Life on the Mississippi, Part 9.

The narrator drifts back up the mighty Mississippi toward New Orleans, watching the city from the high water that crowns the levees. From this aerial perch the familiar brick salt‑warehouses and sprawling wharves look unchanged, yet the war has turned a simple cargo of salt into a sudden fortune. The streets are still choked with dust, casks, and the slow‑moving streetcars, while Canal Street bustles with pedestrians and the evening’s lively verandas.

Beyond the chaos, the author notes a surprising lack of grand architecture—aside from the imposing custom house, the city’s buildings are modest, their beauty found in everyday wooden homes and generous verandas. Yet a new Cotton Exchange rises, promising a model of elegance that could shape the city’s future. The description paints a vivid portrait of a metropolis poised between its historic grit and an emerging sense of refinement.