The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-05-03
PRESIDENT RECEIVED IN HIS
TORIC OLD CABILDO.
IA DAY At new ORLEANS
Crescent City Reception to Ma.
tion's Executive Embraces
Many Novel Features.

New Orleans, May 2.-The day
spent in New Orleans will live long in
/ the memory of the president and
members of his party. In no other
city in the United States is the old
and romantic preserved and placed
in such sharp contrast with the mod
ern as in the Crescent City, and to-
day as the presidential party drove
through the flower -embowered city
from the new into the old French and
| Spanish quarters it was like passing
mysteriously from America into a
foreign lapd, from this century into
another that has gone. The illusion
of transition was heightened by the
interesting ceremonies which oc-
Cured in the old Cabildo the seat Of
government of the former Spanish
and French rulers, which is preserved
in it's original integrity.
The weather could not have been
better. A strong sun blazed from a
cloudless sky, but the heat was tenn
pered by light breeze from the river.
The foliage was. all tender green and
along the avenues through which the
party drove, the f1utter and clatter of
cavalry flags and pretty women in
gay raimant formed a mist of color.
Roses were everywhere climbing up
plllared porticos and creeping over
trellises and mingling their perfumes
with that of the magnolia. while pub
lie squares thrilled with songs of semi
tropical birds. The entire population
/ apparently was out to see the chief
magistrate.
4 After short visit to the Southern
university, where thousand colored
students greeted the president with
waving bits of cOlored bunting so ar
ranged as to make the whole an Amer
Jean flag, and where the president
made a brief speech, the party passed
Canal and Rampant streets, the boun-
daries OF the new city, into the old
/ town, with it's narrow streets, its
/ quaint galleried residences, it's cathe-
drals, old Spanish buildings and
French market, all with flavor of an
! other generation and all now unfortu-
nately going into picturesque decay.
| There was a striking picture when
| the party drew up before the moulder-
ing Cabildo, over $50 years old, which
| is situated opposite what is now
| called Jackson square, but which, in
| the old days, was the Place d'Armes,
| where spanish generals formerly
Icircling streets balconies we're
thronged and down in the square
were acres of people. Many races
were represented, but the foreigners
were mostly French and Italians.
Those on the outer edges of the crowd
stood with their faces pressing against
the high iron ratings which enclose
the park. Many people were perched
in trees. The French tri-color and
several other strange flags, among
them the red, white and green banner
OF Portugal, were interspersed with
American flags in the decorations.
1 Drawn up in line before the historic
old building were young cadets from
the Jesuit college and up the winding
| stairway at the entrance of the build
ing were ranged files of the Continen-
tai guards, local organization in
| buff and blue of the revolutionary era
wearing cockades and white crossed
belts with the figures 76" on their
shining brass belt plates.
AS the president alighted squad
of cadets blew a fanfare on their
| French trumpets, the Louisiana field
artillery fired a salute of 21 guns and
the bells of the cathedral and all
churches in the quarter pealed out
their welcoming greeting. 1t was an
inspiring moment. UP the stairway,
! CT tho Nnnfinanfo1 md tho
dent and his party mounted into the
crimson-draped audience chamber,
where the exercises took place. AS in
dream the visitors were carried back
to the days of long ago when COVER
| nors of Spanish kings ruled here, and
to that memorable day, almost a cen
| tury ago, when the keys Of the city
| of New Orleans were delivered up in
this very room to Wilkinson and Clai-
| borne, American commissioners, and
French dominion over the great Louisi-
ana territory passed to the sovereignty
of the United States. Alcee Fortier,
| distinguished Creole, who is presi-
dent of the Louisiana Historical sOci-
ETY., recalled these great events in his
address, and in his reply the presi-
dent dwelt upon their momentous
bearing on the worlds history.
The party then returned to the hotel
for luncheon and in the afternoon en-
barked on a Mississippi river steamer
for trip along the river front from
| Audubon park to the historic battle
field of Chalmette, where a monu-
ment, erected in memory of the defeat
Of Packingham- by General Jackson,
commands q view Of the river. At s
o'clock tonight the presidential train
resumed its long journey to the Pa
cific. Houston, Tex, will be reached
tomorrow morning.