The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-04-01

land mothers and sisters-and the news
=I'paper1. Had we not inspected the tortlh
! cations ourselves? Wasnot every man IN
town ready to rush into them Of the
twelve taps OF the hre.alarm bellsH We
!, were not ready to, man them Il the mer
gave out! Nothing afioat could pass the
forts. Nothing that walked could gel
through our swamps. The Mississippi.
, and, In fact, she was majesticaily terri
BILE structure, only let US complete her
: would sweep the river clean!
But there was little laughter. Food
/ was dear; the destitute poor were multi.
lplying terribly; the market men and
women, mainly Germans, Gascon-F French,
and Sicilians, had lately refused TO take
the shinplaster currency, and the city au-
thority had forced them to accept 1t. There
!. was little to laugh ut. The Mississippi
was pnawinp It's leyees and threatening to
plunge in upon us. The city was believed
to be full Of spies.
/ shall not try, 10 describe the day the
alarm.bells told us the city was in danger,
and called every man to his mastering
point. The children poured out OF the
school gates and ran crying to their homes
meeting their sobbing mothers at their
thresholds. The men fell into ranks. l
was left entire alone in charge Of the store
where was employed. Late in the alter
noon receiving orders TO close 1t, did so,
and went home. ButI did not stay. ! went to
the river side. There until far into the
night / saw hundreds Of drays carrying
cotton out OF tie presses and yards TO the
wharyes, where It was fired. The glare OF
those sinuous miles Of flame set men aud
women weeping and wailing thirty miles
away on the farther shore OF Lake Pont-
chartrain. But the next day was the day
OF terrors. During the night fear, wrath
| and sense OF betrayal had run through the
people as the fire had run through the
cotton. You have seen, perhaps, q family
fleeing with lamentations and wringing OF
hands out OF a burning house; multiply 1t
by thousands upon thousands. That was
New Orleans, though the houses were not
burning. The fremen were out; but they
cast fire on the waters, putting the torch
To the empty ships and cutting them loose
TO float down the river.
Whoever could 60 was going. The great
mass, who had no place TO go or means to
90 with, was beside itself. betrayed
betrayed" it cried and ran in through
from street to street, seeking some vent,
some victim for its wrath. l saw crowd
catch a poor fellow at the corner Of Maya
zine and Common streets, whose crime
was that he looked like a stranger and
might be a spy. He was the palest living
man I ever saw. They swung him TO q
neighboring lamp.post, but the Foreign
legion was patrolling the town in strong
SQUADS. and one OF its lieutenants, all green
and gold, leaped with drawn sword, cut
the rope, and saved the man. This was
enc occurrence; there were many like It.
stood in the rear OF our store, Canal
street. soon after reopeningit. The junior
Of the arm was within. called him to
look toward the river. The masts OF the
cutter Washington were slowly tipping,
declining, sinking-down she went. The
gunboat moored next her began TO smoke
all over, and then to blaze. My employ
ers lifted up their heels and left the city
left their goods and their affairs in the
hands OF one mere lad-no stranger would
have thought had reached 14-and one
big German porter. l closed the doors,
sent the porter to his place in the Foreign
legion, and ran to the levee to see the
sights. Si
What gatheringl The riff.rafr Of the
wharves, the town, the CUTTERS Such wo-
men-such wrecks OF women! And all
the Juvenile rag.tag. The lower steam
boat landing, well covered with sugar,
rice and molasses, was being ritsd. The
men smashed, the women scooped up the
smashings. The river was Overlooking
the top OF the levee: A rain storm began
to threaten. care the Yankee ships In
sight?" / asked Of an idler. He pointed
out the tops OF their naked masts as they
showed up across the huge bend OF the
river. They were engaging tho batteries
at Camp CHARACTERISTIC old field of Jack
sons renown. Presently that was over.
All, mel l see them now US they come
slowly round Slaughterhouse point into
full view, silent, so grim and terrible;
black with men, heavy with deadly por-
tent; the long banished stars and stripes
flying against the frowning sky. Oh, for
the Aiississippil the Mississippi Just
then here she came down upon them.
But haw? Drifting helplessly,,a mass Of
flames.
The crowds on the levee howled and
screamed with rage. The swarming decks
answered never word; but one old tar
on the Hartford, standing withlanyard In
hand beside great pivot-gun, so plain to
view that you could see him smile, silent
ly patted its big black breech and blandly
grinned.
And now the rain came down In sheets.
About or 2 o'clock in the afternoon las
remember), / being again in the store
with but one door ajar, came roar Of
shoutings and imprecations and crowding |
feet down Common street. "Hurrah for
JEFF Davis! Hurrah for JEFF Davis! Shoot
them! Kill them! Hang them!"
locked the door on the outside and ran to |
the front Of the mob, bawling with the
rest, '"Hurrah for JEFF Davisl" About
every third man there had weapon out.
Two officers Of the United States navy
were walking abreast, unguarded and
alone, looking not TO right or left, never
frowning, never fllnching, while the mob
screamed In their ears, shook cooked pts.
tolls in their faces, cursed and crowded
and CRASHED upon them. So through the
gates OF death those two men walked TO
the city hall to demand the towns sur
render. It was one Of the bravest deeds |
ever saw done.
Later events, except one, / leave to other
pens. An officer OF the fleet stood on the |
City Hall roof about to lower the flag OF
Louisiana. In the street beneath cleaned
the bayonets Of body Of marines. A
howitzer pointed up and another down
the street, All around swarmed the mob.
Just then Mayor Monroe-lest the officer
should be fired upon and the howitzers
open upon the crowd-came out alone and
stood Just before one OF the howitzers, tall,
slender, with folded arms, eying the gun
ner. Down sank the flag. Captain Bell,
tall and stiff, marched OFT with the flag
rolled under his arm and the howitzers |
clanking behind. Then cheer after cheer
rang out for Monroe, and now, 1 dare say,
everyone Is well pleased that, after all,
New Orleans never lowered her colors
with her own hands.
"Bough on Germs"