The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-12-23
itI,ilulld |isgatrh.
- ,faSI,A . I. DEcEaBER IS, 1875 IS Is
sThe letter published below has oeen :
ssawdess out Tor several days. IFS Interest,
such as II is, is moi, however, 1n' paareu "
THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.


,.ORIsaNs-wHE cN1I. kNb cHAElTABAE Cha
10, cs,s,,, ,p ,g.s gCrrY-TgE GRACE. coJRTE-
syS sSp GrasERospTY OF ia'HE fRoPi.E---ThE THE;
unrsI syp SOCIAL EFFECT OF THE 1EARi-t
mr. v-prRIops OF sy.KN EsSyN NEW ORLEANS
s,fyIF GRAND sHOg OF ',fEE DIVINE SENEF5
srpscys IL THE HEROIC AND RAPID RECOVERY,
,rPgd DISTRESS AND woE--NEW ORLEANS,
srTrR THE pr.nsUE-HeN. MR.. sfnMEs----A
Ryss yJRSrSlsN--yiSITnO A sUGA ar PIASTA-
.rYoS-k GAY TIME TKEIE--A MOST CIVIL,
sSt ayARM. IIEGYTED rI.LSTER--A WORD OF
THE GRAND MEETING TO RETURN 1HAN siss
yoS SYMPATHY AND AID 10 NEW OH EANs
spURISG THE FLaSGE-GoSEh No3 aie . nusS..s
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. ESois WiL11-9hAIa-t
iTnn., yoR KsSspSHss-MDTEU TO NEW Or;
.AEaxs.
4frnrs.spondepceo OF she Richmond sDispaichl s.. 7;
NEW Orr FANS. Decenlber:9, 1878. 4
Iii is 6 matter imposssble that in this sort
.s,f9nyerS,rc Of @.45cc,nseS River" to the
preat Father OF Rivers the sweetg:
beaninc "Crescent City, that gsaces thei
shores Of one OF its most beautiful curves
should be forgotten. All, MOI Afrst-slght:
of New s,-Ieass can never be forgotten, anu
;f q msn,yrites anything after thai event or
n long life she cannot omit the grasd hSuret
an the pjcsxre painted ioGfacea6sy upon ms
memory.
TIA YELLING u tfdlp alN cf,s
,Opce it pequired three weeks to traVel
from Richmond to New Orleans. Those
who undertook the journey MADE ciapoPate
nreparatisn. including tM, writing u their
wills and getting ready for the fsaA ana
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES" should that come before
their,retuYn home. That was In the time OF
the al faculs7ted conveyance of the -Sete-
amt $our-h0rsc poSt-cOdcft+" and not style
OF trayeI that WAS very perilous TO life; @at
ittraye,ed so SLOW that time mace lie In d0e
round "trip unea'tain. The next step IN eA-
peditiny travel vas the steamboat; but tfat
inthe FIRST two decades of steamboat ite
fearfuly increased the perils OF travel. Tie
.procress. OF tho traveller then was truly
..fonwarG ;t1id upward" - -
STEAMBOAT s;XPLassONs-THE PUBLIC SHOCK.
THE irst4ery great mortality by the explo-
sion OF steam oat4%as that OF the Hefmlon
afINemphis in tSS0;by which fifty lives were
lost 1t shocked the whole country. The
peorae in pubee mseGngs expressed their
horror at the casualty and the leariui loss
ofjlfe. Money was .ESaScd by subscription
in muRy places Gar the relief OF the suuef-
.ers. 1acatricaI perfogmances were glVeh
DOR fhei. benefit. THIS writer as a Ihes-
Mar expIoited himself upon the stage for
TIE. Charitable object. Fifty dollars were
cleared. and it "saaEtmouted," when
nearly broke the hearts ol the lmpromptu
boys, ineluiEDg himself.
Alas that was the first explosion OF grief
fordhe destructive boller-exptoslons. Ihey
soon became familiar to the nation. ana
proofs or synksab by grew less by degrees
until; Che SURPRISE of u dag |:as that no
steamer had been blown up between sun
rise aud sunset. Few that travelled by
stage to New Orleans ever tasted TO get
there; but many #ever came Aack. vi
those who went by steam. alas wilat null
titude never reached that city, bus .elthef
from drowning or par&tojlinS were t!it 10
rest for all time upon the shores o. the
Grand rfyer, which, like eternity, is oyer
rolling oa towards "sboses where oil is
DUMB, -, n, ri: -.f2l.satl2 ~ ~.
49,, THE Raj. Next on Ef.r
The railroad next came. with accidents :
for which nobody is ever to hlasne. They
kill. il not so Macy rs the Mississippi steam
ers did at one time, certainly enough for all
practical purposes. And itsyictims are not
sent out OF the world so decorcusly as these
of the steamboats,. Talk about Parboiled
women and children. why, the railways
crush. and tear, and burn theirs IN q man
ner too horrible to describe.
But to collect myself, which is about all
ever could collect. II was speaking OF lhe
long Journey from Richmond TO New Or
leans in old times. Now we 60 from Rlcil-
mond to New Orleans in iorty.eigbt hours,
short. e., sometimes in IN hour less. III
makes me coll for breath, for it affords
hardly sufficient breathing space. Travel
lers now get quicker to the place they arc
going to-. but that place is sometimes to
heaven or elsetcheTe.
THE ROUTE TO NEW ORLEANS.
You 60 from Richmond through the
land, where are frequent modest homes OF
framed buildings and spaisely-producng
fields OF red earth, with alternate oaken
woods and open fields Of brcoln-straw,
down along the better estates, and river
bottoms OF Halifax and Pittsylvania, and
across the Dan and through the well-satis-
fed and fair town of Danville; on, on
through the highlands OF Rockingham, and
Davidson, and Rowan, &C., in North Caro-
lima, and the pleasant towns Of Green's
borough, and Salisbury, and Charlotte. be-
sides crossing the aforementioned streams
OF Haw river, the sCatawba, the Yadkin.
DC, and skirting the Piedmont region OF
South Carolina, passing neas the home or
the late Mr.. CALHOUN, aud thence through
the cheerful Hil.land Of Georgia, and across
mitch slmiisT country in Alabama, ana
dowA by the Chattahaocbie and the Ala
bun7a to Montgomery aud Mobile. and
thence through the wide sands and scatter.
ed pines Of Mississippi to the 6 Crescent
City, -s.,~
-5.eis GEORGIA.
presents reasarkable feature in her many
spirited and Thriving towns, especially near
the ATLANTA Airline. Certainly that State
is doing a COED business with her !" up
lands y aud her indonntable energy. The
towns all locked fresh mnd .eNterprisingg. [
mention this iar the especial notice OF my
Richmond business frierds. Eg=.
Many ef the small towns We're :sunpMed
with actige ane prosperous street railways;
Tsrtieulza.ly Gainesville, which has risen Ia
pidly from sE,all:hesinEing within a short:
time. atlanta is q handsome. picturesque
place. with signs OF apid growth aud steady
Improvement. ID
ALaasaMa
Dis not qssEe so decided in dts apgearaneeaf
thrift as Georgia. but:stilI showed vigorous
recuperahon. Montgomery is a. .decoro,as
-citY,and rs evidently going aheaG. Mobile
has a 3a6ad and PASSIVE appearance, ana
there sve kook OAR departure Though the
,yaste.o OF ,ssnd and pines, BninterrEpt fort
long, long miles by anFthing remarkable
Only when we kgan to aNinG amongst the
estuaries or 1bayasG OF the GHE did VIE meet
SoM@htngs 81 more interest. ;g s,lg,,
THE gkYsl-aNDIAx LEsEND. ss;s1
NE came npon5 Bay Mississippi, tBsg st.
Louis Pascssoula izEast and Wess), and the
RigoieAes, wide but not very deep trat&ers.
crossed by tue bridges. Pasoagouta,H