The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1900-05-03


then at night the buildings are bril-
liantly decorated with hundreds of in.
candescent lights and one thinks that
the city is a dream of loveliness, es.
pecially after looking at one of the
night professions. Should one remain
in the city for any length of time be
will still consider it beautiful quaint
old city, for it is built on an entirely
different plan from northern cities.
Instead OF the rows and rows of brick
houses, where it is wonder one does
not lose his own residence, there are
streets Of separate little houses-neat
and pretty with little yard around
each. The residence street of the
city is St. Charles Avenue where there
is one succession of beautiful homes.
New Orleans is really two cities
American and French. The dividing
line is Canal street, the business street
OF the city. Upon crossing that street
from the American city one finds a
new country-even the names of the
streets change and they become very
narrow. Ones visit is not complete
unless he spend day or two explor-
ing the quaint little houses, painted in
some delicate color, with shutters to
both doors and windows, the curious
people and historical buildings. Some
of the interesting spots are French
Market, where one may see all nat
ionalitles and get a cup OF delicious
Creole coffee; st. Louis Cathedral,
the Oldest church of any size, the mat
erials of which were brought from
England and the place to which An
drew Jackson's army repaired before
the battle of January eighth, 1915; St.
Roch's Chapel, where one goes to re-
quest special favor-this is the girls
favorite resort and they say if the wish
is for husband it is granted; Ursu-
line Convent very old school found
ed by the first nuns who came to
Louisiana; and so it goes on with
duellrng grounds, prisons etc F; but the
crooked streets, which have no twinges
of conscience at turning several corn
ers, the dark little Creole children,
the two wheeled mule carts and the
dirt, which is everywhere, leave a
deeper impression on one than the
historic spots.
New Orleans was formerly a swamp
and even now the children have real
wells in their play by digging down a
foot or two. For this reason 1t is
very difficult to build massive build
ing, for they sometimes sink as much
as half or whole story. For the
same reason, there is no underground
burying, except by the Jews, but the
cemeteries are filled with beautiful
vaults, those who cannot afford vaults
are buried in "ovens," which are really
openings in stone wall.
To find pretty girls, courtesy, hos
pitallty, delicious cooking, French
customs and charity towards all, New
Orleans is the city to visit, though a
northern person will find that there is
still great deal of feeling on that
subject which almost broke our union.
In one of Irwin Russell's poems the
negro expresses this feeling admirably.
"Dem folks in de Norf is de beatinest lot
Wild all de brass buttons and ixins dey got
You needn't tole me! dey all dresses in
blae:
| seed 'em de time at Grants army come
froo.
Dey Ibis up the country whar ellyphunts
grows,
Somewhar bout de head oh de ribber, l
s'pose;
Whar snow keeps a drappin, spring, winter,
an fall,
And summer time don't nebber git dar at all.
Dey puts up supplies for us ChrlStuns to eat,
De whskey, de houah, de meal, and de
meat;
Dey's dretfle big feeling and makes great
fuss,
But dey cain't get along widout wukin' for us.
| wouldn't be dem, not fur all you c'u'd glib:
Dey nebber taste 'posSum as long as dey lib!
Dey w'u'dt know gumbo, ef put in dey
mouf-
Why don't dey sell out an come to de Sout :
But lawsy! dey's ign'ant as gn'anl can be
An amt got de presence OBJ min fur to see
Dat OF Marslssippi's jes ober de fence.
Dat runs aroun' hebben's sarcumferymence!
.