The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-06-18

MECHE SEBR.
"The river is ever the same, though
its waters may change every second, IL
poetry and poetry only as to the Missis-
sippi II Jacques Cartier had len an
Englishman, we should prod ~ be
now dwelling on the banks Of q Great
Big Muddy or New Thames. The
French were as far ahead Of the English
In b0ptizing new country rs they were
behind In settling them, though perhaps
they never had the. cleverness and
audacity OF the old Northmen, who gave
the flattering title Of Greenland to the
coolest and most barren OF deserts, and
transformed the foggy, temperance
shores of Massachusetts into Vineland.
II Jacques or Francois gave out OF
names, having exhausted those of every
nodding acquaintance Of theirs in Paris,
on the millions of streams they had
padded over, and had to fall back on
some descriptive title, they were still
far ahead Of their Anglo Saxon
brethren, for what the English rudely
and literally styled Rocky Noun
tains," the French POLITICALLY trans
lated into Shining Mountains" the
only snow-ciad peaks they had found in
America. The early French explorers
and dlscoverers had two styles OF nom-
OnClAture for the New World. II the
party consisted Of lot of wild young
Canadians, whose parental seigneuries
were too bleak and barren to support in
idleness the mighty families that seem
down stream, In clumsy ptrOgues, by a
score or two Of half savage U0ydgeurs
or cOuyretrs- -de-bOis, the young men
generally thought It wise and prudent
to propitiate the beauties and favorites
Of The Court OF France, by giving their
names and titles, to some sister of the
New World-a mighty river, perhaps,
whose sands were not more golden than
Rosalie's curls, nor It's waters muddier
than her reputation. Surely M. de From
tensc could not refuse to lend his name
to an inland sea, greater than Europe
boasted. nor n. de Conde frown at mon
which would outlive generations Of obe-
lisks and pyramids; and thus, poor
Louisiana was saddled with the names
and POPULATIONS Of half the r0ues and
pimps Of France, and forced to perpetu-
ate, In its metropolis, the worldwide
jnfamy Of the Regent Orleans.
A priest or two was generally sent
along with the party to keep the young
men straight and to solemnize the
transfer of any new world they might
be wrecked or landed on. from it's
original possessor, the devil, to his
most Christian majesty Of France as
teyrg i,V3delium ct PG0dnOrMn., with the
usual solemn solemn. religious rites, !; % e.: nail, !
louis dor or silver piece In new dug
xrave-from which seed, however, we
have never reaped any very extraor-
dinary crop. To the pater was OF course
given the right Of baptism. In this, he
seldom wandered fro n his breviary and
church almanac, but sought to sanctify
the country and exercise evil names and
evil regulations with the saints of the
old Is II with holy water. The DEVILS
falls became sacred to st. Anthony Of
Padua, and the lake of the Great Spirit
Manitou, to that sanity carpet -bagger,
post-trader and army sutler, st. George
ously did they labor In this work OF con-
version that old Milhet complains that
s'these fathers have begotten more
saints In this DEVILS country than six
teen generations Of Christianity have
produced In Europe"
There was one name, however, upon
which all could unite, pere and seigneur,
nOrice and rOydgettr-St. Louis. It was
ecclesiastic and, at the same time, a
we'll turned compliment to Louis OF
France, sol disant grand, not a little
proud of his canoniZed ancestor, a pecu-
liarity no other royal family could boast
OF. st. Louis became drug in the
American market, and swept over the
country like q swarm of locusts. There
vas q st. Louis (de Missouri), a st.
Louis de Mobile (Mobile), a st. Louis de
Carlotte Shreveport, and half p score
more Of the same ilk. The bay that
Tonti found on the west OF the Missis-
sippi. in his vain and disastrous search
FOR the mouth OF the river, became Bay
st. Louis (now Espiritu Santo Bay.)
Iberyille. on the other hand, missed the
river on the east by few leagues, but
he also anchored in Bay st. Louis
fsuch to this day. The river by which
Marquette padded down to the Missis..
sippi was st. Louis, and the Mississippi
itself. when finally found, fell 9 victim
to this loyal feeling and bore also the
name OF the great French crusader.
It il we'll the name OF st. Louis has
died. It was singularly Inappropriate,
suggesting nothing Of the former race
that had watched along his banks,
through countless seons OF generations,
the slow but certain march q the Mls-