The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1861-07-25
Affairs I'm New Orleans. The Present Con .
dition of the Land of Dixie.

dition of the Land of Dixie.
Correspondence Of the Chicago Tribune.
MAooMp, H., July l2, 1861.
Having been for the past year a teach
er in Louisiana, aud having left New
Orleans as lately as the 5th inst, | sit
down to give short account of the pres
ent condition of the Southwest. | have
had considerable opportunities for exami,
nation of resources, and for the observa
ton of public feeling, and now send you
the results of my experience.
The boats having, as. you know, stop
ped running from St. Louis and Cincin-
natl to New Orleans, there is only one
boat where ten use to be. Moreover, as
it is the dull season, when all planters are
at home, and the crops growing, there
can be no conception of the apathy that
reigns on tho river. The principal pas
sengers on the boats are military compa-
MES from the country. who are carried to
New Orleans and then distributed to the
various camps. They are composed of
the riff-ratf of the towns, and the sons of
the planters, overseers, &C.; men of con
siderable bravery, undoubtedly, but idle,
undisciplined aud broken down, in many
Instances, by long dissipation.
There is absolutely no trade in New
Orleans. The streets are tolerabiy live,y,
of course; and certain branches of bust.
ness, such as hotel and grocery keeping,
continue pretty profitable but the block
AIDES at Cairo and the mouth of the river,
have, with an iron hand, destroyed all the
pursuits which are not absolutely ly neces-
sary to the existence Of the people.
The parishes are almost destitute of
money. Whatever little amount remain
ed in the hands of the planters at the
beginning of the rebellion has been ex-
haus,ed by equipping troops, buying
arms, aud taking up parish coupons -
The richest man in Louisiana cannot
Jorrom hundred dollars. Securities
are worthless, and the discount on notes
payable year from date is about 90 per
cent In short, Louisiana is on the
brink of a terrible war, with bankruptcy
of the most stringent description, an i'm.
mediate probability. The same remarks
apply, with increased force, to Mississip-
pi and Arkansas.
| came by railroad from New Orleans
to Nashville The whole thought and
talk was about the war, Soldiers of ev-
cry grade, in all sorts of uniforms, and
with all kinds Of faces, lounged in the
cars, stood on the platforms at stations,
and strobe through the streets of every
town. The chivalry were forever pulling
their boards and drinking at every avail
able point. They declared with fierce
gestures and considerable profanity, that
they would wipe out the Federal armies
that the sacred soil of Virginia would
soon be cleared Of the mnions of Old
Abe, &c. And really there is some ex-
cuse for that sort of talk. since the South
western papers have pcrsstcutly publish
ed onl y such things as suited their cause.
The people firmly believe that in every
skirmish in Virginia they have conquered
overwhelming odds.
Yet, Messrs. Editors, they are restless,
anxious, gloomy; they are troubled by the
blockade, and are trying to persuade
themselves that England and France will
interfere with the blockading squadron
in November or December Then they
can sell their cotton and snap their fin
gers at Northern interference, say they.
They are agitated with another fear,
which, though they will rot acknowledge
it directly, is ever present in their minds
the fear of slave insurrection. ]
know many men who eat, sleep, walk and
ride, with revolvers at reaching distance.
The patrol is out every night all over
Louisiana, and home guards, composed of
the old men and the boys, are drilling so
as to be ready for anything Of the sort
that may occur.
In great haste, yours,
ruARJES WAppFN