Kenosha tribune & telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1856-1859, 1858-11-18
Correspondence.
...-. ....... Per the Tribune & Telegraph
Letter from Louisiana.
GossYPIi PLANTATION.
II 1OEO

y ting correspondents, might not be unin
teresting to many of your readers, We
have at this late day, taken the liberty
Of addressing you.
We left Louisville on the 9Th ult., il
the fine little steamer ''P otomac," bound
for the genial cline of the ''sunny south. ,
The Ohio was exceedingly low, and tho
our boat drew but sixteen inches of wa
ter, we were considerably detained BY
sand-barS. This may seem almost in
credible, but at this season Of the yeal
the river can be forded with little diff
Guilty. Owing to the obscurity Of the
atmosphere during the nights, our boat
was obliged to tie up, and on one occa.
sion near the mouth of the veritable old
" Salt River"-the oblivious asylum OF
SO many defunct, aspiring candidates to
renown.
We saw very few villages of any i'm
portance; indeed the banks of the Ohio
are quite thinly settled. Our boat was
crowded with passengers, and as a con-
sequence all became very familiar and
sociable. And though many of the gen
tlemen were under the necessity of
turning in'' for their nocturnal repose,
by turning out upon the cabin floor, no
one was heard to complain, and all en-
deavored to make the trip as pleasant as
lpossible.
| We reached Cairo on the 9th. The
wharf was lined with steamers we
boarded several, and after q satisfactory
inspection, concluded to try our
chance" on the splendid packet Eclipse,
and forthwith secured a passage. As
we were not to start out for two or three
days, it gave us an ample opportunity
OF viewing the town. The celebrated
city OF Cairo is situated on low point
or peninsula, at the confluence of the
OHIO and Mississippi rivers. 1t is par
TALLY protected from high water, by an
Immense levee built by the Illinois Cen
trail X. K. Upon this is the business
part OF the city, consisting of forty
stores, of which Git may be said in JUS
tee to the reputation Of the place. thir.
lynne are liquor establishments Back
from the leVee the land is much lower,
and during last springs inundation, the
water rose to the second story Of the
buildings, remaining so for considera.
bic length of time, the inhabitants navi-
eating the streets by means of skiffs, and
making calls upon each other at the
chamber windows. In the facilities for
DONG business, Cairo can hardly be ex-
Icellcd, and were it not for the over flo " .
to which this whole vicinity is annually
subiected-located as it is at the termi
nus Of the longest railway in the world.
and at the junction of two of the largest
rivers, 1t might in time be made to com
pete with any of the cities of the west.
AS 1t is, however, this point has been.
and is still, the den of villains of every
stamp, who intest the rivers Of the south
west, and make this their refuge and re-
treat. ...-.s|ts. .,.r .
| While we were here quite commo-
ton was occasioned among the passen-
gers, by the arrival of the New Orleans
packet " Uncle SAM" with three eases
OF yellow fever and the rem aims of the
captain who had died on the passage
from the same disease. - AS the boat
came in alongside of us, the sensation
produced in our ladies cabin can be
better imagined than described. But
fortunately the cause of the disturbance
remained but q few moments. II was
truly great relief to hear the last bell
strike, summons for our departure. and
behold the fading outlines of Southern
ILLINOIS, as the noble vessel steamed and
pulled down the bosom of the mighty
"Father of Waters"
Who can sail upon this tremendous
flood for the first time, without a vivid
sense Of wonder and sublimity? Con
sclous of the fact, that far away amidst
the eternal SHOWS, and rocky peaks of
the northwest, springs forth this stream,
which, augmented in its course by the
Missouri, Ohio, Arkansas and Red, to
say nothing of innumerable lesser
streams, fastening to pay their tributes,
as this wealth of waters - rushes on.
ward to the gulf! But to the eve of
strangers from the north, even the river
is unsurpassed in grandeur by the myr-
lads of grotesque and transient forms of
humanity, thatare every where presenting
themselves upon Its current. It may be
interesting to your readers to know tha at
, the name' Mississippi isderived from two
: adjective words of the Choctaw Ian
guage; NISSAN, meaning cold -big," and
slppah, Strong" "Old-big-strong''-a
name eminently appropriate to the Mis-
sissippi
The shores of the river are lined with
every species of forest trees. but the
most common is the cottonwood which
Is found on the concave side, for here
are the constant alluyial deposits, where.
as soon as the water subsidies, the Young
cotton tree shoots up in groves, and in
two years is from eight to ten feet high.
"A cotton tree forest will arrive at it's
medium height in a few years. The
force OF the current being continually
f thrown against the convex side, that is
undermined but for every particle of
t soil removed, an equal amount is depos
} iCea upon the opposite shore, forming a
new ped Tor the future cotton tree
such is the grand peculiarly of this riv-
er whose channel is forever changing
and shifting as the caving banks dis
solve IN the rushing tide.
The scenery presented to the eve. on
approaching the concave side Of the riv.
er, is gorgeous in the extreme. Close
to the waters edge, in the shape of .
crescent, two or three miles in extent
is girdle of bushes three. or four feel
j. high and a few feet wide-the latest
;, formation of the cotton tree:~Iu the
$ rear OF this stands second girdle near.
y twice the height of the first, and Of a
$ darker shade of green; behind this, in
: the same order, rise third and fourth
t the whole presenting striking re