All
through these Southern States we saw everywhere sugar and cotton, sugar
and cotton, sugar and cotton; these, with rice, are the principal
products; sugar mills, cotton yards, etc., etc. We soon reach Algiers,
and cross the grand Mississippi River, then land at New Orleans. The
actual city of New Orleans covers an area of about 41 square miles, but
the statutory limits of the city embrace nearly 150 square miles. It is
situate on both banks of the Mississippi River, and from 1,000 to 1,500
steamers and other vessels, from all parts of the world, may frequently
be seen lying there. New Orleans is the chief market in the world for
cotton. The site of the city was surveyed in 1717 by De la Tour, and it
was settled in 1718, but abandoned in consequence of overflows, storms,
and sickness; it was resettled in 1723, held by the French till 1729,
then by the Spaniards till 1801, by the French again till 1803, and
then, with the Province of Louisiana, was ceded to the United States.
The present population is about 250,000. There are 33 cemeteries, and
they are remarkable, inasmuch as the bodies are buried above ground, in
vaults like tiers of ovens; the ground is too wet for burial. I attended
Trinity Church in the morning, had some black bear for dinner at my
hotel, the "Hotel St. Charles," and then attended the Y.
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