1879 Illustration from The Nathanial Bishop book Four Months in a Sneakbox.

West End at the New Basin Canal:

Illustration from The Nathanial Bishop book 'Four Months in
a Sneakbox--the chapter 'New Orleans Roughs Amusing Themselves'. 'My shortest
route to the Gulf of Mexico was through New Basin Canal, six miles in length,
into Lake Pontchartrain, and from there to the Gulf..The first part of this
canal runs through the city proper, and then through a low swampy region out
into the shallow lake Pontchartrain. At the terminus of New Basin Canal I found
a small light-house, two or three hotels, and a few houses, making a little
village. I rowed out of the canal on to the lake...The skippers of the little
fleet were very civil men. Some of them were of French and some of Spanish
origin, while one or two were Germans. Night settled down upon us...the evening
became lovely. Soon the quiet hamlet changed to a scene of merriment, as the gay
people of the city drove out in their carriages to have a 'lark,' as the sailors
expressed it; and which seemed to begin at the hotels with card-playing,
dancing...and to end in a general carousal.' Source: href="http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net">http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net
From href="http://www.stphilipneri.org/~spn1/php/content.php?type=4&id=252">http://www.stphilipneri.org/~spn1/php/content.php?type=4&id=252