Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1877-06-07
OLD TIMES IN NEW ORLEANS.


DESCRIBES THE FLUSH DAYS IN LOUISIANA.
"In those days Northern people did not
come to New Orleans, and our principal pat
ronage was from the sugar and cotton plant
ers of Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Geor-
gia. In fact, the whole cotton and sugar
belt of the South was well represented. The
planters would come shortly after Christmas
and stay till the end of March, whole families
of them, each gentleman having bis valet and
each lady her maid. Individual bills of gen.
tlemen would run from $500 to $1,000 per
month. All |" said the Colonel, pathetically,
"those were the days when people drank wine
The stock of wines carried by the house was
never less than $4,000. Everybody drank
wine-white wines for breakfast, red wines
and champagne for dinner. Why, our bills
for wine alone would often foot up to $1,000
a day. The leading physicians would always
send to us for choice wines for medical purpo.
ses. Now, if we sell twenty dollars worth Of
wine day at our table we think we are doing
very we'll. Oh such gay times. Levees in
parlors every night and hops twice week.
Our billiard tables we're never unoccupied.
We had opera from the 10Th of December to
the 1st of April performance every other
night, with the best stock company, the men,
bers of which were brought from Italy, France
and Spain, regardless of expense. At the
end of the season, if there was any loss it was
cheerfully made up by the merchants. The
young bloods always kept their own exclusive
bottles of brandy on ice in the bar-rooms-
French brandy generally, at ten dollars per
bottle. The planters always settled their bills
monthly. They never disputed bill. They
never paid the money, but would give an or
der on their factors. Neither the planters,
their wives, their SONS or their daug ghters, car.
ried money about them. What they wanted
they ordered, and the bills were sent to their
factors. The factors imported dresses and
jewelry for the ladies direct from Europe.
There were several Barrow Brothers who
owned between them nine sugar plantations,
with thousands of slaves. They, with their
families, would occupy as much as third of
the house with private parlors, etc., and their
ordinary hotel bill would be four or five thou
sand dollars per month. Time did not hang
heavy on the hands of our guests. When
they did not have their hops at the hotel they
were the recipients of social courtesies at the
hands of the merchants and bankers. There
we're dancing receptions every night at the
mansions of some of the elite, and with the
opera every other night there was no lack of
amusement and recreation. Then there were
the drives out to the lake over the shell road,
the lunches at the lake, the yachting parties,
and don't know what all. The guests new
er got up before noon. The time between
breakfast and dinner would be occupied by
the ladies, after short lounge in the parlors
with dressing, and from three to four hours
was always taken up at dinner. Desperate
flirtations were always in order, and the con.
sequences very often were bitter rivalries and
jealousies between the young men, termina-
ting in duels at "The Oaks" The duels we're
almost always fought with swords, and we're
only occasionally attended with fatal results.
A young Creole who was invited to dinner
by friend declined because of prior en-
gagement, and said, my book is full fight
at ten, breakfast at twelve and dine at six"
It was sometimes the case that the encounters
between hot-headed young men we're serious.
In 1859, two young men, named Harris and
Peck, had some words while standing in the
rotunda about lady in whom they were mu-
tually interested, and exchanged shots on the
spot. The next day they met in the bar-room
the difficulty was renewed, Peck fired at Har.
ris, and then drawing his knife cut him in
several places, killing him instantly.
"Our bar-rooms," said Colonel Rivers, "do
not do more than one half the business done
before the war. Two thirds of our guests now
are northern people, whereas, before the
war they were all Southern people. Many of
our large plantations are now owned by nor.
thern and western men. Some of our best
young men are now overseers on the plansa-
tions which belonged to their fathers. I now
know of gentleman who used to spend piles
of money in this hotel, who never put sad
die on his own horse, but who is now glad to
hire on his own place, which, with its mig
gers was worth SSOO,OOO, for sixty dollars
Orleans Correspondence Ball.
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