The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1878-03-27
Letter From Rocky Fork, Ar.
KANSAS.

MhhCh 1Olhi lO'"
To John A. Gibbons and Geo. W. Tippett,
of the Mason County Press.
GENrLEMEY:-lt was my purpose
to address you from Little Rock,
Ark, en- route to this place, but my
time was so short in that city, that
it was impossible for me to do so, but
now being for the interim, local
institution, can give you some Sec
ond hand observations, rGserving
incidents for my return. My friend
Owen sutphin and myself, left Gal,
lipolis, on the "Potomac" ut 10 A.
NJ, March 1st, and arrived at St.
Louis, 8 P. NJ, March End, What a
great town have we, only So hours
from St. Louis, going through by
Indianapolis We crossed the ga
Their of waters" after dark, but We
got good view of the Great Steel
Bridge across the Mississippi, next
morning; this magnificent specimen
of Civil Engineering and Architec'
ture, the finest in the world, is the
handy craft of Capt. James Eads, the
great Engineer, who after having
cleared the mouths of the Mississlp-
| pi River of immense sand reefs,
forming what was considered there
tofore, insurmountable distractions
to navigation, now proposes, BY
the potent agency of hydrostatics, to
dredge the channel of the Mississip-
pi River from New Orleans, to Alton,
in short, cutting through the i'm
mense sand bars of that River naTi-
gable channels OF water by the ac-
ton of the current itself. This steel
bridge cost s1O,0OO,OOO, and as its
name implies, is built of steel, and
is 442l feet long, and has double
tracks, or cause ways, one above the
other. The lower one is the one
which passes the rolling stock Of
about 10 Rail Roads, and thus in en-
tering St. Louis, the emigrant is
first immersed in Missouri's soil, l. e.,
instead of rolling off over the sur
face, you, in emerging from the
bridge off the waters of the river,
dart into the River bank, through
a Tunnel under the city for near a
half mile, with hundreds of 5 and 6
story buildings, and the thundorings
of all manner of vehicles over your
head.
On the morning of the 9rd, we
started for the Red River, over the
Iron Mountain and Southern r. r.,
via Little Rock, and at 10 A. NJ, of
the 4th, found us amid the cotton
plantations of the Red River Valley,
which contains, perhaps the most
productive soil in North America,
productive of every variety of veg
citation producible in New York,
Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Vir.
ginia, and in addition thereto, their
great staple, cotton, figs, lemons,
Bermuda" grapes, and many other
minor products. The cardinal Ques.
ton which voxeth the planter in
this country is the labor question,
the harvest might be plentiful, but
the laborcrs are few, hence it is that
thousands Of acres of conquorcdland,
are idle, on the Red River, which
could be made to produce |! bales of
cotton to the acre, or two crops of
potatoes, rs bushels of corn, or 80
bushels Of wheat, or the finest peach.
es in the world, but no terra ten.
ant" can be found to gather from
them these rich hOrvests, and these
lands can now be bought for sl0 per
acre, although reclaimed from ma.
lures dense forest and under fence
ut the cost of sl5 peracrc, 0nreach.
ing here, We were first reminded Of
the fact that we were in the Sunny
South, by hearing from every bush
(now green with tender foliagc) and
from every Boisd'Arc and China tree,
the sweet and ever various song Of
the Southern Mocking Bird, and
then again were foroibly admonish.
ed, that We were also in the "Far
West" when we stepped out on the