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^ Historic Monuments of iSfeiv Orleans 



Now Orloaus lijui wakcj up boUi to the ueco-thily of sjtviu^' iUs 

 liiKtoric uioiiuuioiiU!, which t«rni includes it« old buildings and other 

 objert« of intercut dnting from cnrly times. Tho work is in chnrge 

 of tho Loui^illna Chapter of the American Institute of Architcots. 

 The niwl tlint sonipUiin); l)c dono was cmphiisizcd when iin intorosting 

 old structure, coming down from the romantic past, was about to be 

 torn down to got rid of tJie rats which infested it. That was dur- 

 ing the bulxinic plague ware at New Orloons. The building was 

 .xparoj anil, at small i'X]ionse, wn!* made rat ]>rool'. 



New Orleans is tho most romantic city of tho South. It possesses 

 many old buildings aiid other objects of interest that should be pre- 

 ser\-ed for the sjike of local and national pride. Cyprcs^s was tlie 

 early building wood of Louisiana, as white j>ine was in New Eng- 

 land; and what tlie southerners like to call "the wood eternal" holds 

 a prominent pla<-e in most old buildings in New Orleans, it may 

 seem strange but nevertheless is true that white pine also w:i8 prom- 

 inent there in early times. Considerably more than one hundred years 

 ago pine cut on tlie headwaters of the Allegheny river in western 

 New York was rafted all the way to New Orleans where it sold for 

 cash, and at ten times the price obtained for it in trade at Pitts- 

 burgh. Much is now being said of white pine in good preservation 

 in old buildings of Now England. When the committee at New 

 Orleans begins to announce results it may be expected that New York 

 white pine and Louisiana cypress will hold places of honor side by 

 side. 



Now Orleans has been amazingly indifferent to its places of historic 

 interest. Tourists hear a good deal of the Absinthe House, the 

 French Market, and the old cemeteries with the graves above the 

 surface of the ground; but what visitor in New Orleans is ever 

 reminded that one of the most famous and most interesting battle- 

 fields of the United States lies within live or sis miles of the center 

 of the cityf It is the field where General Jackson with three thou 

 sand Kentucky and Tennessee militia defeated fifteen thousand 

 British regulars — the veterans who had driven Napoleon out of 

 Spain. 



The people of New Orleans have woefully neglected that battlefield. 

 The visitor who wants to go from the center of the city to the field 

 mnst hunt his way. So much as a trolley line does not exist. There 

 is a wagon road that those may follow who can find it, and most of 

 the livery stables can send a driver who knows the way, If a tourist 

 will put up the price. The tourist who goes by that round-about 

 route may cross the famous battlefield and never know it, unless he 

 happens to see a ditch that resembles an old millrace, pretty well 

 obliterated. That wa.*^ where the Kentucky riflemen lay while they 

 transacted the business of January 8, 1815. Yet there is no monu- 

 ment to call attention to the place, not so much as a signboard, ex- 

 cept one nailed to a fence, "tresspassers Warned." The letters 

 were burned on the board with a hot iron. One might suppose, at 

 first sight, that this warring was put up in 1815 to give the invaders 

 notice of what to expect; but it is simply a farmer's way of warn 

 ing people to keep out of his thi.stie patch. 



One who takes the direct route from New Orleans to the battle- 

 field follows the street cars as far as they go. He is then shown a 

 foot path passing between the sugar mill and the river, and he can, 

 climb over the fences, or he can creep through the cracks when the 

 creeping is good. Most any fisherman can direct how to "get round 

 the slip." It is accomplished by walking sundry foot planks across 

 swamps overgrown with willows and with an occasional alligator's 

 nest full of eggs. 



Arriving by this route in the vicinity of the battlefield, the first 

 thing to attract attention is the monument marking General Jack- 

 son's headquarters. It^s a fine shaft, but in order to approach it one 

 must wade shoulder-deep through weeds resembling an abandoned 

 barn yard in August. A quarter of a mile or more beyond this the 

 famous battlefield is approached; but first one reaches a national 

 cemetery which the government keeps in excellent repair. The ceme- 

 —16— 



tery forms a sort of oa.vis in the siiridiiiidiiig ileserl of weeds and 

 cow pastures. 



The battlefield is long and narrow. General Jackson dug a ditch 

 a mile long from tho bank of the Mississippi to an impenetralilt> 

 swamp. Tho British army had to cross tliat ditch to reach New 

 Orleans. It never got acrt(,ss. Jackson's soldiers were in tho ditch 

 and they killed the invaders at the rate of a hundred a minute while 

 tho battle lasted ; but it was over soon. 



The ditch can still bo traced the wiiole way from the river to the 

 swamp. The part whii-li pastes through the cemetery has been leveled 

 but not wholly obliterated. Nearer the river a few negro cabins 

 occupy tho site, and the ditch banks grow fine potatoes. Tho rest of 

 the historic diti-h crosses weedy pastures, and in some places tin- 

 banks are covered with trees which have grown since the battle. The 

 swamp which marks the terminus of the ditch cannot be penetratoil 

 on foot. The mud and stagnant water proved an absolute barrier 

 to the British who tried to pass round the end of the American line. 



The chief growth of the swamp is palmetto palms. 



In the campaign by which New Orleans expects to save its historic 

 monuments, let it be hoped that it will not forget its greatest monu- 

 ment of all — the Battlefield of Nciv Orleans. Think what Boston 

 would do with that liattlefiel.! if it had it. 



Congestion in English Markets Alarming 



According to letters received in the last ten days by John 1.. 

 Alcock of John L. Alcock & Co., hardwood exporters, the con- 

 gestion at London, Liverpool and Glasgow has become so great as 

 to threaten the shippers with heavy losses. One-inch oak and other 

 stocks have been pursing into these ports at a rate that has swamped 

 the brokers and has caused a withdrawal of the ex-quay rates, 

 making it necessary for the shipments to be taken away from the 

 steamers and stored elsewhere, because no room can be found on the 

 docks. And the situation is made worse by reason of the fact 

 that much of this lumber is unsuitable for the British market, and 

 as a consequence will have to be sacrificed for whatever it will bring 

 in the open market. Already the communications received state that 

 there has been a decline in prices below those which obtained when 

 the ocean freight rates were normal. In other words, lumber was 

 bringing more on the other side under the 18 and 20 cent rates 

 than can be obtained at the present time, with the rates at 60 

 cents and more. The difference in the cost of putting down stocks 

 abroad will be appreciated by exporters. Foreign brokers urgently 

 advise that all consignment shipping be stopped, and that account 

 1)0 taken by the exporters of the actual requirements of the British 

 market. They point out that the demand has attained no such pro- 

 portions as the shippers here appear to think, and that a continu- 

 ance of the practice of rushing stocks over can only result in disaster. 

 As an instance of the extent of these shipments it is mentioned that 

 not less than 200 cars of one-inch oak was sent over on a single 

 steamer, the shippers evidently having been persuaded that a great 

 dearth of this kind of lumber would presently ensue. The shippers 

 at New Orleans and other ports in particular have rushed stocks to 

 Europe and they are in a bad position. 



The export situation among other things received serious atten- 

 tion at a conference between George D. Burgess of Riisse & Burgess, 

 Inc., of Memphis, Tenn., president of the National Lumber Exporters" 

 Association ; John L. Alcock, treasurer of the organization, and • 

 J. McD. Price, the secretary, held here September 5. Mr. Burgess 

 stopped over in Baltimore on his way home from Atlantic City, 

 where he had spent a vacation with his family. Various matters 

 connected with the war situation, among them the problem of 

 exchange, were considered, the diflSculties that confronted the ship- 

 pers being gone over. The conference in a way took the place of 

 the mid-summer meeting of the board of directors, which has been 

 omitted this year. 



