Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1921-11-10

I'm just a little prairie flower,
"Gr0wing wilder every hour;
Nobody cares TO cultivate me,
I'm as wild as ] can be-" etc.
We rolled into N'Awl'ns--and don't
you dare pronounce II New O.r-r-leens
down there. Stumbling over the
reyered cobblestones imported from
Belgium $50 years agO-and wish
ing less reverently that they were
still In Belgium-we eventually found
motor. driven jinrickasha OF decid-
eddy early vintage-"yellow cabs
are lust making their advent In
N'Awl'ns-and were snaked on to our
hotel.
We found upon our arrival that
antiques were not the exception IN
N'Awl'ns, but the rule. Verify, the
city IL the antique Of antiques. Al
most everything that Is not found In
any other American city can be
found In N'Awl'ns, and the inhabi-
tants OF this most unique city are In
deed prouder Of the status Of their
city as the "curio shop" Of the Unit
ed States than they are Of almost any
other virtue II boasts. They Will tell
YOU that Il Is the second largest port
In the United States-"but have you
visited the French Quarter" They
will call your attention to Its 200
miles of municipal docks, capable OF
taking care Of all types Of ocean 60
ing traffic, the most wonderful OF
their kind In the wOrld-"but have
you seen the Patio ROyale?" They
will show you their new two million
dollar 2O-stOry Hibernia bank build
ing, the tallest building In the city,
for which 1t required five years mere
ly to prepare the foundatiOn-"but
have you visited the Old Absinthe
HOuse?" They will explain how by an
almost unbelievable feat Of engineer
ing skill they have pushed the ocean
away from the town, forever prevent
ed flooding II the town by the river
and lowered the water level under the
city almost fifteen feet-"but have
you had one Of those wonderful
meals at Antoine's" Truly. believe
that If the people of N'Awl'ns had to
suffer the loss of portion Of their
city they would far rather lose their
modern virtues than to see the things
which are forever reminding them OF
their ancient glOries and wickedness
removed. 1t Is, to say the least, a
most unique sight to see the architec-
ture Of more than 200 years ago rub
bling elbows with the very latest in
twentieth century construction. 1t is
almost like dropping into an ancient
French city to walk across Canal
street and down the ROyale, along
Bienville and Cont, around on Char
tres to old Jackson square and ever to
the old French Market. That Is un-
til you hear the lingo, and then you
realize as Harve Parsons, who Is In
the city for his health says, that the
French quarter has become the Ital-
ian two-bit piece"
New Orleans-beg pardon. NAwl'ns
is peculiar i'm another respect. Most
of its streets are tone way" streets.
They are so narrow that traffic can
only run one way, so all you have to
do is look at the arrows at each in
and watch for cars, trucks
and drays travelling in that one direc-
ton. Much Of the retail business is
also conducted on the lone way" basis
their way. Grocery stores
and meat markets, such as we are ac-
custOmed to in this country, are prac-
ticaIly unknown. A number of mar
kets scattered over the town, some of
Of the tOwn-and a Whit of them in
the early morning would convince you
that they had not been thoroughly
since they were first opened
supply the people with fresh vege-
tables, fruit, meat and sea-fOOd.
These markets close at noon and If
you haven't done your marketing by
this time, especially for meats, vege-
tables and food, you are out of
luck for that day. Everybody, rich
and poor, goes early with market bas-
kets and carries his provender home.
There are no deliveries. However, If
you do not get enough to eat during
the day, you can drop into any one
of several hundred little "holes in the
walr' at any hour of the night and
have your oysters, raw, fried, stewed,
or any way you may like them.
The most popular way Is to stand up
to the counter and scoop dozen raw
ones off the shells, just as they are
shOveled In from back room, using
some highly seasoned French sauce
as a means Of getting your stomach
so highly infiamed that 1t will COM
NIT any act Of violence.
Then II you are not ready for your
dOwny couch and tussle with a
swarm Of mosquitoes of the "alliga-
tor" variety. you may saunter down
to the midnight" court, where jus.
tice is meted out in a most efficient
manner. 1t is one of the twentieth
century institutions Of the city. This
is the court in which all the negroes,
who have transgressed the city ordi-
nances, are tried. The idea of trying
them at midnight is SO that they may
not lose any time from their work.
They are herded it, run through the
mill of Justice" and hurried off to
bed so that they will be ready for
work the next morning. Idleness