Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1866-12-08
MISCELLANEOUS.
Social Life i'm New Orleans-NIar.
riage Customs.

NEW ORLEANS. Oct. 30, 1S69--The in
habitants of the city present strange COM
6ination of incongruous elements. Creoles.
Americans, Germans, Irish, Spanish and
Mexican trash, with a goodly sprink!ing of
bona tide johnnie Crapeaus are to be found,
and more reckless, pleasure loving, plea
sure-seeking community does not exist any
where outside of Paris itself. They are par.
ticularly rotabe for neatness of ornaments.
for every other person you meet wears dia-
mond pin or ring. Even the darkies afford
Brazilian pebbles, and sport gold watches
anu Malacca canes. To a Northerner, how
ever, the quadroons and octoroons, who
abound plentiiully, are the strangest part of
the whole compound, suggesting very forci-
bly, the idea ofpractical amalgamation which
would shock the sensibili.ies of theoretical
Oberiinsts. The prettiest forms in the city
are those of the "quad" and the "octo" girls.
and generally they are the most tastefuly
dressed A neatly.turned ankle, pretty hand
and tapering waist, with q naturally airy
and Jauntly carriage, are almost q sure indi-
cation OF nearly extinct African blood. Color
Is no criterion, and stranger will often mis-
taken an olive cOmplexioned creole for q
mulatto, If not something darker.
1t Will be news to many of your readers
to learn that these quadroons and octoroons
are semi.legitimate-i e., they are generally
the offspring OF place marriage, which is
an institution so peculiarly local that but
few, except the residents of this locality,
Know OF Its existence or understand its obli-
cations Among the pure Creoles, the strictest
Catholics imaginable, a custom resembling
mock marriage has obtained. A regularly
ordained priest otficiates, and white man
is placed with colored girl in such man
ner that, although they violate law, decen-
cy and good morals by living together, they
satisfy the demands of the Church and con.
fessional. The American quadroons, how
ever, not being SO strict Catholics, and in
some cases having no religion at all, accept
an offer to be kept as mistress from any
reliable white gentleman without ceremony.
Previous to the war the place obligation was
more frequently incurred than since its close,
and it is the universal evidence of those who
should know that it was seldom, if ever,
violated ON the part of the females. They
i've as chaste and yirtuOus to their 'so-called'
husbands as they would have done if they
had been white and lawfully married. 1t
was customary for planters who raised chill
dren by their "nigger queens to free them,
win their mother, and send them to this
city to be educated; and in many instances
the girls were sent to Northern schools and
even to France. On leaving school and
reaching maturity they met their inevitable
fate OF illicit semi-marrage Young men
"courtea" them after the usual manner, "pop-
ped the question:" and were referred to
mamma, who generally decided the applica.
( tion with view to money, demanding that
certain number of slaves be given to her
and, in short, a regular establishment be set
up for her. These young women, many of
whom, rs l have already stated, bear no
evidence of their African blood, except a
magnificent physique, are thus pledged to q
life from which their cultivated minds some
times revolt with honest indignation and
horror. Having every sensibility that e re-
fined and cultivated woman naturally pos
sesses, they are doomed to hateful exis-
tence, us disreputable and illegal as Nor
monism itself. The existence of bona tide
white wife did not always interfere with the
desire Of q man to assume the place of obi.
cation. II it is not the refinement of lcen-
tious amalgamation, am mistaken. A race
of bastards is the result.