Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-01-24


!, E,DIToRs CHRONICLES: By a cas-
ual glance at the county map, ans
observing the course Of the C'unber
land river through it, you will SCI
that CIarksville's southern trade
comes over the river at Searcy's
Edmondson's and the Seven Mile
Ferries. The area of country en-
braced in this trade, which is COM
posed of southern Montgomery,
northern Dickson, and the Yellow
Creek portion of Houston counties,
is as large as that controlled by
GAINESVILLE on its northern side, but
it is not so wealthy. The roads
over which these people bring their
produce to market are very bad,
but on account of the firm and
strong consistency of the soil on this
side of the river, they never become
impracticable for wagons, provided
they have strong teams and light
loads, until they reach the alluvial
bottoms of the Cumberland river.
Here the roads have no bottom,
and the immense traffic that this
portion of these roads have borne
in the last month have put them in
condition that would have to be
seen to be appreciated. The team
and wogon, with its drivers, when
itarriveson terra tqnaaat the Clarks-
vile end of the bottom, would pre-
sent a very ridiculous appearance,
were it not such serious matter.
The mules are 50 heavily plated
with foam and mud that it takes a
close observer to tell whether they
are the above mentioned hybrids or
muley cows, and the hinder part of
the outfit is so heavily embossed
with the aforesaid alluvial deposits
as to make it a matter of doubt |
whether it be wagon load of to-
bacco or threshing machine. The
driver is too discouraged to care
what appearance he makes, and it
would discourage any one, however
energetic he may be, to know that |
such an obstruction lies between
him and the market for his
produce.
This alluvial bottom at the Ed
mondson's and Seven Mile cross
ihgs are hardly a mile in width.
each. But at Searcy's it is wider.
The tobacco raised in the districts /
speak of in the firstof this article is
forced to market over these. cross
ings. This crop brings in most of
the money that the people here get,
and one of the most prominent bus
mess men of your city said not long
since that this crop built GAINESVILLE.
Therefore it seems to me that bust
ness men would have commenced
early to overcome these difficulties.
Yet this condition of things exists,
and exists within the very sound of
the bell on your city hall, whose
resonant peals call together the en-
inent city fathers, and almost with
in the call of the sheriff as he sum-
mons with his ancient oyez the hon
orable county court to their sittings.
They have sat with great gravity
for long time-well, it will suit
our purpose to say that they have
sat since the formation of the coun-
ty, and so far, have not appropriate
ed quite a thousand dollars for the
benefit of the large district afore-
This has been a source
of modification to some of us, for
we pay our portion of the taxes with
promptness, and have hoped to get
a pro rata of the appropriations, but
so far
'we have sat, like Patience on monu-
ment,"
and have to ford the mud across the
bottoms, as well as our
creeks for want of bridges. 1t can
not be said that the north side needs
the appropriation more than we do
in this instance. The grading and
metaling of the approaches to the
ove-mentioned ferries is as i'm
portant as any business that will be
brought before the court in this line.
Neither can it be said to be too
large a scheme for our contracted I
for the length of the work
At the three ferries combined will |
not amount to more than three or
four miles. ENTERPRIsE.
Jan. 10, 1890,