Year: 1866

to the English Turn, where the road towards the
Bayou Terre aux Bmuf settlement leaves the
river, is about ten English miles; so that we may
compute the whole distance from the city towards
that bend, by the river road, from Is to l6 miles,
We have walked that way, from the city and back
again, more than once however, in the summer
season, it would not be desirable, in the hot sun,
to perform that task on foot Besides, there Is no
longer any necessity for such bodily exercise,
since the Mexican Gulf Railway offers all the
facility for reaching, at little expense, that or any
other locality, from the lower or Third District to
the very shores of Lake Borgne. How much
further down the English Turn, upon the river
Mississippi, may have been located the tlrst 1ort,
built by Bienvle in 1850, when exploring the
banks of the river for an eligible site IN order 10
found permanent settlement, we have not been
able to ascertain; historical records being some
what confused in that respect


| It is smentioned that ifty-four miles from the


mouth of the Mississippi, Bienvle had the fort laid


down, which was afterward abandoned, We sup
nose when in l72O, the foundations for the city


Of New Orleans were prepared, for which purpose


fftv laborers had been assigned the task in clear


ine the banks of the river of the trees and cane


brakes then occupying the immediate margin of the
stream. Again, at some other place in the written
historical record we find that Iberville the elder
brother of Bienville, and who had taken the river
route, ascending from its mouth, first at the dis
| tance of some thirty miles designated place for
| the erection of fort (hat was about the present
site of Fort St. Phillip, or Plaquemines) and that
proceeding still higher, again at the distance of
thirty miles, he ordered the fort to be located
which Bienvile afterwards erected, as already
stated. Now, the reader will perceive there are
some discrepancies in this enumeration, the first
going ifty-four miles from the Balize, and the
other making it sxty-three or thirty and thirty
three added together, However this may be, no
yestige of this fort having remained unless plans
be reserved in some of the ancient archives of our
Louisiana surveyors, we must content ourselves in
knowing that this first settlement of the dscoverers
of the Mississippi was situated below the English
Turn some seven or ten miles, more or less To-
wards this distance, or rather, we should say to
about forty miles below the city proper of New
Orleans, extended, in 1916, when we ascended the
river in the summer of that year. the rice and
sugar plantations in full yield, or rapport. The
rice plantations were of course those nearest the
lower settlements, whilst the important sugar es-
tates grew thicker the nearer one would approach
the capital of the State.


l-Our progress in the river from the mouth or the
Pass at the Balize was indeed very slow for there
were then no tow boats, and when the wind was
unfayorable. on account of the bends of the river
the ships crew had to set foot on land and by
dint of warning the vessel, and hauling or towing
her by ropes or lines made fast to the upper parts
of the mast, the points had to be doubled or
turned and this way of going ahead was often very
tedious one. Let our readers figure to themselves
the banks of the river little cleared of trees and
entangled thckets, the levees-or what might be
of them, invariably at some distance from the i'm.
mediate margin of the stream; then, when the
warp, or the anchor was carried out by the boat
or iolly, some dirtance ahead and made fast tc
some sturdy tree or old trunk, the crew had to
return on board the vessel, and begin the monoto
nous work of heaving away at the windlass
Again, when the command was given to 90 ashore
and take hold of the line for the crew to haul OF
tow the ship along against the current this part Of
| the work was often attended with considerable
hurt and risk, the shores of the river being com
posed of soft slippery loamy soil where the foot


hold was none of the surest and then the way had
to be made through the above mentioned tree:
and thickets that reached to the very edge of the
water Through all these difficulties the men O


the ships crew had to pass, and often when hold


ng on with our hand to the overhanging trees


pass the rope, or line, to the men in advance Of
the gang.


| These maneuvers were of the most fatguing
Sort and the springng up Of light breeze that
would enable the ship to make use of her sails,
would be hailed with delight by the whole of the
men and boys thus harrassed by ncessant toiling
More than once some sailor or boy of the ea-faring
crew would slip from the margin and drop into the
muddy eddy of the stream, when Immediately the
shout would go up, to frighten the poor devils


look out for the alligator he is at your trowsers" "
Now, this might be called fun, but the poor cabin
boys that never had been away from the northern
seas, around the Cattegat or Helgoland bays,
where there are no such Southern monsters as the
Mississippi alligator or crocodile, would frghten
them in their sea-bathing or sea-swimmng, did in.
deed dread this advertisement as the very sound
ing of the shipwreck guns the distress signal of a
laundering, reck encircled sail. How much easier
now for the sea vessels coming up our river by the
help of steam being taken in tow at some distance
even in the gulf and set down at the very wharves
of this city, 1t took us then fully eight days from
the Balize to the levee of New Orleans ,sfor we
arrived at the foot of st. Peter street, opposite
what was then called the Hotel Tremouet form
ing the corner of Old Levee and st. Peter streets


at about IL o'clock the 10th Or llth of July. =


Whilst upon this passage, ascending the river