The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-08-20
LETTER FROM CLEAVES.
OLEAyEs, ONO AUG. IS, 1882.

4. A. Burnett, Ed, Cairo, III.
] AM in receipt of your little reminder
of the 18th, by which am put in the pos
session Of the pleasing fact that | am in
arrears with The BULLETIN office for one
years subscription to the Weekly, aggrega.
ting the sum total Of So.
Well sir, not wishing to be surpassed in
the matter of courtesy, | will respond
promptly, aud send you Mt the same time
amount of bill, hoping it may have safe
transit to Cairo
In each and all the letters | have written
in the last eighteen months, to THE Bull
LLETIN and other friends in Cairo, have
said aud honestly thought that / would
soon Ge ready aud more than willing to
leave this place and come TO Cairo.
And ! can assure you, it is no fault of
mine, or desire on my part, that | am still
a denizen of this hamlet, instead of Cairo.
| have been quite busy for nearly two
years, doing almost nothing That is to
say, ! have been trying to settle up my af
fairs as best | could preparatory to leaving
here, which means have collected about
all will ever get, and | feel that it is
quite useless to remain here idle any long
err so | have determined to leave Cloves for
Cairo 10y the 10th prox sure, this time
am In earnest
am advised by some of my friends
down there, that times in Cairo are little
dull at present Well taking recent local
annoyances into account, and | am not
at all surprised to learn that trade just now
is somewhat lanquid, excepting Of course
river and railroad transactions, which are
never dull.
Having resided in Cairo % years claim
to know something about the effects these
long continued floods have upon the bust
ness Of the place, of course during the ex
IRENE high water people from the contigu-
Gus country cannot reach your city to buy or
sell, and hence business lanquishes Tor the
time being and to add to this unfortunate
state Of affairs, you have nov, and always
had, few sapient grave but willing croak-
ers, ready and anxious to magnify every
little draw back, and to predict in SOM
brous language, war, pestilence, and fam
inc" when speaking Of the future Cairo,
Now will venture the prediction, that
when the rivers subside, and the sipe water
leaves the city that there will soon be
change for the better, in every department
of business.
When Cairo was overhowed in Deer
1850, had the only store in the place, but
as the first floor was as high as the Ohio
levee. suffered but little Inconvenience
from the flood. My store was In part Of
what we called the Mckenzie block, stu
ated about one hundred yards below The
Halliday House This building was des-
troyed by fire on the night of Jan. 10, 1852.
Now the dull times caused by the overflow
of 1850 was of short duration
The big food Of July 1868 was more
disastrous many of us losing considerably
as the Mississippi evee broke without warn
ing, and the entire city WIS overlooked in
few hours, and before goods, or household
effects could be removed to places of safety
they were submerged causing considerable
loss and considerable damages. After the
waters subsidized can assure you, we had
hard looking city. Large numbers of
small houses had left their foundations,
and located elsewhere. Lumber yards had
changed their locations, and the streets,
especially Commercial avenue were blocked
by immense logs which had entered the
town through the creyces in the levee and
grounded on the high places in the streets.
| well remember how extremely anxious
we Democrats were, (by the way little
Dayy Baker was the onlp Republican in
town, to clean up the town, and get the
big logs out Of the streets as soon as pos.
sible, especially out Of Commercial avenue,
from Sixth street to the Taylor House. as
Stephen A. Douglas was to visit CAIRO,
early in the ensuing Sept which he did and
made speech from the portico
of the Taylor House to an immense
crowd mostly from Kentucky and Missou-
RI Gen Haynie made the reception
speech, and Gen'l Rawlings, of Mound City,
pre- iided
To get back again want to say that
although the overflow of 1853 caused the
almost entire suspension Of trade for over
thirty days, considerable loss of property,
and damages to houses, fences, cistern.,
sidewalks, &c, that quite soon after the
subsistence of the food everybody appeared
to be contented and hopeful, and to all APP
pearances forgot their losses and annoy