Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-04-29
SCENES AT NEW ORLEANS THE LITTLE PARIS OF AMERICA

/ through halls and chambers. until We
descend into the lower ro;uuda. once
/ the exchange and the scene of what
today would make us shudder and
blush-the auctionirg OF of human
/ beings. The little roStra OF the auc,
! tioneer is bull; between two uf the
/ pillars. it is still intact. reminding
us that it is not SO many years since
| it was in use. Directly behind il in
the wall a grated door indicates the
place where the human merchandise
was kept. Just opposite il the bar
where the prospective purchasers and
! sellers were wont TO talk over the
good qualities and the prices of the
| slaves. over glass; of something
stronger than the Tainwater collected
| in the big tanks Cf the hotel And
perhaps here aS in the Ahsinthc house
would arise scme of those disputes
and uuarrelS thar nothing could settle
or atone for but a duel under the
Oaks" now the pride of the city park.
Under the oaks.
You must see them. these live oaks.
draped profuSely with long. SwayjnS
clusters of the grey Spanish moss their
gnarlei branches spreading Jar out
/ over thc ground over which the big
roots have crept To the very outer cir
Gle of the branches. The sOlemnity oi
this grove of trees-so sombre in col
or. so fantastic in form. so mournfuily
sober with its Crapings of mOss-can
only be broken when a merry throng
of pleasure seekers fills the park on
Sundays and uh holidays.
In the Old Cemetery.
Not far from there is what was once
the race track famous for the Lecom
pte-LeNmgton matches. Now it is the,
Metaire cemetery, little Pere La
chaise in the magnificence of lis mon
uments. which like those of its proto
type form the burial vaults. The fact
that in New Orleans no graves are
made in the ground. is usually attrib
uted to the fact that il is seepy. How
ever. | was told by an old sexton in
St. Louis cemetery in the French quar-.
ters that some years ago when Basin
street was widened. remains of the
earliest settlers were taken from the
ground. But it is not plausible thar
when prosperity and wealth came TO-
the colony her people returned To the
burial customs of their native country
The old cemeteries form one of the
most interesting features of the VleuN
care. To see them seems like put
ting YOUR hands on tangible part al
the past. and the names, that before
were but history to us. acquire a sort
of personality in these crowded cities
of the colonial dead. No other burials
are made here now save those OF De
scendants of the old families that own
burial vaults Not long ago that OF
the de Bare (of cane sugar fame) lam
iIv was opened to admits its last but
not least member, Charles G&yarre.
the famous historian of Louisiana.
Back to Modern Life.
But while old cemeteries seldom IAN
to fascinate us by their associations,
we invariably feel, upon leaving them,
that il is life which ever holds our in
terests and TO which our thoughts and
wishes go forth And so. for closing
chapter. let us direct our way toward !
the far-off modern manufacturing dis
trict. once the Fanbourg Marigny. :
where the sugar refineries cotton mills, !
warehouses and cotton presses are !
found.
a cotton press: In a wide, open
square enclosed by rows of sheds built |
of galvanized iron. the irOn-bound cot |
ton bales are stacked in immense /
quantities In the open court. rows !
upon rows of these bales are awaiting /
compression" On trucks drawn each |
by four fine mules of southern breed. |
they are drawn up to- the large open |
shed in which the ponderous press is |
managed by the little lever in the |
hands of a single man. After clipping /
the iron bands of the bale which forth /
with begins to expand as If heaving a /
sigh of relief. sturdy men, sometimes !
white. more frequently black. toss it |
into the jaws Of the press In unerring /
obedience To the pressure of the lever. |
the colossal weight descends and com |
presses the bale to about one-third its |
size While under the weight. seven |
men, TO the chant Of a melody that /
ends with the clasping Of The last |
buckle. fasten seven iron bands around |
the compressed cotton bale, and then |
il is tossed out and taken away. On /
and on. ba,e after bale. chant after /
chant as the day wears away. yet mex
haustible seems the supply Of the !
precious fibre from the gold mine Of I
the south. the cotton fields.
Honor 10 those who opened the south /
TO civilization-the French and IN"
Spaniards-their intrepidty and perse- /
verance made them Americans long !
before they were aware Of n, and /
through them New Orleans became the /
beautiful baroque pearl in the diadem /
of cities Of our country-Odd. strangely /
beautiful. but firmly set in the soil Of
the United States
AGNES s HAASE