LOUISIANA. 



523 



POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



• niri^rta '^^'xrs K^iat<3 ^ divldccl into 2 districts, the Eastern and Western. These are 

 <tub(lividecf into 5 J parishes.* 



2. Canal. The Canal Caromdelet connects the Mississippi at New Orleans, with Lake 

 Pontchartrain, through the bayou of St. John. It is 2 miles in length, and perfectly straight. 

 It enters the city at an artificial basin, large enough to contain a great number of vessels. This 

 canal afibrds a direct communication with the sea, for small vessels. There are similar works 

 extending from the city to Lakes Borgne and Washita. 



3. Railroads. A railroad from New Orleans to Lake Pontchartrain, was completed in 

 April, 1831. It is 4 J miles long, perfectly straight, and its variation of level is only 16 inches. 

 An artificial harbor and breakwater are formed upon the lake, at the end of the railroad. The 

 Carrolton Railroad, to Carrolton, above the city, is 6 miles long. The J^eiv Orleans and 

 JVashville Railroad, designed to extend through Mississippi to Nashville, in Tennessee, is in 

 progress toward the Mississippi State line, a distance of 88 miles. The Jltchafalaya Rail- 

 road extends from Opelousas across the inundated lands to Point Coupee, 30 miles. The St. 

 Francisville and JVoodville Railroad, 28 miles, is chiefly in this State. The Clinton and Port 

 Hudson Railroad, 28 miles, connects Clinton and Jackson with the Mississippi at Port Hud- 

 son. The JlUxandria and Cheneyville Railroad extends from Alexandria to the Bayou Boeuf, 

 30 miles. 



4. Towns. Mw Orleans, the seat of government of the State, and the commercial mart 

 of all the western country, stands on the northern bank of the Mississippi, at a spot where the 

 river makes a great bend to the northeast. It is 105 miles above the mouth of the stream, by 

 its windings, and 60 in a direct line. The ground is level, and the neighborhood a swamp. It 

 consists of 3 municipal divisions ; the city proper, the fauxbourgs or suburbs above, and those 

 below it. The streets are straight and regular, generally crossing each other at right angles. 

 In the city, the houses are built in the French and Spanish style, and are stuccoed of a white 

 or yellow color. The fauxbourg of St. Marie and those adjoining it, are built in the American 

 fashion, and resemble one of our Atlantic cities. Some of the public buildings are remarka- 

 ble for size and architecture. The cathedral is an imposing structure of brick, with 4 towers 

 It fronts upon a large square near the river. The other principal buildings are the State-house, 

 City Hall, Custom-house, Exchange, the branch mint of the United States, several theatres, 

 some of which are handsome edifices on a very large scale, the hotels, &c. The granite of 

 the New England States has of late been much used here. Here are also a college, a convent 

 of Ursuhne nuns, an orphan asylum and many benevolent institutions. The spot on which the 

 city is built, although the most eligible which the banks of the river afford in this quarter, has 

 great disadvantages. The ground is soft and marshy, and there are no cellars to any of the 

 buildings. As a place of trade. New Orleans has immense advantages. It is the outport for 

 all the commerce of the Mississippi and its tributaries. It is accessible for ships of the largest 

 size, and its levee is constantly crowded with all kinds of maritime and river craft. In the 

 cotton season, its streets are barricadoed with bales. There are often 2,000 flat boats in the 

 harbor at a time. Steamboats arrive and depart every hour, and 50 may be often seen togeth- 

 er, while forests of masts of the sea vessels stretch along the levee. The yearly value of its 

 exports to foreign countries exceeds 30,000,000 dollars ; of imports, 10,000,000, and its 

 coastwise imports and exports probably exceed these amounts. The shipping belonging to the 

 port is 80,000 tons, and that entered exceeds 350,000 tons yearly. 



This city was in the possession of the Spanish and French before it came into the posses- 

 sion of the United States, and it now exhibits a striking mixture and contrast of manners, lan- 

 guage, and complexion. Half the population is black or mulatto, and there are more French 

 than Americans. It is the most dissolute city in the United States ; and swarms of profligate 

 persons are collected here from every quarter. It is but just to add, that the stationary pait 

 of the population are not liable to these imputations. The police is judicious and energetic, 



* Eastern District. Jefferson St. James Catahoula 



Ascension Lafourche Interior St. John Baptist Claiborne 



Assumption Livingston St. Tammany Lafayette 



Baton Rouge, (E.) New Orleans Terre Bonne Natchitoches 



" " (W.) Plaquemines Washington ' ' Rapides 



Concordia Point Coup6e . St. Landry 



Feliciana, (E.) St. Bernard Western District. St. Martin s 



" (W.) St. Charles Avoyelles St. Mary s 



Ibeiville St. Helena Carrol Washita 



