New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-03-14
Special Correspondence of the Crescent.
FROM NEW YORK.

Dear C7'eSceAt--here we sie AZ ~ -.
stead of being in Washington. The reason thereoi
is that no connection is made at Harrlsonourg 1of
| Washington on Monday morning, and TINS party
preferred sleeping all night anu awaklng IN the
morning at Jersey City, rather than oeng COM
PEELED to loiter away the morning hours IN the
Pennsylvania capitol. Besides whichit was fear
| fully cold. We encountered snow storm in Ohio
on Sunday and after that found everything frozen
up along the road Such Septentrionalian frigidity
came quite unexpectedly upon us, after the recent
sunny skies and warm sunbeams of Louisiana
What made it still more unpleasant was, that the
natives seemed to think the weather quite vernal
for they persisted in keeping the car window:
open and exposing us to the piercing assault Of
hyperborean blasts, which whistled very uncere
moniously through our Southern bones, It ma,
have been pleasant enough to these people. who
had recently passed through temperature O.
minus twenty or thirty; but the bare recollection
Of it makes me shyer even before this comfortable
coal fire in one of Mr.. Cranston's apartments.
We arrived in New York nj 1910 4. NJ. on Mon,
day morning, having left New Orleans at A, M
On the previous Wednesday. Our route was as
follows: First, by jackson Railroad to Canton.
And before going any further. wish to return
thanks, on behalf of myself and the CRESCENT,
and nv fellow travellers, TO Mr.. Roundtree whom
1 NAV emphatically call the rentlemanly and
oblirng conductor. We are indebted to him for
numerous acts Of consideration and courtesy by
which the tediun of our Journey was materially
lightened. The jackson road seems to be in
pretty good condition but is sadly in want of new
rolling stock. especially passenger cars. am
told that these have been for some time ordered and
will soon be on the road. Another defect to be
remedied is the incompleteness of the checking
system. Nothing contributes SO much to the
comfort of the traveller as the easy consciousness
that his baggage will give him no trouble at the
various changing places. Rut when one has to
wait in the cold at the door of a baggage car, to
be bufeted about among trunks and valises, till he
hears the number of his check called out and
then finds himself with a big trunk on his hands,
and nobody to help him move it, he is reduced to
o sort of imbecile desperation which only those
can appreciate who have experienced it. sa4l
/ regret to find, too, that the labors of tine mis-
sionaries Of knowledge among our emancipated
bondmen have not yet been attended with the
happiest practical results. At Canton deposited
my FIVE checks for self and partly in the hands of
an ambitious freedman, who assured nue. that he
would attend to the baggage Feeling some mis-
yivings, watched the fellows operations, and
soon discovered that he could no more read the
figures on the checks than if they had been Esyp
tian hieroglyphics. So had to help him through
with the business and pay him dollar besides.
The jackson road connects, as YOU are aware
with the Mississippi Central. If the latter road
we're in complete running order Won could 20
through direct and by nearly an air line from Now
.z -. i.
twenty miles, to Cairo. This was the fast through
route to the North in ante 5eZ,t9a times. break
in the road makes a divergence for the present
Our original idea was to 90 on to
Grand Junction, and take the cars thence to
Corinth, connecting at that place with the Mobile
and Ohio for Columbus. But the prospect of a few
lours' delay at Grand Junction aplace fraught with
nournfuI recollections of famine and filth, caused
is to abandon the project. We therefore con
,luded to plunge into the terra Sncoanita of north
western Mississippi, and make our way to Nam.
,his by the Mississippi and Tennessee road. which
iiverges from the Central at Grenada. From
Grenada to Memphis the distance il precisely one
hundred miles We arrived at Memphis at Q O'Clock
P. NJ. on Thursday in thirty-two hours from New
Orleans, which is not by any means so bad. con.
sidering the circumstances. Memphis we found
TO be as dusty, dirty, muddy, blowy and bluffy as
sver. They say it has increased good deal of
ate years. but I saw no additions except a few
lnsightly shanties which disigured the bluff in
ront of the Gayoso House. However. have no |
oubt that Memphis is really thriving, enterpris-
lg place.. After dining at the Gayoso House. we
-ent on board the fine steamer City Of Alton,
ound for Cairo. After we had been a short time
l the voyage it was discovered that we had left
shind a champagne basket containing, as the
lies Of the ample store with which it
as originally freighted, three bottles of maenif-
mt Bourbon whisky which, together with
e rest of this provisional outfit had been
'esented to the party by the public-spirited
.oprietors of the st. James Hotel. NV COM
1gi,ofs du goyage took this loss so much to
TART, that wrote note to Col. CockreII of the
ayoso House, telling him that the said bottles
ere the parting gift of q valued friend; that we
esired to preserve them as a memento of our
outhern home, and requesting him, if these
recious souvenirs should escape the rayages and
lie raids Of thirsty travellers and unprincipled
srvants to preserve them for US until our return.
Our steamboat trip to Cairo was enlivened with
little incident which it way be well enough to
slate for the benefit of your unsophistcated read
rs On board of the boat there was a very sharp
ldvidual who had travelled this country all over
lade dozen fortunes in as many years, lost pre-
sey $4,000 in gold during the war, and had