Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1866-03-26
DIR NEW ORLEANS LETTER.
H-ic S-itus FOOte, Hell and Chaos, Satan,
Cisterns, Cotton Crop, &c.
New ORLEANS, March Is, 1866.

New ORLEANS, March Is, 1866.
To the Editor Of the Wing:
The late Honorable II. S. Foote has again
INDUCED his s'cacoethes scribendi," and the
Northern world is in possession of the fruit of
his labor. 1t is, we are told, in the form of
book, for up to this present." nobody in the
South has seen it. From occasional extracts,
however, that the papers publish, an opinion
can be formed of this offspring of Foote'S
muse. Nature evidently intended him for
poet, he draws so largely upon his imagination
for his facts. This being said to friend, he
loosely remarked "that Foote'S sponsors in
baptism OWNED this feature in his character,
audience the initials of his christianname II. S."
explain ?" we said. "DOn't you perceive"
he answered, " that II. S. stands for the Latin
"hic situs" there iieS), and if | ever get copy
of his book l will write in it, Hic SituS FoOte."
Yesterdays papers brought anaccOunt of the
veritable presence in Kentucky Of old Mr..
Nick, with horns, hoof and tail, as seen by
Nathaniel G.. SqureS, Esq, and some other
SquireS equally respectable. Whilst bordering,
this morning, on the probable effect Of Mr..
on this continent, and whether it wouldbe best
to be friendly with him or not, my eyes, as l
raised them from the ground, met the startling
inscription, in letters foot long, SATAN,
HE'LL AND CHAOS, on the wall of my
building. | closed my eyes in real terror, and
burst not open them for some minutes, and
then by stealth only, for felt sure that as was
thinking of him he would certainly appear
By slyly glancing through my half-Opened lids
l became treasured; my courage returned and
| read further to find cut that the TabeauX of
Paradise Lost were to be exhibited here, &c.
l am glad it was not really the Devil!
The morning papers are crying "down with the
dust :" and they have good cause. A spell OF
dry weather, and the constant travel has made
the soil that accumulateS on the paved streets
as fine as flour. The lighteSt puff Of WING
sends it whrling down the mouth and into the
noStrils of man and beast, or covering every
thing s'movable and immovable" with coating
of real estate. This dry spell reminds me of
singular feature in this city. Attached to eve
nv dwelling one sees immense cylinders or tubs,
holding from five hundred to three thousand
gallons water. They are generally painted
green, and bound around with iron hoops
They vary in height from ten to twenty-five
feet closed at the top by a Tin covering, cupola-
shaped These vessels are above ground els
terms, and from them all the drinking water for
the inhabitants is supplied. 1t is true that the
Mississippi water is bountifully distributed by
hydrants to the population, but everybody Is
not so fond of ii as the French are of SnailS.-
Wells are exceptions to the rule ! for, at few
feet dOwn-generally four or five teet-through
the moist alluvial, brackish water is obtained,
which tastes of black mud, sulphureted hydro
gen, poke-berry juice, and craw-tsh. l don't
like it.
The forthcoming cotton crop is the incoming
heir. Everybody is discussing his proportions,
his probable worth, and what he will do for his
poor kin, 1.-THE SOUTH The cousin across the
water, Mr. Bull, puts him down as worth three
million bales. Brother Jonathan backs cousin
Bull, because the latter ought to know best
about all things. The poor kin aforesaid puts
his thumb to his nose and wags it, saying, 'No
yer don't, Dickey Kicker, if this be three
million heir, (no pun intended,) we will re-
joice, but We can't see more than one mill ion
bales"
1t remains to be seen who is right, the poor
kin who should know, or the far off cousins
who % guess"
By the middle of July next, Cuifee will have
determined the question. lie is now in deep
study, whether it is better to sleep in the sun
all summer or work in it. The subject is q
momentous one to him, and the chances are
many that #" sleep" will be decided in the af-
tirmatiye. Trade is dull to repletion, and
prices of goods have gone down 10 correspond
with the decline in cotton and cheap gold
Everybody is selling below cost. Calcoes at
retail twelve and-a-half cents. Somebody
with money, or credit, or with both, is going to
make a huge fortune out Of the present scare.
STRANGER.