Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-02-11
THE SUNNY SOUTH.
Especial TO the Chronicle.l
New ORLEANS, La, Feb. 4th, 1915


Editor Chronicle: The City .!
Memphis contained population at the
last census of As, 600 and upwards; her
rivals Cincinnati and st. Louis have,
owing to their advantageous situation
during the war far outStripped her in
the race for supremacy. The Yellow
fever too, has made such fearful raw
ages within her limits as to check the
flow of emigration. No less than two
thousand of her citizens fell victims TO
the dreadful scourge when the epidem-
ic last swept over the South. This Is
the great cotton mart for Central Ten
nessee and Northern Mississippi and
the levee even at this season. Is covtrt d
with cotton bales and sWarming with
negroes who are busily engaged in
loading and unloading the steamers
that are wedged cip>yly together fol
upwards of hall Il Rifle long the city's
front. Great activity prevails, and the
OF the negroes at the mule
teams, the rolling OF heavy drays over
the rough bOulders, the curses and COM
mands of angry steamboat mates, the
:nerry song of the deck hands, mingled
with the deafening screech of the steam
whistle and beat bells make up per-
feet pandemonium. Front street Is
principally devoted TO the wholesale
produce to commission trade. Western
bacon and flour is here exchanged fOr
cotton, and brokers are as numerous as
politicians at a caucus.
Main Street is the principal thorough
fare-it is crowded from daybreak till
midnight-there are some very fine
business blocks upon this avenue, but
there is not the same uniformity in
size and architecture noticeable III The
leading Northern cities. The most
striking feature in the appearance of
the city to Northern man is the uni
versal broad verandah, high, on busi-
ness avenues extend over the entire
pavement; foot passengers may thus
walk for miles in sunshine or shower
completely sheltered. The shop win
dOWS are very attractive and Il hand
some display is made at this time, es-
pecially with fancy suits and grotesque
masks for Mardi-Gras. The street is
broad and paved with Nicholson, but
destitute of crossings. The court-or
coat as it is pronounced here-borders
on this street ana is a handsome little
park, with beautiful orange and mag
nOlia trees shading the walks; birds
were singing in the trees, and tame
squirrels playing on the green swaId
as We passed by. Gay promenaders
crowd the pavements, and carriages
drawn by spanking teams with liveri-
ed drivers were numerous. Street cars
are drawn by single mule--so level
are the StreetS-and run without con-
dGctOrs. The old terms bits and fps
which passed away from our vocabu-
larry, with the disappearance of specie,
is still in vogue here, and the tive-cent
piece is universally called nickcl,
The letter R is dropped by the native
born SOutherner, but a Northern man
no matter how long his residence in1he
South, seldom acquires the habit; it is
often affected, but sounds unnatural.
There are many fine residences with
handsome surroundings in the city,
but no collection on any particular ;av
enue such as you would see for instance
on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. Ihe
country south of Memphis on the line
of the .. d NJ. r. r. is better improved
than any that has come under. our OBJ
servatiOn since leaving Kentucky.
Cotton, cotton, cotton, is seen on every
side, the plant too is higher than any
we noticed through Central Tennessee,
indicating either better soil or culture.
The villages through which we passed
will compare favOrably with the aver
age railroad towns. Rushing along we
catch glimpSeS of pretty canary -cUlored
cottages, embowered in magnolia and
orange trees, with green ivy trailing
over the balcony. The leather is
warm, and at every station great
crowds of whites and uegroes--the lat
ter greatly predOminating--are luung-
ling about the depot basking in the sun.
There is no perceptible feeling Of ami
mostly between the two races; they
mingle together in street ears and rail
road trains freely, and without jarring
The scenery through Mississippi is but
a repetition Of what we passed over 10
Tennessee. When we enter Louisiana,
however, unmistakable characteristic
les begin to appear; for hours our route
lies through immense groves Ot pine,
which grow up densely in a vast swan p,
Stagnant and impure. The road bed is
elevated above the level of the sWamps,
but in wet weather it is frequently SUBJ
merged. There is no habitation to be
seen for mile>;a jungle infested with
alligatorS and reptiles completely sur
round US, and the atmosphere in mid
summer is alive with mosquitoes.
Passing through the pines We enter the
great cypress swamp, and for the first
time behold the famous Spanish moss
which entirely envelopes every forest
tree, hanging in graceful feStoons of
gray from each limb, completely smoth-
ering the foliage, and vampire like rob-
5lng the tree of its uourishment.-
At this season the trees look precisely
like an ornamental fringe tree in full
bloom; this moss is gathered by the
CreOles and Negroes, rotted, and the
outer covering beaten off, when it is
sold for the manufacture OF mattresses;
when treated as above described, it
bears a close reSem blance of horse hair.
The almost ineXhaustible groves of
pine and cypress afford the people an
abundance of good building material
and cheap fuel. The cypress is worked
up into sugar and mOlaSses barrels, and
the pine, owing to the reSinous sub
stance it contains, is used almost en-
tirely as fuel for STEAMBOATS, and rail-
roads. After leaving the timber we
enter upon vast fields of canebrake,
bordered by large palmetto trees; here
and there d few rods is reclaimed from
the swamp by draining, and negro
shanty set up on props, erected on it
with perhaps or D inches of water un-
der the house, the occupants of which
are employed in catching shrimps and
crawfish "a great delicacy by the way
for the New Orleans market. A few
miles run over the wild prairie and the
canebrake disappears, revealing to our
eager gaze the smooth waters of Lake
Pontchartrain-he face rippling with
smiles in the bright sunshine. Fishing
smacks, sail boats, and schooners laden
with sugar and molasses are dotted
over its surface as far as the eve can