Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1900-03-08
in SOUTHERN CHIMES.
QUAINT U sT0Ms AND QUEER
SEN rs IN THE ITY OF
NEW ORLEANS.
LETTER FR0H EDITOR R.M. WHITE.
The Old Southern ity Taking on a
New and Vigorous Life Some
thing About YszOO and
Eatohsz, Mississippi
AN Interesting
Letter.
LETTER FR0H EDITOR R.M. WHITE

NEW ORLEANB, Feb. 16.--NoW Or
leans is one of the places where .
northern mans pfsconceived IDEAS Of
things are Of no nse to him. Women
do their Christmas shopping in sun
bonnets; carpenters are employed to
build cisterns and to build them up IN
the air, and the dead are buried from
one to twenty feet above the ground;
roses bloom in January; drivers Of
heavy trucks pull up short to allow
pedestrians to pass, and the wise man
puts on his overcoat when he gets
into the house.
Traffic on the public highways IN
the neighborhood Of the Court House
lie suspended while the honorable
Court is In session, q court attendant
putting up a heavy chain barrier
ACROSS St. Ann's street, st. Peters
street and Charteres street when
Court opens in the morning.
In the old portion Of New Orleans,
the French quarter, the rich and the
poor live closer together than In any
other American city could name.
Many old mansions, fine examples Of
classical and colonial architecture, are
going to decay, the one feature re-
naming In its original beauty being
the grill-work railings and brackets
that adorn the balconies and porches.
These old homes are OF present occu-
pied for the most part BY tho very
poor; yet opening from the most un-
promising streets an occasional arched
passsRe<as leads into court set out
in fine formal old fashion.
The court, which ! noticed partic-
ularly, is fair type Of many Of them,
but there are more elaborate ones
with palms, banana trees, roses, chrys-
anthemums and many Towering
shrubs and walks OF fine shade. Here
ia q house, almost surrounding the
court, dwell some old families Of Gre
oles, who cling to the quaint neigh
borhood even in its decadence. On
some Of the buildings are emblematic
figures In stucco work and in wood
carving pelican (the embIsm Of
the Btate) appearing on many Of
the old buildings, notable the State
Arsenal near jackson street.
New Orleans is iust now in the
throes OF great change from the old
ways. The streets are torn up all
over the city for electrical subways
aud sewers and Q new water supply.
The old pavements, formed OF stone
blocks about the size Of travelling
bag, are to give way to asphalt. When
these improvements are accomplished
the town will be as delightful to live
In Rs IL has always been to visit, pro-
vided that the old French quarter is
never modeFnized out Of existence.
There are some features OF the
French market that 1t is to be hoped
may always be In evidence. The great
round basket, for instance, which the
market men carry about ON their
heads, and the wonderful sun bonnets
the women wear. The northern sun
bonnet is q tame affair beside the
gorgeous creations that bloom on
southern streets.
Tive of the most prosperous little
cities of the south are Yazoo City,
Miss., and Natchez, Misc.
YAzoo CITY, MISS.
The stations of Bentonia, Anding
and Valley are small country places,
only waiting for more people to come
and enjoy their surroundings and
work their productive iands; bus the
City Of Yazoo Is indeed city. IL 10
true, her population has not quite
reached the 5000 mark, but II the
amount of business be considered,
and the enterprise and character Of
her people taken into account, II is In
every way equal to many cities Of
fully double its population. Think
OF it, not lees than 1000 car loads Of
cotton are annually shipped from
Yazoo City, and at least half a. many
more Of lumber and shingles. The
commercial and cotton business OF
this city reaches the enormous sum
Of SIS, 900 600 annually.
NATCHEz, MISS.
Natches, the county seat Of Adams
county, q city of 12,OOO inhabitants, is
certainly one OF the most snterpris-