The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1877-02-03

| following as his experience on the
jetties Dow being built at the mouth of
the mississippi:
| HOW HE cAMT TO EE or THE WORKS
| About the middle of October. 1875, I
| landed III the city of New Orleans,
having come from PbiisdeIphiaon on an
| emigrant ticket -peDniiess. Being
unable to Procure employment at my
trade, it became matter of stern ne
eessIiy-bread aud butter--that l should
secure work At some other vocation.
Inc city was overrun, a not unusual
thing at that time of year, with me-
chanics, clerks, laborers, and advent
| ures of every sort, and found II inn
possible fosa stranger to get WORK OF
| any kind at any price. Hearing that
the jetties construction company were
| shipping large numbers of men TO the
works, liz miles below New Orleans, 1
went 10 the office of the company and
made application for work. The gen.
tiemaa i'll charge informed me that
their offices We're all filled that they
had more clerks than they needed. 1
told him did not aspire to such high
position, but wished 10 ship rs labor
er- he expressed doubts AS to my
| ability to endure the hsrdships would
necessarily be subject To, and astoHish-
ment that sn individual of my appear.
ance should desire to embark in such
an enterprise. Upon my assuring him,
however, that IL was case of
imperative necessity, and after
taking n survey of my p.y.,c..i
appearance, he reluctantly enroll.
ed nie as one of ''eangn to be shipped
on the following Monday; the inter
view tooa place on Friday evening.
Accordingly WAS promptly on hand
| at the time designated, aud found some
| fifty or sixty men, mostly Hibernians,
eongregsted The roll Was called, and
| as each man answered To bis name, ne
Was handed ticket good for y deck
passage to Port Esds.
| THE CHARACTER or ACCOMMODATIONS OF THE
HOTELS.
We arrived at the jetties about 4
O'Clock Tuesday morning, aud were
conducted to u boarding house, an old
fist-boaL which had been partitioped
OFT into small rooms, and In the center
of which, extending throughout its
| entire length, stood q rough board
table. Our guide slowed the party into
these rooms, each person peing as
| signed a separate bunk. These hunks
are built in tiers of three or four, one
above the other. The beds consisted
of q mattress. blanket, aud q mosquito
bar ON one side, the partition wall
| forming the back. In soma of the
boarding houses, however, they have
! much better conveniences, as / after
wards discovered, the men sleeping In
cots, and being provided with some
| what more of the convenieuces of civ
1 ilized life.
| In the morning we were aroused at
an early hour, and drawing buckets of
water from the river at the stern of the
boat, made our abiutions. There were
no towels, and such as had handker.
chiefs wiped their faces with them, but
the majority preferred standing in the
| WIND and letting them dry. Break fast
was soon anDou Bced. which was served
on tin plates, aud consisted of rye
bread, salt bacon, black coffee. and
potatoes with The jackets on,v For
dinner We sometimes had beans and
sauerkraut, frequently fish and oysters
and Jared altogether, il not in an Ell.
curean msnBer. at least ON very sub
stantiai diet There was no ceremony
observed st meals, but every body "dove
| in" with gusto. But few took time to
remove their hats, ana the hindmost
man invariably "got left.p If any dish
happened to meet an individuals Pc
cnlisr fancy, he generally appropriated
the whole thing. There was no use of
attempting to stand inn with him OF
asking him to divide, and the only al.
Tentative was to get even some other
time.
/ FORT EAps AND ITS SURROUNDINGS
4 At daybreak strolled out to take
view of Port Eads. This place is located
on both sides of the river, and consists
Of about q dozen wooden houses, three
fiat-bosts, the hull of schooner, and q
lighthouse. On one side are the offices
OF the company. q blacksmith shop
aud two-story hotel, where reside
the families of the officials having the
work in charge. This Is . frame buiid-
ing OF some .pretensions. On the op-
posite side are several boarding houses.
y barber stop, and boot and shoe
msnnfactory. The ''board.ng bosses, .
az they are called, also deal In rough
clothing, tobacco, and such othe E gossis
a. the men on the works are likely to
require. Such articles ~ they purchase
are charged to them aud deducted from
their ~ages ut the end Of each month,
the seller getting his money direct
from the company. When Q man IL
discharged he 10 given q printed blank,
which he takes arosnd TO each Of the
boarding bosses," and gets their s,g-
natures thereto, stating the amount he
owes 10 each, If any. la this way the
storeseepers are Insured against Ioss,
and much confusion is avoided.
THE SCENE or ACTION A WALLED CITY SORT
n =
Shortly after day break the whistle
on small tow-boat WAS sounded as n
signal for the men to get aboard aud
be taken across the river to their
work. Our gang embarked with the
balance, and ON arriving on shore
were informed BY one Of the foremen
they had more men than they could
use. As there wss no way Of recroes
ing the river, we were forced 70 re-
main until noon, when the tow-boat
came after the men to take them to
diaBer. ] spent the forenoon In Ioiter-
ing about, watching the men xt work.
and riding In the tow-boaf, which vas
employed in hauling mattresses on. 10
the Gulf and placing them in position
to be sunk. These mattresses are con-
lstfucfed of willowp, laid croovise In
tiers and nailed together, and are,
SHOULD judge, about fifty feet IN length
BY thirty IN width. An Inclined plane
10 erected on the hank Of the fivse,
on which six-Inch plank are laid,
with holes bored through them as dio-
tanees Of ave o. six feat. Into thee
holes poles about two snd half tea
Ia lengxh are tpseftsd, aud the wiIloVs
, laid 10 among them il lougitudiuaIlv
aud crosswise fsysra. After the vii.
lows attain . sunicieut dspth, duplicate
pIAnks are placed ON top, the whole
structure nailed armly teesthse. . rope