1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER". 



505 



For the J^ew Ens:land Farmer. 



A TRIP UP THE MISSISSIPPI. 



" Come, ladies," said our gallant Captain, in a 

 voice that might have waked the very lishes from 

 their slumbers in the deep, — " wake up ! and say, 

 for once, you've seen the sun rise, and I'll soon 

 show you the Balizc.'" So, without stopping to 

 decide as to the relative merits of a sunrise and a 

 sunset, we were soon on deck, ready for an ob- 

 servation. It was a glorious sight to see the globe 

 of firo emerging gradually from the ocean, tinging 

 the clouds with gorgeous hues, which were re- 

 flected in the watery mirror below. This was our 

 last morning on the Atlantic, and it was one of 

 interest. Our fellow-passengers, among whom 

 we had found some pleasant acquaintances, were 

 participating in the scene. Soon our party were 

 to be widely separated. Some will enter the city 

 in pursuit of wealth, where, perhaps, they may 

 find a grave. Others will be in the country in 

 quest of health. Vain hope, in one case at least. 

 Alas ! poor H., not even the climate of the sunny 

 South can restore the bloom to thy pallid cheek. 

 Never again will you hear the accents of love 

 from the weeping mother, who bade you a reluc- 

 tant adieu. " Sick, and a stranger " — sad fate ! 

 Some there are whose hearts are throbbing with 

 emotion at the thought of being once more at 

 home, where a joyous welcome awaits their coming. 

 AVe are entering the Balize. " Observe the meet- 

 ing of the waters of the Atlantic and Mississippi,'' 

 said Captain C. There was a distinct line mark- 

 ing the mingling of the salt and fresh water ; 

 not mingling, either, for the salt Atlantic and 

 muddy Mississippi have no congeniality, and each 

 will make no concessions. So, as old Ocean ivill 

 be salt, and Mississippi loill be fresh, and muddy 

 into the bargain, it is quite wise and proper to 

 keep up that line of distinction. 



Soon the tow-boat Yankee came along, and, 

 in company with two other ships, we were rapidly 

 gliding past ^10 marshes of cane and coarse grass. 

 The scenery along the Mississippi is tame and 

 monotonous. We ascended the river a consider- 

 able distance before observing any signs of culti- 

 vation. At last we saw the tall chimney of a 

 sugar-house, and a neat hamlet of negro cabins, 

 seeming like a little factory village. The banks 

 of the river are fringed with cotton-wood trees 

 and now and then a live-oak, with its broad, 

 spreading l^ranches. Magnolia and other forest 

 trees give a little variety to the landscape. From 

 many of the trees is hung a flowing drapery of 

 moss, which has an exceedingly graceful appear- 

 ance, though its green color gives the forests an 

 air of gloom, as if clad in mourning. One coming 

 from a Northern latitude is struck with the 

 changes in the vegetable world. Cane-brakes, 

 palmetto, fields of sugar-cane and the orange 

 grove, beautifying tiie tasteful home of the sugar- 



Elanter, reminds us that we are far from our 

 ome. in the valley of the Connecticut. When 

 within eight miles of New Orleans, the Battle 

 Ground was pointed out to us. There is no mon- 

 ument to mark the spot ; nothing to distinguish 

 it from any other open, level field. Imagination 

 pictured the scene of 1815, till we almost fancied 

 we could see the fortification of cotton-bales, and 

 the brave soldiers wiio won the day, and added 

 a new lustre to the American arms. 



As we come in sight of the city, we have a fine 

 view of the harbor, a true crescent, which gives 

 the name to the city. Wliat a multitude of ves- 

 sels from every quarter of the gloVje ! The Upper 

 md Lower Cotton-presses, llospital, and other 

 public liuildiiigs, are pointed out. xVt last our 

 good ship is saiely anchored. Kind farewells are 

 exchanged, and the cabin is almost descrt«d. We 

 were anxious to continue our trip up the river, 

 and it was not long before we were on board the 

 new and elegant steamer Southern Belle, bound 

 for Bayou Sara. It was remarked that very ft-w 

 ladies were on board. Mr. S., the clerk, said 

 " No, it was too early in the season to travel, 

 particularly as there was still some yellow fever 

 in the country ! " He then described the following 

 mournful scene : Two weeks since, no ladi-js 

 graced the splendid saloon. A few male passen- 

 gers walked listlessly up and down the long cabin, 

 or lounged about the guards. The pale moon- 

 light was streaming into the state-room, the most 

 elegant and spacious on the boat, and cast its 

 radiance on the features of a dying girl. She 

 was young and beautiful, even in death. No 

 father, mother, brother or sister, were beside her 

 couch to whisper v.'ords of comfort, or let fall a 

 tear of sorrow, as she passed tlirough the " dark 

 valley." Not even a female friend was near. 

 But she was not all alone. Her guardian was 

 standing beside her, with looks of anxious affec- 

 tion. She pressed his han'l,and essayed to speak 

 words of gratitude for his tender, unwearying 

 care. But the tongue refused utterance, and she 

 gave him a look, a touching, melting look, and 

 the strong man wept. Tlie physician, too, was 

 by. Ho had been in constant attendance during 

 her illness ; and all that science and skill could 

 do to rescue her from the relentless destroyer, was 

 done; but alas, in vain ! The dreadful epidemic 

 claimed another victim. The kind-hearted physi- 

 cian, accustomed as he was to scenes of suffering 

 and misery, was not an unmoved spectator. He 

 watched the waving life with emotion. Another 

 fleeting ht)ur, and the gentle spirit had passed 

 away to that land where " there shall be no more 

 death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall 

 there be anymore pain." Poor Mary ! her his 

 tory is a sad one. Slie had just returned from. \ 

 boarding-school in JIassachusetts, where she had 

 reuiained five years. She came South too early. 

 The yellow fever made its appearance at her tem- 

 porary home, and her guardian hastened to place 

 her out of the reach of tlie epidemic. But it was 

 too late. She was taken ill on the boat, and no 

 skill could save her from her untimely fate. 



We passed many sugar plantixtious, with tde- 

 gant residences embosomed in groves of orange 

 and myrtle, large sugar houses, and neat negro 

 quarters. The country is more highly cultivated 

 and more densely populated above New Orleans 

 than farther South. The only j-lace of interest 

 we passed was Baton Rouge. The barracks, with 

 the public grounds handsomely ornamented with 

 trees, and the new State House, present a fine ap- 

 pearance from the river. We landed at Bayou 

 Sara, and then bade adieu to the Mississippi. 



u. E. s. 



Jessamine Hill, Aug. 'dih, 1854. 



;gp In Egypt it does not rain, and there are no 

 mountains to intercept the clouds, nor a broad 



