Daily Gazette & Comet [Baton Rouge , LA], March 7, 1860
Vicksburg, March 4th, 1860.
Dear Comet:–I have been in this place forty-seven hours and a half, and during all this time have not heard the crack of a pistol. This is a very bad sign, and I am afraid, points to the time, when Vicksburg will no longer be referred to for its high military and chivalrous spirit. Think of it! Forty eight hours in Vicksburg, and no duel, not even a street fight. The place is going down, even as fast as the eternal hills are washing away. Look at the newspapers, which are the abstract chronicles of the time, and you will perceive that Mr. Louis Hoffman, and others on Washington street, are compelled to resort to the expedient of very large pictures, in order to call attention to their pop-guns, pistols, and popping crackers. Well, we must submit to changes—and I may say, Vicksburg, is not what it was many years ago. The prospect of the railroad on the other side of the river, is an offset for the ill effect of the road, on this side— connecting Vicksburg with New Orleans. As soon as I can get shaved, I shall leave. The shops are crowded, under the impression that the fashion has shifted in reference to hairy faces.
As before, yours,
Poins.