Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-06-21

Steel Creek section of Mecklenburg county
n. c., and are proud of the fact that they are
"tar-heels," and are willing to acknowledge
that ripe persimmon is one of the most
luscious fruits that grows in the Old North
State! They are not related to the family
of the same name, some of whom formerly
resided in Charlotte and others in Yorkville
While in his teens, Mr.. Kerr engaged with
the late Thomas J. Holton, of Charlotte, the
proprietor of the Charlotte Journal, to learn
! the printers art. There he remained until
he had acquired a fair knowledge of the busi.
ness, when desire possessed him to leave
the land of his birth. Quitting Charlotte,
the first place he stopped was at Yorkville,
where he was employed as printer by the
who were publishing the YorkUille Patriot,
paper established by them as the organ OF
the Union Party, of what was then known
as York district-the Modification excite
ment then being at the highest. The father
of the writer was employed in the Patriot
office at the same time, and then began the
friendship which was cherished by the faith
er of the writer while his life lasted. In
November, 1884, the publication of the
Patriot was discontinued and Mr.. Kerr was
thrown out of employment. Desiring to see
more Of the world, he left Yorkville and
went to Columbia. From there he drifted
into Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Cuba and
Jamaica-noW working as printer, then as
pilot and captain of a steamboat-un ne
brought up at New Orleans in 1852. For
five wears previous to the occupation OF
New Orleans by the Federal forces during
the war, he occupied the position of City
Librarian, from which place he was ousted
and forced to leavethe city for the reason that
he would not take the oath required by the
Federal commander. He returned to Char
lotte, N. c., visiting Yorkville in the mean
time. After the close of the war, he remain
ed in Charlotte for several months, and was
employed by Gen. D. H. Hill to print for
azine called "Ihe Land We Love-" Mr..
Kerr, longing for familiar sights and sounds,
left Charlotte for New Orleans. Upon the
organization of the New Orleans Cotton
Exchange in January, 1871, he became AS
sistant Secretary, and is so very efficient in
the discharge of his duties, the probability
is that his connection with it will continue
SO long as it may be agreeable to him. He
is now seventy years of age, is 1.-the, active
and vigorous, in mind and body; but as he
is a bachelor, we do not know that we
should have said anything about his age.
However, "what is writ is writ" and he
well r0IIl0IuDSTS llldG 1le uS Oll
knees when we were toddler, and now we
have lived more han half century.
New Orleans, as our readers know, is
situated on the left, or east, bank of the
Mississippi river, and by the census Of 1880,
had population of 216,O9O. The older
portion of the city is built on the convex
Side of bend of the river, which here
sweeps around in northeast, east and
southeast course. From this location it
derives it's familiar name of the Crescent
City," However, in the progress of its
growth up stream, the city has of late years
so extended itself for six or seven miles, as
to fill the hollow of a curve in the opposite
direction, so that the river front now pre-
sents an outline somewhat resembling two
conjoined crescents, or, more properly, the
letter S. This confguration necessarily
renders the direction of the streets irregular.
AS rule, all American cities resemble
each other. TO this rule, however, New Or
leans is an exception. 1t is a city of sur
prises, and even duringa briefstay, a visitor
will be struck with the great contrasts in the
inhabitants in merely walking from one
street to another. He will find the restless
business life of the Yankee, in contrast with
the Indifference of the Creole ; he will meet
representatives of every nation in the world,
and hear languages and dialects Of every
cOuHGIy. I1e WILL soou ulocoNoi Cii''' ho l"
in city requiring long stay in order to
know much about it.
New Orleans, unlike the majority Of Amer
lean cities, is not laid out in squares. AL
though a few of the streets are straight, and
some parts of the city are built with strict
regularity, many of the thOrOughfares are
parallel with the bends of the river. The
oldest and real business part OF the city has
been built into curve in the Mississippi,
while the new parts lie in the direction Of
Lake Pontchartrain, five or six miles north
of the city. A few bayous and canals ira
verse the city in various directions, which
are especially useful in removing the garb-
age and filth which necessarily accumulate
in large city. Those streets next to the
river are in the centre of the business life !;
but if you follow their windings, you will
find yourself in the quieter portions of the
city, and finally be lost among private resi-
dences, alleys and gardens. A number of
straight avenues cross the squares in various
directions, converge and deverge, and lead
in some places to the river, or to the lake,
without ever having real centre. Of the
multiplicity of streets, but few run in the
same direction.
New Orleans is divided into two almost
equal portions by Canal Street, which is the
principal and most beautiful street in the
city. 1t is the Broadway of New Orleans,
and shows us the whole continent in the
space of a few miles, street whose one end
is Europe, and whose other end is America.
What Broadway is to New York, Canal
Street is to New Orleans, alike impressive,
alike grand and perhaps even more charac-
teristic. The manner in which it islaid out,
its appearance, the crowds of pedestrians
and vehicles Of every description, the beau
tiful residences, intermingled with immense
warehouses, snowy shops and stores, beWil-
ders one by the sudden contrasts, and this
continues for miles.
The whole of Southern Louisiana is a vast
plain, but the land Immediately adjacent to
the river is more elevated than elsewhere.
There is, therefore, gradual descent from
the river to the swamps lying in the rear OF
New Orleans, at a distance of a half mile to
mile and half from the levee. 1t is a
characteristics the Mississippi river at this
point that it is higher than the surrounding
country, rendering the levees necessary, in
ORDER so far as practicable, to prevent inun-
dations. The swamps in the vicinity are
covered with dense growth ofcypress trees
and underbrush, atfording a hahitation for
multitudes of alligators and other reptiles:
Texas being our objective point, just
before noon on Monday, it was with regret
that we took leave of our friends in New
Orleans, and were soon at the ferry-boat
which was to transport the train of cars
across the the Mississippi river to Algiers,
the depot of the New Orleans and Hous-
ton Railroad. Securing berth in sleep
ing cara long nights ride being before
| ,,c0 0u,a 1para soon landed on the west bank