Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-10-29
IVritten for the Nashville Patriot.
American Eities--No. g.
MOUND CITY.

This great emporium of wealth, commerce
aud fashion. shows to best advantage, like all
similar cities that are more easily imagined
tIan described, on n sheet of paper fifteen by
twenty. which may be seen pasted in the bar
rom of any western hotel The city stands
on piece of turf in the Southern part of
Illinois, "a part of the State they call Egypt"
to keep the city of Cairo in countenance)
and covers an area about three times as large
as the crown of your hat. 1t has been said
that it is wise provision Of Divine Provi-
dence that large rivers are always made to
flow near large towns; and as this is strictly
true, it is not 4 matter of surprise that the
Ohio was made to flow at the very feet of
Mound City.
The growth of the city is perhaps unpre-
cedentcd in the history of the world. In
1856, the only inhabitant Of the place was a
superanuatcd mule from a neighboring- rail
road then being constructed, who had staked
claim on tho present site of the city for the
sake of its fine grazing facilities: within the
brief period of time intervening since then,
the population has been doubled! And now.
if the city half as large as it thinks it is.
there wouldn't be room enough in Illinois to
contain it. The exact size of the population
of the place j. unknown to us. as he had gone
down the river in a stray yawl to shake his
fists and swear at Cairo the last time we
p used up tn Ohio.
At this time there are in Mound City
forty-foot tavern. which strangers are cx-
pected to consider hotel, an eight by ten
doggery, and a secondhand wharf boat,
moored to a cottonwood sapling by trot
line. Choice building lots in the business
part of the town are Offering (and will long
continue to be) at one thousand dollars
piece to retail dealers; but it is probable that
the Wholesale buyer might, by proper man
agement, secure a very eligible assortment
ut about five hundred dollars per dozen,
with deduction of one hundred per cent. for
cash.
The commercial navy Of Mound City con-
sists of stern-whecl fcrryboat. that phys,
according to the Cairo Times and Data. be-
tween the city and such hen-roosts over in
Kentucky as happen to be near enough to the
river to be in reach of the crew.
The present Mayor of Mound City is Nose
Harrell, editor Of the Emporium. Like Len
Faxon of the Times and Delta, Mese is large
sized brick. always awake and full of fun.
His elevation Of the mayoralty to himself
was one of the grand-st triumphs on record.
the thing having been done tor him by very
large, not to say an overwhelming minority
of the popular vote. This last named fact,
however. is not to be wondered at, as he had
no opponent. He now, with equal facility,
administers the municipal laws. writes politi-
cal articles, and pokes an occasional sharp
stick into Cairo through the Emporium.
That Mound City is destined to become a
place of vast Importance. no one who listens
to the talk of its inhabitants and believes
half he h airs, can for moment doubt. But
it is unnecessary TO say, that the individual
who thus both listens and believes, hasn't yet
turned up, and probably never will. ".