Sharp Fight on the Weathersfield Road!
Large Captures of Students!
New Haven Victorious!
But out of revenge for the victory, the sons of Hartford were not sent to Yale College to be educated. No, rather than go to Yale they went much further away, at greater expense, and where fewer educational advantages could be obtained. What were such disadvantages, however, compared to the satisfaction of standing by their party and ignoring the New Haven vote?
But old Yale grew and flourished, despite the stormy days of its childhood, and has now a world-wide reputation. Many distinguished men of letters call her "Alma Mater," and in all their wanderings carry her memory green in their hearts.
CHAPTER XX.
NEW ORLEANS.
Locality of New Orleans.—The Mississippi.—The Old and the New.—Ceded to Spain.—Creole Part in the American Revolution.—Retransferred to France.—Purchased by the United States.—Creole Discontent.—Battle of New Orleans.—Increase of Population.—The Levee.—Shipping.—Public Buildings, Churches, Hospitals, Hotels and Places of Amusement.—Streets.—Suburbs.—Public Squares and Parks.—Places of Historic Interest.—Cemeteries.—French Market.—Mardi-gras.—Climate and Productions.—New Orleans during the Rebellion.—Chief Cotton Mart of the World.—Exports.—Imports.—Future Prosperity of the City.
As the traveler proceeds down the Mississippi, from its source to its mouth, a unique phenomenon strikes his attention. The river seems to grow higher as he descends. The bluffs, which on one side or the other rise prominently along its banks in its upper waters, grow less bold, and finally disappear as he progresses southward. And if it should be the season of high water, he will find himself, as he nears New Orleans, gliding down a river which is higher than its bordering land, and which is restrained in its penchant for destruction, by massive dykes, or levees, as they are termed in this section.
New Orleans, the commercial metropolis of Louisiana, known as the "Crescent City," is situated on the eastern, or, more correctly speaking, the northern bank of the Mississippi River, which here, after running northward several miles, takes a turn to the eastward. Originally built in the form of a crescent, around this bend in the river, it has at the present time extended itself so far up stream that its shore line is now more in the shape of a letter S. It is one hundred and twelve miles from the mouth of the Mississippi, 1,200 miles south of St. Louis, and 1,438 miles southwest of Washington. The city limits embrace an area of nearly 150 square miles, but the city proper is a little more than twelve miles long and three miles wide. It is built on alluvial soil, the ground falling off toward Lake Pontchartrain, which is five miles distant to the northward, so that portions of the city are four feet lower than the high water level of the river. The city is protected from inundation by a levee, twenty-six miles in length, fifteen feet wide and fourteen feet high. The streets are drained into canals, from which the water is raised by means of steam pumps, with a daily capacity of 42,000,000 gallons, which elevates it sufficiently to carry it off to Lake Pontchartrain.