The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-12-24
Qhe Intelligence.
onR eourHERN LErrER.

Matters and Things In aud Around the
Crescent CIiy-The Peopie-IIew They
Spend Their Sabbaths Churches,
preachers, Honumenis..LakeP onehar-
train Fisheries, dc, dc.
NEw ORLEANS, December 20.
Special Correspondence Of the Int liVeneer.
About one.third Of the population Of
this city is French. All the lower, OF
older portion Of the city is occupied al.
most exclusively by them. They live and
trade among themselves. Tam told that
they rarely ever spend dollar in the
American part Of the city. They have
their own hotels beer gardens and places
OF amusement, and there they while
away their leisure hours. They talk
the French language almost entirely,
indeed, large numbers cannot talk any
thing else. l am informed that there
are entire parishes (counties) in Louisiana
where scarcely word Of English Ia ever
spoken. White, colored and everybody
else use the French language exclusively.
A French negro was quite q curiosity to
me. l mean an American-French celored
individual. But they are 80 common here
| have gotten used to them. You hear
them on every corner blathering away in
French, and yet they never saw France,
and never will.
heliberty loving people Of New Orleans
are erecting an elegant monument on st.
Charles street, TO the memory OF the
great, noble Captain K. Z. Lee. It is oil
granite and consists Of huted column
about thirty or forty feet high, which, when
completed, will be surmounted by a
statue OF the General, leaning on his
sword. Itstandson artificial raised ground,
and Is enclosed with circular iron fence.
On La Fayette square there Is statue
life.size-of B. Franklin, Egg. l shall
hope to find on franklin square, a stat.
ne OF La Fayette, that is, II there is q
franklin square in town.
New Orleans has park, or rather sort
Of a park, out in the country few miles.
am informed that 1t is not kept up in
very good style, and Ia not much fire.
ouented by the people. Ipresume they
are too busy to spare the time TO air them.
selves loating in the park.
In the lower part OF the city, in the
midst OF little square, which Is covered
with orange and banana trees, there is an
equestrian bronze statue OF General Jack
son, by Mills. Ben Butler, during the
war, when he was Emperor OF New Or
leans, had these words cut on the granite
pedestal: "The Union, 1t must and shall be
preserved" The people here do not love
old Ben to very considerable extent.
His recent flop over TO the Democratic
party did not change their feelings very
do i'm I a m.
preston lurking about me that II Benja-
min were to come down here he would be
worked up into sausage sure.
The people here have no respect for the
Sabbath whatever. All the stores, saloons,
shops, markets, &C., are open on Sunday
the same as any other day. Through
curiosity went to the French market in
the French portion ofthe city early Sun
day morning, and it's boss market too.
You rarely see better one in any North.
ern city. 1t was crowded and jammed
with people. On account OF the hot,
moist atmosphere, marketing has TO be
done daily. Fresh beef will only remain
fresh, I am told, o very short time.
There is apparently as much business
going on about the wharf on Sunday as on
a week day. Steamers are loading and
unloading, and hundreds OF men are at
work removing oysters and oranges from
the schooners which are wedged in
against the bank for miles along the levee
Oranges are raised all around here. The
price at market was by the barrel 81 so,
and by the dozen five cents; and they
were large, ir"oh and elegant in appear.
ance. The orange trade is largely in the
hands Of sicilians, who are a good.sized,
swarthy, pecnliar.looking people.
More than half the population OF New
Orleans are toreignera.
The sun shines brightly one hour, and 1t
rains the next. It's strange climate, but
It Is warm and pleasant.
There are quite number OF fine
churches ia the city, and some noted
diyines. DR.. Palmer, OF the Lafayette
Square Presbyterian Church, Is known
all over the South. He is an able. earnest,
eloquent speaker, but is awkward and
homely. ! dropped into the Cathedral
Sunday morning, near the French market,
and observed quite large number OF peo-
pie on their knees at mass with their bas-
kets beside them filled with vegetables
and the like. They were going on the
principle OF killing two birds with one
stons-gping to heaven, as It were, with
their market baskets on their arms, and
their grub" within their reach.
Lake Ponchartrain, six miles distant, is
of great value to New Orleans. Indeed,
she could lily afford to get along without
It. In the summer 1t Is the fashionable
resort for the citizens Of leisure, but at all
times It Is the fishery for the city. The
Mississippi river fish are coarse and tough
aud not often used. The lake fish are
elegant and Of a great number o. varieties
shrimps, hard and softshell crabs, and at
the mouth OF the lake oysters pi sp ex-
cellent quality are gathered. The Ponch-
srtrain fishery business Is one Of the great
est industries in the South. ] expect to
stake in" the lake in day or so, and will
give you another sQuIR.
A Iady's Wish.
"Oh, how do wish my skin was as