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McGill Universtty Libriri_s 
 
 E 168 M32 
 
 Notes of a w nter tr p to Cuba and back 
 
 3 000 702 688 P 
 
 1 
 
 isiy 
 
-f' -l';r^*;*rt^^laft*#^-^^A;^^3^ 
 
 
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 3> 
 
 #. 
 
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 — (■ fi iMi:iWTT?r.ni ,,, , . |' - 
 
 '^. 
 
 lU^tJtj/ / 
 
 op A 
 
 Winter Trip 
 
 58T5^ 
 
 VA 
 
 TO 
 
 CUBA AND BACK 
 
 BY WAY OF 
 
 THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 
 
 y 
 
 John McLennan 
 
 REI'RI.VTKO FROM THE MONTREAL OAZETTE. 
 
 MONTREAL 
 
 Printed by M, Longmoore & Co, 
 
 Printing House, 67 Great St. James Street. 
 
 i'60/. 
 
 Gr-k' 
 
 
cu 
 
 T 
 
 V U 1 J 
 
< 
 
 NOTES 
 
 OF A 
 
 Winter Trip 
 
 TO 
 
 CUBA AND BACK 
 
 II Y WAY OF 
 
 THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 
 
 s3 oi") r\ Ki c u e n r\ a n 
 
 REl'RINTEl) I'RbM THE MONTREAL CJAZETTE. 
 
 MONTREAL 
 
 P R I N r E 1) BY M . L O N G M O O R E & C 0. 
 
 Printing House, 67 Great St. James Street. 
 1867. 
 
E168 M32 
 McLennan 
 iNJotes of 
 Cuba and 
 
 McLennan 
 
 John 
 a winter trip to 
 back by way of the 
 71799402 
 
 These Ni 
 extending fn 
 ^hc intcrm 
 Canadians, ', 
 
 i\v or wort 
 
 ^Montreal, ^ 
 
 3STto; 
 
J These Notes extend over that part only of the trip 
 extending from Chicago to Cuba and back to Washington, 
 (he intermediate parts of my route are familiar to most 
 janadians, and my journey over them presented nothing 
 ;w or worthy of special remark. 
 
 loNTREAL, Ajn-a, J867, 
 
 J. McL. 
 
 3STS5 
 
WIN 
 
 I 
 
 Thci 
 
 have S( 
 
 prescni 
 
 dreary 
 
 sendinj 
 
 II. and 
 
 by rail, 
 
 cold W( 
 
 The 111 
 
 one ov 
 
 produc 
 
 coal fi 
 
 land-s( 
 
 on th{ 
 
 return 
 
 found 
 
 snow 
 
 Cairo, 
 
 of SC' 
 
 minut 
 
 and o 
 
 steam 
 
NOTES ON A 
 
 WINTER TRIP TO CUBA AND BACK. 
 
 Letter I. 
 
 ON liOAKI) TIIK STEAMF.R " LUI'I'Y GULL," 
 
 ON THE MUDDY MISSISSI ITI, 
 
 Saturday, Jan. 19, 1867. 
 
 There are few of the uncomfortable situations of life but 
 have some component or incidental compensation. In the 
 present case the prospect, merely " looking out," is rather 
 dreary ; but then it is a fine time for " looking in," nnd for 
 sending back an account of one's self. In company with 
 II. and G. I left Chicago on Thursday night at ten o'clock 
 by rail, having had, for the previous twenty-four hours, very 
 cold weather, and being of course glad to leave that locality. 
 The Illinois Central Railway from Chicago to Cairo conveys 
 one over 365 miles of country that is rich in its capacity for 
 producing corn and other cereals, and that covers extensive 
 coal fields, but presents nothing of interest in the way of 
 land-scape scenery. We witnessed, however, a lovely sunrise 
 on the prairie which was warmed up far and near by the 
 return of the " C -l of day." As we approached Cairo we 
 found the tempc a.ure gradually modifying, with very little 
 snow on the ground. At 6J p. m. on Friday we reached 
 Cairo, where we were besieged by the wordy representatives 
 of several steamers, all " warranted to leave in twenty 
 minutes." Having made a survey we transferred ourselves 
 and our " plunder " to the " Luppy Gull," which is a large 
 steamer with vast deck room for freight, an extensive saloon 
 
6 
 
 aloft, and such feer?mo- ,»,. t- 
 
 P--.S : a„,i wc t^^^hc'^"' '■■' T ™""""" "■ ">« 
 
 f"o.l. VVc Ic-ft Cairo ™lv't ' "'" '"" '"''■■'■'"''>' 1'""- 
 -'y ever co,„cs J g ,^e, , ""'; "' ''•^>-' " "■••« """'cr: 
 natural ,liffic„ltics ; itf .K '" ,' " '"■"™""' »"'"" 
 
 rivers, i., unbrokc-n by any ! i ,1, f ""'''" "'"' ""^ 01,i 
 
 ■i..sn,al. ThcKathor ,f Waters nJ 1 ''"""' '" '■••■""■' 
 
 water ,„ wash witbal. In fj 1 V, """^"' '"'^'< "^ '^l"" 
 
 ■•'■'' if he had kept b„t indi/lt .,..1 f ■"™«n appear, 
 
 haci bee,, very neib-Kcnt,™,;'^^ «:" "»;- >a.ely, an., 
 
 (al,o„t 30 miles from Cairo) we ™, r:'T'"'^'""l^^'>l"mbm 
 
 confluence of the Mississ p . ^nf or "^ ^ ""''"■''' '" '•'^'=. "'^ 
 
 ried it down in too great von'fo^" •■" '■»'™ ^^-e^r- 
 
 gorge at this point. )w ,he co° „1 •"''"»'" "^ ^ """"^'^ 
 
 A.el, our vessel " worrfe<r T ''"°"' '"'"'^"'•■'•' "^ "»'ch 
 
 lark, we are lying over a ' I,ic2 k?" I" ""^'" ^-"" 
 our voyage. ™^"' '^J'- about 50 miles 0,, 
 
 We left soon after daylight and h , ''"'"'"^' ''""■ -°- 
 hours (now , , a. ra ) fa« ,„ V '" '"'" '"' "« last two 
 while the swarm of tloled me.fftaTf"" f'""'" '""''■ 
 steamer are engaged, under t^e LI J! y'" " "™ "' "'" 
 ■n tnmbling firewood down he eM „f T" "°" °' *= """=■ 
 on board on their baeks. A so " Yn' ""^'"S " 
 what sailors eall " dirty weather ''Tr '""'"S- '"<> " '' 
 Madrid, Mo., were seenes of fierce J »° "'°°"''' "'""" J^" 
 and there was also some fighttaT • u "' ''"""6 *e war, ' 
 Hiekm..n. In the former fa 2til*' neighbourhood of 
 
 ---atter Place some rurreXorttat'S 
 
 I 
 
3 common in tho 
 •jt-'inK able to I, 
 )iit tolerably 1),,,^^^, 
 ''• If that moder 
 overcome serion 
 mud and sand, .i 
 'Ppi and the Obi 
 "'try. or indeed i. 
 cncral feature <, 
 cl water is rather« 
 le same indicatioi " 
 'tiful lack of clean 
 -ntlcman aj)pear.s 
 iiours lately, and ■ 
 
 •aching Columbus * 
 •acked in ice, the 
 Cairo havingcar- 
 sage of a narrow 
 owevcr, of much 
 the night being 
 lout so miles 01. 
 
 nlay, Jan. 20. 
 for the last two 
 Vlissouri shore, 
 he crew of the 
 on of the mate, 
 md carrying it 
 Ihng, and it in 
 ds about New 
 Jring the war, ^ 
 :hbourhood of | 
 broken trees, I 
 fks that were | 
 
 once objects (if interest to the ctmtoiuling armies. We were 
 so fortunate as to meet some lellow-p- ssengers who are 
 (lisposed to make ihemsclvcs agreeable, ....d to tell u.s what 
 they know of the route and the local history, and we find 
 the advantage of improving our opportunities by returning 
 the courtesy. 
 
 Monday, Jan. 21, 4 V. M. 
 We pulled up beside a woodpile last night, leaving at day- 
 light this morning ; we have a bright sun and a fine day, but 
 somewhat windy, ami a periodical retreat from the deck to 
 the sto.-e is rather a pleasant cnange. We have made 
 steady progress, making but one halt to land a passenger, 
 and are now within fifty miles of Memphis. We have passed 
 a few cotton plantations this afternoon, but they arc iMt, 
 apparently, in thriving circumstances. We made the 
 acquaintance of a Jeff. Davis democrat from Mississippi, 
 who freely expressed sentiments that appcaretl to meet the 
 ready approval of many of his less demonstrative fellow 
 travellers. Our friend appeared tt) be a man of a single 
 mind — a very ideal of Injalty. I le told us that he had fought 
 and bled, and almost diet' for his Slate — that he had done 
 so because it was hio native State — that he came of a race 
 that was never ?ifraif. to fight, tuid he told us, with some 
 emphasis, that if he had been a citizen of a much ivaniur 
 State tnan Mississippi, he should have fought for the 
 accredited ruler of that place, lie bore with him in a 
 shattered hand and in every line and feature of his fine form 
 and rather worn but handsome face the proofs of his sincerity. 
 He told us that he had been in St. Louis to obtain 
 " frcedmen " to work his plantatii)n, and accpiiesced (as we 
 find most men do) in the great fact that the negro is free 
 for ever, but he complains i.hat the Freedmen's 15ureau is 
 not a judicious arbiter between the master and the labourer, 
 and maintains the right of the community to adopt such 
 
this journey and room for ^cTond tl^T ""'"' '"'"""' "' 
 '» -cur to ,l,is subject- vhTh';i^'^'»"<'°"P°«"ni.y 
 
 ■" e.cst and I shall probably re ,,„ . " Z "'"^"""' 
 I 'low this afternoon. It ,,rcsTtl h ■ **= P'''^'"' ''°" 
 "*lled bank of day. ' "°"""S """<= than a 
 
 We arrived here at o „ n, I^T'"!,"' '""'''••"^' ■'••'"■ -'=■ 
 a Mi ablution and toile a e n, t'f """ """"««' '" -'^'' 
 on a Mississippi steamer aL ,° T""^ "'^™"'1>"*«1 
 
 «n;su„,i,ht, t-'restS b^ v™„r7rr"'""»" '" "'^- 
 The horse chcstnnf« nn i "''^\'^^a^s or fur caps. 
 
 the colony of ;TZZ:;i^^J^^>^'- »-e„, and 
 weir appointed square in the heart „ftf "'''"=■■"•••■"« to a 
 -s covered with what appeared Vn f , ' '"^- "^ ''^ k™o 
 Wes of cotton ; but we wejf oT \ "l" ''' '"'^o number of 
 Chamber of ConmercwSchl k^ "' Secretary „f the 
 occupation of that oflic „ ha Ur* "' '"'""' '" "><= ^"^ 
 that there were no re^dar „: ;r,:"!°'?-"°"^'tion 
 
 i-lioi- i-u """^ti, mac trade \va< 
 
 'h:cXrte:;rLrit«^ ■■» ■-— th« 
 
 lack of capital whefewith t^;^;T'"''' !'"'' => S-t 
 from the chaos of war to the nr„ transition period 
 
 With the restoration of rabo'^to?;::^*^ " ""'' """' 
 
T 
 
 nd blacks, as may 
 "untry's industry 
 1 of the "Sacred 
 • much leisure in 
 
 and oj)portunity 
 >nc of universal 
 
 We passed Fort 
 iig more than a 
 
 •sd'iy, Jan. 23. 
 inclulged in such 
 ly accomplished 
 >fpanding in the ■ 
 "■ caps. 
 
 hcst green, and 
 ippcarance to a 
 ity. The levee 
 irge number of 
 ecretary of the 
 iind in the sole 
 'ovv a condition 
 :hangc "—that 
 d, and a great 
 nsition period 
 -an only come 
 
 1 
 
 Letter IJ. 
 
 The ,;pper Cec. (a AiJI^V^Tl T' '"'■ 
 Mississippi steamers about the t nil .u"'' "P™ "i= 
 was annexed to the Union-hen^r,^ *" ^'''"'^ °f Texas 
 of the name. The fitness of h! u™'"°" "1'1'H^ation 
 
 "> tl'c case of the Sta e the t,,T ^' '"'" ""=^"°""' 
 »c fine, it ,o.<,ay the ms't p asa ' 1 . «'?'"'!'•-'"/. -"' 
 jot our pencil n,ark. ■ t ' i'"f "''""S l''ace in which to 
 
 left Memphis betvvee,, T ' 1 f '"" °^°" '■™"'''- We 
 ing, and having made abo, mfe ° f"" ^"Inesday morn. 
 ^-. We are-drawhg ;jV^^=™ ""'f ' ^'^^ f-' "Pon a 
 ..misnallylow for the "seaSon xle™ an ""'' "" "^'" '■■" 
 swung round with the current and ,11 f , T "'■" l'™"'!'"/ 
 '» got her off, but in vain Ti!. ''■''''■'''' '''=^'"' 'Wliod 
 however, on boar<l ; and durinith "'"■■"•'■' "'' '"' ''"o. 
 l>-ctical application .he use "f?', LIT™,'' "= ''''■ "/ 
 «ood erect on the forward deel Tl '"''' "'' *™' "'M 
 
 "hoal, and used as levers to lift ih.K *" T" '''•''"'"' "' 'I'O 
 *U' 3 P.m., ty the pe,: e t L oT t "° ,7^^'' ""- 
 •■•"oat again, and fortunately wi"h , "L d ' ''' ^'"^ «"' 
 "sloi'ger. About 6} pm „ ' „ '^"^ ''■™'-'S<= to detain 
 
 ;"aAness, having madeCr'r;^::;;'"';"' 7, ^^ *= 
 f his morning opened warm and all „„ K , °'" "^'^l^'^- 
 ■ts freshness. The colony o fit h '' """ ""'"' "'* 
 
 tiirkies) that in their coons fiil ,/''""*' Soose, ducks and 
 •"= rails on each leek anr '" I ' ™"'"'^ '^1"''= outside 
 ■ift lip their pipes in ehee;v 1 ° ™ "■ "' ""= "■•■*"<= '>°«s, 
 
 ■^'•'•"0 along (ill ,„„ X ; r rr""\*-'" '""^ ••■- 
 
 where those pipes are ,„ be wr. ! T"? '° ""^ Pl---ce 
 -ose faces grew grave With ;:";^a„?ba:r:err: 
 
10 
 
 relax with hopes of a speedy market and much profit, and 
 exult in the probable delay in ice, higher up stream, of their 
 coming competitors. The four hundred mules that had 
 danced and kicked rather impatiently as the cold water 
 washed up on them over the slight bulwark and through the 
 uncaulked deck, become genial and kindly under the rays of 
 the sun. These useful animals are raised in the North- 
 western States, and exported for sale and use in the South, 
 where from their greater power of endurance they are 
 preferable to horses for field work, and for drays and street 
 cars ; they vary much in size and figure, and in colour, and 
 are said to be worth in the Southern States from $175 to 
 
 $200 each. 
 
 We arc thfs morning entirely clear of ice, which had kept 
 a constant rasping against the sides of our vessel to this 
 time. There is yet very little cultivation or improvement 
 visible, and where, here and there, a woodman has erected 
 his hut to carry on the business of providing firewood for the 
 passing steamers he has scarcely improved the scene. We 
 " rounded to" (the usual process in landing, owing to the 
 rapidity of the river) this morning at the city of Helena, 
 Arkansas A ranf": of low hills rising behind the city with 
 here and there a modest villa in a garden, together with two 
 or three church spires, all in the sunlight, gave a pleasing 
 prospect in the distance ; but as we neared the landing 
 place the picture melted away. The motley congregation 
 of poor whites, and coloured freedmen, and rawboned mules, 
 with some few bales of cotton that formed the foreground to 
 a strao-o-ling range of wooden general stores and tin shops 
 —all combined— presented a dreary lot. A lanky youth 
 reclinin- in a waggon behind a mule replied to our inquiry 
 if there were Union men here that he "guessed they were 
 mostly Jeff. Davis boys about these parts." We were told 
 that cotton was worth about 24 cents a pound, and decided 
 that cotton must be " king," as it was. evidently more money 
 
 I 
 
Lich profit, and 
 stream, of their 
 lulcs that had 
 he cold water 
 nd through the 
 ider the rays of 
 in the North- 
 e in the South, 
 ance they are 
 •ays and street 
 in colour, and 
 i from $175 to 
 
 which had kept 
 - vessel to this 
 )r improvement 
 an has erected 
 firewood for the 
 he scene. We 
 ;, owing to the 
 city of Helena, 
 id the city with 
 jrether with two 
 gave a pleasing 
 red the landing 
 ;y congregation 
 awboned mules, 
 ic foreground to 
 s and tin shops 
 A lanky youth 
 I to our inquiry 
 esscd they were 
 We were told 
 md, and decided 
 ntly more money 
 
 --lying at the wafcrl Z , I'f""';'' ?"" « -'"% 
 »ss,ss,p„i „i,|,i„ ,^ '"-' l>acl dropped i„t„ th, 
 
 Ao Socicy of l,>i,„,,, X ,, tr "'^ '*■"'""' "'"-• ■"• 
 '«". Our fricK, i, , ,„,,„ »;3'l ''""'O valuable i„f„™„. 
 ■"'^'"iscncc ; -a native o I , i,!""';"™--- ™' -Pcrior 
 
 omtgratcd early in life to Ne J l"u '"';-""''''''<'• »''o l.ad 
 
 °>n.petent provision for life (in t, e ci H 7 ''■■"' ''"'"'"■^'' ^' 
 J; retnecl to l„„, ,,i^,, hjf , ;'^,^«--'; 3't";lc,) wherenpon 
 
 "f a farmer. Jieing ,-et l,ea v , "' "'" l'™'^'-'''"! Hk 
 adva„ee<l i„ years, he had Jot ^ :", "«'"■""'■ '"»"«'. well 
 soccty to earry „„ ,„ en'.'" "'""""''' '" ""^ 
 Arkansas, and throughout hsV" "'•■""""S "•'""' in 
 "™ "'™">Pe.feetir„l. t X ;:; . ™' "" ••■ la'Se planta- 
 "ny by the negroes whom e,tf,"'",V'''"'' ■'"■■"""''«' 
 had g,ven an interest in the IoaIT, "," ^'■■"'-■<' "'at he 
 -h.b,ted any q-.alir,ea.i„n fo ' „.° ' ' "' "" "^-S"- - 
 to he found the number v ry ;, "n ? ■"■ «"'-"='«n,s ; 
 be impressed „.ith a sense of™ e a '•,"""• "•■^' <^"'*' 
 ••""I a. the same time -o„cl a" " ""''^'""' ••■I'l*™tion, 
 necessary to the sueeess o ;'""'"' 'l'^' 6ir dealing 
 stated, however, that one of ,, ^''^acHng party- he 
 a -.m of throe thottsan I do , ^ "'fi' ^° ^"S'^S"' '>ad earnec 
 obstaele to the improveraa 'f „ '" "'""'"""I as ohe great 
 ''>e w.ant „f eomn.in hu an svl h"" '" ""-■'■■ '>='= sta e 
 hopes, however, for the rSto™ ' 7 "■'"' ''''" k"'"- 1 c 
 a generation that is .J^t^Z:'!^ "■^'-i feeling to 
 toils us, has been mueh bette i a',1 "°" "' "'""•. be 
 
 "le of the Mississippi. , e , t 'n""', """ °" '"- oast 
 '-e. o.. favourable terms fort ^i '^f l"- -'-" .on 
 
 6 y^ai, a plantation 
 
- ' ( 
 
 12 
 
 of 1 200 acres, which he has apportioned in lots at the same 
 rental to the negroes whom he had employed last year 
 charging them only a commission for advances and for the 
 
 sale of their crop. 
 
 Near Helena we passed an extensive cotton field, on Avhich 
 the negroes were busy picking the precious staple. Wc 
 understand that the cause of the delay (and loss ancl^^J^'T 
 to the fibre) was the difficulty so generally prevalent through- 
 out last season of obtaining labour-a cause that has probably 
 had much to do witn the short aggregate crop. This is a 
 subic t of which we hear a good deal, and on which may, 
 perhaps, be able to speak more intelligently as we advance 
 
 ^"ThTwild cane begins to show in green tufts in the 
 underwood, and the far extending forests of cotton wood 
 are now hung with festoons of moss-dry and dreary, and 
 su"-"-estive of dreamland. 
 
 We stopped at a trading place this pm., to discharge a few 
 baael of meal, and H., being enterprising and adventurous 
 climbed up the steep bank and plucked a vvld rose bush n 
 fin^ !rlvvtl from the ruins of a homestead that had apparen ly 
 b enCrifi'ced by the red band of war. A few green ;,sbes 
 and some stumps of fence posts rcmam to tell the sad but 
 too common story of desolation. 
 
 We pass here and there, bleaching on the sand-bars, the 
 
 wbTe r the timbers of a hull, or some other skcle on of 
 
 steamer that has succumbed to fire or steam or snag. This 
 
 Ten my is supplied for the most part from the extensive 
 
 ™l ^Ues that are constantly oecuring, when several acres 
 
 Ua fall drop into the river, presenting, as we nofeed m 
 
 some «scs, a surface of forest, arable, or glebe land yet 
 
 Xoken and not fidly submerged. The bottom and banks 
 
 ™ the Mississippi appear to be constantly shifting, and the 
 
 process of decrease or attraction constantly in progress on 
 
 Te bank and the other respectively, whilst shoals are formed 
 
t the same 
 last year, 
 nd for the 
 
 d, on which 
 taplc. Wc 
 and injury 
 nt through- 
 las probably 
 This is a 
 hich I may, 
 wc advance 
 
 lifts in the 
 
 otton wood 
 
 dreary, and 
 
 charge a few 
 idventurous, 
 rose bush, in 
 id apparently 
 green bushes 
 the sad but 
 
 13 
 
 forest are to be seen in every sta4 of "rowirf T^''' '^ 
 dappling to the sturdy tree rCtiS., ' ' "'' '*''''>^ 
 little value-it is soft shor^l- , ""' '^^'^'"''^''^ ^° ^e of 
 
 i" this- latter staL s ^L^S fo 'r' T t ''^^ '"•^' ^''' 
 to the peculiar difficult ^0^0 ' ^"'^- ^^^'"^• 
 
 of piloting is an inn o t "t oL ^ 1'"^^''''"' '''" P'""^'^^'"" 
 employed in this "C^tv on / " "' "'" '"'^ ''''' '''' "^-" 
 of about two hundXd'fi loV'""^""'^ '^'^''^'^ ^ -'-T 
 i"^Porta„tquah-fication?e !;:"'''■' Per month. Men of 
 and engineers. The b::".^; :;:::^t""^:^T"^^' 
 wear and tear i„ .en and other ^:^Z',^'^'' '"^ 
 
 and-bars, the 
 skeleton of a 
 r snag. This 
 the extensive 
 several acres 
 vc noticed in 
 lebe land yet 
 om and banks 
 ifting, and the 
 in progress on 
 Dais are formed 
 
14 
 
 li ! 
 
 Letter III. 
 
 Friday, Jtin, 25. 
 
 Last evening wc enjoyed the recreation common to 
 passengers on the Mississippi — a quadrille in the saloon, a 
 coloured artist having been improvised to supply the music. 
 During the night we added to our experience breaking a 
 snag, fortunately, however, without injury to the vessel. 
 The danger in encountering this enemy is slight when going 
 with the stream ; the heavy roots of the tree usually become 
 imbedded in the bottom of the river, when the trunk leans 
 down stream, inclining till the top lies at the surface of the 
 water. In this form the contact of a vessel ascending the 
 stream is, of course, dangerous, whereas in dc cending the 
 vessel passes over, suffering injury only when there is lacko' 
 room from shallow water. A tree lying in the stream, with 
 the extreme top just under the surface of the water, is called 
 a " sawyer ; " it is, of course, most dangerous. We experienced 
 also a breexe of wind so lively that we lay to for a while, 
 and a smart shower of rain ; this morning opened bright 
 and somewhat fresh. 
 
 To-day, we are passing a number of cotton plantations 
 that had evidently been places of mark before the war. 
 Some of thedwellings remain undisturbed— neat, old-fashioned 
 wooden houses, enclosed in thickly-planted gardens and 
 hedges, with the village of negro residences adjoining. The 
 latter are, for the most part (where yet standing), clean, 
 white-washed and trim-looking. The overseer's residence is 
 generally a half way house, both in locality and ciuality. A 
 great number of the places of these homesteads present now 
 but half-ruined chimnies, sad memorials of their former 
 existence and of the manner of their destruction. A young 
 
 gentl 
 
 the M 
 
 when 
 
 hostiL 
 
 t made 
 
 : corn, j 
 
 ** where 
 
 ? cultivn 
 
 growiii 
 
 sonieti 
 
 boats ; 
 
 inconv( 
 
 unplcas 
 
 of life. 
 
 where ' 
 
 kecpou 
 
 to the ti 
 
 of the .St 
 
 but the 
 
 guards t 
 
 Tliey ar 
 
 efficiency 
 
 compact! 
 
 was abou 
 
 and an e; 
 
 , is, of cou 
 
 I the river \ 
 
 liipon its I 
 
 iwatchfVil t 
 
 iwith addil 
 
 fresults of 
 
 friaile, and 
 
 ■or to repai 
 
 S>f peace li 
 
 ruin anc 
 
Jan. 25. 
 imnion to 
 ; saloon, a 
 ;he music, 
 jreaking a 
 he vessel, 
 hen going 
 ly become 
 riink leans 
 face of the 
 ending the 
 Miding the 
 e is lack o' 
 ream, with 
 ;r, is called 
 xpcrienced 
 jV a while, 
 led bright 
 
 plantations 
 ; the war. 
 1-fashioned 
 irdcns and 
 ning. The 
 ng), clean, 
 esidence is 
 [uality. A 
 resent now 
 icir former 
 A young 
 
 when hostile -iunon^X T^^t* "V'^^'T'' "'"' 
 hostile feeling m„st i,ave beon v ' " ""''="' "'at 
 
 ">-'e delivery „, sm^.Z,"" ^^ ?"',"'""■ O'"' »".'a."cr 
 corn, „„A. ,,.4ete. t ;^ne ' IT ,,' "' '°-laj-n,eal, 
 where eolton %aow, t, " ""^ ""ivcr-wl practice 
 
 ' cnltlvation, as C:; l^Zu" "" ""'"' ^""-'^ '» ^ 
 Browing ofbreadstnlfs TrefrT'" '"""'■■"'''•■ "■■••" the 
 --■'in.cs t„ inc„„venie„I^^",tr r" T'^'^ '"' '''"'"■ 
 bo-lls are few o„ .he river an! h„ , l"-'-'sc..t ti„,e, 
 
 "Konvonient ; whilst he i, ,,' nl'"° '" """>' P'^ces 
 '"'iJoasan. state of <le,« ,e,l- r "f ' ''""■'' "''"''. "' ™ 
 "f life. We landed or";"',:'' ,"' "'"""° "^— '- 
 where we walU,, „„ to , f e ! ^f!;;; "rr'','"-'^"™"""' 
 keep out tlie river in its sn,l„ "^-"x- huiwaric formed to 
 
 >o 'he traveller who 1 3 f„f r,"'^' , " '^"'-- ^"■••'"SO 
 "f 'he steamer, that theset iel .f'?', •'""' """^ ""= ""^ 
 1»" the variations ia the 1 ?'"''''= "=<^«'^--''y ^ 
 guards are in.lispensablc to th '" ""^ ^"""' "'«' "'cse 
 , They are a work of „ nch 1 °'';'"""' "' ""= S™"""- 
 V efficiency being ;„ pro^n^ ' t"", r""""^= """ 
 pompactness of thdr LZnlY'' "'"' '"^'='" »'"1 
 was abont si. feet high, ^^ith a ',1 "''°" '""''' >'<= «»0'l 
 and an easy, slopin.. lasTv h f '"""'-'' '"^'^ o" '0|> 
 ,'^. "f cottrse, b,n'. aTsomeTlis; n "r ™''" ^"'°- ^hc levc'e 
 I 'he river ; bt,t, fi,„, , ™ ^ ^^^f^'" '"- P'-ent bed of 
 i"pon ts banks, 1, is very nects^v , ™''r'" '"' ""= ■■"■" 
 Iwa chful care, so that the rZZZ " *"'"'' ""= '"'''■o^ "'''h 
 |v.th addition,, resistingpfwe?" , ',™y "^ "'="<'<-■''. ••'"^ 
 fesults of the state of wir thlr " "'"^ "^ ""= "'••">>■ 
 
 |-Jc,and have gone onc'e™;,'™^''- '-- '^-n 
 fr 'o repair them ; and it is nn ° "'" ■''">' "'f"''' '<> stay 
 I peace little has'been :« '.,; '" ""'"'« '- >=- 
 *f rutn and decay. I, i, dimeni d 'e/r d"'"'" "™"'^^ 
 I ' "™*'^''' to discover so far 
 
16 
 
 uny of the ordinary and traditional fruits of peace, and the 
 conviction forces itself that the work -[^^^'^^^^^''l.'^'^ 
 ted as it is by so many social and political difficulties, must 
 
 be slow and painful. 
 
 Saturday, Jan. 26. 
 
 We left Vicksburg at 7 J o'clock this morning, under a cold 
 
 .■Nor'-wester" and a bright sun. I had but a cold and 
 
 hurried view (from " Texas -) of that city of long and heavy 
 
 beleaguerment. It is very prettily situated on a sene o 
 
 conical hills rising abrubtly ^^^ .'^^^'ST^'^X 
 descending more leisurely towards the Ihg ^ 1^<^\^^;'^'^ "^ 
 • rear For this latter information I am indeb ed to the 
 •enterprise of H. & G. (warm blooded young ^^-^^^ 
 asceiuled the hills and made a survey -'^-'^^;^''^ 
 morning by fine mornlight. They report well 1- f - 
 and some fine villas beyond the tops of the ant h.Us. On 
 the peaks of these latter stand a few l----"-"- ^ .;^^ 
 the first settlement probably,-in magnificent elevation 
 above the world and its vanities : they appeal o ha^e 
 escaped even such vanities as shut and shell. The nvu 
 S of the city was less fortunate in this respect and is 
 Tuch dilapidated. It is a city of ten or twelve thousand 
 ^Litanl and must have been crowded ^luni^ ^e -C j 
 We passed to-day the Davis estate (property of Joseph 
 brother of Jefl;) said to be the most extensive and valuabk. 
 •r^sissi pi.^hereare some fine buildings tc> be^s^i.^ 
 but at some distance from the river. On one pa.t of the 
 el^ we saw quite a colony of dwellings, which we w.i| 
 
 S^ were the p:!.perty of the IJ-^^^f ^^-^^jj [J ^7 
 made a lodgment here. On the right bank of the mer xu 
 . rLt what had once been a very fine plantatum ying -, 
 ruins, no attempt having been made to ''e;Occupy • kca 
 Niitche? "bout 7 o'clock p. m. ; this city is said to occup, 
 ^ne of ^e fi^ situations on the river. We saw it only . 
 
 star a 
 
 ascen 
 
 some' 
 
 notic( 
 
 from I 
 
 us a 
 
 ■be a 
 
 iThe c 
 
 leing 
 
 reque 
 
 uildii 
 
 ospit 
 
 he st 
 
 .Stop a 
 
 •the tal 
 
 |he gr; 
 
 he cit 
 
 eenfr 
 
 lOon h 
 
 for the 
 
 ilia re: 
 
 e cou 
 
 mark 
 
 ndersi 
 
 ornin 
 
 the ] 
 
 le noi 
 
 ing ol 
 
 lay, an( 
 
 Ihe Mii 
 
 leneficc 
 
 owevei 
 
 [he last 
 
 ilsewhe 
 
 'essel \ 
 
of peace, and the 
 
 peration, obstruc- 
 
 tlifficultics, must 
 
 turday, Jan. 26. 
 ning, under a cold 
 I but a cold and 
 of long and heavy 
 ted, on a scries of 
 
 Mississippi, and 
 iig Black river in 
 
 indebted to the 
 3ung fellows) who 
 four o'clock of the 
 well paved streets 
 e " ant hills." On 
 uses — survivors of 
 ;nificent elevation 
 :y appear to have 
 
 shell. The river 
 this respect and is 
 r twelve thousand 
 :1 during the siege, 
 .roperty of Joseph, 
 ensivc and valuable 
 lildings to be seen, 
 On one part of the; 
 igs, which we wer 
 s Bureau, which hai 
 ank of the river w 
 plantation lying ii 
 )ccupy it. Reaches 
 y is said to occup; 
 
 We saw it only b 
 
 17 
 
 ^star and gas light. We breasted the levee and the winding 
 jascent to the city, said to be about 200 feet, and resembling 
 somewhat the process of getting up hill at Quebec We 
 noticed, however, by such light as we enjoyed that (differing 
 from our ancient capital) as we ascended, there lay beneath 
 us a fine growth of trees on the face of the hill, that must 
 ^^be a pleasing feature when in full view and in full bloom 
 fThe city was very quiet, many of the places of business 
 ■Ibeing closed, and the retail shops that were open but little 
 frequented ; the streets were clean and well paved, and the 
 buildings substantial. We looked into a hotel, upon the 
 ^ospitable invitation of the porter, who stood smiling from 
 he steps. The house was quiet, clean, and like a place to 
 ;top at In the neat reception room a few newspapers lay on 
 he table, and a solitary traveller sat near the cheerful fire in 
 he grate. To our remarks on the general lack of activity in 
 Ihe cities on the river, he simply replied,-in words that have 
 .een frequently rcpeated,-that this section of country must 
 >oon become a wilderness unless some remedy were found 
 for the existing disorder. We passed a number of neat 
 Ilia residences and many green trees, though in the darkness 
 .e could not distinguish their quality. We passed through 
 market p ace well hung with supplies of meat, ready, as we 
 nderstand 1.S the custom, for an early n.arket on Sunday 
 horning. We passed also more than one church, and rested 
 the potico of one to hear a fine strain of music, in which 
 >e notes of the organ blended with woman's voice in a 
 ^^ 'iig of praise, preparatory for the worship of the coming 
 |ay. and would have gladly rested and worshipped also bi^ 
 ihe Mississippi boatmen know little of Divine law or its 
 beneficent influence, and on we speed. Before turning in 
 .owever we visited the steamer "Robert E. Lee "one of 
 he last bu.lt, and said to be the veiy finest on the dverr or 
 Isewhere probably might be added by a Mississippian) The 
 ressel was all ablaze with light, - ■ 
 
 as was also the levee 
 
 m 
 
18 
 front of her. whilst a sable crowd poured bales of cotton on 
 
 fitted up and furnished, and shining in white pa m and l^U 
 
 number of ladies and gentlemen were in the saloon J,uZ 
 usual drawing-room pastime of the Mississ ppil^a 'o ", ^ 
 
 *e barTe:"'' T '"' ""'^ "^ ^ ^""'" -■'"tious ba d "„ 
 the barbers saloon a card table occupied an eager crowd 
 but we saw none of the traditional bowie knives or'tev-Zs 
 
19 
 
 Letter IV. 
 
 New Orleans, January 28, 1867. 
 
 When proceeding on board the " Luppy Gull" on Saturday 
 night at Natchez, we encountered one of the mule drovers, 
 a young fellow from Illinois— a farmer's son— who was well 
 up on mules and other cattle, and who had been "around 
 some" generally. We had cultivated his acqmintance for 
 the hearty good humour and intelligence W(th which he 
 discussed things in the intervals of his attentions to the 
 long-eared ones, and to his violin, for which latter he had 
 quite a talent. He carried a rather pensive air, and the fol- 
 lowing colloquy, after the manner of .^sopus, took place : 
 
 Mr. G. How are the mules doing ? 
 
 Drover. One of 'em has just died— now lying dead on 
 I board. 
 
 G. Indeed, how did it happen ? 
 
 D. V/ell, the mule fell sick, .-rnd the owner of the lot 
 
 alongside of mine came to me and asked me if I could do 
 
 anything for a sick mule since he couldn't when I told him 
 
 Ithat I had a receipt that would cure it, but it had cost me 
 
 Itwenty-seven dollars, and I couldn't afford to let him have 
 
 Jthe good of it for less than ten dollars. 
 
 G. And he wouldn't pay that amount, eh ? 
 D. No, hang him ! he was meaner than that, for I finally 
 offered to use the remedy if he would pay the cost of the 
 I medicme, but he wouldn't even do that. 
 
 G. Was nothing attempted to relieve the animal ? 
 D. Yes, when it became very bad I got some oil and 
 thmgs to give, but it was too late ; and then when we came 
 to turn It ever, I found m?/ own brand on the critter. 
 
20 
 
 Yesterday (Sunday) morning early, wc Icfl N,fH, ., u/ 
 pa.«d during the day the ™tuth of Re RW Tk fl 
 mto .V. Mi,,si.„i„„i is ace„n,pli,,hod in fh 'gfa tt ittX 
 
 ger who lands at the intonsccting pohus t. p ,rs e ht 
 journey up these vast tributaries (as tl e White h A i 
 sas an, , ^ed rivers) te.ls you IhattisTrl \: ot^';"- 
 miles up th„se streams, and that the fertility of thi soH 
 .nc eases as you ascen.l. which you think hardly pib 
 -and you get a new idea of ti.e vast extent of Innd hn.' 
 remains to be nossesserl Wi,nf • , " ^"'^^ 
 
 .ng them with farn. that present no greater qJato'^" 
 
 ran,i,y and^s ,...:7^s. i^i [^ ::zz:'jz ^ 
 
 the interior, that he has nr>rh.,^ '^^ "^^^ 
 
 dus.y .r„,sor a Jrcxr r atrrLi^ 
 
 4.U ^ •'^ ^ cotton bales or sacks of r-im • 
 
 they, too, are engaged to lai„.r h. these new fi Ic We 
 halted at the c.ty of" Bayou ^ara," .vhieh occ, ,>ic pre^v 
 site on ihc river bank an , ' - - - - ' ■' ^ ^"^ 
 
 tl, 
 
 '11 a ridge rising at a 
 
 «e dtstance ; but the portion nearest th vr m t have 
 harboured unsoundness, for i, was purged with le We 
 are now ,n the land of the sugar cane!a;d passing occasi^ 
 
 
 
 «: i 
 
ie moral with 
 
 Natchez. We 
 iver. Its flow 
 ndest sohtude 
 entire scene of 
 is the flock f 
 x-autif';' h.'ml 
 s peipctually 
 ress wc move 
 riie passen- 
 '■) pursue his 
 -, the Arkan- 
 
 is 300 or 700 
 ty of the soil 
 rdly possible, 
 : of land that 
 Jr the surplus 
 J waiting for 
 3f that friend 
 e for supply- 
 uality of pro- 
 
 VVe notice, 
 nicd by his 
 his way into 
 >Iored. The 
 > to be seen 
 re they have 
 cks of corn ; 
 
 fields. We 
 'icJ a pretty 
 
 rising at a 
 r must have 
 h fire. We 
 ig occasion- 
 
 . 21 
 
 ally what had been a fine plantation, but they are mostly 
 notable for the chimneys without houses, and the riddled 
 and unroofed sugar houses. Tlsesc latter having been built 
 of brick, portions of walls as well as chimneys are yet stand- 
 ing. Port Hudson, famous for its defence by the Confede- 
 rates, (against Banks and Farragut, if I recollect rightly,) 
 (^resents but a series of barren and uneven clay hills, with a 
 few huts scattered over them. Its immediate neighbourhood 
 is dotted with more than the usual number of chimneys. 
 At nightfall we reached Baton Rouge, formerly the capital 
 of the State of Louisiana, and said to occupy a very fine 
 site, and to be finely built. We could distinguish between 
 us and the star-lit horizon the standing walls, in whit( stone, 
 of what had been a very fine State House, but whi. 11, we 
 were told, had paid the common price of the common 
 hostility to those avenging gunboats. As we des end 
 southward and land at places of more travel and traffic md 
 at some places that are otherwise deserted) we notice an 
 increasing congregation of negroes (of both sexes and all 
 ages) whom we should suspect of being " vagrants," if that 
 term may be applied to willfully unproductive freedmen. 
 
 This morning I rose early to v/acch for the sunlight an 1 
 the fine plantations that we were told should increase 'w. 
 number and beauty as we descended into Louisiana. We 
 found the promise partially fulfilled. There is evidence 
 everywhere of the scourge of war ; in cane fields where the 
 furrows are grown over with grass and weeds, in dykes as iiere 
 injury has become chronic, in sugar houses unrepaired, and 
 in dwellings even in the neighbourhood of New Orleans, 
 (though not so frequently as higher up the river) deserted and 
 fallen into decay. There are, however, some very fine gardens 
 and in richest green ; the hedges and evergreens being 
 apparently sufficient to protect even common vegetables that 
 grow under their shelter. The live-oak, most beautiful of 
 evergreens-, is dotted thickly over the landscape with fine 
 
Ei 11 
 
 22 
 
 effect. The_ fields here lie, as far as the eye can reach, flat 
 beneath ones standing place, with only the levee to guard' 
 them from overflow. The bed of the river is, however, more 
 extended, and the risk of damage no more than in the fields 
 higher up stream that have a greater present elevation 
 above.its bed. The land lorming the immediate bank of the 
 Mississippi in the long stretch of 900 miles, from Cairo to 
 Bayou Sara, is only to a very small extent cultivated ; on 
 b uffs where cities are built, and occasionally where these 
 bluffs are extended and fertile, plantations are established 
 The most common fe are is a decline from the river 
 bank into a more or less extended region of swamp, beyond 
 which the land rises and the country is settled. The gene- 
 ral impression left on the mind of the traveller is that of 
 a magnificent solitude. 
 
 By a wise provision of the authorities of New Orleans 
 (tor there appears to be some authority here yet) vessels 
 carrying live stock are made to discharge that portion of 
 their cargo at the stock yards, about five miles above the 
 city landing, and the decks must be washed down before 
 proceeding to the place where men congregate. This pro- 
 cess detained us about three hours, during which time of 
 waiting we took a turn ashore. The landing is effected into 
 the midst of a long extending range of stables, in which were 
 numbers of Texan cattle of a very large growth-both cows 
 and bullocks-and mostly in a rather rawboned condition 
 and m many cases rather untamed. Here were also a num- 
 ber of their drivers, with ponies and cumbrous Mexican 
 saddles, and we witnessed some very clever evolutions of 
 he riders following untamed cattle with a long rope attached 
 to their horns. We walked half way round an extensive 
 garden planted round with a thick belt of orange trees, on 
 which hangs a good deal of fruit, mostly ripe, but some 
 portion m its green state. Within we noticed roses bloom- 
 ing, and oleanders and nthe^r flr>,,ror;n- r^innf- - • ~- 
 
 — ••••"vnnjj plants growing, ihere 
 
 ■^ 
 
'M 
 
 an reach, flat 
 vee to guard 
 Dwever, more 
 
 in the fields 
 nt elevation 
 ; bank of the 
 rom Cairo to 
 Itivated ; on 
 where these 
 
 established. 
 
 Ti the river 
 
 imp, beyond 
 
 The gene- 
 
 er is that of 
 
 ^ew Orleans 
 yet) vessels 
 t portion of 
 s above the 
 lown before 
 This pro- 
 ich time of 
 iffected into 
 which were 
 —both cows 
 1 condition, 
 also a num- 
 is Mexican 
 olutions of 
 pe attached 
 1 extensive 
 ; trees, on 
 but some 
 ses bloom- 
 ng. There 
 
 23 
 
 were also cabbages and other vegetables growing in a farther 
 part of the garden, and the grass was green by the wayside. 
 Descending from the stock yards and passing a long line of 
 steamers and sailing vessels floating the flags of many 
 nations, we landed on the levee, which is here a level wharf, 
 built of timber, and ballasted with gravel and of wide exten1» 
 and presenting a good deal of activity. The wharf and the 
 streets are rather dirty, from a flutter of snow which has 
 astonished the eyes of the natives from its rarity. We pro- 
 ceed through streets of solid masonry and modest elevation 
 to the St. Louis Hotel, where we have washed and dined 
 in a manner that brings us to a new sense of life, and sugges- 
 tive of parallels that are unfavourable to the now discarded 
 " Luppy Gull." 
 
 „_Jv.-,S"=*-. 
 
24 
 
 Letter V. 
 
 New Orleans, Jan. 31st 
 The first range of buildings that attracts notice in 
 approaching the levee is the long line of cotton ware- 
 houses-cotton presses they are usually called, but the 
 press IS only a part of the arrangement, which consists of 
 a walled enclosure of the extent of an ordinary block of 
 buildings, with sheds or stores next the wall, and a large open 
 court or yard in the centre. In this latter part the bales of 
 cotton are turned out and sampled and classified in r'e full 
 sunlight ; from here they are moved forward when ready for 
 shipment to the steam press, which is so constructed and 
 attended that the bale of cotton is rolled into its jaws and 
 pressed into small space and bound with bands of light hoop 
 iron, (ingeniously fastened by a small clasp) in the shortest 
 possible space tm.e. and turned out from the press upon 
 the dray. The levee has long served as a market place for 
 sugar and corn, and other country produce. The corn is 
 brought down the Mississippi from the North-western States 
 and goes into consumption in the South. A Merchants' 
 Exchange has lately been established, and some exertion 
 used to transfer the business of buying and selling corn to 
 ts daily meeting, and with fair success. The sugar trade is 
 still earned on upon the levee, an extensive portion of 
 which IS appropriated for the exclusive use of that trade 
 The packages of sugar and molasses lie in tiers, long and 
 deep, and the dealers congregate at early morn around them 
 and about a weigh house in the middle of the area, and here 
 the day s receipts of the rich food are disposed of The cotton 
 sales are carried on mostly in Carondelet street, where the 
 shippers congregate. A larger room, and more conveniently 
 
 ,1 r 
 
25 
 
 I r 
 
 situated than that now occupied, is in course of construction 
 for the Merchants' Exchange, and it is expected that a 
 much larger part of the trade of the city will be initiated 
 within its walls when occupied. 
 
 When the cotton crop of the States reached from four to 
 five millions of bales, one-half or more of that quantity found 
 its ways to New Orleans ; now the crop is reduced to about 
 one-third of that quantity, and the sugar crop, which was 
 probably all marketed here, is reduced in a greater propor- 
 tion. Of course, the concentration of this trade established 
 the merchants and bankers of New Orleans as factors and 
 capitalists of this valuable product, and of the owners of the 
 soil, and whilst the stream of production ran freely into the 
 lap of the Crescent City, her busy children were enriched 
 by the toll levied upon the goods consumed as well as upon 
 the crop produced. And the Southern planter always 
 spent his income, and New Orleans was the place of resort 
 for himself and his family. To swell the volume of this trafific, 
 too, everything (or nearly so) was marketed, for the Southern 
 planter produced no food (unless a few vegetables and fruits) 
 nor grew nor manufactured any of these household fabrics 
 and implements, by the supply of which for his own use 
 the owner of the log hut i.n the North establishes himself in 
 comparative independence of the commercial world ; and, 
 what is of more importance, guards himself to some extent 
 againt the accident of famine. The destruction of a great 
 part of this trade during the war, the consequent withdrawal 
 of capital, and the failure to recover and re-establish to any 
 extent during the two years since the proclamation of peace, 
 together with the cessation of the probably large expendi- 
 ture here during the war, have been cause enough to account 
 for the general complaint that prevails of stagnation in 
 trade. Yet in the face of these discouragements, with the 
 added uncertainty of their political situation, the merchants 
 of New Orleans are not all desponding, but trust rather to 
 
26 
 
 ^he operation of time and the many advantages of their 
 position and climate and natural facilities of communication, 
 with the great natural wealth of the country, to restore thei^ 
 prosperity. It is but simple justice to the '< Rebel States " 
 as they are termed in Congress, to say that while we have 
 failed on the jouiney from Cairo to New Orleans to discover 
 the first loyal resident of the South, (in the sense of loyalty 
 to the party in power) always excepting some who have 
 emigrated there since the war, we hear few expressions of 
 rancorous hostility to the North, but, on the contrary a 
 general disposition is manifested to accept the changed 
 situation. There is expressed, however, by men of intelli- 
 gence and apparent honesty of purpose, a very general 
 dissent from the view taken of that situation by the 
 dominant party, and much regret that the fate of their coun- 
 try should be decided, down to the last detail of municipal 
 government, by a Congress of men at Washington, who 
 however well informed in many respects, have no acquain- 
 tance with their large section of country-peculiar in many 
 respects as to climate and productions, and relations to 
 neighbouring countries, as well as in the habits and tradi- 
 tions and history of its people. People here suggest that 
 Washington might profit by a trip to New Orleans, since 
 the latter city is not permitted to initiate the courtesy And 
 one is reminded how often it happens in common life that 
 parties pass half a life-time "across the way," but in close 
 proximity to each other, perhaps nursing prejudices that are 
 born simply of isolation, when, upon casually finding the 
 key to the great question " Who is my neighbour ?" each 
 finds the other, after all their distrust, to be possessed of 
 very good qualities. The burden of dissent appears to be 
 that the country cannot be restored to a state of prosperity 
 without some measure of self-government, and that such 
 government cannot be carried on by negroes without any 
 education whatever, and white men of a nearly similar con- 
 
27 
 
 dition, even if assisted by a few intelligent emigrants from 
 the North, who are without practical knowledge of the 
 country ; whilst nearly every native white man of influence 
 or position is disfranchized, and condemned to a life of 
 suffering hostility. It is particularly maintained that the 
 negro who has grown up without the slightest idea of the 
 ordinary relations of social civilized life must be taught by 
 the force of some stringent provision of law that he must 
 work before he can acquire the habit of controlling, with 
 any forethought, his own labour, This view is confirmed 
 by the statement of different parties on the Mississippi and 
 here. Steamers had frequently left the ports during last 
 season, without the cargoes that were ready for loading 
 while swarms of negroes were basking in the sun, but would 
 not work because their bellies were full, and they were free 
 from momentary need. These grave questions, though 
 interesting, have their painful aspect, and it is some relief 
 to turn to a view of the beautiful city. The peculiar situa- 
 tion of the city, lying as it does beneath the ordinary high 
 water-mark of the Mississippi, and drained into canals run- 
 ning by a very slight descent through an extensive swamp 
 into Lake Pont-Chartrain, at a distance of about six miles, 
 has suggested the most rigid provision for securing con- 
 tinued cleanliness : the effect is that the city has many 
 advantages over cities that occupy better natural positions. 
 There are no cellars beneath the houses, and from the 
 spongy nature of the soil, it is found necessary to provide a 
 perfecL system of gutters and drains directly from the sur- 
 face pavement, and every spot that is not planted with 
 tree or flower is paved and regularly flooded. There is 
 consequently a very general freshness resulting from the 
 use of so much water. There is much white marble used 
 in building, and the houses are generally but two or three 
 stories high, and present a pleasing and sort of homely 
 contrast to the buildings in cities farther northwards. Canal 
 
 \ 
 
28 
 
 li ctntrl'ofThfV" 'f '''^^' ""' ^^^"^ ^'^^ ^^^^^ through the 
 
 m irom two to three miles, is nearly 200 feet wide wifh ;, 
 
 ::t:Tf;h" ^'^ r"^" ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^--' and ti Lm the 
 
 centre of this enclosure a railway track, over which a natient 
 mule drags its burden of car and humanity. Th s stre " i 
 
 rest cTs't T '' ' ^"^^^^'°" '' '"' ^^-^^ """ 
 resiclences-the former extending over the portion nearest 
 
 ^oi! f ' '^'^^' ''''P'''^^ t« find that imported 
 
 goods as far as our information reached, were quite a7che.n 
 
 wrtu'^rnrdltt-^r ''--''' '- --- --- rizizif. 
 
 the citv anV °P'" f' "^ °"^ °^ the cemeteries in 
 
 the city-an extensive enclosure within a high brick wall 
 The bodies are laid in substantial brick vaults b 'it of 
 
 Ts^Ve'^tr tad "^ T ' --' '^'^'^y ^'^^^^ 
 
 Dlantrhl ' ''"^ ""^"y bouquets and flowerin. 
 
 1 c' Tv' Th ''' """^'°" ^^"^ "^^^^- hrick-r 
 
 in the city alWand nl "' '" ""'"' "^^">^ '^^P^ ^-^" P-ks 
 m me city, all (and always apparently) in ^reen W^ J.: a 
 
 Jackson Square, within a /el blocl^ of o'' hotel .! 
 
 morn ; it is about twice the si.e of ou;;,:^ 'L^^;^^ ^^^'^^ 
 
 IS the most perfect of floral gardens Its r.il« T u 
 
 are solid above the moist eart^, anTit ^r^^ ^t::^: 
 
 ola?;rtLtro[\r"^: ''''' "HerooTt; 
 1. 11- u ^ °' Massachussets granite We Pm 
 
 japonica and Cher plants are i^fi "e'w h W ^^r'''; 
 as3 two „r.hree groups of banana reef or pLts 1"" " 
 were told yield abundant fruit in thel slot h l"):"^ 
 are now in the partially yellow leaf of tth , , ? '^ 
 visits them. *'"''' ""''■ «■'>"«'■ as 
 
 n 
 
29 
 
 i 
 
 n 
 
 Letter VI. 
 
 New Orleans, February i, 1867, 
 The French element is prominent in the population of 
 this city, and is discoverable in the neat and clean shops 
 and caf^s and market places, and in the primitive residences, 
 frequently enclosed by a high wall, or established in a court 
 within the shops and warehouses, and made notable by 
 the partial view of well trimmed tree tops peering over or 
 through these barriers. In the marts of trade and promi- 
 nent gathering places one meets the men of all nations, 
 and it is quite perceptible that men from the Northern 
 States, who have spent a good part of their lifetime here, 
 have lost their distinguishing national peculiarities, and 
 have assumed the general cosmopolitan manner that prevails 
 and have become attached to the soil. The supremacy of 
 King Cottoa in this city as its chief capital, has attracted 
 men from all the manufacturing world, and its position as a 
 large shipping port and commercial city, in close proximity 
 to the rich but often unsettled fields of Texas, Mexico, and 
 Central America, as well as the West India Islands, has 
 established it as the commercial metropolis of the Gulf of 
 Mexico, and here arc met the men engaged in trade or 
 adventure with all these parts. Galveston is reached by 
 rail and steamer from here in about twenty-four hours. We 
 are informed upon good authority that the labour question 
 has not been complicated to any extent in Texas, the Freed- 
 men's Bureau not having interfered to any extent, and that 
 the varied productions of that State have been cultivated 
 during the last season much as usual. 
 
 With the varied nationality and objects of pursuit, one 
 meets here more variety of opinion than upon the compara- 
 
 r| 
 
 1 i 
 
 n. 
 
30 
 
 tively lonely Mississippi. I had been so often told that 
 Sambo wouldn't work, that I had almost come to believe 
 that Sambo couldn't work if he would, without the interven- 
 tion of a little rough training, (a theory long prevalent with 
 trainers of other colts that are taken green), when I find 
 mysel shaken almost to a jelly by an English gentleman 
 ( Burly Bnton cotton buyer," in the language of Hiawatha) 
 who maintains that the poor fellow will work if but time is 
 given to get an observation through his wool, and to pick 
 up his carpet bag and things that have gone astray in the 
 Freedmen s Bureau. My companions met a gentleman of 
 their acquaintance, who, with an associate, had a year ago 
 gone down from Chicago and purchased a sugar plantation 
 
 r T^^'J''^' "' ^^'' P'"''"^ "^ ^^- ^^^^y^' «" the west side 
 of the Mississippi. He stated that they had secured and 
 
 retained labourers during last season, and were satisfied with 
 the result of their experiment. Another gentleman from 
 Chicago has just purchased an extensive plantation in the 
 same neighbourhood. It is, of course, readily apprehended 
 that the labour question between these gentlemen and the 
 labourer is approached as a simple matter of commerce, and 
 without many difficulties that are presented to those who 
 have so long stood in different relations. It may be stated 
 aiso, that these gentlemen expressed much contentment with 
 the fine climate and good shooting, and being full of money 
 were probably less exacting in the financial test of the 
 investment. Sugar estates, with buildings and fixtures for 
 work, have been sold as low as $30 per acre, and there are 
 yet many more on the market. 
 
 The Custom House (in which is also the Post Office) 
 presents to the street view a magnificent exterior. It is 
 built of Massachusetts granite, nearly square, and about 300 
 feet on each side, but it terminates, under a temporary flat 
 roof, with the third story, and is quite unfinished within 
 
 A branch mint of the United States is an extensive" old 
 
81 
 
 building occupying a fine site, surrounded by trees, near 
 the levee, with some very fine machinery and implements 
 within, and a venerable party in charge, who dolefully 
 informed us that " a printing press makes the money now." 
 The St. Louis and St. Charles hotels are both fine build- 
 ings. The entrance hall of the former presented a spacious 
 stairway, guarded at its base by two well executed lions 
 couchant in marble — a fine rotunda, in the centre of the 
 building, formerly arose from the pavement, but since the 
 decline of business, and of the patronage of the planters and 
 
 (A their families, it has been bridged over at the first floor, and 
 
 the upper portion turned into a refectory. Its lofty interior 
 is finely frescoed with figures illustrative of American 
 history. 
 
 The " shell road " extends from the terminus of Canal 
 street to Lake Pont Chartrain, passing for the greater part 
 through a dreary waste of cane swamp, with here and there 
 a grove of small cypresses. It is the very perfection of a 
 
 <ci road — firm, smooth, and beautifully white, being formed of 
 
 small shells that are found in banks throughout the many 
 bays and inlets that here form the slight line between sea 
 and land. The lake is a beautiful sheet of salt water, 
 pleasant in its transparency over the white sand and shells 
 in contrast to the muddy water of the Mississippi. At the 
 end of a long wharf over the shallow beach of the Lake, lay 
 a ferry steamer, connecting with the railway, leading north- 
 wards from the opposite shore, and a fine passenger steamer 
 for Mobile. 
 
 We called at the St. Charles Hotel (which is centrally 
 situated) yesterday morning, to pay our respects to a young 
 couple on a bridal tour, where we learned something of the 
 manner, and of the common appreciation of an event that 
 occurred in the hotel on the evening of the previous day_ 
 A Judge from Texas and a Colonel resident in the city, who 
 had hitherto been friends, met in the great hall of the 
 
i 
 
 32 
 
 hotel, where the Colonel, fired at once by indignation at 
 some imagined want of good faith on the part of his friend, 
 and by too much drink, rushed upon the Judge with an 
 uncourteous epithet and bowie-knife ; whereupon the Judge 
 shot the Colonel dead with a revolver, but not before he 
 had received a serious wound from the knife of the victim 
 The matter does not appear to cause murh remark bevond 
 a general expression of sympathy for the actors in the little 
 " unpleasantness." who, we are told, were both " very fine 
 fellows, and highly honourable, &c.,"— although it is elicited 
 in conversation that the Colonel had been the proprietor of a 
 well-known gambling saloon. As far as I can understand, 
 however, such occurences are now rate in this city. 
 
 As we walked home last night ^o our hotel, gloveless and 
 ovcr-coatless, enjoying the fresh (moonlit) atmosphere, we 
 congratulated ourselves upon the change of climate. This 
 morning we found the shady side of the street most pleasant 
 and " slowly " the most comfortable rate of progress ; and 
 now, in the middle of the day, we retire to make a note of 
 things, mellow with that glov.- of kindness to one's kind that 
 comes of being thoroughly warmed up! We have no gene 
 ral news from home for many days, but thrive wonderfully 
 in our state of ignorance, and are doing our very best to 
 enjoy the life of " boys again." 
 
 Saturday, Feb. 2. 
 The steamship " Cuba," to leave this evening for Havana, 
 Key West, and Baltimore, lies at the levee. The vessel is 
 trim built, and fairly appointed, to external view— a physical 
 description that applies also to her commander, with the addi- 
 tion of a good humored expression of living humanity. Our 
 party being innocent of machinery, we take on trust the 
 representation of that part of her qualification, and are 
 booked and ticketed for places in her. We take our last din- 
 ner at the " St. Louis," with the same good relish as our first 
 
 bu: 
 poi 
 sc: 
 an 
 St£ 
 
88 
 
 but mixed with a slight dash of sadness in view of the 
 possibiHtics of the immediate future, in which we can 
 scarcely hope for a repetition of so good s.uiiptuary care, 
 and bearing with us the most agrecabie recollections of our 
 stay in New Orleans, hie us " all aboa\d." 
 
 ill 
 
 <! 
 
 ' u 
 
I 
 
 84 
 
 Lkttek VII. 
 
 Havana, Feb. 6th, 1867. 
 It wa.s five o'clock of Sunday morniiii; (3rcl inst.,) when 
 we left the New Orleans levcc, and the weather being fine 
 (though a little fresh) we had a good view of the country 
 extending below the city to the mouth of the Mississippi. 
 The view is soon exhausted, but the great wealth of orange 
 groves, laden with fruit, ripe and growing, is interesting when 
 seen for the first time. As we descend the river, the long 
 extending earth declines first into rice fields and then into 
 marshy land, with vast fields of reeds waving in the breeze ; 
 until about 130 miles from New Orleans, abouL two p.m., we 
 pass through a group of mud banks and snags, dragging 
 heavily over the universal bar — forming everywhere by the 
 soil of the Mississippi — into the gulf of Mexico, and leaving 
 behind us a cluster of the vessels of all nations that were 
 either not so fortunate as ourselves, in being debarred, or 
 otherwise waiting for pilots to guide them through the 
 winding, and constantly varying channel of the river. With 
 accommodation for 70, we carried about 60 passengers, making 
 the vessel not uncomfortably full. We dined (very fairly) 
 upon leaving the bar, and felt a warmer atmosphere as soon 
 as we were fairly at sea. Towards evening the breeze 
 increased, and by dark we had a moderate sea running, and 
 the majority of our sixty immoderately sea-sick. I succumbed 
 to the common fate, but experienced a much milder attack 
 than some of my more rob.ust young friends, and rallied next 
 morning without having felt the despair or abandon that is 
 said so often to accompany the attack, but, on the contrary 
 impressed strongly with a sense of the value of human life 
 in general, and the very great value of my own life in 
 
ith, i867. 
 inst.,) when 
 r being fine 
 he country 
 Mississippi. 
 Ii of orange 
 jsting when 
 cr, the long 
 d then into 
 the breeze ; 
 wo p.m., wc 
 ;s, dragging 
 here by the 
 and leaving 
 IS that were 
 lebarred, or 
 hrough the 
 •ivcr. With 
 ;ers, making 
 (very fixirly) 
 here as soon 
 the breeze 
 ■unning, and 
 I succumbed 
 lilder attack 
 1 rallied next 
 \ndon that is 
 the contrary 
 r human life 
 own Hfe in 
 
 8fl 
 
 particular. Monday proved a fine day, and the sea having 
 toned down to a pleasant ripple, the passengers began to re- 
 tui ,1 to their valued places at the dinner-table, and by Tuesday 
 each mouth was ()i)en again to feed. We noticed floating 
 prettily on the waves many " jelly fishes" (or Medusa:), their 
 beautiful discs presenting many and changing colors, from 
 transparent crystal to deep blue and green, as the light 
 reflected from them. The weather was now all that heart 
 of poet or health-seeker could wish ; but the Gulf of Mexico 
 is a lonely sea : the trade that had been accumulating up to 
 the breaking out of war, and connecting the interests of all 
 the cities and peoples around its border, has been driven out 
 and much the greater number of vessels carrying it on. 
 having been either active participants in the war or 
 privateers, have been utterly destroyed ; so that now 
 even the pork and lard and breadstuffs of the Western 
 States are supplied to Cuba by way of New York, instead 
 of the accustomed channel of the Mississippi and the Gulf. 
 We met on board also parties who have been engaged in 
 trade, and some who have made investments in Mexico, but 
 whose desire nov is to get safely out of the country. They 
 state that the hopes once entertained of the establishment 
 of law and order by the Government of Maximilian having 
 been dashed, the country is rapidly sinking again into its 
 accustomed barbarism, and there is no protection for persons 
 or property, and no prospect whatever of speedy improve- 
 ment. They state that successive detachments of the army 
 of " liberals" intercept the traveller to protect his life and 
 property, by assumhig the temporary control of the former, 
 and the lion's share as a toll upon the latter. But this is a 
 lovely sea, and its shores are lands of untold wealth, and 
 neither the cupidity or injustice of man, nor his reckless 
 idleness and profligacy, can long prevent it from becoming 
 busy and cheerful with the industry and enjoyment of living 
 humanity. 
 
 % 
 
 !| 
 
 
36 
 
 Tuesday evening. In the Gulf stream, a soft breeze woos 
 us to the deck, where we lay till midnight, watching the 
 glittering stars and the crescent moon, (lying on her back 
 from this point of view), and the sparkling ripple of the 
 phosphorescent waves from the vessel's side ; but there is an 
 end to all enjoyments on sea and land, and so we turn in— 
 perchance to sleep. Our sleep, however, was rather feverish, 
 and we started up at six o'clock this morning to the announce- 
 ment from the signal gun on deck that we were passing 
 under the shadow of the Moro Castle into the neat and pictu- 
 resque basin that forms the harbour of this most picturesque 
 city. The castle is built in grand isolation on the rock that 
 rises perpendicularly from the sea, on the opposite side from 
 the city, of the mouth of the basin, with its great guns and 
 its garrison of Spanish soldiers all to itself The unlucky 
 vessel, overtaken by nightfall outside of this watch tower, 
 must needs take her chance of weather and the fates, for no 
 mortal craft durst find rest within the haven between sunset 
 and dawn of morning. In accordance with this stringency of 
 rule, our vessel cast anchor in a part of the basin remote 
 from the city, and there must needs discharge her passengers 
 and cargo by means of gondola and lighter. Among our 
 fellow passengers to this city from New Orleans was Capt. 
 McC, (to whose acquaintance we were introduced in the latter 
 city), who has passed thirty years of his life on and about the 
 Gulf, and who appears to have brought to it and retained a 
 vigorous constitution, and that genial and kindly and hearty 
 humor which is the traditional production of his native Green 
 Isle. His flow of spirits formed a valuable element in the 
 compound of good things that made a very pleasant voyage, 
 and his long and varied experience and keenness of observa- 
 tion did us good service on sea and in our introduction to 
 this antique land. Along with our friend, we leave the steamer 
 in charge of Don Juan, Commissary and Major Domo (and 
 man of many and varied accomplishments), of the " Hotel 
 
 T 
 
 tAt 
 
3? 
 
 4i 
 
 Cubano," (Mrs. Brewer, hostess), — in one of the small skiffs 
 or gondolas that swarmed around us with the same hospitable 
 importunity that hackmen practice on shore. Wc land and 
 pass through the Custom House, with no -nore delay than is 
 experienced in crossing any other border, and at a cost of 
 ten cents each to a diminutive creole for handling our trunks. 
 We pass through the narrowest and hardest paved of streets, 
 with eighteen inches wide of side walk on either side, and a 
 gutter in the centre, and by a market place which groaned, 
 or would have groaned if such heavy masses of granite and 
 limestone and stucco, could be vocal, under the burden ol ve- 
 getables and fruits, more than I can enumerate — tomatoes, 
 pease, lettuce, oranges, and bananas are those that I have fed 
 upon, and in the finest perfection. We pass through theoi^en 
 door and solid stone passage-way into the paved court of our 
 hotel and so upstairs through halls tiled and tesselated to our 
 appropriate rooms on the first floor from the top, (it is but 
 the third from the ground, however,) where the best current 
 of air circulates. The covered galleries forming the passage 
 to our rooms are festooned with creeping plants, and the 
 walls of the Court below are carefully whitewashed and its 
 pavement kept clean by running water. Our windows — 
 they are two — are innocent of glass, and the shutters 
 are open, both together, or alternately, as the wind and sun 
 may favour ; and besides the heavy folding door that is 
 pushed in abeyance against the wall, the entrance to our 
 apartment is hung with a curtain which serves to keep out 
 the vulgar gaze, but admits the passage of grateful air, and 
 the red brick tiles are clean and have a pleasant ring in the 
 soft air. The " air bath " enjoyed on the deck of the vessel 
 in these latitudes is a great luxury, but there is no such 
 wealth of physical comfort in the lavatory of her cabin, and 
 we enjoy again the comfort of a tiolet made on shore, and 
 descend to the breakfast-room, where we are glad to obtain 
 places on thu gallery or court side of the room, and with 
 
38 
 
 gratitude I write the fact, we fare sumptuously. After break- 
 fast we go to look for letters from home, and have such 
 enjoyment as one feels in a strange land, and so strange a 
 land, in an account of all that concerns one most. The 
 streets are crooked and narrow, and in the mixing of nations 
 there appears to be little of the English language diffused, 
 or of any other language than the Spanish. This latter,' 
 however, appears to be acquired by the emigrant foreigners 
 with great facility. We pass the fine palace of the Captain- 
 Generil— its marble fretwork glittering in the bright sun 
 and the garden-square in front, with its luxuriant growth 
 of Royal palm, and its varied profusion of trees and plants. 
 We look into the Cathedral Church of Columbus, (a venerable 
 building,) and at the bust laid in the wall of the chancel, 
 beneath which (it is recorded in brass) the ashes of the 
 the great navigator lie. 
 
 (M^ « 
 
 ' 
 
39 
 
 Letter VIII. 
 
 " 
 
 ^1 
 
 Havana, February 7, 1867. 
 
 After dinner, yesterday, we entered a carriage, and, 
 under the guidance of our friend Don Juan — most eloquent 
 of guides — drove till dark over the finest of roads through a 
 perfect fairy land of garden residences. One of the most 
 extensive, and presenting the finest growth of trees, inclu- 
 ding the palm in all its varieties, is that of the Captain- 
 General. We drove for several miles along the " Cerro " and 
 intersecting avenues, where are many villas of rare beauty. 
 The low but long-extending houses are, for the most part, 
 built near the street, and are of white marble, or stuccoed 
 over or plastered, all of the same colour, with wide verandahs 
 and many ornaments of column, pilaster, capital and pedi- 
 ment, and coloured glass vvhere that luxury is indulged ; and 
 the plants and herbage arc everywhere luxuriant. Our 
 guide mentioned the names of several Spanish nobles who 
 are among the owners of these fine residences. As the 
 city is approached there arc terraces of dwellings of city 
 merchants and shopkeepers in more or less approximate 
 imitation of the same style, but all pleasant places of retreat. 
 In the groups of men, women and children, (high coloured, 
 mixed, and white) about the verandahs and porticos, and on 
 the street or sidewalk, we observed the uniform expansion 
 and glow of the children of the sun. Fven some bands of 
 the Captain-General's " children" (fcfs one might say) who 
 were at work on the highways, or marching home at the 
 close of the day, with iron straps over their trousers, and 
 under care of fellows bearing carbines in rest, appeared to 
 take their cigarettes and their jokes with much zest. 
 Returrxing to our hotel by gaslight, we notice the brilliancy 
 
40 
 
 and high decoration of the shops— all exhibiting the existence 
 of wealth and good taste. 
 
 In the evening we visited the " I'aseo Isabel Secunda," 
 a park in course of extension from the end of the sea wall, 
 opposite the Moro Castle, far into that part of the city lying 
 without the old walls. The length of the Park is now, I 
 should think, at least a mile, a great part of which is planted 
 with grass and trees and fountains ; and all, with the gravel 
 walks, are kept in the finest condition. Here a military 
 band discoursed fine airs from eight till nine o'clock, p.m., 
 to a vast crowd, who sat or promenaded in all the ease and 
 enjoyment of perpetual summer. After the music, we visited 
 a bazaar that was held for the benefit of an hospital, in a 
 large tent, ordinarily used as a circus. On shelves impro- 
 vised for the occasion, were exhibited a great number of 
 fancy articles, mostly of iitlle value, that were to be disposed 
 of by lot. The beauty and fashion of Havana (in full, or 
 very short at top, dress,) sat in groujxs around small tables, 
 where they piled up the specie produce of sales of little 
 screws of paper (like pipe lighters) that represented the 
 lottery tickets, and which, of course, were laden, besides the 
 possibility of a prize, with the untold riches d:rivcd from 
 the smling approval of the vendors. Heing uuapprcciative 
 of this kind of scrip, we left without having made any 
 investment. We looked into " ICl Louvre," a very extensive 
 saloon adjoining the Opera House, and were inducted into 
 the popular art of the " jxanella," c. sweet drink, which ap- 
 peared to afford mild solace to a large crowd of imbibers. 
 
 To-day we visited ih j iron-clad war steamer "Tetuan," 
 said to be of 6,000 tons burthen. Her great hull did not 
 present any lines of beauty. We were told that there were 
 36 feet in depth of it under water. Her 1,100 men vvei-e 
 enjoying their dinner, and her many guns were old fashioned 
 and harmless. We visited also the " Gerona," a very hand- 
 some vessel of moderate size, and we noticed, besides these 
 
 \J t 
 
 k A 
 
 r 
 
I" 
 
 41 
 
 J / 
 
 fri 
 
 two, several war steamers in the harbour. We met, in one of 
 the narrow streets, a regiment of soldiers, who, with their 
 band, were apparently out for a march. The officers and men 
 are handsome fellows — the latter remarkably so — and neat 
 and tidy in their light linen costume, and all young fellows. 
 They appeared to be men of lighter weights than the men 
 of the British Army. They are every one natives of Spain ; 
 no native of Cuba serves in the army in any rank, nor fills 
 any office under Government. 
 
 The Opera House is a prominent feature on the "I'asco 
 Isabel," and the Cubans are noted lovers of music. The 
 building is very large, and admirably adapted for its uses. 
 The climate requires a well ventilated building, and wide 
 halls and airy corridors are provided with less difficulty 
 where no provision is necessary against changing seasons. 
 The parquette is extensive, and arranged with easy seats 
 and convenient of access, and there are five tiers of galleries. 
 When we visited it (this evening) three of those tiers, as 
 well as the parquette, were filled with a most respectable 
 and appreciative audience. The display of fine clothes and 
 jewellery was, of course, imposing ; the gentleman, as well 
 the ladies, were well got up, and paid close attention to the 
 performance. Tlic opera {N'onna) was i)ut upon tlie stage 
 apparently faultless, and tlie singing and acting were both 
 very fine. The Captain-General, with some members of 
 his staff, occupied the Royal box, and we estimated that the 
 audience numbered about three thousand. 
 
 The volante is a peculiar style of carriage, a sort of gig 
 upon two wheels, the springs supplemented by long shafts 
 of elastic wood : in the forward part of which the mule or 
 pony is ridden by the postillion driver. In those owned by 
 private parties two horses (tandem fashion) are generally 
 used, and in these cases the postillion is also a peculiar 
 object — always more or less "coloured," and gorgeous, in 
 silver or gilded jacket and jack-boots. Ilor.ses are used only 
 
4^ 
 
 i 
 
 for carriages, mules and bullocks doing the heavy work. Thd 
 mules are laden with great burdcna upon pack saddles (the 
 saddles of a weight for which no reasonable account appears), 
 and when marcliing in along file to market fill a large part of 
 the narrow street. The bullocks are used in carts in hauling 
 lumber, stone, grave! for the roads, and heavy material 
 generally, and are very hne animals. The "tackle" of all 
 the beasts of burden, including the horses used in the public 
 volantcs, is very cumbrous and oppressive. The native 
 horses are small of size, but well shaped and clean Iimbe^\ 
 and we noticed some very handsome private carriages and 
 most complete in all their appointments ; the higest style 
 have white coachmen and outriders. The lottery ticket 
 seller is here a nuisance, as importunate and all-pervading 
 as the hurdy-gurdy in some parts. I lis scream, as he shakes 
 out his .sheet of mottled ..ad figured coupons to the breeze, 
 is heard at earliest morn and latest eve. 
 
 Among the features that link the city with antiquity is 
 the Watchman, a guardian of the Dogberry type, without the 
 slightest "modern improvement "—whose pikestaff and 
 leathern helmet are dimly revealed by the traditional lan- 
 tern, and whose gentle bray resounds in your ear, turning 
 the current of your dreams at each half hour of the night, 
 and indicating, if you understand Spanish, that "all's well." 
 
 A paternal government provides all things needful for the 
 Cubans : — rulers, and ministers of every degree, soldiers, 
 watchmen, parks and highways, as well as music and 
 "sports and pastimes." Here is no ve.ved question of 
 suffrage, or right of way, or individual liberty resoundir^ 
 from stump or legislative hall ; there is not even a munici- 
 pal government for the practice of native talent. There 
 appears to prevail, however, a marvellous contentment ; good 
 humour rings in the jocund laugh of the muleteer and 
 bullock driver, and carrier of burdens, as it beams from the 
 pleasant faces of the middle and higher classes. This mav 
 
 o 
 
 ( 
 
 U 
 
 «l« 
 
4S 
 
 ork. Thd 
 iddlcs (the 
 t appears), 
 rge part of 
 in hauling 
 Y material 
 dc " of all 
 the public 
 he native 
 \n limbe^', 
 riages and 
 igest style 
 ery ticket 
 pervading 
 he shakes 
 lie breeze, 
 
 itiquity is 
 ithout the 
 staff and 
 :ional lan- 
 r, turning 
 the night, 
 I's well." 
 "ul for the 
 soldiers, 
 usic and 
 estion of 
 soundirg 
 a munici- 
 There 
 !nt ; good 
 ;teer and 
 from the 
 rhis mav 
 
 " 
 
 n « 
 
 perhaps be attributed, in some measure, to the climate, and 
 it is quite possible that there may exist the desire, as there 
 exists without doubt the capacity, for some measure of 
 self-government. 
 
 The mixed chorus of watchmen, and dogs, and parrots, 
 
 and cocks, (that seem to think it morning all night long) is 
 rather repellent of sleep, as wc lie under guazy mosquito 
 curtains (not needless in this month of February) and the 
 lightest of linen covers. There is exemption from these 
 disturbers, and there is fresh air, from land and sea, in the 
 many fine hostclries in the suburbs and neighbourhood of 
 the city. I propose, however, to take refuge on board the 
 steamer "Cuba," that leaves again to-morrow morning for 
 Baltimore, and must needs coax a little sleep. 
 
 
44 
 
 li. 
 
 Lettkk IX. 
 
 On Board the Steamship " Cuha," 
 
 Feb. 8, 1867. 
 We made an early start this warm morning, and before 
 seven o'clock saw our worldly efifects safely perched on the 
 heads of two negro porters, who walked so erectly to the 
 quay Under their burdens that I make a note of the value 
 of this sort of exercise in imparting strength to the spine 
 and to the muscular system, and recommend it to youthful 
 gymnasts. Taking our places under the canopy of one of 
 the long line of gondolas, we were soon on the deck of the 
 " Cuba," and by nine o'clock we hear the welcome sotmd of 
 the whistle to move on. In a few minutes we are disengaged 
 from the fleet around us, and taking a last look at the 
 beautiful basin, and the white houses and green trees of 
 Havana, all serene in the soft sunlight, and jsassing rapidly 
 (with ring of saluting gun) by the solid walls of the castle, 
 we plunge into the Gulf stream. This rapid transition 
 from the always placid harbour is not always so agreeable 
 as upon this fine morning, for when there is a sea running 
 one is apt to plunge rapidly into a state of sea-sickness ; 
 this morning, however, we merely pass into afresh atmosphere 
 that is exhilarating, and gives us a better taste for breakfast 
 after our long morning a-foot and afloat. We make directly 
 for Key West, where we arrive about five p.m. — eighty 
 miles from Havana. As we approach the low island (about 
 six miles in length,) Fort Taylor looms up, a solid structure, 
 presenting two tiers of guns in its wall, and mounted on 
 top by a number of " Parrots " and " Columbiads " (we are 
 told) of formidable appearance. At a point of the Island, 
 about four miles distant, are two huge Martello to\vers in 
 
45 
 
 BA," 
 
 8, 1867. 
 and before 
 heel on the 
 ctly to tlip 
 f the value 
 » the spine 
 to youthful 
 y of one of 
 leek of the 
 e sound of 
 li sen gaged 
 lok at the 
 n trees of 
 ng rapidly 
 the castle, 
 
 transition 
 
 agreeable 
 a running 
 -sickness ; 
 tmosphere 
 
 breakfast 
 ke directly 
 11. — eighty 
 uid (about 
 structure, 
 )unted on 
 1 " (we are 
 le Island, 
 towers in 
 
 course of construction,* Among our fellow passengers are 
 two military officers who have been stationed with their 
 battalion of soldiers sole occupants of the lonely reef, at 
 Tortugas for nearly two years, and arc now returning from 
 their first visit of two months to the abodes of men, 
 Tortugas bank is about si.xty miles from Key West, within 
 the Gulf, and the ordinary communication is by means of a 
 yacht in which the passage is made to and from this place. 
 Here the only regular means of access to the wide world is 
 confined to the calls of the steamers of this and another 
 line, about once a week. The officers tell us that their 
 dreary rock of coral is a healthy place, and that in the warmest 
 weather they can count surely upon the return of a refreshing 
 breeze after a few hours of calm. Lying on the reef, at a 
 distance of a mile or two from the pier, we noticed a fine 
 Clyde-built steamer (the " Pearl ") that had been a blockade 
 runner, or at least was claimed as such by the American 
 Government, but the claim was denied by the owners, and 
 having got ashore here, she lies between the claimants (each 
 too careless or uncertain to take charge of her), to rust out. 
 The town and port of Key West is built on the covering of 
 sand that has accumulated upon the coral reef, and is of 
 course but a very few feet above the sea. It is subject to 
 the scorching heat of the sun, but made tolerable by the sea 
 breeze. Palms, almond trees, fig trees, oleanders, (in full 
 bloom and flower-), and roses and other flowering plants, are 
 here in their finest condition. With the exception, however, 
 of a few vegetables, the sand does not produce any food. 
 The population is about three thousand — besides soldiers in 
 the fort, and men on the works. There is some little 
 industry practised in the collection of sponges and corals, 
 .and some attempt has been made to manufacture salt ; but 
 the principal dependence of the thrxe thousand is upon the 
 commerce of the sea, partly in the supplying of vessels, as 
 our vessel is now being supplied, with fish and water and 
 
40 
 
 I: 
 
 _ H 
 
 If' 
 
 vegetables, but more profitably, it is said, in the business of 
 wrecking. For practice in this latter calling, the vast and 
 varying formation of coral reefs presents rnusual facilities. 
 In our ramble on shore \vc discovered the local habitation, 
 placed aid namod, for the first time, of the l*'rccdmen's 
 Bureau — A. Patterson, Agent. Being bte in the day, and 
 the office being closed, we saw none of the dusky subjects 
 of that much-abused, and sometimes highly-lauded, paternal 
 institution. ]k\sidcs this important trust, "A. Patterson " 
 advertises also the double profession of auctioneer and 
 notary public — a plurality of offices tha' is disagreeably 
 suggestive of monopoly, and of evil significance to the 
 unlucky owner whose vessel should stray among these keys. 
 15ut " A. Patterson " is mortal and incomplete, and must 
 needs divide the power of Key West with "J, Dixon," who 
 keeps a variety store — a sort of commercial head centre, in 
 fact. After waiting for nearly an hour for this latter imposing 
 personage, whose first duty was apparently to place some 
 needed supplies on board the steamer, we were admitted to 
 his den, where the piling in sweet (or odorous) confusion of 
 shells, sponges, sea feathers, corals, turtles, and snakes, with 
 parrots and cats, and barrels of oil, and rusty chains, and 
 tackle, and cordage, is made more or less interesting, 
 according to the time and temper at one's command, by the 
 haste and crutiness of the romi/u-rar/if, who has been 
 crystallized by circumstances into a monopolist. Being 
 short of time, though, of course in excellent, supply of 
 temper, we were obliged each to make a hasty selection of a 
 souvenir, and run for the steamer. It is but justice to Key 
 West to say that wc noticed one witness of the existence, 
 or visitation, of human feeling, in a granite column, erected 
 but not yet uncovered, in a small square, apparently from 
 the ornament of an anchor, visible ihrough the tattered 
 covering, in honor of some brave navigator. 
 Leaving Key West, we swing round into the Gulf stream, 
 
 ' \ 
 
47 
 
 jusiness of 
 e vast and 
 il facilities, 
 habitation, 
 "rccdmcn's 
 c day, and 
 :y subjects 
 d, paternal 
 'atterson " 
 Dnccr and 
 sagrccably 
 ICC to the 
 hcse keys, 
 and must 
 <on, " who 
 centre, in 
 r imposing 
 lace some 
 dmittcd to 
 infusion of 
 akcs, with 
 hains, and 
 nteresting, 
 nd, by the 
 has been 
 t. Being 
 supply of 
 :ction of a 
 ce to Key 
 existence, 
 in, erected 
 3ntly from 
 2 tattered 
 
 ilf stream, 
 
 ' \ 
 
 and meet a fresher breeze, and, being tired after a long day 
 on deck and ashore, I turn in and sleep the sleep of child- 
 hood, and am revenged of all the noisy ones of Havana. 
 
 Saturday, ]'"eb. Qth. 
 A bright morning, with the breath of the sunny South 
 gushing more freely ; the waves arc prettily capped, and our 
 ship making all the headway that steam and sail can give her, 
 and some passengers talking meekly (and some meekly 
 expressive without speech) of being a little squeamish. At 
 noon we are in latitude 26;\ N., off the long coast of I-'Iorida 
 and the Bahamas. About two p.m. the \vind increases, and 
 produces rude and ungraceful movement of crockery and 
 glassware, interrupting our innocent endeavours to feed. 
 By dark the rolling of llie shi]) is decidedly unpleasant, and 
 at midnight there is a heavy jar and a sudden stopping of 
 the engine, and a corresponding increase in the rolling move- 
 ment, for the crank pin of our engine has broken off short, 
 and we are helplessly " rocked in the cradle of the deep," 
 for the wind is now N.IC, dead ahead, and our last bit of 
 canvas has been taken down. 
 
 Sunday, I'cb. ^olli. 
 
 The " noisy ones" had us last night, and we are all a-weary 
 and" long of face this morning. It is a day of unrest for 
 the ship, and for all on board. The ladies and children have 
 concluded that " they want to go home," as one of 'cm 
 exi^resses it, and it is probable that if there were solid earth 
 for a way the sterner men would follow. Providentially 
 there is a spare crank pin on board, and the four engineers 
 go to work to fit it, but make slow progress, owing to the 
 rolling of the ship. There is no storm, however, but only 
 what the sailors term a " wholesale breeze." 
 
 We find the advantage of sailing with an experienced and 
 good tempered commander, who dispenses kind words 
 
48 
 
 V 
 
 tX 
 
 'along with the ofTicial assurance that there is no real clanger 
 to be feared ; and by eiglu o'clock, p.m., wc were again 
 under way, and all feeling " imich better." 
 
 Monday, Feb. ;i. 
 The " wholesale breeze" continues, but we are making 
 progress, and have got our sea-legs (and stomach) and bear 
 our lot more bravely. 
 
 Tuesday, Feb. 12. 
 The wind has moderated a little this morning. At noon 
 we are in latitude T,i. 
 
 Wednesday, Feb. 13. 
 Some of our passengers, who are weary of the sea, got 
 up at four o'clock this morning to see the light on Cape 
 Ilatteras, the extreme seaward point of a sand bank, many 
 miles long, off the coast of North Carolina, and outside of 
 Pamlico Sound. We saw but one sail since leaving Key 
 West, and no other sign of life, save an occasional gull and a 
 few flying fishes — a small fish that skips from one wave crest 
 to another on gauzy wings. We are now cut of the Gulf 
 stream, and the atmosphere has lost the genial softness that 
 prevailed through all the changes of weather. Wc meet 
 here and there a vessel, and about eight p.m. pass Cape 
 Henry, and discern a light from Fortress Monroe. 
 
 Thursday, Feb. 14. 
 
 We wake to find ourselves half way up Chesapeake Bay, 
 a beautiful inland s ;a, lying (througliDut) on abed of oysters, 
 said to be the " finest in the world," and for the i:)rivilege of 
 raking which a moderate revenue is derived by the State 
 of Maryland. V^e see the capital (Annapolis) which 
 lies prettily upon an inlet, at the mouth of which arc 
 a number of national vessels. Wc now meet a good deal of 
 floating ice, and a great number of vessels that have been 
 
 icc-bou 
 gradual 
 of pat it 
 toms 01 
 or pursi 
 must b 
 eventun 
 monum 
 
 h 
 
•eal clanger 
 vcrc again 
 
 Feb. ; I. 
 re making 
 i) and bear 
 
 Feb. 12. 
 At noon 
 
 49 
 
 icc-bomul in the harbour of IJaltiinorc for a fortnight, until 
 gradually released during the last few days. After an hour 
 of patient (or impatient) watching for the arrival of a Cus- 
 toms officer, who, like the god of Ahab, " either is talking, 
 or pursuing, or on a journey, or, peradventnre, sleepotli, ;ind 
 must be awaked," but who, unlike the myth god, docs 
 eventually appear, and " put us through," we land in the 
 monumental city, and are carried to Harnum's hotel. 
 
 (iV 
 
 Feb. 13. 
 
 he sea, got 
 ht on Cape 
 jank, many 
 1 outside of 
 aving Key 
 
 gull and a 
 : wave crest 
 )f the Gulf 
 )ftness that 
 
 Wc meet 
 pass Cape 
 
 // 
 
 Feb. 14. 
 
 peakc Bay, 
 [ of oysters, 
 privilege of 
 y the State 
 dHs) which 
 
 which are 
 ;ood deal of 
 
 have been 
 
50 
 
 Letter X. 
 
 ili 
 
 Washington, Feb. i8, 1867. 
 
 Notv thslanding the curious illusion through which I 
 awoke several times during my two first nights ashore to 
 imagine myself rocking violently, I believe it was no such 
 thing, and, for the use of sleeping, would, with honest Coun- 
 sellor Gonzalo, exchange "a thousand furlongs of sea for 
 on acre (or much less) of barren ground." The faithful 
 companions of my journey from Chicago to Baltimore took 
 the first train homewards after our arrival in prvt, and left 
 that fair city to two days' rain " and to me." On Sunday 
 morning (17th) the sun came forth to gild its marble and 
 other beauties, and the sound of church going bells fell 
 sweetly through the clear atmosphere upon ears, hardened 
 •by four consecutive Sundays' experience of the rude pipe of^ 
 sailors and coalheavers, and the motley crowd of the Missis- 
 sippi that are called " deck-hands." The situation of Balti- 
 more, upon finely rolling ground, near the head of Clicsa- 
 pcake l?ay, is peculiarly favourable. The marble column 
 and statue, erected by the State of Maryland in honour of 
 General Washington, is the finest that I have seen of the 
 many memorials of the " father of his country," and is set in 
 a park beautifully ..ituated upon a little hill-top, covered with' 
 the purest green, and untrodden by foot of man ; whilst the 
 unity and sacredness of the association is preserved by the 
 scrupulously clean streets and fine buildings surrounding 
 the park. 
 
 This (Monday) morning opened fair and mild — as warm, 
 in fact, as need be for the convenience of one who harbours 
 the common northern prejudice in favour of clothes, and I 
 tpok an early train for this stirring capital. I found the 
 
). 1 8, 1867. 
 
 ugh which I 
 hts ashore to 
 was no such 
 honest Coun- 
 ts of sea for 
 
 The faithful 
 altimore took 
 P' rt, and left 
 On Sunday 
 i marble and 
 ing bells fell 
 irs, hardened 
 : rude pipe of 
 )f the Missis- 
 tion of Balti- 
 nd of Chcsa- 
 irble column 
 
 in honour of 
 i seen of the 
 ' and is set in 
 
 covered with ' 
 1 ; whilst the 
 ervcd by the 
 
 surrounding 
 
 Id — as warm, 
 
 ,vho harbours 
 
 :lothes, and I 
 
 I found the 
 
 / 
 
 i 
 
 61 
 
 hotel of my choice (VVillard's) so completely filled that 'I 
 must needs wait (till 6 p.m.) the departure of a guest before 
 I could obtain a room, and then, by the " sweat of my brow," 
 (in addition to the little premium of five dollars per diem.) 
 in ascending to the fourth floor. There is, moreover, a se- 
 cond bed in the small sized room ; but I have a proper 
 guarantee from the obliging clerk for the judicious selection 
 of my necessary room-mate. There is everywhere a great 
 ^crowtl, and all consuming haste and pressure, and an alarm- 
 ing circulation of tobacco juice— in fact, but for the moral 
 necessity of " doing" the capital, I should say that Washing- 
 ton is not a place to be desired to sojourn in. The " magni- 
 ficent distances" of Washington is a characteristic that is 
 promptly conceded by the stranger. The city is a huge 
 skeleton of the Mastodon and Megatherium sort, very much 
 in want of feeding up. The poor looking shops and shabby- 
 -genteel boarding and public houses that partially occupy 
 the wide spaces between the far apart public buildings are 
 made but more disagreeably conspicuous by the fine natural 
 position. I visited both Houses of Congress, remaining for 
 an hour in the gallery of the Senate, and hearing some" de- 
 bates ; but the business was mostly of routine nature. I 
 remained but a few minutes at the door of one of the galler- 
 ies of the House of Representatives, that popular arena being 
 much crowded by eager listeners to the debate on the " Bill 
 I for the Military Government of the Rebel States." The 
 " freedmen" are, of course, much interested in these debates, 
 and their presence in the galleries (where the " suffrage is 
 universal") is no doubt a natural consequence, but I presume 
 it is one of those good consequences that require practice 
 to make them appreciated. The "Honourable House" 
 makes a respectable appearance, mainly distinguishable from 
 the Senai- by the loudness of the oratory, 
 
 
° ':!!5JJ' '? "r!i*'-'*y '^'' !5d' ' '' '*' 't ' '- ' ' 
 
 if'. 
 
 ■ - 
 
 62 
 
 Tuesday, Feb. 19. 
 
 The building known as the " Patent Office" is one of the 
 most conspicuous in Washington, occupying a fine site in 
 the centre of the city. Upon ascending its massive steps, 
 and passing through a fine portico, all in marble, the visitor 
 enters on a long walk through lofty rooms and galleries, 
 filled with " Yankee notions," and little models of great inven- 
 tions, said (by the hand book) to be " most interesting to the 
 stranger." I did not find it so, and thought it quite possible 
 that, on the contrary, many other " strangers" might con- 
 sider the show of furniture quite inferior to the style of the 
 building. Nor was my admiration challenged by a collection 
 of curiosities — the gifts of Oriental potentates — and some 
 national relics of supposed national interest, all of which, I 
 fancy, could be readily out-matched by Barnum. 
 
 Looming up in the distance across the " Tiber " is the 
 building of the Smithsonian Institution. The "Mall" in 
 which it stands is promised to be a fine park when it is 
 finished. On reaching the building one finds, without, a 
 plentiful supply of red sandstone in a fine " Romanesque " 
 style (so the book says) ; within is a museum, occupying one 
 hundred feet in length, or possibly a few feet more (out of 
 the four hundred and fifty feet in length of the building,) and 
 containing on the ground floor and galleries a good collection 
 3f specimens in natural history and minerals. A few works 
 of art, of the quality that are usually the gifts or adver- 
 tising media of poor artists, adorn the sides of a small 
 corridor ; and that is all — for the public at least. I was told 
 that the library had been removed to the capitol, and there 
 were indications that the building had suffered from fire, two 
 years ago, one of the keepers said. 
 
 The Treasury building is also a very fine block of white 
 marble, but, like the Patent Office, it is a place for use, and 
 the' effect of its fine colonnade and porticoes is lost and 
 
 r 
 
58 
 
 , Feb. 19. 
 
 > one of the 
 fine site in 
 ssive steps, 
 the visitor 
 d galleries, 
 jrcat inven- 
 iting to the 
 lite possible i' 
 might con- 
 style of the 
 a collection 
 —and some 
 of which, I 
 
 ber" is the 
 
 "Mall" in v 
 
 when it is 
 
 without, a 
 
 >nianesque " 
 
 cupying one 
 
 nore (out of 
 
 Liilding,) and 
 
 )d collection 
 
 V few works ; 
 
 s or adver- 
 
 of a small 
 
 I was told 
 
 1, and there 
 
 •om fire, two 
 
 )ck of white 
 
 for use, and 
 
 is lost and 
 
 forgottein when one enters the convenient and useful, but 
 comparatively small, rooms of the interior. 
 
 The capitol, in its design and execution (and it is nearly 
 complete) and in the fullness and fitness of all its parts, is 
 in correspondence with its nses, and with the pretensions of 
 its owners. Leaving the Treasury building, or Willard's 
 Hotel, and looking along the low 'lying mile and a half 
 (or thereabouts) of Pennsylvania Avenue to the magnificent 
 building, all in purest white marble, whose dome looms about 
 four hundred feet (it rises three hundred feet from the elevated 
 ground on which it stands) above you at the end of the view, 
 you may readily imagine, as I did, that you can reach it by 
 an easy walk ; but having walked in the sun heat until you 
 find yourself becoming tired, and yet some distance fromthe 
 capitol, you may perhaps decide, as I did, that you will ride, 
 and find yourself in better case for viewing the premises. 
 The best general view is by this approach, with the ascend- 
 ing slope of the finely planted park between you and the 
 building as you enter the gate, but the finest' part of the ' 
 building is the opposite (or east) front, where a grand 
 uniformity prevails in the great flights of ascending steps, 
 and the long line of columns. There are several well executed 
 figures in marble in the main portico, designed from incidents 
 of American history, and two fine figures representin"- 
 respectively Peace and War, in niches in the wall ; and in the 
 pediment of the portico of the north wing (on this front) is a 
 fine group representing America "as it was" and "as it is." 
 Designed before the late war, the latter part of the group 
 represents exclusively the arts and occupations of Peace, and 
 the stranger who to-day passes inwards to the Senate chamber 
 is in danger of having his pleasing and peaceful impressions 
 rudely dispelled. 
 
 The dome, when lighted up at night, forms a huge lantern, 
 visible all over the city, and no doubt far beyond, on the 
 heights of Georeretown and the baiks of \;-;(; Potomac 
 
54 
 
 Entering the building, the rotunda, ninety-six feet in 
 diameter, forms the great central hall, and is ornamented 
 with a number of works of art in painting and statuary, as arc 
 also the wide corridors leading to the wings, right and left, in 
 whichare the halls of the Senate and of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives. These halls are covered with glass ceilings, 
 lightly colored, above which aro placed a great number of jets 
 ofgas, that diffuse through the halls and galleries a soft and 
 uniform and very agreeable light. Among the works of art, 
 the representation in fresco on the walls of the stair hall 
 leading to the gallery of the House of Representatives, of 
 the backwoods life and progress of the emigrant, is worthy 
 of special notice. 
 
 February 20th. 
 I had intended to have made " a few remarks" on the 
 men and acts of Congress, now so active and exciting ; but 
 I find the men and acts vexed and uncertain, and have decided 
 to consult my ease and reputation by letting them alone. 
 I heartily wish the nation " better times," and close these 
 Notes. 
 
iiiin»-ii<Mntiii|iiiirr 
 
 let in 
 icntecl 
 as are 
 left, in 
 Repre- 
 ;ilings, 
 of jets 
 ft and 
 of art, 
 ir hall 
 vcs, of 
 vorthy 
 
 oth. 
 in the 
 y, but 
 ccided 
 alone, 
 these