The Republican journal., 1881-03-24
Down South Befo' de Wa.
NEW ORLEANS IN 1859

| Two OF the daily newspapers were printed IN
French, and at the place of amusement patronized
by the old residents-the Orleans Theatre--French
opera and drama were given. The city as a whole
was so unlike any other city in this country as to
furnish tempting field for the Northern sight
seer; and it does so yet though not to the
| tent. 1t has been Americanlzed since the war,
and inwardly and outwardly has undergone changes
not for the best so far as the visitor is concerned
Canal street the great boulevard of New Orleans,
has two roadways with strip of green, shaded by
a double row of trees between them. and which
now used by the street railways This street di-
yides the old or French portion of the city from
the American. Walking down Royal or Bourbon
street you might readily fancy yourself in Paris.
| Opposite Royal street. ST. Charles street extends
in the opposite direction, and here you have a
glimpse OF the white marble front of the St Charles
Hotel, which at this time had more than thous-
and guests within its walls. Beyond was the Am
| phtheatre (now the Academy of Music) and the
! St Charles Theatre, with Museum opposite.
| Parallel to and next in of St Charles street. is
Carondolet street, the Wall street of New Orleans,
and here the cotton brokers, buyers, sellers and
| shippers and other business men congregate. Be-
tween St. Charles and Camp streets is Lafayette
square tree shaded green grassed and with com
Portable seats for the weary pedestrian On one
| side is City Hall which in 1857 was known Fort
| Vigilance and was held BY the Vigilance Commit
| tee under command of Capt Duncan against the
assaults of the Know Nothngs. This was battle
for freedom at the polls, strange to say, the Know
| Nothngs sezing the polls and holding them. so
that out of poll of $1,000 but 1000 votes
cast. The Know Nothipgs went under in the end,
but there was bloodshed in the Crescent City be-
fore that result was reached. Odd Fellows Hall,
fine building Of granite, froEted on this square.
| 1t was burned in lS66 or &, and has not been
built
Fronting on the levee aud in the French quar-
ter, is jackson square which has bronze monu-
ment representing the old hero on horseback, II
the centre, In the rear stands the Catholic Cathe-
dral. old, time stained building with dim u-
terror, heavy with The fumes Of incense and never
without kneeung worshipPers at the altar.
The French market. short distance below and
facing the river IS one Of the sights Of the city
and should by no means be overlooked by the
visitor Sunday morning early is the time when
it is seen at its best There are meat fish, fruit
and vegetable markets all under different roofs
but closely connected and there are also covered
booths and venderS whose wares are contained in
baskets, or spread on tables or upon the ground,
making altogether a bewiLdering display. 1t would
be in vain to attempt to enumerate the articles
! exposed for sale. From piano to a tooth pick,
silk dress to paper Of pins, there is nothing
wanting. AS 10 the markets proper, New Orleans
is noted for its fish, fruit and game. Of fish there
are the pompano, in its seasoI-the most tooth
some fish known to eplcures-the red snapper,
sheepshead, croker tan excellent pan fish and
many others Of shell fish, the turtle crab, shrimp,
cray fish and oyster The latter, though very large,
are equal in flavor to the Chesapeake Bay oys-
ters The lists of game, fruit and vegetables
too long to enumerate here. Here and there
| about the market are stands where you can be
served with tiny cups of French coffee or choco-
late-the former black as ink and strong lye
One emp full would keep person not accustomed
to its use awake for week but you get the full
flavor of the coffee which you do not get in coffee
made in the ordinary way.
Before taking look at the levee it may be well
to state that the site of the city is nearly level
that it has swamps on three sides and that during
the spring and fall treshets the river is from SIX to
fourteen feet above the level of the streets. New
Orleans is protected from overtows by large
| dyke or evee, which extends some fifty miles be
low and one hundred and twenty five miles above
the city. On the city front wharves have been
built out from the leyee and extended from year
to year over the mud banks deposited before them
| by the action of the river In the busy season
these vast wharves extending for miles up and
down the river, are 50 covered with cotton bales,
hogsheads of sugar, molasses, rice and tobacco,
and with the produce Of the West, that scarcely 4
plank is visible Tiny hass OF all colors and shapes
are flying from the different lots OF freight which
busy negroes are constantly adding 10 or taking
from, while hundreds of drays drawn by mules are
moving to and fro. Side by side, bows on, for three
miles along the city front, are steamboats, loading
and unloading for and from the Upper Mississippi.
| Missouri Ohio Red Ouachita and Arkansas riy-
ers and the numerous streams and bayous about
the Lower Mississippi The ringing of bells, the
sounding of whistles the musical caliope or steam
piano, the chorusses of the negro deck hands the
rumbling OF drays the neighing of mules with
now and then the voeierous mpetuouS roar OF
escaping steam are most prominent among the ba-
| bel of sounds At five VI the usual hour for
departure, the scene is busy one Forty or fifty
steamboats, start at nearly the same time and putt
and pant on their way up the Mississippi
Below the steamboat landing the sailing
craft above is the steamship landing, and beyond
that again, ships are moored, often three or four
abreast and filling their holds with bales of cotton
Near by the cotton presses where the cotton
bales are compressed between the jaws OF mighty
machine into one halt OF their former size, as ifby
masle
The buildiDgs-it will be remembered that l
am writing Of the city as it appeared more than
/ twenty years ago-lre mostly OF brick. Some
stuccoed but all have dingy look and few have
any claims to architectural beauty. Most Of them
have wide veraudahs projecting over the pave
ment, and supported by iron pillars and you may
walk for squares i'll their shade. Often each story
has its balcony or veraudah these rising one above
the other. and usually constructed of iron. The
private residences have striped curtains with seal
! loped edges which let down the sides OF these YER
andahs, thus enclosing from the street cool and
| pleasant room much used during the summer
months, and not untrequenty as a sleeping apart
| ment
| New Orleans is drained from the surface-the
cutters or drains exposed to view on each side OF
the streets. The drainage finds its way slowly in
to canals cut through the swamps, from which, by
Immense pumps worked by steam, 1t is taken up
and empted into Lake Ponchitrain, vast body of
salt or rather brackish water, three miles in rear
of the city.
The streets are mostly paved with cobble stone,
and when these sink in places, loose stones are
thrown in. making road that it is torture to ride
| over As an Illustration Of the instability of the
foundation upon which the city stands a heavily
laden dray will often depress the immediate sur
| face upon which it rests to some distance below
the level When it has passed the pavement