The Town of Natchez.—Excursion to Palmyra Plantations.—The Cotton Planters of the State of Mississippi.—Sketch of the State of Mississippi.—Return to Natchez.
Rain, and a subsequent frost, had a week before our arrival dispelled that scourge of the south—the yellow fever. The inhabitants had returned from the places of safety, to which they had fled in every direction, and intercourse was again re-established, the town having resumed all the activity I had found in it three years before. The road to the town, properly so called, leads through a suburb, known by the name of Low Natchez, consisting of some warehouses and shops of every description. This place deserves, in every respect, the epithet of Low Natchez,being a true Gomorrha, and containing an assemblage of the lowest characters. Although fifteen years ago, a great part of the bluff buried in its fall, several of these wretches, and every rainy season exposes the survivors to the same fate, yet they seem unconscious of their danger. The road ascends to the town on both sides of these liquor shops, built as it were on the brink of a precipice. Natchez is situated on a hill, 250 feet above the level of the water. The prospect from this hill, or bluff, as it is called, is beautiful. At your feet you behold this nest of sinners, close to it four or five steam-boats, and thirty or forty keel and flat-boats anchoring in the port, with the bustle and noise attendant on these wandering arks. On the opposite bank of the Mississippi, which is here one mile and a quarter wide, you see the county town of Concordia, and on both sides of this little town, numerous plantations, with the stately mansion of the wealthy cotton planter, and the numerous cabins of his black dependents; and in the background, the whole scenery is girded by an immense ring of cypress forests, which seem, as it were, to bury themselves in the flats below the Mississippi. To the rightand left a charming elevated plain extends, with numerous gardens, which, though it was then the end of November, still preserved their verdure, faded, indeed, into an autumnal hue. In the rear is the town of Natchez, of moderate dimensions; but elegant and regular as far as the broken ground would admit. The dwelling-houses, several of them with colonnades, exhibit throughout a high degree of wealth. The court-house, an academy, the United States’ branch bank, and the bank of Natchez, three churches, three newspaper printing offices, one of which publishes a literary journal (the Ariel), a library and reading-room, are the public institutions, and they are very liberally patronised. Neither during my former journey, nor in the present visit, could I discover any foundation for the charge of narrowness of mind, which is made against the inhabitants. Their number amounts to 3,540, and their houses to 600. They are mostly planters, merchants, lawyers, and physicians, of Anglo-American extraction, with the exception of ten or twelve German families.
Natchez is considered as a port, and on thisground the representative of the state obtained the most useless grant of money ever made—1500 dollars—for the purpose of erecting a light-house, at a place 410 miles distant from the sea. This town had been considered a healthier spot than New Orleans, until the two last years, when it was repeatedly visited by the yellow-fever, from which New Orleans remained free. It is yet doubtful whether this evil is to be ascribed to the dissolute life prevailing in lower Natchez, or to the oppressive heat which prevails on these high plains. The distance, however, from the cooling current of the Mississippi, short as it is, and the unwholesome rain-water, which is used for drinking, must contribute to create bilious fevers. The great pecuniary resources which the inhabitants of Natchez have at command, would make it an easy matter for them to obtain their water for drinking from the Mississippi, in the same manner as the inhabitants of Philadelphia have raised the waters of Schuylkill. The country about Natchez is an extensive and elevated plain, 200 feet above the level of the Mississippi, stretching 130 miles from north to south, and about forty miles to the eastward. Although afertile tract of land, it is far inferior to the Mississippi bottom-lands. The upland cotton grown upon it, is inferior in quantity and quality to that of Mississippi growth. The soil, however, produces corn, vegetables, plumbs, peaches, and figs in abundance. I stayed two days in Natchez, and rode with a friend to the distance of fifty-five miles above Natchez, on the Mississippi, passing through Gibsonport, twenty-five miles from Natchez, and six miles from the Mississippi, a town having a court-house, a newspaper printing office, and about sixty houses, with 1100 inhabitants. The following day we arrived at Messrs. D.’s plantation. These two brothers having purchased, three years ago, 6500 acres of land, at the rate of two dollars an acre, landed with their slaves at their new purchase, from their former residence in Kentucky. The lands being a complete wilderness, their first occupation was to raise cabins for themselves and their slaves. This was accomplished in four weeks. They succeeded during the first year in clearing fifty acres of land, twenty-five of which were sown in the month of February with cotton seed, the rest with corn. This was was sufficient to defraythe expense of the first year. The clearing of woods, however, in this country, if not canebrack bottom, is not so easy a matter as in the northern states. Numerous shrubs, thistles, and thorns, of an immense size, form hedges, which it is almost impossible to penetrate. To these obstructions may be added, snakes, muskitoes, and in the marshes, alligators, which, though not so dangerous as the Egyptian crocodile, are still a great annoyance. The trees are here destroyed in the same manner as in the north, by killing them. Shrubs, underwood, canebrack, are burnt, and the corn or cotton is planted instead. This is the work of the negroes, who labour under the superintendence of their masters, or, if he be a wealthy man, of his overseer. In the months of June or July, the ground is ploughed or turned up; the weeds and shrubs are cleared away, as is done in the case of Indian corn; the cultivation of cotton, though more troublesome, being conducted much in the same manner. In the month of October, the cotton begins to ripen, the buds open, and the white flower appears. The present is the season for gathering cotton. Three kinds of cotton seeds are now sown in thesouthern states; the green, the black, and the Mexican seed, which latter is considered to be the best. Of the green seed cotton, a slave may gather 150 pounds a day, of the other two kinds, the utmost that can be collected is 100 pounds. The buds are broken from the plants, and the cotton, with the seed, taken out and put into round baskets, which when filled are brought into the cotton yard, and spread along planks, for the purpose of drying. The cotton is from thence carried to the cotton gin, the machinery of which is put into motion by three or four horses. The cotton is thrown between a cylinder moving round a projecting saw; by this process the seed is separated from the cotton, which is then thrown back into a large receptacle, and afterwards pressed into bales. These are laid in stores and kept ready for shipping, in steam or flat boats to Natchez or New Orleans. The two brothers in this, the third, year from the date of their establishment, raised 200 bales of cotton from 200 acres of cleared land. According to their own estimation, and from what I know, they might have raised 350 bales, had it not been for a disaster which befel them in the springof the year 1825. They were visited with a hurricane, which lifted their dwelling-house from the ground, carried it to a considerable distance and completely destroyed it, with the entire furniture. Mr. D——, who was at the plantation at the time, had great difficulty in escaping with his wife and child, though not without a fractured leg, from the effects of which he was still suffering. Not even a chair had been spared. The immense trees torn up by the roots and still lying in every direction upon the ground, the shattered cabins of his negroes, every thing presented indications of the havoc made in this disastrous night. Happily no human life was lost. This misfortune had, of course, considerably retarded the improvements in progress, and thrown them back for at least a twelvemonth. Still the planters calculated this year upon a profit of 10,000 dollars from their plantation; 4000 dollars may be deducted from this for household and other necessary expenses, leaving a clear profit of 6000 dollars. The original capital of the two brothers consisted, (including the value of their slaves), of 20,000 dollars. They paid half the purchasemoney when they took possession, and the rest in the present year. Their plantation is now worth 60,000 dollars. In the state of Mississippi, the principal article of cultivation is cotton, as it is the staple article of its commerce; corn and the breeding of cattle are considered as secondary objects, though many plantations reckon from 100 to 300 head of cattle, which have a free range in the vast forests in quest of food. Only those intended for fattening are kept at home and fed with cotton seed, which in a few weeks will make them exceedingly fat. Turkeys and poultry in general are found in abundance, and constitute with firewood the articles which are sold to steam-boats passing on their way. Indian corn supplies in these parts the place of rye or wheat. The slaves live exclusively on corn bread; their masters vary it with wheat cakes. Wheat, flour, whiskey, articles of dress, sacking, and blankets, come from the north, or from New Orleans. The dress of the planter during the summer months consists of a linen jacket, pantaloons of the same, Monroe boots, and a straw hat. During the winter he wears a cotton shirt and a cloth dress. Thatof his slaves during summer is a coarse cotton shirt and trowsers, with shoes called mocasins. In winter they are furnished with cotton trowsers, and a coat made of a woollen blanket. The females have dresses of the same materials. The manner of living of the southern planter differs little from that of the northern; he likes his doddy, which the northern planter or farmer is also known to be fond of; he lives on wheat cakes or Indian corn bread, and superintends his slaves at their work, as the northern does his hands. Of the effeminate and luxurious style in which the southern planters are said to indulge—of their pretended fondness for female slaves, without whose assistance they cannot find their beds, I have never had any proofs, though in both my journeys I have not passed less than a year in Mississippi and Louisiana, and know one half of the plantations. The American planter lives in a higher style than his northern fellow citizen: this is quite natural, considering that his income is very large, and his taxes trifling. His chief expense, however, consists in his travels or summer excursions to the north, where he is pleased to shew hissouthern magnificence in a display of pompous dissipation. This fault, with few exceptions, is general with southern planters. They save at home, and renounce the very comforts of life in order to have the means of spending more money during the summer at Saratoga, Boston, or New York. The slave always rises at five o’clock, and works till seven, then breakfasts—generally upon soup with corn bread, baked on a pan, and eaten warm with a piece of bacon or salt-meat. Their tasks are assigned to them by the master of the plantation, or if he has been settled for some years, by an overseer. Part of the negroes are engaged in the cotton gin, others in carpenters’ or in cabinet work, each plantation having two or three mechanics among the slaves. A third part works in the cotton or corn fields. The females have likewise their tasks. One or two of the girls are housemaids; two more are cooks, one for the white, the other for the black family. The old negro women have the washing assigned to them. The dinner of the slaves consists of corn bread, a pudding of the same stuff, and salt or fresh meat. It is usual to give them a piece ofmeat, in order to keep them in good condition. The supper is of corn bread again, and a soup without meat. They seldom get any whiskey, and tavern keepers are prohibited by law from selling it to them. The first transgression is punished with a fine, the second with the loss of the tavern licence. On Sundays the slaves are exempt from working for their master, and permitted to attend to their family or their own concerns. Many of them are seen gleaning the cotton fields, collecting this way from eighty to a hundred pounds of cotton in one day. They are not, however, so well treated as in the northern slave states, where they are rather considered as domestics, who in many cases would not exchange their condition for that liberty which is enjoyed by the German peasantry. The northern slave is, for this reason, extremely afraid of transportation, which is a sort of punishment. The southern blacks frequently run away, and there is not a newspaper published, in which some escapes are not announced. The Anglo-Americans, however, treat their slaves throughout better than the French and their descendants, with whom the wretched blacks,(their general allowance being ten ears of Indian corn a day), experience a treatment in few respects better than that of a beast. The principle upon which the French descendant acts, is, that the slave ought to repay him in three years the expense of his purchase. But, strange to say, the worst of all are the free people of colour, who are equally permitted to possess slaves. To be transferred into the hands of their own race, is the most dreadful thing which can happen to a slave. Formal marriages rarely take place between slaves: if the negro youth feels himself attracted by the charms of a black beauty, their master allows them to cohabit. If the female slave is on a distant plantation, the youth is permitted to see her, provided he be trustworthy, and not suspected of an intention to effect his escape. The children belong to the mother, or rather to her master, who is not permitted to dispose of them before they are ten years of age. The punishment which masters are allowed to inflict on their slaves at home, is a flogging of thirty-nine lashes. The huts of these people are of rough logs; lower down the river they are of regular carpenter’s work. Themansions of the American planters are in the easy American style—sometimes frame, mostly, however, brick-houses, constructed on four piles in the manner already described. Below Natchez, the dwelling houses of the planters are in the old-fashioned Spanish style, with immense roofs, but comfortable and adapted to the climate. The windows are high and provided with shutters. They have a summer dining room to the north, open on all sides so as to admit of a free current of air. In the southern parts, the planter is the most respectable and wealthy inhabitant. He lives contented, though his domestic peace is sometimes troubled by the accidents inseparable from the state of bondage in which his black family is kept. If he manages his affairs well, for which very little is wanting beyond common sense and activity, he cannot fail to become wealthy in a few years. I am acquainted with several gentlemen, who settled in these states ten years ago, with a capital of from 10 to 20,000 dollars. They are worth now at least 100,000 dollars. The great difference between these plantations and the northern farms, is the ready mart they are sure to find, and the high price they obtain fortheir produce. Though the prices of cotton are considerably reduced, yet the profit which is derived from a capital employed in a plantation is superior to any other. The price of a well-conditioned plantation is enormous. I can instance Mr. B., who having inherited one half of a plantation, bought the other half for 32,000 dollars. The failures in crops are of very rare occurrence in these parts, and generally in the fourth year after a plantation has been begun, the produce is equal to the capital employed in the establishment. The management of these plantations requires by no means a very enterprising turn of mind. I know some ladies who have established cotton plantations, and raise from four to five hundred bales a year, being assisted only by their overseer. Mrs. Barrow, Mrs. Hook, &c., &c., are instances in proof of what I advance. Those who are unable to bear the summer heats, or are not inured to the climate, reside in the north, leaving a trusty overseer in charge of the plantation. The distance from Natchez to Louisville or Cincinnati, between 11 and 1200 miles, may be performed in nine or ten days. The journey is a pleasant one, and is amply rewarded by thepurchases which planters generally make in the north for themselves, their families, and their slaves. Indolence, luxury, and effeminacy, are vices that are but seldom to be met with in the American planter. He does not yield to the northern farmer in activity or industry. He cannot work in person without exposing himself to a bilious fever; but this is not necessary; the superintendence of his affairs is a sufficient occupation for him. In this state I found matters: after a serious and practical investigation, and much experience, I can pronounce it to be a safer way of employing a moderate capital in an advantageous manner, than any other which offers itself in the United States.
There can scarcely be a country where there is greater facility for hunting than in these parts. Mr. D. being still lame from his late accident, was obliged to remain at home, but he provided us with a guide, in the person of the overseer of the Palmyra plantation, five miles above Mr. D.’s settlement. We mounted our horses, and arrived in a few minutes on the outside of the cotton-fields, a tract of canebrack bottom, extending about ten miles, where we expected to start a deer or a bear. We had not ridden above half an hour when we discovered a bear, which was killed. We proceeded afterwards to a marsh two miles behind the plantation, the resort of flocks of ducks and wild geese. We found about 300 of them, and having shot nine returned home. The bear was found to be a young one, weighing 150 pounds:—its flesh was excellent. These animals, as well as every description of game, are found in such prodigious numbers, that our landlord thought it not worth while sending his slaves such a distance for the ducks and geese we had shot in the pond; and they were, therefore, left for birds of prey to feast upon. The following day we made a shooting excursion with the overseer of Palmyra plantation. After partaking of some refreshments at his dwelling, we proceeded in his company. He superintends the plantation of Mrs. Turner, for an annual salary of 1500 dollars, with board, lodging, &c.; a sum which would be considered in the north as a first rate salary, suitable to any gentleman. Seven wild turkeys were the spoils of this day; we divided them equally amongst us,reserving the seventh to be roasted at Warrington for our dinner. Warrington, formerly the seat of justice for Warren county, which is now transferred to Vixburgh, though situated sixty feet above the water level of the Mississippi, is regularly inundated by the spring floods. This town is on the decline, owing to the removal of the seat of justice. It contains 200 inhabitants, with forty houses, five of which are built of brick, the rest of wood. Two lawyers, who are now on the move, two taverns, and two stores, are to be found here. The two store-keepers, who were extremely poor when they first settled here, eight years ago, are now worth above 20,000 dollars; one of them is going to establish a plantation. We returned in good time, being here at a distance of twenty miles from the plantation. Although the tract of country we came through is extremely fertile, yet there is a great difference in the soil. The plantation of Mr. D——, has undoubtedly the advantage over the six which came under our notice; his cotton is of a superior quality. The richness of the soil depends on the stratum. The best is considered to be that which is found to have three or four feet of river sediment on a redbrownish earth; where sand or gravel forms the stratum, the land, though fertile, is not of so durable a quality. The growth of timber is generally the surest mode of ascertaining the nature of the soil; we measured on the plantation of Major Davis, some sycamores torn up by the hurricane, which were not less than 200 feet in length; and cotton trees of 170 feet. Where such a gigantic vegetation is seen, one may rely on the fertility and inexhaustible quality of the soil. Our guide gave me a proof of this: in one of his fields, he raised tobacco for ten successive years, without doing more than ploughing the earth; the produce, instead of diminishing, has rather increased both in quantity and quality. One can hardly conceive how a soil, apparently sandy, can be of a nature so inexhaustibly productive; the overflowing of the Mississippi, and the sediment left on the banks, account, however, sufficiently for it.
The following day we took leave of our hospitable landlord, and returned. The country we passed through is one continued range of the most beautiful forests, opening some times togive place to a rising plantation. I counted between Palmyra and Natchez, twenty-five.
The State of Mississippi was received into the Union in the year 1817. It extends from 30° 10′ to 35° north latitude, and from 11° 30′ to 14° 32′ west longitude; and is bounded on the north by Tennessee, on the west by Arkansas and Louisiana, on the south by Louisiana and the gulf of Mexico, and on the east by Alabama. It comprises an area of 15,000 square miles. Though this state has acquired, this ten years past, a political existence, and in point of fertility is far superior to Missouri and Indiana, yet its population has not increased in the same proportion;—it does not exceed 80,000 souls, including 34,000 slaves. The emigrants to Mississippi, are either men of fortune, or needy adventurers. The middle classes, having from 2 to 3,000 dollars property, seldom chose to settle there, having no prospect of succeeding by dint of personal industry. The fatigue and labour in these hot and sultry climates, can only be borne by slaves; a white man who should attempt the same labour which kept himstout and hearty in the north, would soon be overcome by the heat of the climate. Most of the respectable settlers are therefore from Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Kentucky; having sold their property there, and emigrated with their slaves into this country. The North American, properly so called, from New England, New York, &c., seldom ventures so far. Owing to this cause, the towns in Mississippi and Louisiana, are neither so elegant nor so wealthy as those of the north. With the exception of places of commerce, such as New Orleans and Natchez, the towns of the state of Mississippi cannot be compared to those of other states of more recent date. These smaller towns of Mississippi and Louisiana, are generally inhabited by mechanics, tradesmen, tavern-keepers, and the poorer classes of the people. Those who have any fortune, prefer laying it out on plantations,—a sure and infallible source of wealth, and the most respectable occupation in the country. Merchants who have succeeded in making a fortune in these small towns, remove to more convenient places. The traveller who judges of the wealth of the countryfrom the mean appearance of these villages and towns, would be greatly mistaken. In order to form a correct opinion he must visit the plantations, and he will be surprised at the high degree of prosperity and comfort enjoyed by the possessors.
After a stay of three days in Natchez, I took a passage on board the steam-boat Helen MacGregor, which had lately returned from New Orleans to Walnut hills, and was on its way to the capital of Louisiana. The intercourse between Natchez and New Orleans is by water, travellers naturally preferring this easy and comfortable mode of conveyance by steam-boats to land journeys, rendered disagreeable by the wretchedness of the roads, and the still worse condition of the generality of inns. This evil has been occasioned by the former hospitality of the French creoles. Any one calling at a plantation was sure of a welcome reception. This hospitality has ceased, and the most respectable traveller is now likely to have the door shut in his face, owing to the misconduct of the Kentuckians. It was the practice of these gentlemen to callon their rambles at these plantations, where plenty of rum and brandy, with other accommodations, could be had for nothing. They behaved with an arrogance and presumption almost incredible, not unfrequently calling the creoles in their own houses French dogs, and knocking them down if they presumed to shew the least displeasure. These people are the horror of all creoles, who when they wish to describe the highest degree of barbarity, designate it by the name of Kentuckian. The worst of it is that the creoles, who are far from being eminent scholars, comprehend the whole north under the appellation of Kentucky. We started from Natchez at nine o’clock in the evening, took in 300 bales of cotton at Bayon Sarah[E], and some firewood a few miles below, and then passed Baton Rouge, the Bayons Plaquimines, Manchac, Tourche, both sides of the river being lined with beautiful plantations, and arrived on Sunday, at four o’clock, above New Orleans.
Arrival at New Orleans.—Cursory Reflections.
It is certainly mournful for a traveller to dwell among the monuments of Pompeii, of Herculaneum, and of Rome. There, if he feels at all, he feels among these wrecks of past grandeur, that he is nothing. A totally different sensation possesses the mind on entering an American city. In these man beholds what he can contend with, and what he can accomplish, when his strength is not checked by the arbitrary will of a despot. New Orleans, the wet grave[F],where the hopes of thousands are buried; for eighty years the wretched asylum for the outcasts of France and Spain, who could not venture 100 paces beyond its gates without utterly sinking to the breast in mud, or being attacked by alligators; has become in the space of twenty-three years one of the most beautiful cities of the Union, inhabited by 40,000 persons, who trade with half the world. The view is splendid beyond description, when you pass down the stream, which is here a mile broad, rolls its immense volume of waters in a bed above 200 feet deep, and as if conscious of its strength, appears to look quietly on the bustle of the habitations of man. Both its banks are lined with charming sugar plantations, from the midst of which rises the airy mansion of the wealthy planter, surrounded with orange, banana, lime, and fig trees, the growth of a climate approaching to the torrid zone. In the rear you discover the cabins of the negroes and the sugar-houses, and just at the entrance of the port, groups of smaller houses, as if erected for the purpose of concealing the prospect of the town. As soon as the steam-boats pass these out posts, NewOrleans, in the form of a half moon, appears in all its splendour. The river runs for a distance of four or five miles in a southern direction; here it suddenly takes an eastern course, which it pursues for the space of two miles, thus forming a semicircular bend. A single glance exhibits to view the harbour, the vessels at anchor, together with the city, situated as it were at the feet of the passenger. The first object that presents itself is the dirty and uncouth backwoods flat boat. Hams, ears of corn, apples, whiskey barrels, are strewed upon it, or are fixed to poles to direct the attention of the buyers. Close by are the rather more decent keel-boats, with cotton, furs, whiskey, flour; next the elegant steam-boat, which by its hissing and repeated sounds, announces either its arrival or departure, and sends forth immense columns of black smoke, that form into long clouds above the city. Farther on are the smaller merchant vessels, the sloops and schooners from the Havannah, Vera Cruz, Tampico; then the brigs; and lastly, the elegant ships appearing like a forest of masts[G].
What in Philadelphia and even in New York is dispersed in several points, is here offered at once to the eye—a truly enchanting prospect. Most of the steam-boats were kept back by the lowness of the Ohio, at Cincinnati, Louisville, and Nashville; we landed, therefore, close to the shore without encountering any impediment. In a moment our state room was filled with five or six clerks, from the newspaper printing offices, and a dozen negroes; the former to inspect the log-book of the steam-boat, and to lay before their subscribers the names of the goods, and of the passengers arrived; the latter to offer their services in carrying our trunks. After labouring to climb over the mountains of cotton bales which obstructed our passage, we went on shore. The city had increased beyond expectation, within the last four years. More than 700 brick houses had been erected; a new street (the Levee), was already half finished; the houses throughout were solid, and more or less in an elegant style. It was on a Sunday that we arrived; the shops, the stores of the French and creoles, were open as usual, and if there were fewer buyers than on other days, the coffeehouses, grog-shops, and theestaminets, as they are called, of the French and German inhabitants, exhibited a more noisy scene. A kind of music, accompanied with human, or rather inhuman voices, resounded in almost every direction. This little respect paid to the Sabbath is a relic of the French revolution and of Buonaparte, for whom the French and the creoles of Louisiana have an unlimited respect, imitating him as poor minds generally do, as far as they are able, in his bad qualities, his contempt of venerable customs, and his egotism, and leaving his great deeds and the noble traits in his character to the imitation of others better qualified to appreciate them.
To a new comer, accustomed in the north to the dignified and quiet keeping of the Sabbath, this appears very shocking. The Anglo-Americans, with few exceptions, remain even here faithful to their ancient custom of keeping the Sabbath holy. I had many opportunities of appreciating the importance of the keeping of the Sabbath, particularly in new states. A well regulated observance of this day is productive ofincalculable benefits, and though it is sometimes carried too far in the northern states, as is certainly the case in Pennsylvania and New England, still the public ought firmly to maintain this institution in full force. The man who provides in six days for his personal wants, may dedicate the seventh to the improvement of his mind; and this he can only accomplish by abstaining from all trifling amusements. In a despotic monarchy the case is different; there the government has no doubt every reason for allowing its slaves, after six toilsome days of labour, the indulgence of twenty-four hours of amusement, that they may forget themselves and their fate in the dissipation of dancing, smoking, and drinking. The case ought to be otherwise in a republic, where even the poor constitute, or are about to constitute, part of the sovereign body. These ought to remember to what purposes they are destined, and not to allow themselves, under any circumstances, to be the dupes of others. The keeping of the Sabbath is their surest safeguard. If there were no opportunities offered for dancing, their sons and their daughters wouldstay at home, either reading their Bible, or attending to other appropriate intellectual occupations, and learning in this manner their rights and duties, and those of other people. The American has not deviated in this respect from his English kinsman. If you enter his dwelling on the Sabbath, you will find the family, old and young, quietly sitting down, the Bible in hand, thus preparing themselves for the toils and hardships to come, and acquiring the firmness and confidence so necessary in human life; a confidence, which we so justly admire in the British nation; as far distant from the bravado of the French, as the unfeeling and base stupidity of the Russians; and which never displays itself in brighter colours than in the hour of danger. We are in this manner enabled to account for those high traits of character in moments full of peril—traits not surpassed in the most brilliant and the most virtuous epochs of Greece or of Rome. A single fact will speak volumes—the Kent East Indiaman, burning and going down in the bay of Biscay, in 1825. Ladies, gentlemen, officers, and soldiers, all on board exhibited a magnanimity of heart, and atruly Christian heroism, which must fill even the most rancorous enemies of the British people with admiration and regard. What a different picture would have been presented to us, if half a regiment of Bonaparte’s soldiers had been on board the ship!
Topographical Sketch of the City of New Orleans.
The city of New Orleans occupies an oblong area, extending 3960 feet along the eastern bank of Mississippi, embracing six squares, 319 feet in length, and of equal breadth. Above and below this parallelogram are the suburbs. Higher up is the suburb of St. Mary, still belonging to the city corporation; farther up, the suburbs Duplantier, Soulel, La Course, L’Annunciation, and Religieuses; below, the suburbs of Marigny, Daunois, and Clouet; in the rear, St. Claude and Johnsburgh. The seven streets, named Levee, Chartres-street, Royal-street, Bourbon, Burgundy, Toulouse, and Rampart, run parallel with theriver, and are intersected at right angles by twelve others, running from the banks of the Mississippi, called the Levee, in the direction of the swamps, the Custom-house-street, Brenville, Conti, St. Louis, and Toulouse. The city, with the exception of Levee and Rampart-streets, is paved, an improvement which occasions great expense to the corporation, as the stones are imported; flags, however, are not wanting even in the most distant suburbs. The ground on which New Orleans is built, is a plain, descending about seven feet from the banks of the river, towards the swamps; and it is lower than the level of the Mississippi. It is secured by a levee, which would afford very little resistance 400 miles higher up; but here, where numerous bayons and natural channels have carried off part of the waters to the gulf of Mexico, it answers every purpose. About the city, the breadth of this plain is half a mile, and above it three-quarters of a mile, terminating in the back-ground in impenetrable swamps. The city and suburbs are lighted with reflecting lamps, suspended in the middle of the streets. Between the pavement and the road, gutters aremade for the purpose of carrying off the filth into the swamps, of refreshing the air with the water of the Mississippi, with which these gutters communicate, and of allaying the dust during the hot season. There are now about 6000 buildings, large and small, in New Orleans. In the first mentioned three streets, and the greater part of the upper suburb, the houses are throughout of brick; some are plastered over to preserve them from the influence of the sultry climate. Though building materials of every kind are imported, and consequently very dear, yet the houses are rapidly changing from the uncouth Spanish style, to more elegant forms. The new houses are mostly three stories high, with balconies, and a summer-room with blinds. In the lower suburbs, frame houses, with Spanish roofs, are still prevalent. Two-thirds of the private buildings may at present be said to rival those of northern cities, of an equal population. The public edifices, however, are far inferior to those of the former, both in style and execution. The most prominent is the cathedral, in the middle of the town, separated from the bank of the Mississippi, by the parade ground. It is of Spanish architecture,with a façade of seventy feet, and a depth of 120, having on each side a steeple, and a small cupola in the centre, which gives an air of dignity to a heavy and ill-proportioned structure. All illusion, however, is dispelled on entering the church. The Catholics had the strange notion of painting the interior, taking for this purpose the most glaring colours that can be found—green and purple. The church is painted over in fresco, with these colours, and presents at one view a curious taste of the creoles. The interior is not overloaded with decorations, as Catholic churches generally are. The high altar, and two side ones, are, with an organ, its only ornaments. Two tombs contain the remains of Baron Carondolet and Mr. Marigny. On one side of the cathedral is the city-hall, and on the other, the Presbytire. The former, erected in 1795, presents a façade of 108 feet, in which the meetings of the city council are held. The Presbytire, 114 in front, was built in 1813, and is the seat of the supreme District Court, and of the Criminal Court of New Orleans. These two edifices, and the cathedral between them, form together a dignified whole. The government-house, at thecorner of Toulouse and Levee-streets, is an old and decaying edifice, where the legislature of the state holds its meetings. In point of situation, (among grog shops), and of style, it may be considered the poorest state-house in the Union.
The Protestants have three churches. The Episcopalian, at the corner of Bourbon and Canal-streets, is an octagon edifice, with a cupola, in bad taste. Out of gratitude to the late governor Clayborne, the inhabitants have erected in the church-yard, a monument to his memory, with the following inscription:
THECITIZENS OF NEW ORLEANS,TOTESTIFY THEIR RESPECT FOR THE VIRTUESOFW. C. C. CLAYBORNE,LATEGOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA,HAVEERECTED THIS MONUMENT.
The Presbyterian church, in the suburb of St. Mary, is a simple, but chaste building, the expense of which amounted to 55,000 dollars. Thecongregation being unwilling to defray the cost of its erection, it was sold by the sheriff, and is now the property of Mr. Levy, an Israelite, who leases it out to the congregation for 1500 dollars. The Methodist church is a frame building, erected in 1826.
The public hospital, in Canal-street, consists of two square buildings, with wards for fever maladies; for dysentery; one for chronic diseases; another for females; a third for convalescents; a bathing-room, an apothecary’s-room, and a room for the physicians and assistants. Out of 1842 patients who were received into this hospital in the year 1824, 500 died, and the rest were discharged; out of 1700 received in 1825, 271 died, the others recovered. The accommodations in this house seem to be respectable; it has one thing, however, in common with all hospitals, that no one is tempted to return to it a second time.
There are now four banks in New Orleans; the United States Bank, with a capital of one million of dollars; the Bank of the State, theLouisiana Bank, and the Bank of New Orleans, each having likewise a capital of one million of dollars. The insurance offices are five in number: the Louisiana State Insurance Company, with a capital of 400,000 dollars; the Fire Insurance Company, with 300,000; the Mississippi and Marine Insurance Company, with 200,000; and the London Phoenix Insurance Company. New Orleans has no less than six masonic lodges, including the grand lodge of Louisiana; a French and an American theatre. The latter was built by a Mr. Caldwell, from Nashville, in Tennessee, who has also the management of it. It has the advantage in point of architecture, and the French theatre in the selectness of its audience. Close to the latter are the ball-rooms, where are given the only masked balls in the United States. Among the public buildings may be reckoned the three market halls, for the sale of provisions of every kind; one of them is in the city, the two others on the upper and lower suburbs, on the Levee.
The nuns have removed two miles below the town, and this convent is now the residence ofthe Roman Catholic bishop. In the chapel divine service is performed; this chapel, and the cathedral, are the places of worship belonging to the Catholics.
The cotton-pressing establishments deserve to be mentioned. These are now nine in number; the most important is that of Mr. Rilieux, at the corner of Poydras-street. It has three presses; one worked by steam, another by an hydraulic machine, and the third by horsepower. For the security of cotton bales, eight wells, a fire-engine, &c., are within the range of buildings; the expenses of which amounted to 150,000 dollars. The cotton press formerly belonged to a German commission merchant, who failed in consequence of his extravagant cotton speculations; it is simple, but of solid construction. It can receive 10,000 bales. The expenses of the building amounted to 90,000 dollars. Besides these are the presses of Shiff, a Jew from Germany, Debays, Lorger, &c. A steam saw-mill on the bank of the Mississippi, in the upper suburb, with a few iron foundries,are the only manufacturies in New Orleans; every thing being imported from the north.
Carondolots canal is in the rear of the town, towards the marshes. The entrance is a basin, containing from thirty to fifty small vessels, and opening into a canal, or rather a ditch, which has been cut through the swamps, in order to join the Bayon St. John with New Orleans.
Small vessels drawing no more than six feet of water, arrive from Mobile and Pensacola[H], through lake Pont Chartrain, Bayon St. John, and the above-mentioned canal at New Orleans, performing only a third of the way they would otherwise have to make by going up the Mississippi. They are in general freighted with wood, planks, bricks, cotton, &c.; and take in goods in return. This canal, which is of great importance for the part of the city lying contiguous to the swamps, was commenced by Baron Carondolet, but given up at a subsequent time,and resumed in the year 1815. Its cost was trifling compared with the advantages resulting to this city, and the salutary effects it must have in draining off part of the swamps.
The president of the city council is a mayor, or Maire, a creole. His police regulations deserve every praise, and New Orleans, which less than fifteen years ago was the lurking hole of every assassin, is now in point of security not inferior to any other city. The revenues of the city corporation amount to 150,000 dollars, which are, however, found to be insufficient, and loans are resorted to in order to cover the expenses.
When the United States took possession of New Orleans, this town consisted of 1000 houses, and 8000 inhabitants, black and white. In the year 1820, it amounted to near 27,000; namely, 8000 white males, 5314 white females, 1500 foreigners, 2500 men, and 400 women of colour, 3000 male, and 4,500 female slaves; the population of the parish being then 14,000. In the year 1821, the population was 29,000; in 1822it had risen to 32,000; in the present year 1826, it amounts to upwards of 40,000; to be distinguished as follows: 14,500 white males, and 7500 white females, 1300 foreigners, 3690 free men, and 800 free women of colour, 5500 male, and 6300 female slaves. The population of the parish is 15,000.
As New Orleans, notwithstanding its being 109 miles distant from the sea, is considered as a seaport, all the officers necessarily connected with a place of that description reside there, as well as consuls from every nation, having commercial intercourse with it;—from England, Russia, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Hamburgh, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, with others from the Southern Republics.
The situation of New Orleans considered in a commercial point of view.
New Orleans groaned for a long time under the yoke of the most wretched tyranny; its crowned possessors so far from doing any thing towards the improvement of a plan which, considered in a commercial light, has not its equal on the face of the earth, contributed as much as was in their power to circumscribe it. After two hours rain, every kind of communication in the city itself was quite impracticable; paving or lighting the streets was of course out of the question; assassinations were of almost daily occurrence: but this was not all—the place was to be a fortress in spite of common sense. It was thought proper to surround it with a wall eighteen feet wide and pallisadoes, five bastions, and redoubts, upon which some old cannon were mounted, perhaps for the purpose of keeping the Indians at a proper distance. The Americans pulled down those pitiful circumvallations which could have no other effect than to impede commerce, and erected others in a situation where they are likely to be of more advantage—along the passes of the Mississippi and of lake Pontchartrain. The city has improved in an astonishing degree during the twenty-three years that it has been incorporated with the United States; indeed much more in proportion than any other town of the Union, in spite of the yellow fever, the deadly miasmata, and the myriads of musquitoes; and it has now become one of the most elegant and wealthy cities of the republic. If, however, we consider its situation, it is susceptible of still greater improvements, and it must eventually become, what nature destined it to be, the first commercial city, and the emporium of America, notwithstanding the concurrence of many unfavourable circumstances, and the gross selfishness of its inhabitants. The incredible fertility of Louisiana,the Egypt of the west, and the fertility of the states of the valley of the Mississippi in general, which can be duly appreciated only by personal observation, must render New Orleans one of the most flourishing cities in the world. There is not a spot on the globe that presents a more favourable situation for trade. Standing on the extreme point of the longest river in the world, New Orleans commands all the commerce of the immense territory of the Mississippi, being the staple pointed out by nature for the countries watered by this stream, or by its tributaries—a territory exceeding a million of square miles. You may travel on board a steam-boat of 300 tons and upwards for an extent of 1000 miles from New Orleans up the Red river; 1500 miles up the Arkansas river; 3000 miles up the Missouri and its branches; 1700 miles on the Mississippi to the falls of St. Anthony; the same distance from New Orleans up the Illinois; 1200 miles to the north-east from New Orleans on the big Wabash; 1300 on the Tennessee; 1300 on the Cumberland, and 2300 miles on the Ohio up to Pittsburgh. Thus New Orleans has in its rear this immense territory,with a river 4200 miles long, (including the Missouri)[I]; besides the water communication which is about to be completed between New York and the river Ohio. The coast of Mexico, the West India islands, and the half of America to the south, the rest of America on its left, and the continent of Europe beyond the Atlantic. New Orleans is beyond a doubt the most important commercial point on the face of the earth[J]. Although the states along the Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, the territories of Missouri, and Arkansas, undoubtedly the finest part of the Union, have not yet a population of 3,000,000 inhabitants, their trade with New Orleans may be estimated by the fact, that not less than 1500 keel and flat boats, with nearly a hundred steam vessels, are engaged every year in the trade with this city. The capital laid out on these steam-boats amounts alone to above two million of dollars. The number of vessels that clear out is upwardof 1000, which export more than 200,000 bales of cotton, 25,000 hogsheads of sugar, 17,000 hogsheads of tobacco, about 1250 tons of lead, with a considerable quantity of rice, furs, &c. Besides these staple articles, the produce of the northern states is exported to Mexico, the West Indies, the Havannah, and South America. The commerce of New Orleans increases regularly every year in proportion with the improvements in its own state, and in those of the Mississippi. The wealth accruing to the country and to the city from this commerce, is out of proportion with the number of inhabitants. There are many families who, in the course of a few years, have accumulated a property yielding an income of 50,000 dollars, and 25,000 is the usual income of respectable planters. No other place offers such chances for making a fortune in so easy a way. Plantations and commerce, if properly attended to, are the surest means of succeeding in the favourite object of man’s great pursuit,—“money making.” This accounts for the avidity with which thousands seek New Orleans, in spite of the yellow fever again making room for thousands in rapid succession.
Characteristic features of the Inhabitants of New Orleans and Louisiana.—Creoles.—Anglo-Americans.—French.—Free People of Colour.—Slaves.
At the time of the cession of Louisiana to the United States (1803), this country with its capital was inhabited by Creoles—descendants of French settlers. Many reasons as they may have to congratulate themselves upon their admission into the great political Union, whether considered in a religious or political point of view, there were, however, several causes which contributed to render them disaffected to the measure. This repugnance is far from being removed. The advantages on both sides were equal, or perhaps greater on the part of the United States.The central government and the generality of Americans behaved towards Louisiana in a becoming manner. But there is in the character of American freedom, especially in the deportment of an American towards foreigners and strangers in his own country, something repulsive. It is not the pride of a nobleman accustomed to be obeyed, nor the natural pride of an Englishman, who carries his sulky temper along with him, and finds fault with every thing: it is rather the pride of an adventurer—of an upstart, who exults at his not being a runaway himself, although the descendant of one. Louisiana immediately after its cession, was admitted to the full enjoyment of all the advantages connected with its prerogative, as one of the states of the Union, and its white natives, the Creoles, were considered as citizens born of the United States. But the moment the cession was made, crowds of needy Yankees, and what is worse, Kentuckians, spread all over the country, attracted by the hope of gain; the latter treating the inhabitants as little better than a purchased property. Full of prejudice towards the descendants of a nation, of which they knew littlemore than the proverb, “French dog,” they, without knowing or condescending to learn their language, behaved towards these people as if the lands, as well as the inhabitants, could be seized without ceremony. This was certainly not the way of thinking, or the conduct of all the northern new comers, there being amongst them many a useful mechanic, merchant, planter, or lawyer; but the greater number came with a degree of presumption, which was in an inverse ratio with their unbounded and absolute ignorance. The creoles, with a proper sense of their own independence, naturally retreated from the intercourse of these intruders. On the other hand, the consequences of an oppressive colonial government, the natural effects of an enervating and sultry climate, could not fail giving to the character of the creoles, a certain tone of passiveness, which makes them an object of interest. They are not capable either of violent passions, or of strong exertions. Gentle and frugal, they abhor drunkenness and gluttony. Their eyes are generally black; but without fire or expression. Their countenances evince neither spirit nor animation; they can boast of veryfew men of superior talents. Their gait and figure are easy, and their colour generally pale. Though unable to endure great hardships, they are far from being cowards, as the events of the year 1815, and the numerous duels, sufficiently attest. The drawbacks from their character are, an overruling passion for frivolous amusements, an impatience of habit, a tendency for the luxurious enjoyment of the other sex, without being very scrupulous in their choice of either the black or the white race. Their greatest defect, however, is their indifference towards the poor, and towards their own slaves. They treat the former with cold contempt, and cannot easily be induced to assist their fellow-creatures. In this respect they are far inferior to their fellow-citizens of the north, whose example they may follow with much advantage in many things. The Union has already changed much, and the restless and active spirit of their northern fellow-citizens has altered their character, which now partakes much less of the Sybarite, than it formerly did; still, they can never be brought to exercise a mechanical trade, which they consider as below their dignity. The female sexof Louisiana, (the creoles), have in general an interesting appearance. A black languishing eye, colour rather too pale, figure of middle size, which partakes ofen bon point, and does not exhibit any waist, are the characteristics of the fair sex. With a great deal of vivacity, they show, however, a proper sense of decorum. Adultery is seldom known among the better classes, notwithstanding the many grounds afforded to them by the infidelity of their husbands. As wives and mothers, they are entitled to every praise; they are more moderate in their expenses than the northern ladies, and though always neat and elegantly dressed, they seldom go beyond reasonable bounds. Several instances are known of their having displayed a high degree of fortitude. In sickness and danger, they are the inseparable assistants and companions of their husbands. In literary education, however, they are extremely deficient; and nothing can be more tiresome than a literarytête a têtewith a Creole lady. They receive their education in the convent of the Ursalines, where they learn reading, writing, some female works, and the piano-forte. It is superfluous to observe, being descendants from the French, that they are the best dancers in the United States. Americans from other parts of the Union, may be considered as constituting about three-eighths of the present population of the state, and of New Orleans. Brother Jonathan is to be found in all parts of the Union, and properly speaking, nowhere at home. After having settled in one place, at the distance of 1000 miles from his late residence, cleared lands, reared houses, farms, &c., he leaves his spot as soon as a better chance seems to offer itself. He is an adventurer, who would as soon remove to Mexico, or New South Wales, provided he could “make money” by the change. Most of those who settled in Louisiana grew wealthy either as planters or merchants, and really the wealthiest families of Louisiana are at present Americans from other parts of the Union, who likewise hold the most important public stations. The governors, as well as the members of congress, and senators, have hitherto been Americans, from the very natural reason, that the creoles could not speak the English language, although some important offices are filled by the latter.Nothing can exceed or surpass the suppleness of the Yankey; and the refined Frenchmen, with all their dexterity, may still profit from them and their kindred.
The emigrant French are numerous in New Orleans. Among them are many very respectable merchants, some lawyers, physicians, &c., the greater part, however, consists of adventurers, hair-dressers, dancing-masters, performers, musicians, and the like. The French are of all men the least valuable acquisition for a new state. Of a lavish and wanton temper, they spend their time in trifles, which are of no importance to any but themselves. Dancing, fighting, riding, and love-making, are the daily occupation of these people. Their influence on a new and unsettled state, whose inhabitants have no correct opinion of true politeness and manners, is far from being advantageous. Without either religion, morality, or even education, they pretend to be the leaders of thebon ton, because they came from Paris, and they in general succeed. As for religion and principles, except a sort ofpoint d’honneur, they are certainly a mostcontemptible set, and greatly contribute to promote immorality. There are a great number of Germans in New Orleans. These people, without being possessed of the smallest resources, embarked eight or ten years ago, and after having lost one-half, or three-parts of their comrades during the passage, they were sold as white slaves, or as they are called, Redemptioners, the moment of their arrival. Thus mixed with the negroes in the same kind of labour, they experience no more consideration than the latter; and their conduct certainly deserves no better treatment. Those who did not escape, were driven away by their masters for their immoderate drinking; and all, with few exceptions, were glad to get rid of such dregs. The watchmen and lamp-lighters are Germans, and hundreds of these people fell victims to the fever, between the years 1814 and 1822. The rest of the white population consists of English, Irish, Spaniards, and some Italians, amongst whom are several respectable houses.
The free people of colour consist of emancipated slaves; but chiefly of the offspring of anintercourse between the whites and blacks, the cause of which is to be sought in the nature of the climate, where sensual passions are so easily excited. Of these descendants, the females in particular are very handsome, and generally destined for the gratification of the wealthier class of the French and the creoles, as their mothers had been before them. The American seldom or never indulges in such unrestrained pleasures. He usually marries early, and remains faithful to his wife. Of a more steady and religious turn, he pays strict attention to decorum and appearances, with certain isolated exceptions of course; but in general he is more solicitous and careful of his public character than the Frenchman, or foreigner, who has seldom any reputation to lose.
The negroes form the lowest class. There are certainly found some amongst them who are entitled to praise for their honesty and fidelity towards their masters; but thousands, on the other hand, will exhibit the vicious nature of a debased and slavish character. There is no doubt, that a malignant and cruel dispositioncharacterises, more or less, this black race. Whether it be inborn, or the result of slavery, I leave to others to decide.
All that can be said in favour of emancipation, may be reduced in the compass of these few words: In the present state of things, if the general cultivation of Louisiana, and the southern states, is to proceed successfully, emancipation is impossible. In this climate, no white person could stand the labour; the act of emancipation itself, treacherous and barbarous as the slaves are, would subject their former masters to certain destruction and death. We are, indeed, very far behind hand in the study of the human character, and of the different gradations of the human species. Unjust, as it assuredly was, to traffic in fellow-creatures, as though they were so many heads of cattle, it is equally unjust now to infringe upon a property which has been transmitted from generation to generation, and which time has sanctioned, without adopting some method of public compensation. All that should be required is, that the slaves be treated with humanity—a law might be enacted to that effect. The slaveswill then be improved, and become ripe for a state of emancipation, which may be granted at a future period, without danger or inconvenience to their masters.
It is, however, to be regretted, that the slave population of Louisiana are not so well treated as in the north. The cupidity of their masters, and their solicitude to make a rapid fortune, subject those poor wretches to an oppressive labour, which they are hardly able to endure. They revolted in Louisiana on three occasions, and several white persons fell victims to their vengeance; they were, however, easily subdued, and the example set by the executions, contributed to restore tranquillity. It is impossible to form an idea of the degree of jealousy with which the southern population watch and defend their rights, touching this point. A question upon the right of a slave, as a human being, is almost one of life and death; and lawyers, whenever they presume to defend slaves, and to hint at their rights, are in imminent danger of being stoned like Jews. Not long ago, a gentleman of the bar, Mr. D—e, was very near meeting this fate.
Public Spirit.—Education.—State of Religious Worship.—Public Entertainments, Theatres, Balls, &c.
Heterogeneous as this population may seem, and as it really is, in manners, language, and principles, they all agree in one point—the pursuit after—“money.” Americans, English, French, Germans, Spaniards, all come hither—to make money, and to stay here as long as money is to be made. Half the inhabitants may be said to be regularly settled; the rest are half-settlers. Merchants, store-keepers, remain only until they have amassed a fortune answering their expectations, and then remove to their former houses. Others reside here during thewinter, to carry on business, and retire to the north in the month of May. That is the case with all the Yankee commission merchants. This has, of course, a sensible and an extensive influence upon the public, and may explain why New Orleans, though one of the wealthiest cities of the Union, is so backward in mental improvement. Even the better Anglo-American families disdain to spend their money in the country where they have earned it, and prefer removing to the north. The institutions for education are consequently inferior to those of any city of equal extent and less wealth, such as Richmond, and even Albany. The only literary institution in the state of Louisiana, the college of New Orleans, is now established, and is intended to be revived at some distance from the capital. Free schools are now (1826) formed in the city, after the manner of the northern states, with a president and professors; and by and bye they will be extended to the rest of the state. Another college, still inferior to the above-mentioned, is superintended by the Catholic clergy. Excepting the elements of reading, writing, mathematics, and latin, it affordsno intellectual information. The best of these schools is kept by Mr. Shute, rector of the Episcopalian church, an enlightened and clever man, who fully deserves the popularity he has acquired. Reading, writing, geography, particular and universal history, are taught under his tuition, and in his own rectory. This school, and other private ones where the rudiments are taught, comprehend all the establishments for education in the state.
With respect to the female sex, the creoles are educated by the nuns; the Protestant young ladies by some boarding-school mistresses, partly French, partly Americans, who come from the north. The better classes of the Anglo-Americans, however, prefer sending their daughters to a northern establishment, where they remain for two years, and then return to their homes. Among the charitable institutions must be mentioned the Poydras Asylum for young orphan girls, founded in 1804, by Mr. Poydras. The legislature voted 4000 dollars towards it. Sixty girls are now educating in this asylum. Upon the same plan, is a second asylum for boys,where, in 1825, forty were admitted. These, besides the hospital, are the only public institutions for the benefit of the poor. New Orleans has eight newspapers; among these the State, and two other papers, are published in English and French, a fourth in the Spanish, and the rest in the English. The best of them is the Louisiana Advertiser.
There is not a place in the Union where religion is so little attended to as in New Orleans. For a population of 40,000 inhabitants, it has only four churches; Philadelphia, with 120,000 inhabitants, reckons upwards of eighty; New York upwards of sixty. The city of Pittsburgh, with a population of 10,000 souls, has ten churches, far superior to those in New Orleans. Among the Protestant churches, the high church is best provided for, and the members of this congregation are said to be liberal, which they are generally found to be. They have recently finished a rectory for their minister, and show that liberality which so eminently distinguishes them. Of the Presbyterians we have spoken before. Though theywould run ten times on a Sunday to church, and hear even as many sermons, yet they neither pay their minister, who by the bye is far from being an amiable character, nor redeem their church out of the hands of Israel, but prefer keeping their money to contributing towards such objects.
The creoles, who are Catholics, seldom visit their church, and when they do, it is only at Easter. They have a very learned bishop, named Dubourgh, a Frenchman, who is not however very popular, and is spoken of for his gallantries, though a man of sixty. It is whispered about that there is a living proof of this. A more religious character is Pere Antoine, a highly distinguished old Capuchin friar, enjoying universal love and popularity. The manner in which I saw the Governor and the city authorities, with the most respectable persons of the county, behave towards him, does as much credit to them as to the object of their consideration.
Of the two theatres, the American is openduring five, and the French during eight months in the year. The American theatre has the advantage of becoming more and more national and popular, although at present it is only resorted to by the lower class of the American population; boatmen, Kentuckians, Mississippi traders, and backwoods-men of every description. The pieces are execrably performed. The late Charles Von Weber would not have been much delighted at witnessing the performance of his Der Freyshutz, here metamorphosed into the wild huntsmen of Bohemia. Six violins, which played any thing but music, and some voices far from being human, performed the opera, which was applauded; the Kentuckians expressed their satisfaction in a hurrah, which made the very walls tremble. The interior of the theatre has still a mean appearance. The curtain consists of two sail cloths, and the horrible smell of whiskey and tobacco is a sufficient drawback for any person who would attempt to frequent this place of amusement. The French theatre performs the old classic productions of Corneille, Racine, Voltaire, with the addition of some new ones, such as Regulus, Marie Stuart, and WilliamTell. The best performer of this theatre, is Madame Clauzel.
Towards the close of December, the carnival commences; society balls, masquerades, or routs, besides a number of private balls, are then the order of the day. The first, the third, and the last masquerade, and the society balls, are the most splendid. They are regularly attended by the daughters of the merchants and planters, who at this time come to the city. There is, however, nothing more tiresome than a masked ball in New Orleans. Some young merchants, and sons of planters, took it into their heads to assume the character of poor paddies, and they dressed themselves accordingly. This would have been for the most unaccomplished American or English Miss, a fair opportunity for displaying at least some wit. But the creole Demoiselles, when addressed by their lovers, had not a word to say, except, “Oh, we know that you are no Paddies—You are very respectable—You are the wealthy C.” Another would say, “Oh, I know that you are not an Irishman—You are the rich Y.” This was the conversation all round. Stillmore tedious are the public balls given in commemoration of the eighth of January, on the anniversary of the birth-day of Washington, &c. Until last year, and owing to the shyness of the creoles towards their new brothers, the Americans and creoles stood with their ladies apart, neither speaking nor dancing with one another. Last year both parties seemed willing to draw nearer to each other. Even these entertainments, as well as more important affairs, are very subordinate to the all-powerful desire of “making money.” This is the final object of every one, and on every occasion. Any pursuit of a different tendency than that of gaining money, is neglected, and deemed unworthy of consideration. That which every town of 2000 inhabitants is now provided with, a reading-room and circulating library, you would seek in vain at New Orleans. Though the Anglo-Americans attempted to establish such an institution, which is indispensable in a great commercial city, it failed through the unwillingness of the creoles to trouble their heads with reading. Churches or theatres are not more patronised. To improve the moral condition is far from their thoughts, every onebeing bent upon—making money, as quickly as possible, in order the sooner to leave the place. New Orleans, considering its situation, should again be what it was lately, were it not for the detestable selfishness which pervades all classes, and has established a dominion over the mind, as painful as it is disgusting. The complaints about luxury are unfounded. The wealthy inhabitants live by no means in such high style as they do at New York, Boston, and even Richmond, upon a less income. There is no cause for finding fault with their extravagance, or their dissolute manners, not because they have better moral principles, but because they are too selfish to indulge in pleasures that would cost “money,” and would mar their principal object, which is to amass it. The American from the north, whilst he inhabits New Orleans, lives in a style far inferior to that in which he indulges at home; and even if he be a permanent settler, he chooses rather to go to the north in order to spend his money there. Only three American houses can be said to receive good company, the rest are creoles. The living in New Orleans, however, is good, though expensive. Board and lodging in a respectable house, will cost sixty dollars a month; in an inferior one, forty. The proper season of business for strangers, and those not accustomed to the climate, is the winter. In the summer, every one retires to the north, or across the lake, only such persons remaining as are compelled from circumstances to do so.