, while poured around
all. the .'silver waters suggested Homer's grand
idea of Archilles' shield.
The busy leyee was like an ant-hll with Its
untiring stream of denizens; the border OF the
river bristled for mile with spars and lnasts OF
sailing craft; was black for another space with
the dark hulls of steamships; and white for
mile again with steamboats, lying like huge al
liGators with open mouths upon the city I'M
Al. balOw
and far around me. the thronged streets were
instinct with stirring humanity, and through APP
parently imperyious ways the omnibusses, like
so many turtles, were plying in regular lines to
every desirable point-except only to No. 350,
St. Charles Hotel.
Ny position, however, in 86O, toapproach per-
lection, only lacked in me the privilege vouch-
safed Asmodeus of lifting the roofs from the
houses to see the city in all its secret machinery
what a sight in such city, judging from our
outside glimpses
New Orleans is the great focus of the South,
whittier all its rays of businessand pleasure con-
verge in their fiercest intensity But descrip,
ton of all its fantastic phases would be as diff
cult as of the ever changing Kaleidoscope
Business throngs the hours of day; and, at this
carnival season, especially. pleasure runs riot
at night. Theatres, balls, masquerades, operas,
fairs festivals and fights, fill the nights with
frolic, men, women, children, creoes, quad
rooms, French, Spanish Algerines, are all ming.
led in one heterogeneous mass OF unmltlgated
nrth. Our Scotch-1rish people have not the
mldest conception of such scenes. On the
night of Mordi Gras-the climacterc OF festl-
vals-the city was literally alive for hours with
masuued figures in every possible degree OF gro
tesoueness, and dressed in a splendor reckless OF
expense and everything else was given up to
the strange and mystical ceremonies OF this sim
gu,ar OCCASION. Of this, however, the newspa-
pers published full accounts,
While at the ST. Charles, the ball of the sea-
son occurred, to which was favored with an
invitation. 1t was grand display of fashion,
fnery and folly. Dresses were pointed out to
me as specially got up for this occasion at cost
of 5000 each everything else was intended to
be in harmony. The dancing was equally ex-
travagant-or rather as the young lady said OF
the balls at the fashionable Springs, "the dane
ing itself was not so much, but the hugging
looked delightful" The company was regarded
as very distingue, the celebrated Madame le-
Vert, her mother and daughter-as was duly
announced in the city papers-having been IN
vited from Mobile specially to elevate the affair
This lady and her daughter and mother (the
latter aged about 65 years. three genera
tons, all danced together in one sett, and the
grandmother dapced the polka.
Almost every State in the pn:op contributed
of its beauty and chivalry, and Virginia also by
some of her tairest daughters. Staunton even
was most gracefully represented by graduate
of one of its Schools who is often yet its favor
lite visitor. The supper OF course was magnifi-
cent in its proportions and decorations, and the
music and all other usual appliances were in the
same magnificent measure. The excitement
was keptup long afterthe 'wee short hours ayont
the twal," but after the supper and after all the
good hats were gone, your correspondent rellr-
ed as gracefully as possible under hewitohing
old beaver of extra size, brought over" proba-
bly, in Noah's ark.
A single letter leaves no space for particular
sights; can only generalze. The magnificent
Catholic cathedrals, adorned with masterpieces
of skill in frescong and architectural designs,
and hung with almost perfect paintings; the
beautiful grounds of public aud private buildings
blooming with flowers, and golden with or
ange groves, the oranges lying under the trees
like apples in our orchards; the gay shops; the
markets the churches and Court-roo'ns, Can be
mentioned only
The French Cemetery is point of peculiar
interest. The nterments are made in vaults
built entirely above ground, Of granite, marble,
or other enduring material. A lingering, con-
tinung devotion to the dead seems trait of the
Creole character. Their toombs are constructed
with places for holding boquets fresh in water,
and are all hung with garlands and wreaths of
yotal flowers-artifcial rather than none. The
epitaphs are less to the living than touching
plants to the dead; MANY like this transcribe:
6 A toe ma premiere ct dermiere pensee, dc chaque
jour-"
Surteited with city scenes, accepted an in
In company with some Virginia friends
TO see something of Louisiana life on the sugar
plantations. The estates we visited were per-
hans the best specimens and the largest in the
South. 1t is not becoming here to recite the So
cia incidents and the munificent hospitality so
as feature of the Southern plant
er's.life but it may interest your mountain
readers to learn something of the scale on which
the "tarming" operations We witnessed were
conducted.
One of the plantations contains about 10000
acres. but comparatively small proportion of it
in cultivation, and is completely stocked and e.
ouipped. The largest contains about 10000
acres, all of1ch Mississippi alluyinm. Only about
). 600 acres of this tract are in actual cultiva-
ton: the remainder is cane-brake and swamp
land, but reclamabe BY ditching. On each of
these tracts there is now aboutftty or sixty miles
of ditching, and several miles of heavy canalling.
The water is drained by the smaller bitches into
a main canal of about 20 feet wide and 90 feet
depth; there it is discharged over an embank-
ment into bayou with steam drainng-ma-
chine erected at cost of about $4,000, for this
purpose.
The sugar is manufactured by costly steam
machinery first crushing the cane, then passing
the syrup through heated kettles into troughs
where it graduates; thence it is carried to the
'purgery" and into hogsheads, through which
the molasses sinks and is collected in watts. The
cost of the sugar house machinery on the seve-