The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-03-23
FROM NEW ORLEANS.
A Days Ramble Through the Cres-
cent City.
NEW OnLnAss, March IL.

NEW OnLsAfss, March IL.
Editor:
In mornings walk one sees many
novel sights in city like this. Along
the levee yesterday, there was much not
familiar to us at home. The river steam
ers were unloading cotton bales by the
thousand, and cotton seed meal in bags,
which is used as a fertilizer throughout
the South. Other boats were unloading
hundreds of sugar h0gsheads, gathered
from along the plantations, to be refined
here. Other steam and sailing vessels
are storing away cotton bales in their ca
pacious holds, bound for Liverpool. |
saw a steamship just from Belgium, I'M
loading 5000 coils of iron wire, which
goes to Joliet, ILL.,, there to be converted
INTO barbed wire. The next was a ves-
sci from Honduras, unloading, among
other tropical fruits, 1000 bushels OF
bananas. Such a lot of bananas would
flush the Mankato market. | observe
steamers with hundreds of barrels of old
fashioned New Orleans molasses, an ar
tIcle we in the North seldom see any
more. 1t is all worked over into new
forms of syrups, and debauched with
glucose. Here are piles of rice sacks,
with rice III the rough, to be cleaned and
made merchantable at the mills in this
city. Here are bales Of moss, gathered
from the cypress trees in the swamps OF
this State, and shipped North Tor mat
trasses and upholslering work generally.
| saw a vessel from Spanish Honduras,
unloading fine lot of watermelons, the
very first of the season landing at this
port, and far in advance of anything
here. | could see cholera morbus
stamped on the striped faces of these
melons. 4 great iron vessel from Bor-
deaux, France, was unloading Il cargo of
wines, and the boxes and casks covered
80 vast u space, that all the storage rooms
and elevators in Mankato do not think
could hold the cargo. The vessels of
this line are very large, built in compart-
ments and all iron. They offered to
take us the round trip for $40 each.
They go well to the South, i'm warm lat
ltude, stopping at Havre three days, and
laying at Bordeaux about one week. The
trip would take about 40 days, and is
cheaper than living at first-class hotel.
Such are some of the sights one sees in
straylng along the levee of gre t ma
rine port, made the more peculiar by
reason of the tropical products handled.
The great number of river steamers,
mingling with the ocean steamers and
sailing vessels from all countries, with
people of every nationality, give this
place unique and varied appearance,
as if IN some foreign port, like Marseilles.
Turning from the river, We drop in OH
the shot tower, the highest building in
New Orleans. From Its summit We get
a noble view of the citv, and of the great
river, which we find to he double cres-
cent, like a letter s. The elevator car.
ries one heavenward PA feet. The man
at the elevator said the women ascend
with more nerve than the male visitors.
l suppose it Is easier and more natural
for the angel sex to rise towards heaven
than for sinful men. You pass by the
caldrons and polishing rooms, and find
that the larger shot requires but short
distance to fall, while the fine shot must
drop from the top. A pull on the rope
and we sink to mother earth, and feel
more comfortable than on the top of that
tower, where even in little breeze it
seems to vibrate as if to fall.
Passing over to St. Charles avenue, we
find really lovely gardens, overrun with
roses and verdant with vines; choice
palms, beds of flowers, rich with exotics,
deck the shorn lawns, and floral beauty
and artistic gardening gladden. the eye.
l find upon inquiry that while some
plants are killed by frost and cold
weather, yet it is possible TO have flow
ers all the year round in New Orleans.
The marigolds, petunlas, phioxes, candy
tufts, portulacas, pansies, larkspurs, ETC.,
are now in full bloom. But nothing so
enriches these Southern homes at this
season as the roses. They are made to
climb over wall and along the galleries,
and are gorgeous with their beauty.
Coming on down this avenue, we find
the recently erected statue of Gen. Rob-
ert f. Lee. The statue stands on a pill
lar 100 feet high. 1t is colossal bronze,
representing Lee with folded arms, sur
veying scene of battle. An irreverent
and unreconstructed old mule is crop
ping the grass on the green slope which
surrounds the base of the monument.
One of the nuisances of this city is that
old horses, faded mules, scrawny COWS,
and horned pigs, are permitted to run at
large, disfguring every spot OF verdure.
They need one of Mankato's CITY ordi-
nances and pound, to cure the evil.
Further on, we come to the American
market, and price the strawberries
grown opposite the city. They look
well, but are not nearly 80 juicy and
sweet as the berries grown farther North.
They have been in market for some
days, and are sold at from 40 to rs cents
for very short quart. A brief walk
brings us to Canal street, which is the
center and hub of New Orleans. What |
was once an old canal, making drainage |
from the river to the lake, long since |
filed up, has become the most fashiona-
bile promenade, with wide walks, rooted |
over for whole blocks, and lined with |
pretty stores, whose decorated windows
are the admiration of the ladies. Such |
silks, such lawns, such fans, such bric-a-
brac, such cloves" of bonnets and flow
ers The spring and summer styles are
out in all their glory, and tides of curious
women gaze upon the brilliant exhibit. /
When you have nothing else to do,
sumter up one side of Canal street and
down the other, and you will see a
strange and picturesque world of itself.
Turning from Canal to Royal street, we
pause moment to look at the monu-
ment of Henry Clay. 1t is said to be a
fine likeness of that illustrious states
man, and is about Is feet high, standing
on a granite foundation and pedestal OF
some 40 feet in height. Passing on down
Royal street, we enter the French part
Of the city, and come upon the scenes so
wildly described in Cables romances of
Creole life. The scenes Of his stories
are not fanciful, but true to the letter.
This was Cables favorite street. Daily
we pass the quaint old homes he paints
10 faithfully. / sometimes fancy l can
see his delightful old characters walk out
Of these very buildings. Passing on
down the street we came to the house
where LATTE, the pirate lived, whose
story as a buccaneer of the gulf, so
haunted my youthful imagination. 1t
8 an old Spanish building gone into de-
.repitude. So runs the story of a days
j. III. BAKER.