The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-05-17
NEW ORLEANS LETTER.
Dissertations and Reflections by an IN
commercial Traveller.


the grandest and most glorious inyen-
ton that man has been guilty of, but
when see a gang of negro roustabouts
going through their little act of unload
ing freight from Mississippi steam
boat I am apt to think that toi1-at
least of this caliber-is neither grand
nor glorious and most assuredly has no
dignity about it. The poet, philosopher
or whoever the mischief he was who
was guilty of the preparation of that
aphorism which says that there is a dig
nifty in labor ought to try his hand at
shoveling coal or sand for ten hours a
day or take turn with the negroes in
unloading freight on to the 1evee. I'd
like to see the panegyric he'd write
about labor after a week of it.
Do you know it struck me yesterday,
as I was watching the men at their hor-
rible, man killing work, with my hands
comfortably stuck in my pockets and
large cigar in my mouth, that the IA
nous authorities on economics who write
such big, unreadable books concerning
the relation that is supposed to exist be-
tween capital and labor ought to take
as the most vital part Of the equip
ment necessary for their work-a course
in the earning of their own living by
hard labor before they commenced to
spoil good paper by writing upon it con-
corning a subject Of which they practi-
cally and actually knew nothing
But this is off the point I must tell
you of what I saw. I was standing on
the 1evee in Algiers smoking the afore-
said large cigar and thinking how nice
~ things were going with me generally
when saw steamboat approaching
from up the river. In a jiffy she was
alongside the 1evee, her gangplank was
thrown out, and the roustabouts We're
scooting off the freight for dear life.
Scooting is the only word that describes
it. never saw anything in the toll line
to equal it. Boxes and bales and barrels
seemed to move of themselves. A man
would pick up something that ordinarily
ought to take three or four men to lift
and by some means or another hustle it
ashore.
From Algiers you can look away over
the Mississippi and see the spires and
columns of New Orleans. They seem to
rise from out a great, calm flow of wa
ter. For moment you feel that they
tell of a city that is submerged. The
land hereabout is lower than the level
of the river, and the people have to fight
its encroachings by the building of
1evees, or bikes, as they would call them
in Holland. It is a strange river, this
Mississippi. Beneath its calm is a fero-
cious restlessness. Ever is it changing
its channel; ever is it seeking a new
way to lay waste the land. The people
of New Orleans fear it, and there is a
belief among them that some day it will
sweep themselves and their city to utter
destruction.
Once I saw it roaring and seething
through crevasse it had burst in the
1evee some miles below New Orleans.
Tt had thrown off it's mask of calm and
was laundering out over southern Lou
isiana. The crevasse was three-quarters
of a mile wide, and in a few days steam
ers were able to sail overland to points
200 miles away from the rivers usual
course. The roads were thronged with
people who were flying for their lives to
the higher land, laden with what little
belongings they could easily carry. Dur
ing this time had an odd adventure. I
had come on a steamer through the
crevasse from New Orleans to place
called Bayou Sale, where was staying
on a plantation with friend of mine
! The plantation was on high ground and
SO had escaped the surrounding inunda-
ton. I believe it was either on the day
or the day after my arrival there that I
set out for a walk, with the idea in my
head of. generally noting the damage the
| river had done. It was rather late in
| the afternoon, and my friend warned
me to be sure to get back before sun
| down, as the water was rising quickl,
| all the time, and it was well to look
| out. I walked on for an hour or so, not
| thinking much of what he had said, till
suddenly noticed it getting dark. Then
turned back and hurried along the road
| as fast as I could, but whether it was
that I missed my way Or not l don It
know to this day. All that know is
that when I turned round bend of the
road I found my way barred by great
stretch Of water. Surely this was the
way came, I thought. The water must
have risen and covered it in my absence
I didn't stop long to consider, how
ever, but got back along the road, only
to find myself barred again by another
stretch Of water. Things were getting
serious. [ looked around me and could
see nothing but great black shadows of
cypress trees rejecting in calm black
water that I knew was stretching over
and swallowing up everything. A hid
eous fear seized me, and a sweat broke
out all over me. My nerve was gone ut
terly. These frightful shadows had af-
fected my imagination. Shadows in wa
ter have always produced in me strange
sort of fear. would have to die here, ]
thought. would be isolated and slowly
drowned By this time it was dark, and
7 stood thinking and shivering when
heard the bark of a dog. At once the fit
of cowardice left me, and was man
again. The bark came from away off on
my right. Going in that direction,