Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1896-02-21
TT vIcKsBURG..
I'm Interesting Southern Cir!
.-Lasl Reoting Place OF ~
Boys In Blue.

We arrived at Vlcksburg on Fell.
4; Il beautiful sunny morning. I'LL
/ appeared more 40 as the weather
preceding beggars description. TIE
city Is situated upon a range ~ hills
Or bluffs that for the first time since
leaving Memphis make their appear
ance on or near the river, the cOun:
try generally being low and Hat.
! About the latter.part Of the seven
tenth century military post was
est.i blished here. known az Fort
Yasnus. The garrison with It'll
handful Of men persisted IN the in-
surrection of the Natclcz indians
and their allies. Later ON The Span
iards QUILT fort just north OF the
present city limits. In 1926 the pres.
ent city was laid ont and chartered
as Vicksburg. Before the war Ahe
was the social centre tor the planting
aristOcracvv. and may he vet termed
as one of the wealthipst cities Of her
size in the Sonth. Her natural for
titicatiOns and her command III the
river gave her the sObriquet Of
"Gibraltar" of the Mississippi. III
that memorable siege Grant and
Sherman found that che was rightly
chriatened. The war closing. her
energetic citizens made her one Of the
foremost cities in advancement,
Thrifty, and a natural business cent
ter above high water mark, she
flourished until the yellow fever
epidemic of 1873 struck her. Then
the North, with love and charity,
forgot the punished children Of con-
,, fetleracy. and with Il bOunteOus
hand gave from scanty and we'll
filed purses to relieve the wants Of
it's suffering people, Although the
quarantine syst EN- may he efficient.
there will always be more or less
danger Of this dread disease until the
lower Mississippi valley finds some
perfect system Of drainage. .,.*%
The city has about 20 600 people,
her churches. hotels, public buildings
and residences partially disputing
the theory had formed that there
was a lack of admiration for the
beautiful in architecture in the
South. Their buildings and grounds
are all pretty well up to the times.
Their streets fairly well paved, with.
sit1cw a lks. mostly brick. II her DOp-!
ulation is healthier than chat Of
other southern cities it il due to her
elevated position and more perfect
drainage. The Yazoo river comes
into the Mississippi Just above Vicks-s
burg and runs through bottom
land which ia from 30 to IS miles
wide and 100 miles long, called the
YazOo delta. This tract has been
formed by the overflow Of the Missis-
sippi and YazOo rivers, ana their
tributaries. Its soil is very rich and
fertile. The timber of this section
are several kinds of oak. three kinds
of cypress, cotton wood, white and
black ash, pecan and walnut.
In Vicksburg there are few evil
dences Of that desperate siege, nearly
all having been wiped away by
advancing improvements. But one
or two of the bomb proof excava-
tons made by the citizens as Il
refuge from the rain Of shot and
shell are still seen. The old lines.
however, occupied by the federals on
the north, east and south are very
distinct. On the Jackson road
north, where the federal and con-
Tolerate intrenchments are nearest
to each other. where Grant met
Pemberton. ia located the national
cemetery. where are buried 1858 of
the boys in blue, who lost their lives
in and about Vicksburg. They lie
side by side and in groups. each
with a head and foot stone bearing
number, and, ii the poor fellow
was identified, his name. This GEN.
etary lis upon high ground over
looking Lake Centennial on the
northwest. The walks and drives
around and through this city Of the
dead remind one much of a drive
through some Of the beautiful parks
Of the North. A fine graveled drive
twenty feet wide extends from the
entrance to tie southeast corner,
along the south side overlooking the
ravine; thence turns north, and it,
with a similar drive winding over
the plateau to the southwest, form
Il main drive; circumscribing a. large
mound. upon which stands the
Grant PembertOn monument. Shame
be to those petty thieves and VAN
dals who desecrate the graves OF the
dead in order to make their collec-
ton of souvenirs complete. The
corners of this once beautiful monu-
ment have been Clipped so that one
can hardly trace it's original shape
and style. The walks and drives Of
this cemetery are overhung with
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