116 WILD SPORTS IN THE FAR WEST. 



I had heard too much boasting and bragging about 

 New Orleans, not to be disappointed in my expecta- 

 tions. I found it by no means so splendidly or so 

 tastefuUy built as was asserted, and as I walked along 

 the narrow streets my thoughts wandered to the far 

 more agreeable Cincinnati. The only handsome build- 

 ing in New Orleans, and one without a parallel, is the 

 St. Charles' Hotel, which certainly is very magnifi- 

 cent. • 



It is no wonder that the air of New Orleans should 

 be generally so unhealthy, and in autumn quite pesti- 

 lential, for the town is built in a complete swamp, and 

 required to be protected by a dam from being sub- 

 merged by the river. It certainly was never intended 

 by nature for the abode of man ; at most it. is fitted for 

 alligators, frogs, and mosquitoes. It is the churchyard of 

 the United States. 



