People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 December 1895 — California Letter. [ARTICLE]

California Letter.

The following letter is from Elms Strong who left the twenty-seventh of Nov. enroute to California by way of Chicago, Atlanta and New Orleans. Los Angeles. Cala., Dec., 10. Dear Brother and Sister. I arrived here about 1:30 p. m. not much the worse for the trip. I had no chance to get a sleeper at Atlanta and rode on a chair car all night which was very tiresome, had sickheadache all next day. Arrived at New Orleans after dark and qan tell you but little about Louisiana and north of New Orleans. What I saw of Mississippi seemed from car windows to be very poor; the products were corn in small fiplds and cotton in large quantities. Cotton bales was the most common sight at the stations. The teaming is done largely with oxen, some driven as we used to drive, ohters by rope lines fastened to their heads as halters. Occasionly would see one ox to a small wagon with rope attachments and nondescript driver and various traps for the load. I spent one day and two nights in New Orleans; saw the Henry Clay statue where the mob was organized to kill the Italians in the jail, which made such a sensation a few years since. Went to the French Market where the main city market is kept. There was abundance of meat, of all kinds, even venison, new potatoes, onions, tomatoes, fruits and almost evjjfy thing needed to make variety, but the surroundings wCre filthy as is the old or French part of the city. The sewers are all open, muddy water and soap suds running along by the curb and every little way a pile of mud which has been fished out of the sewer, to give the dirty water the right of way.i The streets are paved with flag stones as are the side walks also and are very rough. The trolly and horse-car make rapid transit convenient and comfortable; of course went on the levy which presented an animated and interesting scene. There were steamers large and small from all countries agitating the bosom of the father of waters; cotton bales, barrels of sugar, and molasses, loading and unloading darkies by the regiment steering barrels down an incline to the boat, others rolling barrels of sugar, to and from the scales, men testing and sampling the sugar. Teams of mules going and coming was an object lesson illustrating the importance of commerce. Far different was the impression left on the mind, by a visit, to the cemeteries which have attained a wide notoriety on account of ■ their peculiar and rich architectural features. They are built above ground in solid masonry, some of stone, tjie older ones of brick, sorSe are polished granite costing thousands, some belonging to different clubs or associations oontaining places for 25 or 30 coffins. A statue of

Albert Sidney Johnson adorns one cemetery. The I. O. O. F. have one of their own as do the catholics also.' Taken all through New Orleans is a busy, filthy and I bqlieve an unhealthy city. We crossed the river by ferry on the morning of the I7th and started for California at 10:45. One and one half hours late over the S. P. R. R. which took us through the garden of Louisiana. The country was very flat and levee and covered with all of the vegetables of a hardy nature. After passing through the garden spot the country became swamy, large marshes with islands of timber within them and bounded by timber tracts were sufficiently like the marshes of northern Jasper to remind me them, but the character of the timber was very different being mostly cypress and willows principally and covered with Spanish moss which gives it a gray appearance hanging in festoons from every limb almost to the exclusion of the natural foliage. This moss draws its sustenance from the tree of which it is a parasite. It is made into matrasses to some good, I heard, but the great industry of this part of Louisiana is the raising of cane and manufacturing of it into sugar. We passed through large plantations of cane some of which had been removed while other fields were just being harvested. The cane grows very thick on the ground but not as high as as I had thought. It does not form seed and looks as though it had been prematurely killed with frost, it bears a large burden of blades which are striped off and burned on the ground. The cane is loaded into dump carts to which are hitched three mules abreast and sometimes two making five mules to what looks like a ridiculous small load for two horses which indicates that the cane is very heavy Sugar home* abound all through this part of the state their tall smoke stacks being visible from the car every little way. Some lagre plantations had tram ways and cars of small dimensions, I think to hold one cart load each, which were loads from cart by pully hung in center of beam, supported by a post, on either side of track, and rope attached to capstan operated by mule power, some cane is hauled to the railroad, and shipped there. On this days ride carried us through a very rich country, night drew her sable curtains and shut out the interesting scene while we were yet in Louisiana and we awoke on the morning, of the Bth, in the mighty state, of Texas, near San Antonio. This part of the state is agricultural, but sparsely inhabited, saw some cotton, corn and sorghum, farther on, agriculture gave place to the stock ranch. The cattle I saw are an improvement of the ancient long horned species that used tb excite our curiosity and comments years ago. The country given

up to the cattle industry ip fit for nothing else and am not satisfied to say, it is fit for that. From San Antonia Texas to India California a distance of 1300 miles, is a dreary waste of sand and gravel broken for a short intervel at Devil's river region with a little romantic scenery but the native Texan says, the range in his state is good. I saw no fat cattle and doubt if they know what fat cattle look like. The weather has been quite warm since arriving in New Orleans. They had snow at Atlanta the night I left there. Los Angeles has improved since I was here before. The streets seem to be thronged and building is going on rapidly. Tony the Convict, is nearing completion. Rehearsals three times a week, insures you perfect playing. No drag.