Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-03-29
HEFTsH 10 aRkAssAs.
PH1LL1Ps BAYOU,


much interested in news from State
so remote, 50 mythical, and withsl.
of such bad repute as Arkansas; and
vet they may be glad to learn that
their early training, in regard 70 the
existence Of such a place is, in the
main, cUfrect. .
Having for the past few months
beeu following in the footsteps Of
that celebrated personage, the car
kansaw tTaveler,n whose fame has
and whose restless spirit awakens
the dire discord of every tortured
fiddle IN the land, it affords one
pleasure to be able to Inform your
readers that "way down SOUTH
there Is such place as Arkansas,
! with a "lOcal habitation aud a
name" This will certainly prove re-
I freshing to those, who, like myself
have so often been obliged to unlearn
much that was learned in their school
days, as to become almost skeptical
on regard to their own Identity
! Would -be-sensatiOnal writers plume
themselves on being able. with a ma
I jestic flourish Of their magic pen, to
1 OverthrOw long established facts and
/ theories. With grim effrontery, and
[ regardless of the cherished treasures
of pOesy snd romance forever blight
ed, they cruelty inform us that POca-
hontas aeueT interposed her lovely
| form, TO avert the death-deaiing blow
OF her infuriated chieftain father,
from the prUstrate body OF Captain
Smith; that William Tell is myth,
and she dreaded whirlpool of the
coast Of Norway a travellers story;
and that The deductions are all false,
of that beautiful science of Geology
wrought out with such careful re-
search by Hugh Miller and his faith
full eo8djutoTs. Be assured, then, that
there is such place as Arkansas, al
though but few of your readers may
have ever heard Of it. Up to the
breaking out OF the late war it was a
sort OF rOgue's retreat for all the out
laws and deSperadoes from other parts
Of the Union, who, amid the hills,
and forests, and cane brakes of this,
then wild country. easily eluded the
pursuit OF the officers OF the law.
But since the renrganizat Of the
State Government order has been
educed from chaos. and such charae-
ters find more cOngenial homes with
the GreaseIs and Indians of the re-
mote southwest. At present, life |
and property are a. secure here as in !
any other portion. of the country, |
while in point of industrial and edu-
catiOn8l enterprise, the State is rapid /
IL taking rank with the first OF the |
South. An admirable system Of COM /
mon schools is being efficiently car /
ried out, the advantages Of which are 1
shared alike by white and colOred ;
children although distinct frOm each |
other; levees aud rail roads are being 4
constructed. immigration encouraged,
IN q word the people are fast waking
from their Rip Van Wrinkle sleep to
realize that they have a part to per-
form in shaping the destinies OF
this common heritage. The inevita-
ble Yankee. carpet bag in hand, is
seen entering the portals Of Trade.
Agriculture. Politics, Society, and his
fufiuence for good is being felt and
acknowledged lands are rapidly in
creasing in value owing to the large
iifiux Of population from the East
and North. Planters in the older
States are leaving their exhausted
lands for these -rich valleys which
will soon render this tile first cotton
State in the South. We
are in the midst of the great cotton
belt. extending eastward through
and South Carolina. The
soil Is exceedingly fertile. capable of
Welding a bale and a half of cotton
to the acre with much less labor than
Is required TO produce q half hale to
the acre in Tennessee. While cot
ton is the staple, still there are no let.
ter corn lands in the world than are
found here; indeed all the cereals
may he grown here in abundance and
II q very tFifling cost. 1t requires the
round year to make cotton crop.
to plant the hrss Of March
its cultivation demands constant at
Lention until in August when it is
ready for first picking, and this
must be repeated, going over il again
and again until the crOpisRl secured,
which Is seldom before the middle or
last Of February. The reason Ct It's
80 many pickiUgs Is that as
fast as the balls OF pods open It must
be gathered or it Is damaged by eX-
DOsure or is beaten out and blown
away by storms, 1t requires 1900
pounds of seed cotton as It comes
from the field to make 450 pound
bale, a. good hand can pick 200
pounds q day. II is picked in long
sacks which hang from the neck Of
the picker and from this is emptied I
into large baskets from which it is
.aken to the 'gfnehouse. Ginning is
simply separating the cotton from the
'eed and removing any trash or dirt
hat may adhsre 70 it in picking.
This was q very tedious and labOTious
process previous TO the invention of
he cotton gin, by Whitney, in 1873.
This event marked distinct epoch in
The production of this great staple.
Before this it took an entire day for a
slave to clean a pound Of cattOn, now
Al so saw steam gin will clean 900
pounds or from ten TO twelve hales in
he same time. A gin in external ap-
Dearanee very much resembles a
-hreshing machine, without the clean
ing aud straw carrying attachment,
with this difference, however, that
The cylinder, Instead Of being
armed with teeth is surrounded with
small circular saws set parallel toeach
other about an inch apart at right
angles 10 the axis of the cylinder.
The saws, ranging from 40 TO so, ae-
cording 10 the capacity Of thegin, are
made in semi-ciTeulaT segments about
Two inches wide, and are thus easily
fitted TO the cylinder. These saws
revOlve between a corresponding
of iron ribs, answetihg 20 |
the cOnc2ve in a threshing machine.
Underneath this a brush roller re-
wolves thickly set with tufts of bristies
or wire similar to those used 10 wool
cards, serving the double purposs OF
removing the dirt and cleaning the
saws, The RiR is fed by hand. The z
cotton passes through the gin into the
the lint room, whence Il Is carried, in
large baskets, holding eight or ten
bushels, to the press, out OF which IL
comes in bales ready for market.