The Newtown bee., 1879-03-04

he was so still that he was dead, but he was neither dead nor asleep, but laugh ing. Ed. caught the horse which ran q 1 short distance. The principal damage ] was to the sleigh. w. Memphis, Tenn.
 Editor of THE BEE Tt is hard to re- alize from the number of people you see on the streets, and the business done here now, that less than four months ago the yellow fever had full possession of this city of 60,000 people. The stores were closed and the streets deserted, while now all is life and business energy more business having been done here this winter than any other previous season for years, and yet the city is bankrupt, its finances in frightful condition, its charter within few days, having been repealed by the state government. Mem- phis at the rlver bank stands on ground nearly 100 hundred feet above the water, but it descends rapidly as you leave the Mississippi, so that the greater part of the city is built on comparatively low ground, and the streets with the eXcep- tion of Main and First streets (which run
 
 streets are not paved. Gayrso Baym, an open sluggish stream, with it's numerous branches winds through the heart of the | city, and this is the main sewer. All through the summer it Is stagnant pool, l the receptIcal for dead animals and kin dred filth. Is it any wonder that when l the epidemic made it's appearance, 5000 people should dle in less than two l months? The people are waking up to tha p0nIifinn nf tho St and a nj of sewerage; but the city finances are in such state, that but little will be ae- complished. Many of the business men died, but their families escaped, being out of town for the summer. 'Cotton here is king" you see it at every turn along the Levec, on every street, and in vacant lots, in bales weighing from 800 to 700 lbs. A poor little mule harnessed to dray, loaded with bales of cotton, is no uncommon sight; horse could not begin to pull the load through the mud. Bergh would have steady employment here. There are few places of interest in or around Memphis. The earthquakes in the suburbs remind one of the late un- pleasantness. Several steam congresses are located here, where the bales of cot ton from the plantations are pressed into half their former bulk, thus allowing from 45 to 90, each weighing about $50 lbs to be packed into ordinary box car. There are two or three small parks, the prlnci- pal one Is in the centre of the city and covers only one block, 1t has U large fountain. and beautiful shade trees; the magnolia being prominent in size and beauty. Fox squirrels, about the size of the grey variety, but darker in color, have their homes In the trees, u handful of nuts will bring a dozen of them around you. up on to your shoulder, down into your pockets, seemingly not the least bit afraid, though you area perfect stranger. On the opposite side of the river, in the State of Arkansas. the face of the eoun- try is fiat. with numerous sloughs and swamps. and in extreme high water one can go 40 miles back from the Mississip- pi In sKif. The proximity of this low ground must add to the unhealthfulness of Memphis. A month since took a trip through parts of Arkansas. Louisiana and Mississippi, and short description of the country passed through may not be amiss. Being charged with the ex- animation of Baym Bartholomew in Ar kansas and Louisiana, I left Memphis on one ofthe New Orleans stoamboats. 25O miles by river brought us to Gaines Land ing small place on the Arkansas side
 Here the skiff and other baggage brought frcm Memphis were loaded on to a wagon and we started through the woods for Baxter (20 miles distant), 1t being our starting point on the baym. Several days rain had made the roads almost impass- able, the soil being what Is termed "buck- shot sticky as wax. but very productive, this part of the country being subject to overflow from the Mississippi river. This land has to be ploughed when 1t is soak cd with water, for when 1t gets dry 1t is I almost as hard as stone, sometimes it is l ploughed when the water stands several inches over it. It produces one bale of cotton per acre. averaging from 500 to 60O lbs. free from seed. The negroes rent the land. paying 90 lbs. Of cotton per acre. and one man can take care of 10 acres. Cotton is extremely low this year, only worth from to 10 cents per lb. Ii took two days to reach Baxter. such was the condition of the roads, part of the distance being through a swamp having q 1 thin layer of corduroy for the road part
 Baxter at the crossing of the Little Rock. | Mississippi river and Texas railroad with Baym Bartholomew is Of recent growth, but 1t reminded me more of the North than any place I have yet seen. The land Is principally owned by Mr. Duke from Ohio, and he has endeavored l to make the evidences blossom as the rose, and for his pains Is regarded by his indolent neighbors as the ..hated Yankee" Here the baym is 100 feet wide l at low water and 3feet deep. But when l the water is high it extends from bank to l bank, 500 feet, and in depth % feet in the channe Cypress and water oak grow at I the waters edge, while gum hickory and l ironwood cover the rest of the valley. which is never cultivated, being subject to overflow. The banks which are from 1 15 to 9 feet above the valley are covered except at clearingS with an extensive growth of ash and the different varieties of oak. Great quantities of slaves are made from the white oak, which are car 1 ried in fiat boats to Trenton, La., and ! from there sent to Europe. The highest l land is at the baym bank, and here the soil is very productive, extending back l for two miles on either side, the ground, meanwhile. descending gradually to l cane swamps and cypress brakes, some of which cover hundreds of acres. The cypress is tree somewhat resembling hemlock, but the timber is far superior, and is used almost exclusively for build- ] ing purposes in this part of the South. To me the express break" was n curios- sity Imagine swamp in the Winter
 overed with water from 2 to 3 feet deep,
 bst in the Summer dry with occasional
 pOas the trees very straight and tall,
 stalding close together at the surface of
 the ground from to feet in diameter. l. but s 'eet up less than 2 feet. Between
 the tres and standing up from the rootc
 are wlat arc called cypress knees,
 about not in diameter at the ground,
 and running up to a point from to 6 feet
 nbove the surface. The fibre of these
 knees Is filld with sand or some kind of grit some duaing any tool used on them. Here the alligator has his home, and woe betide the dog 2r pig passing too noar that seemingly Nanimate log, one sweep
 of the caudal nppApdage and tho victim