Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-11-20
Our arkansas Letter.


OscEoLA, ARK, November is, 1909.
Editors Appeal: In my last, | gave
an account of a goober vine, grown in
Mrs. Drivers garden, having 225 peas
upon It. But this vine will have to
take a back seat; for a vine, grown in
Mr.. Jas. Wards garden, just above
town, has produced over 800 peas. So
you see that Tennessee is completely
in the shade.
Our little town has been thronged
the past few days, with citizens from
all parts Of the country, drawn hither
ia consequence of the sale Of lands for
taxes. A portion of these lands were
paid out, a portion sold out, but the
the major part reverted back to the
State. The result of these sales Is a
sad comment upon the deplorable con-
dition of the levees in this State.
Here are thOusand5-ye5, miilion5-of
acres of lands which, were they pro-
tected from overflow by a jndicious
system of leveeing, would produce a
bale Of cotton, or from forty to eighty
bushels of corn per acre, yet as mat
tiers now stand, they are not consld-
cred Of sufficient value to pay the
taxes thereon. And what is true of
the lands of Mississippi county, is
equally true of nearly all the alluvial
lands bordering upon the Mississippi
river, upon either side, from Cairo to
the Gulf. Verify, the Swans of Con-
gress and of the Legislatures of the
respective States of Missouri, Arkan-
sas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi
and Louisiana, should put these i'm
portant facts in their official pipes and
smoke them, until national as well as
State aid be extended in giving full
and complete protection to these lands.
The nation seems to have funds suf-
ficient to pay $7,OOO,OOO for a very
small interest in the north pole, while
it has not one dollar for internal i'm
provements affecting the vital inter
ests of thousands of citizens who are
struggling under the weight of heavy
national and State taxes! Is this po-
little? Is it just? Will the people
long submit to q system which Is cal
culated to degrade and impoVerish
them? Most assuredly not. But, on
the contrary, they will seek a remedy
through the ballOt-bOx, and elect men
to Office who will heed their demands.
But / am nc politician, and did not
take up my pen for the purpose of
writing upon the subject Of national
or State politics; still, have thought
proper to call attention thereto, and
urge the citizens Of the Mississippi
Valley to agitate the question until
the aid asked for and so much needed
Is forthcoming.
For the time being, we are expert
encing the annoyance and perplexity
arising from the irregularity of the
mails. The "Belle Memphis" and
"Belle st. Louis" our mail packets,
owing 10 the low stage of water and
the course of the main channel in the
river opposite here, are unable to
land on their down trips, but az yet
have not given US the g0-by as they
pass up. TO remedy this trouble,
Postmaster Hart will make arrange
mcnts to receive the mail at a point
about a mile above here-that Is, in
case the present low stage of water
continues any length of time, for we
are bound to have the mails regu-
larly.
This is a great country for relieving
the tedium OF the hour during these
rainy days and long evenings, by re-
lating anecdotes, both racy and pun
gent. Every community has its char
acters for spinning yarns" and this
is by no means an exception TO the
general rule. When they get together
the crowd does not lack for entertain
ment quite up 20 the grave and comic
performance so frequently presented
upon the boards of theaters OF cities
of much larger growth than 0sceola.
\ ready pen would have employment
for a tWeive-m0nth in recording and
preparing these for publication; and
when once presented to the public,
would come fully up to, if not snrpass,
" Mark TWain's" new book in point
of true merit. Here is a chance for
some writer to lay the foundation to
a small fortune at least. a book of
this character would embrace many
rich anecdotes never before published,
and far more readable than three
fOnrths OF those now attractively
bound in muslin and for sale in the
bookstores throughout the country, |
and which 60 OFF like hot cakes.
a man by the name OF Cole, while
horseback along the river road
north of this place a few days since,
a heavy wind storm, a limb
from a large tree fell, hitting him on
the head and injuring him so severely
that he died soon thereafter,
The clerk OF the weather is undoubt-
Oh a spree, and drinking very
bad whisky at that. lie gives us all
sorts of weather in the same twenty
four hours - from warm, pleasant,
spring, full of smiles and Ca
resses, to cold, icy breezes, far surpass-
ing the rigid sterHness of those that
"sWeep DER Stewards Alaska noun
The latest out here Is this: Why is
the Mississippi river becoming more
and more immOde5t every day? Do
you give it up? Because it is con-
exposing the ~nGkedHess of its
bars, much to the modification and
annoyance of steamboat captains and
pilots. But | presume it will be use
less to attempt to arrest the old Father
Of Waters in his dOiCnUdrd course, for
doing iuss what he has done for a
thousand years or more. He is too old
10 learn new tricks. WANDERER.
nov cn0nC