Chapter I: Part 1

“TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION.”

NEW ORLEANS

AS IT IS:

ITS MANNERS AND CUSTOMS--MORALS--FASHIONABLE
LIFE--PROFANATION OF THE SABBATH--PROSTITUTION--LICENTIOUSNESS--SLAVE
MARKETS AND SLAVERY, &c. &c. &c.

BY A RESIDENT.

“A heap of houses, a gulf of evils; on each of yonder stones you might see a gushing tear, or a drop of blood, if the afflictions, shut up between these walls, could but appear without.”

UTICA, N. Y.:
DE WITT C. GROVE, PRINTER,
1849.

PREFACE.

In placing the following pages before the American public, no apology is necessary by the writer, to excuse himself for the plain-spoken manner in which he has given, in detail, the living character of “LIFE IN NEW ORLEANS.” The design has been, from the beginning, to draw a faithful picture of the heterogeneous mass of human beings, who mingle together in this great charnel house, and to delineate, as near as possible, the demonstrations of human passion, which, to a very great degree, lead on the devotees of pleasure, unchecked by moral force, or example, or precept, such as is brought to bear upon the evils that exist here. When the time for the redemption of New Orleans will come, judging from present appearances, no prophet, with any reputation as such, I am sure, would undertake to predict. The difficulty to be encountered, in beginning a work of reform, would be, a starting point; for you would not know where to begin or to find one, who would not first be obliged to “pull the beam out of his own eye.” Hence, the man who would undertake the task, must be a brave one indeed, who would have the daring to tell the whole truth, and in such manner as to appeal to the moral sense of this people. To awaken that, by any means, would be as fatal to the one who should attempt it, as would be to the mirror, held before the fierce rage of the goaded bull.

A portrait of the city of New Orleans is a living picture of the world, and in this particular, it differs from every other city; for here the world is concentrated, in a living spectacle of almost every nation, kindred, and tongue, and from whom are poured out the baser passions that dictate the actions of men, in all the variety of shade and color, that can come up from the dark recesses of the human soul. And it is here we find the great mass of human beings, moved upon by impulses as strange and mysterious and incomprehensible, as is their own future destiny.

To the virtuous and good in the city of New Orleans, I have only to say, that if I have drawn a faithful picture of “NEW ORLEANS, AS IT IS,” you only are made to suffer by these pages, in the same degree as the poor dog was, when caught in bad company. And to those who can see themselves, “as in a glass,” I have only to refer:--

O wad some pow’r the giftie gie us,
To see ourselves as others see us.

NEW ORLEANS AS IT IS.

ITS SETTLEMENT.

The history of New Orleans, if fully written out from its earliest day, in connection with the first adventures and discovery of the Mississippi Valley, would be one possessing more interest to the people of this country, than that of almost any other portion of the American Continent. To do this, in any degree to satisfy the inquiring mind, is not the purpose of the author of these few pages. The writer only designs to give a brief portrait of the breathing mass, that fills up the great emporium of the Valley of the Mississippi. To say that all _live_, in the common understanding of the term, who spend their time there, would be to give a false coloring to a large portion of the picture, which the reader may be assured is true in all its lineaments. It is important, however, to the reader, to know something of the early history of this section of the country, as well as a general description of the city, and some things connected with it, to be able to duly appreciate and understand, why a life in New Orleans differs so widely from any other in the whole range of civilization. And while standing on the Levee, and looking over that great busy mart, where the products and treasures of that vast region of the Mississippi Valley and its tributaries, are constantly being poured out, it would seem that a word could not be said of New Orleans, without requiring a full history of its discovery, beginning of settlement, adventures of individuals in other portions of the Valley, along the banks of this great artery of the breathing earth, which is constantly pouring its floods into the bosom of the ocean. As a brief sketch is demanded of the early times of this range of our country, I shall only notice a few things.

One among the most singular facts in the history of discoveries, is that this mighty flood of many waters, was first met with more than one thousand miles from its mouth. The first discoverer was a Spaniard, by the name of De Soto. He started from the Island of Cuba, in the year 1538, with six hundred men, landed on the coast of Florida, passed to the North, through Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky, and came to the river, at the place now known as Chickasaw Bluffs.

In passing from 1538, down to 1717, many adventurers from the old countries, as well as from the colonies, came, and scarcely more than roused the panther and alligator from their lairs, and passed on, leaving them quietly to return to their repose, and there to remain, until another should come after them in search of the “_fountain of immortal youth_,” which was the object sought after by those who first traversed this region of our country, and whom the Indians had now made to believe there existed such a fountain, in which, if a man should bathe, he would, even if old, return back to the sunny days of youth, his life be without end and clothed in immortal youth. But this glorious fountain was never realized, yet on they came, for many years, company after company; and most of them found a resting place, unburied, in the midst of the swamps and desolation of a wild and unbroken wilderness.

The result of these several companies, in search of the fountain of “living waters,” was a settlement under the patronage of the French government, after the purchase from Spain, one at Natchez, and one at Balize, on Lake Pontchartrain; and finally, in the year 1718, at the city of New Orleans, this Babel of all Babels, this Sodom of all Sodoms, was commenced. And here let me ask the reader to pause and contemplate the scenes which have been enacted in this modern Golgotha. Turn back to the pages of its history, although never written; yet to read it, let the imagination have its widest range, excite it as livid as the lightning flash amid the lowering thunder cloud; and then call up the fullest measure of human woe, of moral degradation, of human suffering, and contemplate the blackest rage of human passion, and all the dark and damning deeds that the fiends of the infernal regions could perpetrate, and you would have before you a faint moonlight picture of the early days of New Orleans. But now, a change has come over the drama of life, yet not in the spirit of her dreams. For the same boiling caldron of human passion is still there, swallowing up its victims, and as in olden times, leaving not a shred or a remnant, to tell from whence they came or whither they have gone.

This was New Orleans a century ago, and this is New Orleans to-day. And notwithstanding a change is in her outward forms, by throwing aside the bowie knife, the dirk and pistol, yet the weapons by which destruction is now accomplished, are none the less sure, none the less fatal. For unlike the knife and pistol, they never maim, but strike strong and deep into the very life blood of the victim.

ITS LOCATION.

The City of New Orleans is on the west bank of the river, about ninety miles from its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico.--The City of Lafayette has a distinct city charter, yet the increase of New Orleans has been so rapid, for a few years past, that it has grown up, so that by buildings they are united, and now appear like one vast city, occupying about seven miles in length, and about one mile in width, along the bank of the river, which, at this point, takes a wide circle and passes to the north-east. The two cities occupy the bend of the river, in form like the new moon, and hence has been given it the name of the CRESCENT CITY. The valley above and below is very level and low, and were it not for the _Levee_, as it is called, would be inundated, by the overflowing of the river, for nearly half of the year. The Levee is an embankment of earth, thrown up from six to eight feet high, and sufficiently broad to make an excellent road. This embankment, commences about forty miles below the city, and on the east side of the river extends as far up as Baton Rouge, a distance of one hundred and forty miles. On the west side it has been necessary to build it, with but very little interruption, up to the line of the State of Arkansas, a distance of five hundred and fifty miles. Were it not for this embankment, not a rod of this vast extent of country could be cultivated. Yet it is now one of the most fertile and productive portions of the South, and on which is grown almost the entire crop of Sugar in Louisiana, as well as large quantity of Cotton.

ITS HISTORY.

From the commencement of the city of New Orleans up to the time of the “Seven Years War,” which is now always spoken of as “The Old French War,” between England and France, and in which many of our fathers participated, the province of Louisiana, being then in possession of the French, passed through many trying scenes; and several times barely escaped annihilation, not only by sickness and starvation, but by well concerted plans of massacre by the Indians who inhabited that range of country. At the termination of the “Seven Years War,” came up a new era, upon which soon followed those mighty developements, which to us now in the distance appear like the work of enchantment. The cession by France of all her rights and lands in North America to England, except the province of Louisiana, was stipulated by the deputies of the two governments, and the boundary line between their possessions, in the wilds of America, was determined should run along the middle of the Mississippi river from the gulf of Mexico, up as far as Ibberville, thence along the centre of that river, through Lakes Maurepas and Ponchartrain. This treaty was made in 1763, twelve years before the war of the Revolution. Immediately following the treaty, France ceded the entire province of Louisiana to Spain. This act of cession, however, for certain considerations, existing with the government of France, was not made known until about two years after the date of the treaty. When, the decree was first published, making, by a mere dash of the pen, Frenchmen into Spaniards, it produced the utmost consternation among the inhabitants of the province. The act of being thus secretly passed into Spanish hands, with new lords and masters, and without being consulted, or even a knowledge of the fact imparted until long after the consummation of the matter, was too revolting to those who had abandoned home and friends, and braved the difficulties and dangers of the savage wilds of the Mississippi valley, and who were as true and loyal Frenchmen as ever paid court to Crown or King. Public meetings were called, and they resolved as one man, not to submit to the outrage which the new order of things would impose upon them. And they further determined, that if they were to be thus dealt with, and finally deserted by the Mother Country, they would endeavor, with the limited means and power which they possessed, to commence business on their own capital; and thus brave the displeasure of both Spain and France. This determination they at once prepared fully to sustain.

On the arrival of the Spanish Governor, Don Ulloa, with a strong force, in 1766, they met him at the point of the bayonet, and succeeded in driving him off, forcing him to leave the country and return home and lay down his commission. At this unexpected defeat and defiance of authority, the King of Spain was highly enraged. In consequence, however, of other troubles then on hand, which were such as to engage his whole attention, no further attempt was made to take possession of the province until 1769, when the King succeeded in finding a man, with all the requisite qualifications to undertake the work of royal vengeance, which had been three years waiting to glut itself with the blood of Frenchmen. The fit instrument to do this work, was a man by the name of Don O’Reilly, a renegade Irishman, who had “left his country for his country’s good,” to whom he gave the appointment of Governor. To accomplish a purpose by any means within the scope of human ingenuity, a fitter tool, or a more arch fiend, could not be found within the compass of royal favor. He came to the citizens of the province with fair promises of government patronage and favor, pledging them at the same time, that he would, in a great degree, respect the laws and regulations which they had enacted, and retain in office a due share of the citizens. By these assurances, impressed with so much apparent honesty, he succeeded in prevailing upon the authorities and the people to lay aside their arms, and meet him on the terms he proposed, and acknowledge him as Governor. For some time he continued to respect his pledges, and yet, while doing this, he was secretly fortifying himself, and arranging his plans, by placing his own chosen and subservient tools where he could at once call them out to do his bidding, when the time should come to throw off the mask of hypocrisy. He then assumed the power of the Dictator, made laws to suit his own purpose, trampled under foot and disregarded written contracts, and finally, to consummate his fiendish acts of treachery, and to gratify the vengeance of his Spanish Master, and in defiance of the most solemn pledges, he caused five of the principal men of the city to be arrested, and, without trial, to be shot. Five others he sent to the dreary dungeons of the “Moro Castle,” at Havanna, on the Island of Cuba. These acts of outrage and vengeance, together with violations of every assurance which he had given to seduce the too credulous people, soon brought down upon him the execration and abhorrence of the whole colony. The final result was, he soon worked out his own downfall. Following the dictates of his own inclinations, and supposing, at the same time, he was courting royal favor, the King was forced to recall him, and cast him off disgraced. Under his successor, a Spanish nobleman by the name of Unzoga, who remained with the colony a short time, the province enjoyed a short time of comparative peace and prosperity.

This, however, was soon broken up by the war between England and Spain, which was declared in 1779. This occasion enabled the Governor, Don Galvez, to display his martial prowess, by invading Florida, then in possession of the English. Without meeting much to contend with, he took Baton Rouge, and Fort Charlotte, which stood near where now stands the city of Mobile. From thence he marched down upon Pensacola, which, after a long and determined resistance, finally yielded to the Spanish arms. By this decisive blow the laws and power of Spain were established in Florida, and the thorough introduction of the Spanish colonial system. This, however, was too severe a blow for the proud and independent English and French to bear quietly, without showing some signs of the galling nature of the yoke, which was thus being formed upon them. Yet the impositions succeeded so well for a time, that an attempt was made in 1785, to establish an office or branch of the Grand Inquisition in the city of New Orleans.--Against this assumption and scourge of despotism, the spirit of the hitherto subservient Frenchmen took fire. They arrayed themselves at once in the most determined hostility against it, and so daring and fearless were they in their opposition, that it was crushed without leading to a collision between the people and the troops. The agent who had the authority to arrange the matter was taken from his bed in the night, and put on shipboard, and sent back to Spain. Thus, ere it saw the light, was strangled one of the most hideous monsters that was ever permitted to prey upon the lives, property, and liberty of an unoffending people. And yet, this was to come into a city, and among a population who had no sympathy with the power that ruled them, nor any motive for obedience except fear and self-preservation; and what is most astonishing in this event, is, that such a system as the Spanish Inquisition should be attempted on this continent, in the midst of the light and spirit of that age, ten years after the announcement to the world of the Declaration of Independence.

FIRST IMPULSE TO COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE.

Finally, after a few minor vicissitudes, through which the colony passed, up to 1792, Baron Corondelet appeared as Governor. Two years following his appointment, the treaty of St. Lorenzo was entered into between the United States and Spain, by which was granted free navigation to every kind of water craft, belonging to the United States, through the lower waters of the Mississippi. The effect of this treaty at once aroused a spirit of enterprise, and gave an impetus to trade and speculation, which fixed forever the prosperity and preeminence of the crescent city, as the great emporium of the western world. The Spanish Governor, however, not deeming the stipulations of the treaty of sufficient account for his consideration, continued to exercise his authority, much to the detriment of those who had been induced to embark in business, as permitted by the stipulations of the treaty. This interference on the part of the governor, did not much accord with the enterprising spirit of that class of traders who had embarked their all upon the waters of the Mississippi. This class of men differed widely from those with whom the governor had hitherto been accustomed to meet. They were schooled under different teachers than the servile minions of Spain, or the too credulous and confiding Frenchmen, who had long been submissive to his will. But the “live yankee,” and such too, as constituted the boatmen of the Mississippi, had never before crossed his path, and how to meet them, was a task which he was not able to accomplish. The traders from the beginning assumed a position to maintain their rights, and this begat in the governor an impression that they were insolent in the extreme, in daring to oppose his authority. The consequence was, the restrictions upon the traders were more stringent than ever; until finally, by an armed force under Andrew Elliot, the territory was taken possession of, and the refractory governor compelled to acknowledge the stipulations of the treaty and respect the right of the traders. From this time until 1803, the territory was quite prosperous, when Spain re-transferred all her rights and interest to France.

THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA.

Immediately following this treaty between France and Spain, on the 30th of April of the same year, France sold the whole territory to the United States, for fifteen millions of dollars. Gen. Wilkinson was ordered to take possession of the new purchase, which he did, amid the rejoicings of the warm hearted Frenchman, whose love of liberty had increased as the galling yoke of his Spanish master bore down upon his neck. To him the day was one that he had long desired, the day for knocking off his chains and throwing them in the face of the insolent Spaniard.--From this hour, the riches of the Mississippi Valley were unlocked. The march of improvement, and the swelling tide of business, poured out her treasures into every clime, and at once determined that this valley was the grand centre to which the extremes and every part of the circle of this vast continent must yield their homage.

STEAM NAVIGATION.

Nine years after this event was an important and memorable era in the scenes of the Mississippi Valley; and never will it be effaced from the memory of the thousands and tens of thousands who lined the banks of the river to witness the crowning efforts of genius, and the almost omnipotent power of man over matter. It was at this time, the first steam boat was taken into the bosom of the father of waters. Although it was but yesterday that the astonished multitude stood amazed, yet they are still there, and are now witnessing thousands of these floating palaces flying to and fro, bearing upon their huge frames the productions of this vast region of our country. In the vision of the master genius of our land, the immortal JEFFERSON, the reality which now lays before us, was vividly drawn up, a short time before he consummated the purchase of Louisiana, and in the language of another it is thus presented:

“The purchase of Louisiana is considered the greatest political event, next to the Revolution, commemorated in American history. The circumstance ought not to be overlooked that this mighty conquest, exceeding in territory the greatest monarchy in Europe, was achieved, without the guilt or calamities of blood, from a military autocrat, whose ceaseless ambition was an universality of empire, and who, in the untamable pursuit of his purpose, went on demolishing nations at a blow, and partitioning the earth at pleasure, until vanquished by the consolidated power of Europe. The mind is lost in the magnificence of the achievement, and the vastness of its consequences; its glories can only be commemorated in the unceasing homage of the unborn millions who will participate of its blessings. ‘There is no country,’ says a writer, ‘like the valley of the Mississippi on the face of the globe. Follow the mighty amphitheatre of rocks that nature has heaped around it. Trace the ten thousand rivers that unite their waters in the mighty Mississippi; count the happy millions that already crowd and animate their banks, loading their channels with a mighty produce. Then see the whole, bound by the hand of nature in claims which God alone can sever, to a perpetual union at one little connecting point; and by that point fastening itself by every tie of interest, consanguinity, and feeling, to the remotest promontory on our Atlantic coast. A few short years have done all this; and yet ages are now before us: ages in which myriads are destined to multiply throughout its wide spread territory, extending the greatness and the happiness of our country from sea to sea. What would we have been without the acquisition of Louisiana? what were we before it? God and nature fixed the unalterable decree, that the nation which held New Orleans should govern the whole of that vast region. France, Spain, and Great Britain, had bent their envious eyes upon it. And their intrigues, if matured, would eventually have torn from us that vast Paradise which reposes upon the western waters.’”

CHARACTER OF THE FIRST SETTLERS.

I have thus given a brief sketch of a few of the leading incidents which tended to bring into existence and develope the resources of this important section of our country. What makes it of so much interest, at this time, is, that its birth and youth, and transformation, as by magic, has been before the eyes of the present generation. Nevertheless, they seem to pass it by as being among the most common incidents in the life-time of every man. It is like the idle tale of a school boy. And here it is proper to call the reader to one important consideration, from which will readily be recognized the causes which have produced this state of things, so peculiar in New Orleans, and which gives a character to this city unlike any other in the world. These causes commenced with the beginning of the settlement, and increased by the frequent changes which so often occurred, in the government and possession of the territory of Louisiana. First came the French adventurer in search of the “FOUNTAIN OF IMMORTAL YOUTH.” Then came the bigoted, iron rule of the dark frowning Spaniard; and, mixed up with these, from all parts of the world, were fugitives from justice, disaffected politicians, and desperate adventurers of all descriptions. At length appeared also the shrewd and ever calculating Yankee, with a force and power to leave the unmistaken impress of his _guessing_ nature upon every thing that he laid his hands upon. And finally the poor African, stolen from his native home, was brought to mingle with the heterogeneous mass, and impress his nature and give a shade of character upon the length and breadth, the height and depth of every thing that has had existence in New Orleans. This crushed and down-trodden being came in with the commencement of the cultivation of sugar cane, in 1751. African slaves were sent from the Island of St. Domingo, by the Jesuits, to their brethren in New Orleans, to superintend the making of sugar. From their first introduction, the females have been to all intents and purposes, the wives of both the French and Spanish, and are now the same with the Americans who have taken up their abode here. And in this there has been no respect to color, from the dark sooty black, down to the soft and mellow tinge of the beautiful quadroon. Thus, it will be freely acknowledged, the African has had no small share in impressing the peculiarities of his nature upon the living picture of a life in New Orleans. From this heterogeneous mass, which in the beginning was thrown suddenly and promiscuously together, has originated a state of society differing widely from any other part of the civilized world. And now, as at the beginning, the Spaniard is there, with his low dark brow, concealing deep under its arch the small keen black eye, with snake-like language, which tells of treachery, deceit, and midnight assassination. Here too figures the brilliant, the proud and restless Frenchman, with all the life and animation peculiar to his nature, with his heart constantly running off at his tongue’s end. And now, at every turn, you meet the cool, calculating, determined emigrant from the Northern States, who moves on, with an eye single to the “almighty dollar.” To these may be added, within a few years past, the warm-hearted son of the Emerald Isle, together with the cold and ever measured tread of the plodding Dutchman. And to complete the picture, in this mixed mass of living beings the neat and tidy Quadroon is seen, civil, courteous, unassuming in all his manners, yet with a down cast look, indicative of a deep realizing sense of the damning curse that rests upon him in consequence of the yellow tinge of his brow.

THE FLAT-BOATMEN.

And now to be considered alone, and distinct, that nondescript of all human demonstrations, are the “_Flat Boatmen_,” of the Mississippi River. Of this class there are annually visiting the city of New Orleans not less than ten thousand, and yet when there, that is their home. They are, indeed, an amphibious race of beings, living on land or water, and always enjoying the comforts of a hotel wherever night overtakes them. They belong, however, to the Mississippi, and are, to the length and breadth of that mighty river, what the wild Arab is to the deserts of Arabia. Daring and fearless, they never regard danger, as more than the common incidents of every day life. In their composition, they present the striking features and peculiarities of the disciplined sailor, the fearless whaleman, and the bold and strong backwoodsman, added to all the free and social qualities of the well educated New Englander. And while combining, and being made up of such traits of character, they present a class distinct, original, eccentric, and unique; yet, with all the better attributes of the human soul cultivated to a high degree, presenting a noble and generous nature, and as warm a heart as ever beat in the human breast. This class of “half horse and half alligator,” as they claim to be, have borne such a conspicuous part in the great Valley of the Mississippi, that a better view of their character cannot be given than the following narrative, taken from the lips of the celebrated James Girty, a short time before his death.

“In the year 1814, I was captain of the barge Black Snake, belonging
to the Poyntz’s at Maysville. I started with the barge, about
two-thirds loaded, for New Orleans, in the latter part of November.
When I reached the mouth of Cumberland, I found a considerable
quantity of arms belonging to the United States, which had been
despatched from Pittsburgh for the troops engaged under General
Jackson, in the defence of New Orleans. They had been taken down thus
far, depending on an engagement made with Ben Smith of Cincinnati,
under which he had contracted to deliver them within a given time
at New Orleans. The government agent had been waiting some days
for Smith, who had not yet made his appearance; and finding an
opportunity offering, and fearing they would be needed, immediately
decided to send them by me. I made all possible despatch, and happily
succeeded in reaching New Orleans with my precious freight on the 3d
of January, 1815. Eager to have a hand in the approaching battle,
I reported myself immediately to Gen. Jackson, who gave me the
appointment of Captain, with authority to impress into service the
whole body of barge and keel-boat men in port. I entered on the work
without delay, and with great activity and success. You know as much
as I can tell you of the glorious 8th. After every thing in the shape
of a red coat had disappeared, I discharged the remaining part of the
cargo and crew, for which last I had no further use until I could get
a freight up the river, which I did not get until the latter part
of May, when I hired a crew and started for Pittsburgh. I reached
Natchez in June. It was the custom of those days to give the hands
a holiday at Natchez, one at the mouth of the Ohio, and one also at
Louisville or Shippingsport.--It was four o’clock in the afternoon
that we threw up our poles and fastened our bowlines at Natchez. The
men were eager for a dance, and some would not wait even for their
supper, scampering off to the dance houses under the hill. I got my
supper and went up also. I looked on until 11 or 12 at night, when
finding all my entreaties to get them back to the boat unavailing, I
left them, some engaged in dancing, others betting with the gamblers
on the _Roulettes_, and went on board the Black Snake. As the day
dawned, all hands were also at their posts, but in a wretched plight,
many of them having their heads badly cut and bruised.

“It seems the gamblers had won all their money, and a fight ensued,
in which those gentry came off victorious. After breakfast, I judged
by the threats of the hands, and other circumstances, that it would
be advisable to get the Black Snake under way; but on giving orders
to that effect, not a man would raise a pole, until he had had his
accustomed frolic out, and I was compelled to give way, determining
in my own mind, to leave at 4 o’clock, when the day of privilege
would be out. When that hour came, it was of no use to propose
starting, none of the men would budge, until they had obtained
revenge; and they had privately agreed that they would not assist
me up any farther, if I would not go with them and help whip the
gamblers.

“I saw there was no alternative, and after supper, I repaired with my
whole crew to the dance house, armed with knives, chopping axes and
setting poles. The gamblers had expected us and were prepared with
pistols, knives, and rifles, for the fight. The _scrimmage_ commenced
without exchanging a word. At first they gave us hard usage, but
their ammunition was soon spent, and they gave way, bearing three of
their number off who were killed in the scuffle. One of our men was
mortally wounded, who made out to walk to the boat, where he died
in half an hour. We cut cable and crossed the Mississippi, worked
the Black Snake three miles up the river, and came to for the night.
About day-light next morning, while burying the dead man, the Sheriff
of Adams county and a posse of almost an hundred men, came up and
made us all prisoners.

“They left a man of the party in charge of the barge, and took us all
down to the ferry-boat and across to Natchez, where we were brought
before a judge and tried. No evidence being found against any but
myself and Bill Lloyd, one of my hands, the rest of the crew were set
free, while Bill and I were sent to Washington jail; my barge was
sent on, and I was detained to stay in jail until Court, which was
to sit the first Monday in October. After I had been in jail about
two weeks, one of the Associate Judges of the Court by which I was
to be tried, came out to Washington to see me. I found in him an old
Pennsylvania acquaintance, on whom I had some claims. He gave me poor
encouragement, telling me he feared the Court would not let me out on
bail. I told him I had $2,700, which I could leave with my security.
Still he discouraged me. He said the evidence was point-blank against
me and Lloyd, but promised he would call again, ordering the jailor
to see that I did not want for anything that lay in his power to
give, and bade me good-bye. In about a week, he came again, and told
me he had succeeded in making it a bailable case of $3,000, and had
also obtained a man to go my security. The door was opened. I gave
the Judge $2,700 and the necessary security.--The Judge advised me to
leave immediately, and never show myself in Natchez, saying he would
willingly pay the $3,000, if I would keep away. I told him I would
be in Washington at the sitting of the Court, if I lived--on this I
was determined. That afternoon I wrote a letter to a friend of mine
in Natchez, who was a woman that kept a dance-house--now living and
wealthy, and of course, respectable--requesting her to get clear of
the evidence against me. I received an answer to this next morning,
assuring me I need fear nothing; that I might make my appearance
at the proper time with perfect safety, for there would be no one
present to witness against me. I left Natchez the same day, on foot
for Pittsburgh, which I reached in the latter part of July. I lost
no time collecting money, and gathered up $1,500, and started in a
large covered skiff on my return to Natchez. This was the last of
August. My skiff had two pairs of oars, and I took three yankees on
board to work their passage as far as Cincinnati, and the oars were
plied night and day till we got there. At Cincinnati I hired a man to
help me the rest of the way down; by the time we reached Louisville,
he got tired and ran off. I went over Falls by myself, and landed at
Shippingsport in search of another hand, and the first man that met
my eye was Bill Lloyd. You may guess my astonishment. My first words
were, “Why, Bill, how did you get out of jail?” “Oh,” said he, “it
got so d--d sickly among the thieving scoundrels in there, that the
jailer was glad to open my door to get me to take charge of the sick.
I opened the door for the rest, and all went out that could walk out,
and then I walked off to the mouth of Tennessee, and there I got a
chance to push up on that keel-boat there,” said he, pointing to it.
“Well, Bill, you need not fear anything while you are with me,” I
remarked; “I am going back to stand my trial, and I want to hire a
hand to help me down. The river is low, and if I don’t get some good
hand to help me row, I fear I shan’t get there in time.” In short,
I agreed to give Bill a dollar a day, and to let him off at Walnut
Hills: so he came on with his horn and blanket, and we were off in
a jiffy. Bill was a worthless fellow, and I knew it, but he was a
stout and good oarsman. He had not been long with me, till he found
out that my chest was heavy, and I watched him close. When we were
near the mouth of the Ohio, he became dissatisfied, and objected
to going any further towards Natchez, proposed to go trapping up
the Mississippi, insisting there could be a great deal made on the
Missouri, with other suggestions of the sort. I paid little attention
to his statements or arguments, keeping down the Mississippi, and
told him, if he wanted to stop, to do so; as for me, I should go on
to Natchez. He said no more until we were in the bend above Beef
Island, when he broke out afresh, accusing me of suspicioning him of
a wish to rob me. I told him I was not afraid of him in any shape. A
fight ensued, which I knew must end in the death of one or the other,
with the skiff and my money for the victor’s spoils. After much
struggling, I put him overboard. I set the blade of an oar against
him, shoving him off from the skiff, then thrusting the oar to him,
told him to save his life. He made no other reply, than to clench the
oar and threw it back to me, telling me to “go to hell,” and swimming
about fifty yards, safely reached the head of Beef Island. I landed
at Natchez at one o’clock, and on the morning of the first Monday in
October, I left the skiff, and with my chest on my shoulder, walked
up to the dance-house. My friend was still up, as were several more.
I deposited my chest with her, and looking around the room, I espied
the most important witness against me. I turned to her, reminding her
of the promise she had made me. She told me she had been trying to
get rid of him all summer; that he was the only evidence against me
left in the country, and that she would yet get him out of the way.
I observed the time was short, and calling him forward, told him I
would give him five hundred dollars to leave the place that morning,
and not appear against me. He swore there was no use to talk to him,
for he had braved the worst of the yellow fever for the purpose of
remaining there and appearing against me, and I might depend upon
it, he would be on the spot when called to testify. My friend said,
never fear, all would be right; and as I was about bidding her and
witness good-bye, proposed that we should take a gin-sling together.
She mixed one for witness, one for me, and one for herself. Having
all drank, I started for Washington, and reached there by 9 o’clock.
Being quite tired, I lay down on the door-step and directly fell fast
asleep and did not awake until the sheriff, calling the Court, awoke
me. Every body seemed astonished at my presence. My case was the
first one called. I answered to my name, and when the judge enquired
of me if I was ready for trial, my counsel did not happen to be
present, and I answered that I was as ready then as I ever should be;
that I had no evidence when I was sent to jail, and had none now. The
attorney for the State directed the Sheriff to call his witnesses,
to see if he was ready for trial, who called 11 names in succession,
not one of whom was present, but some one answered, name by name, as
they were called, what had become of them. Some had left the country,
and some had died of the yellow fever, until the name of the one I
had left in Natchez was called, and the answer was that he had died
that morning at half past eight. There being no evidence against
me, I was, of course, discharged, and returned the same evening to
Natchez. I asked my friend what had caused the fellow’s death who was
to have been the witness. She said she supposed it was in the course
of nature, nor could I, then or afterwards, get any satisfaction from
her on this point. Next day, I called on my security, settled my
business with him, then went to my friend’s house, opened my chest,
and counted out $500 for her. She perceived what I was doing, and
told me, if I wanted to make her my enemy for life, I could have a
chance, and if I dared to offer her money, she would blow my brains
out. I made several excuses to induce her to take the money, saying
that I owed it to her honestly for her kind treatment of me, and that
I did not mean anything dishonorable by it. She remained resolute,
and said if I wanted to continue friends with her, I must not offer
her money. I then bade her good-bye, and before dark, my chest and
skiff and myself were all on the way to New Orleans.”

For one to look upon the visage of such a man as Girty, there would at once arise a suspicion of damning deeds, as dark and dread as his own sun-burnt brow; yet in him was always found an integrity of purpose, from which many in the higher walks of life, could learn a lesson, and profit by it. In his time, thousands of dollars’ worth of property and money were confided to his care, and accounted for to the last farthing. Nor was he ever known to break an engagement, or betray a trust.

And now the reader has before him all that New Orleans is to-day, and from this mass of elements is constituted its society; and certainly, short-sighted indeed must be any one who cannot in some decree anticipate the leading features which would be presented from such a mingling of the impulses of human passion, and form some opinion of the perfect Babel of human tongues, as well as human _actions_, that is found there.

CITY GOVERNMENT AND POLICE.

There is not a city in the United States so well regulated, and so thorough in enforcing laws and regulations, as are the authorities of the city of New Orleans. And in no place is a person, in purse and property, more safe, at all times of day and night, and in every part of the city. And yet, in this respect, it is far different from what is understood by the people of the Northern States. The impression exists with almost every one, that to walk the streets at night, or to be caught in the suburbs of the city, the bowie knife, the dirk, and the pistol, will be the first thing to flash in his face; and to escape the gang of assassins is impossible. But far from this are the facts. Even females can walk the streets after dark without an attendant, and be perfectly secure from insult or molestation.

The city is divided into three municipalities, each being under a distinct and separate government. Hence, no doubt, a strife arises, in enacting and enforcing wholesome and salutary laws, at least so far as security for person and property are concerned. Certainly there are fewer murders, robberies, and burglaries, according to the population, than in any other place in the civilized world of its size. Another very important and very salutary regulation is, the disposition they make of vagrants. A man appearing ragged, dissipated, and degraded, and laying about the streets, without any visible means of support, either by labor or money, is arrested and taken before the Recorder, and unless he can make some show for himself, he is sentenced to the work house for sixty or ninety days, and in all this transaction you find no low unprincipled pettifogger, as is the case in New York, volunteer to defend him. Such an interference by a lawyer, in New Orleans, would forever disgrace him. After the vagrant has served his time of sentence out, you will see him make his way out of the city, cursing the very stones on which he treads, not even venturing to look behind him, fearing that he may be again arrested before he can escape. The effect of this stringent regulation is to keep the city entirely clear of this class of day and night peculators. It is also a note of warning to that horde of plunderers and robbers who operate on a larger scale; for they are sure there will be no favor shown them by a pettifogging construction of the laws, nor _flaws_ found in the indictment, by which he can escape against the evidence of his guilt. And in more than this, you will find New Orleans differing from other cities. You cannot find here a coat of mail thrown around the culprit by the influence of money, through which the law cannot penetrate. Neither can you find in the halls of justice, a back-door avenue by which you can reach the jury box, or the prosecuting attorney, or the Court. Hence the vicious are cautious how they lay their hands on their neighbor’s property, and woe to him who invades his neighbor’s rights, so as to fall within the meshes of the law. These regulations and features in the government of the city are the only wholesome rules of which it can boast, and present the only redeeming trait in the whole frame-work of its laws, its manners or customs, except the system of common schools.

COMMON SCHOOLS.

The system of common schools is deserving of more than a passing remark; yet what is due, in commendation of such a gem in the midst of such a mass of corruption, cannot be allowed within the compass of the design of these pages. Suffice, however, to say, that it is one of the most perfect models for common school education ever instituted, and it is to be hoped that other, and older States, may profit by the example. The citizens of Louisiana feel a pride in this great work, and well may they. In particular the citizens of New Orleans should be proud of this monument of their wisdom and benificence. Some of the municipal arrangements of this system, are as follows. Large and commodious buildings are erected, to which all the children of a certain district are sent. Each school is divided into four classes, according to the ability and knowledge of the child. When they have passed the several departments, and been subjected to the rigid and thorough examinations which are necessary in passing from one to the other, and have gone through and received a diploma, they are qualified to enter the junior class of any college in the United States. And here the road is open to all, the poor as well as the rich, the system forbidding any distinction, and to all classes free of expense for every thing which the pupils require for instruction, in books, maps, charts, and other materials, all of which are furnished by the State.

THE LOCATION OF THE CITY.

To give the reader a correct idea of the city of New Orleans, and the great curse to which it will ever be exposed, it is important to know its peculiar location. The range of country along the banks of the Mississippi, is called the _coast_, commencing about forty miles below and about sixty miles from what is called the “_Balize_.” This is a term signifying a sea mark, or pole elevated as a guide for seamen, and this was done by those who first made the discovery of the mouth of the Mississippi. No other term is now used, but “_Balize_,” when going out of the river. The _coast_ is a narrow strip of low, flat land, from one to two miles wide, and in rear of which, running nearly parallel with the river, is deep, dismal swamp land, filled with legions of the most deadly, poisonous snakes, and herds of alligators. This belt of land is perfectly level, until it meets a ridge at “Baton Rouge,” on the east side of the river, about one hundred and twenty-five miles above the city. The soil is a deep black sandy alluvial, of great fertility, and seems not to deteriorate by cultivation. This whole coast along the river is now occupied by the sugar planter, and for nearly eight months in the year the eye of the traveler sees nothing before him but the waving sugar cane, presenting one unbroken livid landscape of the most beautiful green ever beheld upon the lap of nature.

The city is located on the west bank of the river, and the wide and graceful sweep which the river takes at this point, in crescent shape, crowds it far back into the belt of land, leaving but a narrow space between the river and the swamp. This swamp is several miles wide, skirting the rear of the city the whole length, and into this mud hole, the water and filth (what little passes off) are taken. This boiling fountain of death is one of the most dismal, low and horrid places, on which the light of the sun ever shone. And yet there it lies under the influence of a tropical heat, belching up its poison and malaria, from whence it is constantly being swept through the city, feeding the living mass of human beings who stand there, ready, as it were, to take down the dregs of the seven vials of wrath, that is incessantly being poured out upon them. Another evil is, the city, by the bend of the river, is thrown so near the swamp that the range of land on which it stands, is exceedingly low. Consequently, during a rain or in a wet season, it is almost entirely under water, and always after a heavy shower, or several days of damp wet weather. The state of the atmosphere and heat are such that in a few hours the water in the gutters and in the yards and vacant lots, becomes covered with a yellow greenish scum, in which there appears to be a fermentation, which you can distinctly hear, as you pass along the side-walk.

SOURCES OF DISEASE.