Iron County register., 1899-06-01
UNDER NEW ORLEANS.
Eestiges of History and Secret Pas
kaSes just Brought to Light by
Recent Excavations.

| or the city has resulted in many dis
coveries that have surprised and puz-
zled the oldest inhabitant. There has
been very little excavation done here
for 60 years. The old creoles believed
that the soil was poisonous. and would
not disturb it under any condition
even to the extent of digging founda-
tons for their houses. They built
their houses on top of the ground, not
on foundations sunk in it, and this fact
explains why their dwellings were
often only one story high and rarely
more than two. The digging of the
new canal by Simon Cameron, who
came down from Pennsylvania for the
| work, is said to have cost thousands of
lives, and to have been responsible for
all of the worst yellow fever epidemics
in New Orleans. These views at least
were solemnly enunciated by the COM
mission of physicians and experts ap-
pointed to investigate the epidemic of
1883. From that time the Louisiana
board of health has refused to allow
any excavations during the summer
without special permits, even in cases of
! buildings erected, and these permits
! are given most grudgingly.
In the last few years the old belief
has been largely abandoned, and there
has been such digging as New Orleans
never knew before. The dredge and the
| shovel have brought up many arch
| geological relics, confirmed many ira
ditions and shed light on many uncer-
| tain points of early history. The first
! thing the dredge did was to bring to
| light the old coast line of the Gulf of
Mexico, which ran along what is now
Broad street. Back of this the dredge
| struck forest of cypress. The excava-
tions showed further that the level of
| the city was considerably higher than
in the earlier days and that, too, in
spite of the evidence that the land is
sinking. This elvation is partly the ac-
cretion that goes on with time, but
mainly filling, to protect the streets
from overflow. And this gives strik-
ing illustration of the higher level of
the Mississippi. In 1717, the river did
not flood New Orleans, even without a
ievee, the site being selected by Bien-
vile for. the capital because it was
above inundation and one of the few
safe points on the Mississippi To-day,
although the city level is ten OF fifteen
feet higher, it is ten feet below the
flood level of the Mississippi, and is
protected from inundation only by it's
levees.
is the dredges moved along ST. Louis
street and struck Rampant they ran
across the old city walls of French New
Orleans and found them in perfect
- oJ+ So1
deep in the ground. 1t was known, of
course, that the city had a wall, and
the very name of the street. Rampant
(Rue des Re&nparts), recalled that fact,
but it was generally supposed that they
were mainly mud walls or fortifica-
tons The excavations proved them to
be stockades, 90 feet high, built of sub
stantial cypress logs and blocks.
The next discovery was that made on
Claiborne street, where an ancient GEM
etery was unearthed. Next the dredges
struck some ancient waterworks, the
very tradition of which had been lost
Some of the old records speak of a
man named Latrobe who obtained the
privilege of establishing waterworks,
but, beyond the official records, there
was not the slightest evidence on the
subject. The whole Latrobe water
works system was brought to light. 1t
was of the most primitive kind. The
water mains consisted of cypress logs,
with the bark still on, pierced through
the center with a 4H-inch bore. The
water was obtained from the Missis-
sippi, pumped into large tank by a
hand pump, undoubtedly operated by
negro slave labor.
The only treasure trove was a pot of
copper coins, debased currency coined
especially for the payment of the
French colonial troops in Louisiana.
The diverse of the coins shows crown
and two crossed LIS, and the words
'>Benedictum Sit Nomen Domini. = while
on the reverse is Colonies Franchises,
1922. H." History relates that Fouquet
sent to Louisiana in the French ship
Adventurer in May, 1922, large lot of
these coins for the use of the inhabit-
ants. They were never popular, and
the coins dug up indicate by their ap-
pearance that they were never in circu-
lation
Similarly in dismantling the ST. Louis
hotel, the old state house, quite num-
ber of discoveries have been made. Sew
eral secret passageways were brought
to light. They had been walled up and
papered over, but when or for what
purpose constructed, and why closed,
tradition does not give the slightest
suggestion. Still more interesting was
the discovery of black archway under
the hotel, the entrance to which was
choked with rubbish. When the rub
bish was cleared away n straight gal
lery was disclosed. extending between
walls of enormous thickness, to pair
of ponderous doors. These led into a
low-ceiled room or cavern, perfectly
dark and 80 feet square. The room
shows evidence of having been divided
by partitions into 12 or Is little cells,
in which were confined. tradition says,
the slaves brought here for speculation
when the ST. Louis auction mart was
the main slave market in New Orleans.
Adjoining the walls and Just outside
the ponderous doors is curious little
vault, said to have been originally an
underground passage leading to the old
Improvement bank in Toulouse street.
Here, according to legend. was the dun
geon for refractory slaves, as forbid
ding a place as the dungeon of the
Lafieurie mansion where the slaves
were confined, to which their waiIing
gave the name of the haunted house
n. Y. Sun.
The Black Races.
Tt is estimated by experts that the
black races embrace about one-tenth of
the living members of the human spe-