The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1874-09-23
NOTES FROM AN INVALID.
Departure from Home Pleasant
Companions The CrOps-Ar-
rival ut Memphis Arkan-
sas-A PeriIOus Ride "A Good
Brealfast-At the Hot Spring.

rival ut Memphis Arkan-
sas-A PeriIOus Ride A Good
Breakfast-At the Hot Spring.
HALE House,
IfOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAs,
@ September 8. 1874.
To tho Editor of the NIorristewu Gazette: s--.
AS promised, will drop you a, line,
which may be read with some interest
! by some of my countrymen, who antici-
pate travelling for health or emigrating,
&c. / left the city of Knoxville about
Memphis, and arrived at Hot Springs at
12 p. M, the 9th. On beard the cars
were several acquaintances going to
their homes South, in Georgia, Alabama
and Mississippi, from the Springs, White
Cliff, Montvale, Tate's, Mineral Hill,
and Warm Springs. All seemed much
improved and well pleased with their
| visit to our East Tennessee Springs, and
many win return. That popular, polite
and efficient conductor, Capt. Holloway,
had charge of our train. On board also,
were several Railroad Kings, in the per
sons of Maj. r. T. Wilson, Col. c. NJ
McGhee, Capt. Joseph ,Jaques and Gen.
Austell, of Georgia. This, of course had
its influence upon the cars running
smoother and time few swiftly.
The crops between Knoxville and
Chattanooga are poor, and cannot make
more than two-thirds of crop-though
it is as fine lands as ! ever saw for farm
ing. East Tennessee, with her fertile
valleys, magnificent mountain scenery,
salubrious climate, green meadows, bold
springs and rippIing branches, is the
country yet, of all that have ever seen,
North or South, East or West And,
here let me say to all East Tennesseeans
stick to your section of country-and
hold to your homes, be they large or
small ''#
At Chattanooga, we took the Memphis
and Charleston Railroad for Memphis,
the metropolis of West Tennessee. The
crops along this line of road, through
Alabama, Mississippi and West Tennes-
see, are very poor indeed, both corn and
cotton, caused by long dreuth and in
ferior labor. If the farmers meet. ex-
penses, it will be more than they antiei-
pate now, as they cannot make moro than
one-third to one-half crops. rode
At Memphis we staid over onedayand
night to rest and get rid of lot of Ten
nessee dirt and dust before crossing the
mother of waters, and entering the rich,
alluvial bottoms and fertile valleys of
dTiAaa-s0oo, or that part of it which we
saao. From this point we sped away on
board the cars of the Memphis and Little
Rock Railroad, at the rate of from eight
to ten and sometimes fifteen miles per
hour. Early in the morning, at half
past two, without even a sherry cObbleT,
or shan-ga-ree, or even q cup of hot cof
fee to revive our dropping spirits, and
when only five or six miles upon our
journey, we were very unceremoniOusIy
aroused by being turned off our seat,
and bump, bump, bump-we went for
two minutes to stand-still, or rather a
lay-too. We poked our soap -gourd out
the window, and lo!-what sight! A
railroad upon trestles from FIVE to fifteen
feet high, and sometimes running along
above the tops of the telegraph posts
and wire; and there lay a splendid en-
gine and tender bottom side up like a
sick terrapin in a hot summers sun; but
thanks to kind and merciful Provi-
dence, no one was hurt. Here we halted
for the short and pleasant time of four
In - boat-a q, 4F,o ~ nj
swamp. And as the owls hooted, and
the frogs followed, and the swamp birds
chirped, and the knats and MOSQUITOES
bit US on every available space, we were
solemn1y impressed with the fact, that
stranger in a strange land, without
friends or food, and mighty bad water,
with but little money, and sick to boot,
| is in an awful predicament. After running
over about rs miles Of such road, we ar
rived at Brinkly to breakfast at 10 o'clock.
Well, "you bet, we got the worth of
our greenback dollar, or two bushels of
East Tennessee corn that pop 1t was
the best eating house on the route, ex-
cept the dinner house at Mouse Creek,
East Tennessee, which has the reputa-
ton OF being the best between New
York and New Orleans - safStii, .
Sick and worn out with fatigue, dirt
and dust, we bid you adieu until next
time, when you shall have subscription
of what-we-saw of Arkan-saw and the
Hot Springs, the people, doctors, hotels,
miraculous cures, &c Yours,
5 1'fs ''ls al.i ia..5 C. z. D. %
eI44 -----1---.a, - z-------fis H0f u.