New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-12-19
Matters and Things In Rapides Parish.
STEAMER HOMER. RED RIVER,
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Saturday night, December Il, 1861. )
Ed. Grescent-War and its stirring incidents,
doubtless, engross your attention in great
measure OF present. to the exclusion OF long letters
relative to peace matters The Gear piercing
fife and the roll and rattle of drums are doubt
less, to be heard from your sanctum at almost
every hour of the day and the general interest of
the public is, if we may judge from the spirit
manifested in the interior, altogether in the big
fights which are expected to come oil between
our army and the ruthless minions who have
invaded Southern soil, and who are endeavoring to
crush out every vestige of liberty existant among
our people. Ihave, however, some little informa
| ton which is at your service, taccording to
promise) in regard to matters in Rapides, where
| have been spending some days which is entirely
| of civil character-such common place things as
crops, weather river, together with little leayen
| of religious information. Well, as for the hrst'
| names@the sscrops.n The cane throughout the
parish is now Id excellent condition for grinding
thanks to Jack Frost for putting it in prime order
| some four weeks since. The yield is much better,
so far as the cane is concerned, than 1t promised
| some two months since, and will show very good
| figures in the reckoning up of hegsheads and
barrels of the saccarine Institution Rapides will,
at least do her share in swe etnipg our home folks
/ Of the South as abundantly as she has furnished
/ the best material for "sweetning" the armies of
| Old Abe. The sugar planters are, without excep-
tion hard at work grinding. and there is not a
1 sugar house in the parish from whose cMmneys
does not curl up the light smoke from constant and
| unceasing fires. 't Na'@' -'' WI
Cotton has turned out well too. A great portion
of the crop is gathered, ginned and slowed away
| awaiting the opening of the blockade and the
wants of his majesty and Johnny Bull. There are
| fields where the snowy locks of the old 7" King "
are yet cleaning in the beautiful sunlight of these
clear cloudless SIMMER days. The weather thus
| far during the fall and winter has been commonly
| fne-warmer in the main than any former season
for'years. The river amounts to just about no river
kat ALL tits very feeble and useless, far as any
practical benefits are concerned. There is q. new
enterprise in I" full blast" some two-and half
| miles below Alexandria, Government slaughter
house-wbere some 80 600 or more barrels of beef
are to be sailed and packed for the Confederate
/ army. sMessrs. Porter Il Mckee are the contract
| ors, and they are drawing extensively upon the
| inexhaustble herds of the "Lone Star State."a
I They have between 1000 and 5000 barrels ready
/ for shipping, They slay some 800 beeves per day
4 when the weather is favorable. This establish.
I ment will prove of great benefit to Alexandria,
/ inasmuch as manufactures Of various character
viii naturally spring up in the vicinity, in which all
| portions of the tsbeef, from hide TO hoofs and
/ eyento extremity Of tail. will be appropriated to
| those purposes for which each portion of the
| quadrnped is best suited and appropriate. n4
4 The warlike manifestations of the parish are
s'much and many even after a loss of five COM
4 panies gone to the seat of war. Pantaoons with
stripes up and down the outer flank together with
| patentleather skull-caps meet you in every part
| 81 the parish. There is no smell of gunpowder
4 about these garments of the " braves" but the
.eontents of the g regmentals" breathes hard and
looks very severe whenever you give them glance,
which he readily interprets as being par necesSe,
| one of intense admiration of the clothes and the
| outside portion of the warlike institution. There
| are several horse. companies organized in this
parish, in accordance with the militia law OF the
State .. ".
The Conference of the Methodist Church is at
present in session in Alexandria, and the town is
full of preachers, who are bieted out upon the in
| habifants entire
| feeding them. There is a large amount of gospel
| power thus concentrated in that place. trust
that it may prove of benefit to the morals of the
/ town, sd E r.- r-- s-aH ...y
Now, word in regard to river facilities for get
ting out of the vestige of Red river 1took pas
sage on a steamboat u called the Moro, Differed
mainly and mostly by George Sweeney, master,
| mate, etc., etc On Monday evening and to night
we are still in Red river, but just enjoying accom-.
nodations contrasting very strongly with Georges.
George is decidedly a low water steamboatman. He
sa veteran, and SO is his boat. Yesterday the Homer
| came up and we changed our state and staterooms
for that elegant steamer. The excellent and sump
| tuous fare and capital management and condition
of the Homer commend that steamer especially to
the travelling public. The polite and efficient Off
GERS are an important consideration in the tout
! sel,,ble of the Homer induCement. They have
I decided character on the Homer, one Brown-posi
| lively not Smith. Browns somewhat ancient, but
is still possessed OF stentOrian lungs and excel
| lent appetite, and the crew, OF whatever nation,
| are all his g sons" Brown has sharp eye to the
| pigs and turkeys in making trip up Red river,
and his amiablty is wonderful when he pounces
| upon live fowl or porker. We saw his charming
| physiognomy lighted up with serenely happy ex.
| preston while transporting a venerable gobler
nearly as large as himself up to the hurricane roof
The bird will doubtless be done broann1 at one of
| Browns family festivals. s., - .
! now give you a respite until my arrival Co-
| morrow in Baton Rouge ~" W.
! Yours. TRAVELLER. '
/ THE, PRIyATEER SUMTER AGAIN. = NeW York,