Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-10-29
TENxEssEE's PROSPECTS BEIsHT-


We have been shown letter written
by resident of Indiana, who recently
visited our State In search Of home.
It was intended for publication in the
Cincinnati Gazette, and as it comes
from an unprejudieed source, viii do
Tennessee much goodamong that class
of Western farmers who wish to locate
in less rigorous climate. Among
other things, the writer says: -os
"I live on small farm IN Morgan
county, Indiana; have a large family;
have thought Of going West, where i
could get land for my children. For
several years have read IN the Gazette
letters from a nOrtherner on Rlverw0od
Farm, near Nashville, Tennessee. l
liked the description and climate, but
everybody said West was the place to
60. So the first of August started in
company with my son. We travelled
over Kansas and Nebraska; saw fine
country, but great many people who
were not satisfied. The grasshop-
pers, bugs and drouth were enough
to discourage any one; but
in localities where crops were good,
prices were very low. So we returned
home not SO favorably impressed with
the great west My wife and children
seemed to be pleased because we did not
like the West. At first 1 did not know
what it meant, as they were very anx-
ions for us to go and see the country.
But / soon learned what had changed
their minds, when they put into my
hands large book that had been sent
to a neighbor from Tennessee. My
wife said they had been reading that
book, and that our neighbors had read
it, and the man who wrote it told the
same story about the climate, health,
soil, markets, and why lands were so
cheap, with other advantages, as the
northerner of Eiverwood Dairy Farm.
We read the description of different
counties, and were struck with its fair
ness. So In company with one of my
neighbors and two of my sons, / start
ed to visit Tennessee. We have travel
ed over portions of five counties, and
are much pleased. There was
quite a drought here, and We
found that where the land was well
titled the crops were good. While there
are some very good farms here, there
are great many very poor ones. The
farms are too large. saw farm of
twelve hundred acres that could be
bought for twenty dollars per acre;
land all rich except about thirty acres;
well watered; about eight hundred
acres improved; fences poor; brick
mansion that must have cost 1000;
barns and stabling poor. saw great
many such bargains. We saw quite a
number of Northern men who had set
tied In the State, and others looking for
locations, and all seemed well pleased.
We were treated everywhere with unU-
sual kindness by thepeople of the State.
We have made up our minds to settle
in Tennessee. We can sell our prop
erty in Indiana so that one acre Will
buy four of as good or better land in
Tennessee.
One thing noted by the writer of
the letter is highly gratifying. Ev-
cry where his party travelled
theywere met with kind treatment, thus
exposing the falsehoods disseminated
by Radical emissaries to the prejudice
of the good people of our State. North
ern men are as welcome as Southern
men; all reports to the contrary are to
be classed with the ISLANDERS circulated
by A. S. Prosser, chairman of the Re-
publican State Central Committee
When a man comes here from the
North or West 70 cast his lot with us
and become a permanent citizen of the
State, and not simply an ofice-seeker,
he Will meet with a cordial welcome
any where In Tennessee. We have
here, in abundance, the elements of a
great and prosperous State, and it is
our interest to encourage men of ener-
gy and capital to settle among and aid
us IN turning these elements to good
account. The Northern people may
rest assured that the people of Tnnnes-
see will not show themselves to be such
consummate fools as to pursue any 9th
er policy.
We learn from other sources that
the valuable report of the Bureau of
Agriculture has attracted such atten-
ton in Ohio that neighbors meet to-
gether to hear it read. Many families
are preparing to move to Tennessee.
There are at present twenty OF more
men prospecting in our State, and all
express themselves as highly delighted.
They say immigration will be brisk
next spring and fall; that they are only
the pioneers of large influx of North
ern and Western farmers. Let the
current come rolling in with its wealth
and its vitality, and let Tennessee be-
come the theatre of an industrial ac-
tivity nowhere surpassed on the con-
tinent.