Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-12
OLD CANNON FOUND.
Grim Evidence That New Orleans
Was Once Fortihed.

From the New Orleans Times Democrat.
Grim evidence of the fact that New
Orleans was once a fortified town, along
whose ramparts sentinels marched to ana
fro ever on the alert for the foe, was
unearthed at Hospital and North Ram
part streets the other day. when an old
iron cannon rusty with age. was pulled
out of "A ditch that was being dug by a
gang of men employed in laying the new
vaterworks system A depth of about
four feet had been reached when two
negroes who were using pickaXes, struck
an obstruction in the earth. Other ne
groes came to their assistance. and the
cannon was finally tugged out of its
resting place in the wet earth. where 1t
had securely reposed for an indefinite
period.
The discovery was made at II O clock
in the morning. and the news spreading
in the neghborhood attracted large
crowd, which was present when the an
cent military weapon was uneaTthed and
thrown into the street
/. When the mud with which the relic
of old days was covered was Scraped off
as best it could be. the almost perfect
outline of an old-fashioned one-pounder
cannon, five feet in length. was re-
vealed. When the sun had dried out the
found that in places rust had eaten away
entire layers of the metal.
Diligent search was made for plate
bearing an inscription, or for the coat
of-arms which cannon of ancient make
bore. but. nothing of the sort could be
found. The touch-hole of the cannon
was finally found. being filled with caked-
in dirt A long steel rod was showed
up the cannOn's bore. which is about
three inches in diameter. and was filled
md II al RI
with the touch-hole,, and from this fact
it was ascertaned that the cannon mad
been discharged before being dismantled
At the butt end of the big gun there
is a distinct nick in the metal, such as
might have been sustained in battle. This
and the fact that the cannon was UNI
loaded led to the assumption that it had
been dsmantled in battle and thrown
over the ramparts as worthless. The fact
that it was found on the wood side of
North Rampant street. within about ten
feet of the banquette. bears out this
theory. That it was found four feet I'M
derground may be accounted for by the
additional fact that there was in olden
times a ditch just outside the ramparts,
which was level6d when New Orleans.
after many years, Outgrew the limits of
the yieux carre. or the old square, which
was the original plan of the city
While in the absence of an inscription
plate no exact date as to the manufac-
ture of this cannon can be given. the
style of workmanship and the pattern
point to the kind used by the French
army in the early colonial days of Lou
isana. New Orleans was founded and
built by the French. who fortified it both
on the river and in the rear. Rampant
street deriving its name from the fact
that this thoroughfare once marked the
city ramparts Beyond the ramparts. in
colonial days. there was nothing but a
swamp, the only clearing in which was
the old ST. Louis cemetery. the burial
place of all the early French settlers.
The negroes who found the gun stated
that they were told they could have the
cannon if they pulled it out OF the ground.
When they had gotten it out, however,
one of the white foremen of the construc-
ton work told them he would give them
just fifteen minutes to leave it alone, and
they left it alone.
1t was reported that the white fore.
man had sold the relic for 81. The ne
groes threatened to steal the cannon dur
ing the night. but it was surmised that
they would have hard time .Oing it. as
1t took three men just to turn it over.