Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1879-03-06
THE SUNNY SOUTH.
New ORLEANS, Feb. q, '79.

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. q, '79.
EDITOR CHRONICLE On the morn
ing of Feb. lIth. we left our home il
st. Clairsvilie, Ohio, bound for the sun
ny South, for The purpose of finding
spring, rest, recuperatiOn and health
Arrived in Wheeling by Mr.. Wn5On''
omnibus line al 10 A. NJ, placed bag
gage in charge OF the porter of the
steamer AGdes, the Tuesdays packe
for Cincinnati, advertised to leave at ;
P. NJ, but which did not get off till IL al
night, owing To the large amount o
! freight TO be taken on from the differ
ent mills and other points in the city
and the hadne,s OF the weather In
which to perform the work. Spent
| the day in the city-at O'Clock went
aboard and was soon assigned to a com
Portable state-roOm by the polite and
accommodating Clerk, Ed. Muhleman
The trip to Cincinnati was devoid ol
much interest; the weather was stormy
! with snow squalls, and increasing cold
ness, So that by the time the city was
reached, l29 O'Clock A N. of the 18th,
the mercury was down to zero. The
pissenger5-which were few-kept in
doors very closely, and whiled away
! the time as best they could, in reading,
talking and listening 10 the mnsic dis
coursed from time TO time by the string
! band of TIE boat. At Cincinnati we
! transferred to the steamer 'CnAs. Nor
! gan one otthe line boats of the South.
ern transportation Co, running from
! Cincinnati TO New Orleans. As We
went aboard the day before the boat
started, we had good opportunity OF
getting acquainted with the Captain,
| Albert Stem and his family, who made
their hume Oh the boat. Mrs. S Elm,
| the Captains wife, is very large
pOrily woman. and as kind ami affi0!e
as large. The Captain is ii clever, of
handed gentleman, and took pains to
make us comfortabl and !eel at home.
While lying in port the news boys
| brought IN the papers, IN the dispatch
es OF which the burning OF the steamer
a. G. Donally, six miles below Cairo,
was announced, Causing quite tiutteT
among the pAsSt ngerS ana crew Of our
vessel, as the burned steamer Was enc
of the boats OF Ourliue, snd the retieC-
tiOp would come up, What if our boat
should meet the Sa me tate before we
reach New Orleans?
At 81 O'Clock P. NJ, on the 10Th, our
boat lUOsed from her ta-tenlngs, swung
out into the middle OF the river, and
steamed away South ward, reaching
Louisville next day nj Il NJ remained d
taking on ireihSt till p. M, at which
time she started, ente ring and passing
thrOus b the canal to The fCOt oi the lallS.
"a i n in n
and of sufficient width aud depth to
permit the passage Ul the largest boats
plying on this part of the Ohio. The
boats are elevated and lowered by
means of three locks, all of which are
placed at the lower end of the canal.
The toll char ed boats for passing
through, is about ten cents per ton,
which is collected when it is in the ba.
sin between two locks. Can't getaway,
you see, without the proper combina.
ton is used Il the locks, which are
controlled by the company. The toll
for our boat was $50, so the pilot told
me, which WAS promptly paid. Al
least l supposed it WAS, for the lock was
opened, and We were 1t out into the
river below, and We "Weut on ouI
way rejOicing," after spending about
three hours in the canal, which the
above pilot said was a very short time,
as sometimes, in stormy weather, they
spent half day in getting through.
Evansville, Ind, was reached on the
17th, at 2 P. Nj, where we lay till 8 A.
NJ. next day, taking Oh large amount
OF freight aud also a goodly number OF
pas5e myers. The st. George Hotel, the
finest one Of tn S p a;e, Was burned on
the night " iay here. This city has a
population OF $4,000, is tue principal
place Oh the Ohio river in the State, is
$50 miles below Cincinnati. Quite a
large shipping business is done here.
and it is therefore an important point
for steam boats.
AIS O'Clock A. IL, on the 10Th, we
rounded 10, aud landed at, " hat Was
intended to become by It's projectors,
the great city OF Cairo. As yet, how
ever, it is hard to see its greatness, eX-
cept in lis great liability to be over
flowed. Situate ns it Is on d low bot
ton at the junction of the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers, protected alone from
overflow by high leVeeS, built along
the border OF each stream. This does
not always protect it, for frequently
during ii treSbet tue water breaks
through the levee5 and floods the
greater purJiou Of the city, which
stands in a basin, so 10 SPEAK. The
city is distant from Cincinnati $50
miles, from Wheeling $50. 1t is the
southern terminus oi the Central Illi-
nOls Railroad. Cars are transferred
across the OHIO river by means of
boats connecting on the Kentucky side
with the Mobile and New Orlean5 r.
Il AS our boat lay here till p. NJ. "a
great many Of the passengers availed
themselves OF the opportunity OF taking
stroll through tue city. At the call
OF the Whistle, 'ali HbuGrG," We were
eS7in oil, passing immedigtcly into
the Mississippi yer, down which we
rapidly moved, eud about six miles
down at The point OF Island No. One,
pass-d Tie wreck Of the SIC imer a. e.
DJna ly,U. the burning ui which have
already spoken. II wzs burned to the
waters edge-a Total wreck, from the
wreck Of Whicn smoke was s,ill issuing.
Seeing the wreck Was a matter of great
inter, 81 ana curiosity to The passengers
SO much SO, that aljh jhough dinner was
announced jus, IL We left Cairo, yet
many of Us would not he, Il it, i'll after
the wreck WAS reached, seen a,.d plssed. |
Aud nDW, as We were here, on the
great Mississippi, the Father OF Wa
ter, fe,riy midway on oar journey
TO tns C'esceut City, our passenger
list haS ing redCAeG, pgrha DS, its maxi |
mum ia point o numbers, let me say
a WOr.. OF them. We had aboard here. |
IN boatnieu's p4rlHce, "a Big trip of
people" about sixty of whom ethbark-
ri With rs 9t Cincinnati, others were
.aAen 0n at Lou sville, Evansville and
some other points, swelling the num-
Der Of cabin Passengers 10 about $50,
most OF whom were bound for New
)rleaus-some TO attend the Mardi
iras, many others, like ourselves, on
! tour tor health. Passengers aboard
team5Oit soon get acquainted, e5pe-
'iaily when they are destined tu be to-
: tier for number of days, They
4 fsn I. 4 4 Il.