The Days of a Man 1882 



of Congress would have tried to monopolize the 



positions, thus defeating the scientific objects in 



A dollar view. In 1901, however, arranging for an explora- 



aday t j on o f Hawaii, Commissioner George M. Bowers 



insisted on an allowance of a dollar a day to each 



man to cover unavoidable tips and general wear 



and tear of clothes, a system since continued for 



most such expeditions. 



Pensacola I found to be the center of a region ex- 

 tremely rich in fishes. It was also the residence of 

 my friend Stearns, who, driven from his native 

 Maine by failing health, had now established him- 

 self in town with a wholesale fishing firm. Stearns 

 was a keen and competent naturalist, but even the 

 soft climate of Florida failed to save his life. 



From Pensacola I went along the coast through 

 Ocean Springs and Pass Christian, pleasant seaside 

 in New resorts close to the "piney woods." At New Orleans 

 Orleans j wou ld have liked to discover something of the 

 atmosphere of "Old Creole Days," so graciously 

 pictured by George W. Cable. In the old French 

 Market I took special delight, but one has to live 

 in the city long enough to get below the surface in 

 order to visualize the tragedy of "The Grandissimes" 

 or to meet the charming " Madame Delicieuse." 

 Broken When I left New Orleans, the Mississippi was 

 levees at j ts height and, having broken through the levees, 

 had spread out in an ancient channel, the Bayou 

 Atchafalaya. Here and there house gables ap- 

 peared rakishly above the water, and in most places 

 one could hardly see across to the farther shore. 



Similar inundations will doubtless occur as long 

 as present conditions exist, for the continued ex- 

 tension of barriers along its sides increasingly 



C 242 3 



