Eight Days In New Orleans In February, 1847 Part 1

Eight days in New Orleans in February, 1847.

by Albert James Pickett.

NOTE.

The following Sketches of New-Orleans originally appeared in the Alabama Journal of Montgomery. For the purpose of presenting them to the perusal of his friends at a distance, the author has caused them to be embodied in the present form.

These pages were written from the recollection of only a few days sojourn in the Crescent City. The period allowed the author of collecting information was very limited. It is also his first essay at descriptive and historic writing. The author fondly indulges the hope that these things will be taken into consideration by his charitable friends, and will cause them to cast the veil of compa.s.sion over imperfections.

MAY 18TH, 1847.

CHAPTER I.

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.--DESOTO'S EXPEDITION,--HIS DEATH,--THE FATE OF HIS PARTY, ETC.

On a recent excursion to the Crescent City, I collected some facts and statistics which are respectfully submitted to the public. In attempting a description of this magnificent emporium of commerce, as it exists at the present day, I will briefly allude to its early history, commencing with the great "drain" of the western world, which is destined to bear upon its turbid bosom half the commerce of the American Union.

Three hundred and thirty years ago the n.o.ble Mississippi rolled its waters to its ocean home in native silence and grandeur, hitherto seen by no European eye, when suddenly one morning HERNANDEZ DE SOTO stood upon its banks. How awfully sublime must have been the contemplations of that man. He had discovered it a thousand miles from its mouth, two thousand from its source. No one had ever seen its rise,--no one its exit into the ocean. But it was reserved for the Governor of Cuba to find it through a wilderness, at a place and under circ.u.mstances the most thrilling and romantic. Four years previous to this discovery, he embarked for Florida with an outfit of a thousand men, with arms, munitions, priests and chains. His object, the conquest of a country teeming with wealth and splendour, like that which his former Captain found in the conquest of Peru. He penetrated Florida, Georgia and Alabama, finding no gold--no splendid Montezuma--nothing but savages breathing out an innocent and monotonous existence, inhabiting a country in a state of nature alone. After hards.h.i.+ps the most unheard of, disappointments the most mortifying, the proud and enterprising De Soto threw his troops into Mauville, a large town near the confluence of the Bigby and Alabama. Here a most disastrous battle attended him, for although he routed the enemy in the death of thousands, he lost all his baggage and most of his horses. His fleet then lay at the bay of Pensacola, awaiting his arrival, and by reaching it in a few days he could have terminated his disastrous campaign. But the proud Castilian was not to be subdued by misfortunes and disappointments.

He determined to find just such a country as he had constantly sought.

Fired with fresh intelligence of the magnificence of the people who lived near the "Father of Waters," we find him pursuing his expedition in a sun-set direction in company with his jaded, reduced and dispirited force, with a fort.i.tude and courage which none but a Spaniard knows. He surmounted innumerable difficulties, which both nature and man interposed to arrest his progress; and finally, through a dense and almost endless forest, he suddenly gratified his vision with the majestic Mississippi. Crossing over the great river, he toiled in the prairies and swamps of Arkansas and Missouri, until wants and vicissitudes of the most trying character impelled his return. Arrived once more upon its virgin banks, his lofty spirit fell, and brooding over his fallen fortunes, a fever terminated his existence far from home, in the American wilds!

Just before he pa.s.sed from life, he caused his officers to surround his bed, appointed Luis de Muscoso his successor in command, and bid them an affectionate farewell. He also had his soldiers introduced by twenties, endeavored to cheer their drooping spirits, (who were now inconsolable at the loss of their great leader,) exhorted them to keep together, share each other's burthens, and endeavor to reach their native country, which he was never to see. To conceal his body from the brutalities of the natives, it was encased in an oaken trough, and silently plunged in the middle of the channel, at the dark and gloomy hour of midnight, and the muddy waters washed the bones of one of the n.o.blest sons of Spain![A] Thus was the Adelantado of Florida the first to behold the Mississippi river; the first to close his eyes in death upon it, and the first to find a grave in its deep and turbid channel.

[Footnote A: See "Monette's History of the Mississippi Valley," vol.

I., from pp. 16, to 64. This learned man and eloquent writer has given a most interesting account of De Soto's expedition. His work is recently published, and should be extensively read by the people of the south-west particularly.]

Muscoso and his remaining troops, now annoyed by the natives, by hunger and disease, built some vessels, and dropped down the river, in the hopes of reaching Cuba. And three hundred and thirty years ago these adventurers silently floated by the spot where New Orleans now stands! No hand had ever felled a tree,--no civilized voice had ever echoed among the forests of that place. But nature, eternal nature, ruled supreme. The poor fellows went out at one of the mouths of the river, and a tremendous tornado encountered and dispersed them. But few lived to reach home.

The several journalists of that expedition describe the Mississippi river of that day exactly as it is at present, in respect to several things, "a river so broad that if a man stood still on the other side, it could not be discerned whether he was a man or not. The channel was very deep, the current strong, the water muddy and filled with floating trees."

A long century was added to the age of the world before the Mississippi river was beheld again by civilized man. Col. Woods, of the Virginia colony next saw it, and crossed it. Marquette, in 1673, started at its source, and came down as far as the Arkansas. The Chevalier de la Salle, some years after this, commenced near its head and descended to the gulf, with seventeen men. Having returned to France, he fitted out an expedition, but his vessels were unable to find the river. He made another voyage, but could not find its mouth.

Iberville was the first voyager that ever entered this river from the ocean, and he erected a fort at Biloxi, near Mobile, in 1697.

CHAPTER II.

THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF NEW ORLEANS,--OF BILOXI,--NATCHEZ.--GOVERNOR IBERVILLE AND HIS SUCCESSOR.

Iberville, the father of Louisiana, having formed a settlement at Biloxi, by erecting a fort and leaving a garrison, proceeded up the river, and established a town at Natchez, on that splendid bluff which towers above the angry waters of the Mississippi. On his departure for France, his brother, Bienville, was made Governor, and he appears to have been anxious to procure a more eligible site for the capitol of the province than either of those which his predecessor had selected.

Dropping down the vast current he most patiently made a thorough examination of the banks from Natchez to the gulf, and finally determined to make the Crescent Bend the future capitol. His judgment was good, although the visitor frequently wonders why the city was not placed nearer the ocean. It was, perhaps, the most elevated spot convenient to the outlet, and was certainly nearest Lake Pontchartrain, upon the commerce of which the founder no doubt made reasonable calculations. But whether the settlement of New Orleans was the result of accident, as many suppose, or of well conceived design, it matters but little. It was selected by Bienville, and he threw fifty able men forthwith into the forest to felling the trees, exactly one hundred and twenty-nine years ago! In defiance of the united opposition of Natchez and Biloxi, the Governor pushed forward his work. It appears that in the very outset this place encountered difficulties of various kinds, which thwarted its prosperity for nearly a century. While only one year old, the Mississippi rising to an unprecedented height, swept away every vestige of human innovation.

Being totally abandoned for three years, it was again settled by Delorme, "who acting under positive instructions, removed to it the government establishment." In the following year it contained about one hundred houses scattered in all directions, with no regularity, with no d.y.k.e to protect them from the rolling waves, no fort to repel the incursions of the Indians; without the smallest luxury and comfort, without society, without religious enjoyment, reduced by disease and a.s.sailed by the venom of every tropical insect, did these enterprising sons of France struggle for existence and a town. No sooner were they left to some kind of repose than they were visited by a dreadful tornado, which blew away their houses, destroyed their s.h.i.+pping, and ruined their gardens. But New Orleans has risen above all disasters and opposition. One of the most remarkable characters of that day was Governor Bienville. He must have been a determined man, with great good sense, and had the confidence of the citizens. He was made Governor three times, and for many years exercised a salutary influence over the destinies of Louisiana.

A few years after this period, a body of Jesuit priests and nuns arriving from France, gave a new impetus to the town. They made a most fortunate location, and their property greatly augmented in value. But these pious adventurers were also to be disturbed. The Pope of Rome not only expelled that sect from Europe, but pursued them in American exile. Their property in New Orleans, variously estimated to be worth now, from fifteen to thirty millions, was then confiscated and sold for one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. These unfortunate people still further had to satisfy the tyrannical decree to the full measure, by leaving Louisiana! Fifty-one years elapsed from the settlement of Orleans until it was visited by that dreadful disease, the yellow fever, and we may ascribe that affliction, as we may do many other entailed evils, to the English. They introduced it by importing to Louisiana a cargo of slaves; and now these philanthropists would be willing to see our nation exterminated, and our throats cut, because we are pursuing a system of mild domestic slavery, when they imposed it upon us in the most heartless and aggravated form, by kidnapping and robbery!!! But I am digressing.

To terminate this very rapid and imperfect sketch of the history of Orleans, I will introduce a brief summary, with the remark, however, that the Louisianians had every impediment thrown in their way in endeavoring to become a prosperous and happy people. They were handed over by the French government to a chartered company, who afterwards returned them to the government. They were then sold to Spain, and a remorseless governor of that nation introduced a system of plunder and oppression. Afterwards Spain ceded this country again to France, and France sold it to the United States for fifteen millions of dollars! A sum that startled many of our economical republicans of that day, but which, compared to the advantages of the purchase and the revenue since derived, was a most paltry sum. In 1778 a fire consumed nine hundred houses. In 1785, seventy years after it was founded, the population was only four thousand seven hundred and eighty. In 1791 the first comedians arrived from Cape Francois. In 1800 Spain receded the province to France, and it was purchased by the United States in 1803. In 1810 the population amounted to twenty-four thousand five hundred and fifty-two souls: Ever since the cession to the United States the strides of the city of Orleans have been rapid, and her march onward!

CHAPTER III.

GEN. JACKSON.--THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS.--THE POPULATION AT THAT DAY, AND OTHER THINGS ABOUT THE CRESCENT CITY.

The most extraordinary man that ever lived in any age or country, was Gen. ANDREW JACKSON. From youth to the last moments of his life, he swayed the minds and actions of men beyond anything on record.

Buonaparte, with all his power, was at last subdued, and died at St.

Helena as harmless as a child. The venerated "Father of his country"

lost much of his popularity and influence after he retired to Mount Vernon.[A] Nearly all the great men of whom we read, lose to some extent their position towards the close of their lives. But Gen.

Jackson retained his influence so long as the breath remained in his body. While retired at the Hermitage, divested of all official power, with a weak and attenuated frame, bowed down with disease and tottering to decay; whilst the last light was flickering in that once refulgent lamp, did this masterly and commanding man dictate the nomination of a President, and achieve, through his expressed opinions, the annexation of Texas!! This is mentioned, not by way of political boasting, but to show the powerful influence he exerted over the destinies of this Union, even when the hand of death was upon him! It was the efforts of this distinguished Captain which saved New Orleans in 1814. No sooner had that devoted city become free from that despotic and ruinous policy which had for a century crippled its energies, no sooner had it been made a member of our family, than the ruthless hand of fate was down upon it once more. To sack it, to dishonor it, there were ready encamped on its outskirts eight thousand chosen troops, who had fought under Wellington in the peninsular war; veterans in service, and the flower of the British army.

[Footnote A: Some of the author's friends find fault with the contrast here made in regard to the influence which Gen. Was.h.i.+ngton and Jackson exerted over the people of the United States, and they say that I have ranked Jackson before the "Father of his Country," for true greatness.

Now, while I agree with them that Was.h.i.+ngton was the purest and greatest man that ever lived, I say that Jackson was the most brilliant of the two, and exercised more influence over the people than any other man that ever lived!]

General Jackson reached Orleans under the most embarra.s.sing circ.u.mstances. His troops numbered only four thousand, as undisciplined as children of the forest could be, with few arms and but little ammunition. The population of the city was made up princ.i.p.ally of French, Spanish and Dutch, who knew not our laws, who were aliens in feelings, who had never heard of Jackson, but who looked upon his raw troops with doubt and dismay, while the splendid numbers in the British lines over-awed and intimidated them. Among this mixed and doubtful ma.s.s, it was the aim of the American commander to inspire confidence and make them stand by him. In the darkest hour of his deepest embarra.s.sment, when mutiny and riot stalked over the infatuated city, when much of the talent and influence of Orleans was at that moment employed in overtures to the enemy; in that dark hour that tortured the commander's soul, a large deputation of French ladies implored him with tears and lamentations, to surrender the city and save their lives and persons. When informed by his aid, Col.

Livingston, who was familiar with the French language, the nature of their visit, this great native Captain, this commander by the creation of his Maker, rose in his stirrups and said, in a loud voice, "Tell them, Colonel, to rely upon me, I will protect them, defend the city, and save it!" Jackson carried out his bold declaration, which seemed groundless when made. No man but him had nerve enough to make, and none to demonstrate it under such unfavorable circ.u.mstances. In a conversation with the Duke of Wellington, not long since, that distinguished soldier remarked to Col. King, our Ex-Minister to France, "that taking into account the disparagement of the opposite forces and the number slain on either side, the battle of New Orleans was unrivalled in the annals of warfare." Only seven Americans paid the debt of war, while the b.l.o.o.d.y field was covered with two thousand sons of Britain!

After the defeated troops had embarked for England, and peace being declared, the Crescent City, relieved of many of its tramels, made the most mastodon strides to wealth and fame. Her population increased rapidly in despite of the yellow fever, which annually swept off thousands. As disease made fearful lanes through the ranks, the avenues were immediately filled by fresh pioneers invited by the inducements which her commerce held out. The population of New Orleans in 1810 was 17,242; in 1820, 27,126; in 1830, 46,310; in 1840, 102,193; and at this time it amounts to 170,000 souls! In regard to her population Orleans is not unlike Astor with his money. Each have arrived at that prosperous state when it requires but a few years to double their numbers.

When Napoleon sold Louisiana to Mr. Jefferson, the condition of Orleans was poor indeed compared to its present imposing and magnificent appearance. Norman, a writer, says "at that time the public property transferred to us consisted of two large brick stores, a government house, a military hospital, powder magazine on the opposite side of the river, an old frame custom-house, extensive barracks below those now remaining, five miserable redoubts, a town-house, market-house, a.s.sembly room and prison, a cathedral and presbytery, and a charity hospital." The Second Munic.i.p.ality, which now contains a population of fifty thousand, with lofty and compact buildings, the centre of trade and enterprise, where now towers the conspicuous St. Charles and comfortable Verandah, was not many years since a sugar plantation belonging to Monsieur Gravier. In 1823, the enterprising Caldwell erected the American theatre on a portion of this field, and was considered a madman for building in the country.

The lovers of the drama could only reach the theatre upon the gunwales of flat-bottomed boats, but how soon was this isolated building surrounded by wealth, beauty and fas.h.i.+on!

CHAPTER IV.

NEW ORLEANS IN 1847.--ITS EXTENT AND SITUATION.--LAFAYETTE.--CARROLLTON, ETC.

Omitting an account of the many deadly quarrels which were constantly fermented with the Indians--of the battles of the Louisianas with the Spanish and English--of the horrible and unparalleled murder of twelve of the principle citizens of Orleans, by the order of O'Reilly, the Spanish commandant, who had invited them to one of his banquets--nay, of a thousand interesting things connected with the history of this romantic city, which could not have been embodied in these hasty numbers, I proceed to consider its present condition and prospects.

The bend of land which sustains all this magnificence and wealth, is very much like that opposite Montgomery. A citizen acquainted with our localities, may very justly imagine New Orleans to commence on the west side of the Alabama, below Jackson's Ferry, continuing on by Bibb's gate and terminating just below town.--Opposite old Alabama town he may suppose the city of Lafayette to commence, then, further on, the town of Bouligny, and then Carrollton.

The city proper is, by the river, five miles long, and will average three-fourths of a mile wide. Then commences Lafayette, which extends up the river two miles further, and, as they are so intimately connected and a.s.sociated, it all may be considered as one vast place, seven miles in extent. After a succession of splendid mansions, farms, and other houses, the whole resembling a continued village, Bouligny and Carrollton unite with the chain of commerce. A century from this date, Orleans, like London, will reach out her arms and encompa.s.s within her limits every town and hamlet for miles around. As London swallowed up Westminster, Southwark, Lambeth, and Chelsea, so will Lafayette, Bouligny, Carrollton, and others adjacent be lost in her future immensity. It will then all be New Orleans, the largest city on the continent of America, and perhaps in the world.

The foundation consists of a plain inclining from the river, and when looking from the St. Charles to the Levee, the singular spectacle is presented of s.h.i.+ps and boats standing raised up before you, and the little rivulet in the street, just after a rain, running in a smart current by you and losing itself in the swamp, as if afraid to mingle with the "Father of Waters." As health and cleanliness are greatly promoted by this gentle inclined plain, it is most fortunate that Orleans is so situated. In ancient times the inhabitants were either amphibious or lived at great sufferance from the floods. But now they are protected by the Levee. A stranger however, upon the impulse, would think that protection uncertain. But if he would reflect for a moment, he would wisely determine that it requires not a very strong d.y.k.e to pen up the surplus water during a freshet, for the main current is confined by immense banks reaching far, far below. To render my position more palpable, suppose the river should suddenly dry up, Orleans would then be standing on a bluff three hundred and sixty feet high, for that is the depth of the river opposite the city. The foundation, a low alluvial bottom, has been much improved by draining and filling up. No building is erected without the foundation is made firm by piling with long logs driven down with immense force; but very ma.s.sive buildings, even with this precaution, will continue to settle. It is said that the St. Charles is two feet lower now than formerly. Three great streets divide the city into munic.i.p.alities.

Between Ca.n.a.l and Esplanade, lies the first Munic.i.p.ality, between Esplanade and the lowest street on the outskirts, far down the river, lies the Third Munic.i.p.ality; and between Ca.n.a.l and Felicity, is the Second. They are wide and beautiful streets, running perfectly straight from the river to the farthest back limits, serving not only as boundaries for munic.i.p.al purposes, but absolutely separating different races. The everlasting Yankees, with their shrewdness and enterprize, inhabit the Second Munic.i.p.ality; the wealthy French and Spanish fill up the First, with a large mixture of native Americans; but the Third Munic.i.p.ality is entirely French and Spanish. It was impossible for me to ascertain how many streets run through the city, but there are many. No fault can be found of the topography of Orleans, and it is strange that the regularity of the thorough fares should have been so well preserved under all the changes and vicissitudes through which she has pa.s.sed. Everything is of interest here; even the names of the streets attract the notice of the visitor; and as he rides along, he may trace the different races who have formed and named them. He will pa.s.s through streets which the descendants of Spain first laid out, such as Esplanade, Ferdinand Casacalvo, Morales, and Perdido. Again his eye will glance at French names, such as Josephine, Bourbon, Chartres, Notre Dame, Dauphin, and Toulouse. Then there are various streets bearing the names of all the saints known to the Catholic devotee. In respect to names very little of Orleans has been Americanized. Occasionally you will meet with such names as Commerce and Ca.n.a.l, which doubtless sound very vulgar to the the French. But the master street of the world is the great Levee, usually from two to five hundred feet wide from the river to the buildings. From this great thoroughfare all others diverge, and it is the greatest mart of its extent in the world. While I was there, THIRTY-SIX THOUSAND BARRELS OF FLOUR were sold in a few hours! And while this astonis.h.i.+ng transfer was going on, thousands of other produce and commodities were changing hands. Many years ago it was used as a fas.h.i.+onable promenade to enjoy the breezes of the Mississippi. Commerce has changed its character entirely. Now scenes of the most intensely exciting character are upon the Levee. The very air howls with an eternal din and noise. Drays and wagons of all descriptions, loaded with the produce of every clime, move on continually in one unbroken chain. s.h.i.+ps from every nation, whose masts tower aloft in a dense forest for five miles, with thirty thousand sailors and stevedores, busily loading and unloading, stand in your view. Steamboats, and crafts of every make and shape, from every river which empties into the Mississippi, are here mingling in the strife of commerce. The rough and homely produce of the far and cold Iowa--of the distant Wisconsin--of the black and stormy Northern Lakes, is here thrown upon the Levee in hurry and confusion mingled and mixed with the sweets and luxuries of the sunny tropics. Here, too, the various races of men astonish one. The Kentuckian with an honest and ruddy face; the Yankee with his shrewd and enterprising look; the rich planter of Mississippi; the elegant and chivalrous Carolinian; the sensible and honest citizen from the "Old North State;" the lively, fine-looking, and smart Georgian; the talented and handsome Virginian; the swarthy creole sugar planter; the rough hunter from the gorges of the Rocky Mountains--all natives of the Union--all freemen alike--all meet upon this common ground of LIBERTY and COMMERCE. And this picture must be carried out with the children of _adoption_. Here is also the dark and mysterious Spaniard puffing his cigar and sending up volumes of smoke through his black imperials; the gay and frisky Frenchman; the st.u.r.dy Dutchman; the son of Erin, and the cunning Jew. A trite adage says that "it takes all kinds of people to make a world;" verily, then, the Levee is a world.