Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-12-03
PEN PICTURE or CHATTA.
NOOGA.
As Seen on a Wet BaS By a Dys-
peptic Correspondent.

E~ANN~
STAFF correspondent Louisville courier-JOu, Z
nall
CHATTANOOGA, TENN, Nov. e.
This hole amongst the hills is enjoy
ing a sleepy balminess Of atmosphere,
impossible to associate with any other
sensation than that of the rainy sea-
son. Passing from Evansville, Hen
derson and some other points on the
Ohio and that far north, directly to
this place on the Tennessee, hedged in
by mountains as it is, and passing
from a mean %teperature of fifteen
degrees TO twenty degrees, as it was
yesterday at Evansville, to one of
fifty degrees, as it is to-day here, has
a sickeningly depressing effect on the
human system, and leaves one in a
condition of mind not at all calculated
to promote the h~attering opinion of
Chattanooga, its climate, its murky
atmosphere,its dirty village-likeroads,
generally called streets, nor its
slothfulness, so widely and vaunt-
ingly advertised as enterprise, push
and go-ahead. Chattanooga, with her
1900 to 10000 population, and no
night distributing clerk in the post
office, and no letter carriers or street
letter-boxcs, forcibly reminds us of.
the overgrown county village or coun-
ty town of a century ago; while her
teams of various kinds upon her stray
Cling streets, from the "geared up"
bull calf Of two years old and the pair
ofjennets, but little larger than the
Jack rabbits of the west, even up 10
very stylish, good and well-matched
horses, help to bear out the i'm
preston that this city is no more
than a swollen village Of the "lang
syne." The fact that so many Of
these incongruities appear on the
streets, in the offices, etc., lends to
the i'll effect that a first view of the
city has upon a strange. A stranger
comes to Chattanooga from Cincin-
natl, Chicago, st. Louis, Louisville or
New York, and expects to soc a city.
lie expects to see a busy corps of
letter. carriers, he expects to be able
to procure his mail in the evening in
time to act upon advices contained in
it; he expects to be able to traverse
the city on street railroad lines, with
all the appointments necessary to
convenience; he expects commodious
hotels and an efficient corps of wait.
ers. In short, be expects to see a well
and fully developed city, and he
finds to his utter a%magement, that
he is in the midst Of an ante
bellum village, a little overgrOwn, tbs
true, but still a village, and he is dis
gu,ted. He feels that he has been
victimized, he has been the butt upon
whom has been perpetrated a practi-
cal joke of no small dime lsions, and
be is mad. So your correspondent
c%onfesses he felt when at daybreak he
was suddenly shown the kinth-street
facade Of Chattanooga. Chattanooga
has been overdone in the way of ad-
vertisement. 1t has been heralded
abroad as the great entrepot of the
south, second to none; it ranks FAC
cording to these reckless advertisers
alongside of New Orleans. Memphis,
Atlanta, Nashville, etc. whereas the
most casual observation shows the
absolute emptiness of such a pretense.
4 n u
Here, as in the days Of the long ago,
blear- eyed drunkards in ragged home
spun frequent the saloons, and sit in
sleepy, hungry. looking groups around
the milk warm stoves of these death
bed dealing institutions. Here The
negro, the Indian and the white man,
wing with each other as to the perfec
ton in which lazincss, dirt and crime
can be accumulated in their respective
persens, can be seen in nromiscuous
herds summing their filthy ~careasses
on tho brightest street corners. Here
the implements Of the most print
tive Of all implements of ~husbandry
can be seen on the streets in hand
and on trucks brought to the smithy
or mechanic for some paltTy repair,
over the price of WHICH the owner
will chatter for hours, and then posi-
bly, take it home unrepaired, carrying
it for miles, and if the labor was an
article OF merchandise, thus pay twice
what the article would be worth in
one days handling. Here is the pro-
fessional Politician who never held Of
fee or did anything else but control
men () for pay. Here you see many
Of the peculiar features of extreme
western civilization(or rather the lack
Of it,, the liVeliest specimen of south
ern brayado, and some Of the highest,
truest specimens Of genuine gentleness
and true refinement. You find here
tho well-informed and the i'll informed
public and private citizen. The man
who can name you the next senator
from Indiana, Ohio, and above all,
from Tennessee
Tho natural scenery, the beauty and
romantic and historical attractions of
the surroundings Of Chattanooga leave
it scarcely with an equal on the CONT
nent, and will make an att~ractiveness
here which no deception a pail.
Grand old Lockout mountain, Mission
ridge, Campbell's hill and all the his.
torie t%errors, beauties and general
attractions associated with their
names, and all Of which are in plain
view from any part of the town, will
ever surround the name of Chatta-
nooga with a halo Of attractions that
will give an interest and a zest to con
temptation. JAGUAR.