They saw many buildings that surpassed anything hitherto in their experience, the brick parish church, on the site of which the Cathedral of St.Louis was afterwards built, the arsenal, the jail, and the house of the Capuchins, who had lately triumphed over the Jesuits.

The largest building of all that they saw was the convent of the Ursuline Nuns, standing in the city square on the river front, and this was, in fact, the largest building in New Orleans.
While there were many houses of brick, the cheaper were of cypress wood, and the sidewalks were only four or five feet wide, with a wooden drain for a gutter.

There was no paving of the streets, which, now deep in dust, would turn to quagmires when the rain came.

At long intervals were wooden posts with projecting arms from which hung oil lamps, to be lighted when nightfall came.
Long Jim uttered an exclamation of disgust, and gripped his nose firmly between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand.
"I never smelt sech smells afore in all my life," he said, pointing to the heaps of garbage scattered about.

"A big town like this here is pow'ful interestin', but it ain't clean.