Cairo evening times. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1865-1866, 1865-09-01
THE CAIRO THAT WAS.
BY NOSE HARRELL.
NUMBER

You desire an occasional "dip'' into oil,
Cairo life-a rescuing from utter forgetfulnes
of at least part of that which may be worthily
woven into the c:ty's history. You give me
broad field, and invite history, biography
anecdote and statistics.
AS inclination may move and leisure serve
me your desires, in this, shall be gratified.
| To insure my really veracious papers belief
write over my own proper sig nature. Should the
pronoun "I'' occur more frequently than ac
cords well with modest and retiring DISPOSE
| ton, it will not be so as much through de-
sire to magnify myself as to facilitate recital
Nearly twenty years ago I was drawn tc
| Cairo by the glittering offer of Sl5 per month,
and washing.
At this late day it would ''push me- to show
that my services were not amply compensated.
Then Cairo had had its season of prosperity
under the auspices of the Cairo City and Canal
Company, and was well advanced in the pro.
cess of decay and desolation. The two Thousand
souls, who, five years before, peopled the place
had dwindled down to less than one hundred
and fifty. Some had gone abroad never to re-
turn, few located in the surrounding country,
and too many were sleeping in the old, ne
elected grave yard. The mills, foundry, ma
chine shops, public houses and industrial cs-
tsblishments brought into being by these now
scattered people, were deep in dilapidation,
and seemed to be given entirely over to the
marring hand of time and disuse.
ol1 Ill, i
NE and my sparse cargo Of individual luggage
upon the Cairo wharf / was impressed, with
what | saw, very much as every stranger was
impressed. The ruin and desolation that
brooded over the place, filed me with sinking
heavy y-heartedness-whatt there was in business
or in social life to compensate for these l had to
learn, and until learned it I was full of the
very erroneous notion that had gained moth
ing by leaving Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
BY nightfall of the first day of my Cairo life
had shaken the hand of nearly every citizen
whose acquaintance proved desirable. By
midnight quite a large number of these had
congregated where spirituous alimentation was
vended, and by the use of the aforesaid
had become sufficiently hilarious to furnish me
a sight ofthe largest crowd of reasonably intoxi-
was asked to think well ofthe liberaity of the
people-the perncious effects and rather
doubtful morality of such indulgences being
presented as matters of minor consideration.
Next morning touched by bit of headache
which was not ''climatcal' L ''took i'm the
,,io uybjo jot, T
type of Cairo twenty years ago.
The levee surrounding the city vas weak
affair, presenting an average top width OF
about eight feet, the slope on either side being
the natural fall of the earth. Coiling around
the ground nearest the point it might have
been mistaken for AN immense "zenglodon,
or some other monster ''snaik," of which
geologists speak. For purposes of protection
it was about as effective as a stake-and- rider
fence. Its length was about four miles, at some
points, excluding considerable surface border
ing on the rivers, and at other points trembling
upon the very verge of the waters. 1t faced
the Ohio for the distance of about three quar-
tiers of a mile, or from the present fort to a
point near the Stone Depot. From here it
struck off at right angles, lodging the large
trees, to the Mississippi river. From the point
where it struck the mississippi to the place Of
beginning, was a distance Of something over
two miles. For several years no care had been
bestowed upon it the water had worn por
tions Of it almost entirely away, and at other
points hoated great trees upon its sides and sur
face. Such was then the levee but as the
people owned no real property here, had only
a few COWS and a little cord-wood to be imper
rilled, it was matter of little consequence
whether the levees afforded protection or failed
to do so. Portions of the embankment were
above highwater, and these were used when
the floods came, and found sufficient to answer
very useful purposes.
The people didn't complain when the waters
came over Or through the levees, for the sim
pie reason that they had no right to complain.
No person or party had promised them exemp-
ton from floods and it was known, very gen.
orally, that those who laid claim to the free.
hold were Indifferent as to whether the town
was peoped or depopulated.