The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1880-10-13
The Mississippi Sound.
Semi.TrOpieaI Delights Of the Gulf Coast
Interesting Account Of Timber Pre-
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Day.

Cores pondsnee Of the courier-Journall
ALONG THE SHORE. Miss. Sept. p
W To one reared in a broken and noun
w famous region the aspect of the countr.
ch along the Gulf of Mexico i, for awhile
: mainly striking for its hatness and mo
- notony- The subtle charms of the eli
n mate steal slowly upon the senses, ane
win the stranger by degrees
= Mississippi Sound is beautiful sheet
4 of water being separated from the gul
on the south by fringe of low, sandy
N islands, partially wooded with pine for
est As these islands are approached
J. they at first, present the appearance Of
n a black band with a silver border re-
l. posing upon the blue surface of the sea-
A nearer approach resolves the black
Z part of the pleasant apparition into
; areas of pine growth, and the silver sur
!, face Of the sound differs sharply in APP
: pearance from that of the open gulf.
e As you go South and pass through the
t separating line of islands, you are inn
mediately conscious of the change on
l reaching the rougher and bluer waves
of the outer gulf
, This part Of the Gulf coast has been
made memorable by the explorations of
f Bienville and Herville, who were inn
PEELED by the romantic hardihood of
! their times to visit these far-off regions.
1t must have seemed a wonderful trans
formation scene to these brave pioneers
of discovery to drop out OF the bleak,
Canadian country and, after traversing
a vast expanse of ocean, to anchor on
an unknown shore, where nature lent
new beauties TO the landscape, and
where the odors of strange flowers dwelt
upon the wandering airs. They telt no
longer the breezy inspiration and the
biting, bracing temperature of the dis
| tant North, but here they were woed
and captivated with less invigorating
but more seductive aspects of nature.
| The subtle and sensuOus charm of Il
semi-tropical atmosphere comprised them
| about, and they felt the full witchery
of night in the far South, with the |
| balmy caresses of its winds and the |
prodigal splendors of its sky. What |
deep sense of solitude must have filled |
the first intruders into the piny wilder
| ness of this shore Even now, after |
lapse Of nearly 200 years from the time
of its occupation, feeling of medita-
tive loneliness is born of the natural
conditions that obtain here, the stretches
of sandy beach, the melancholy woods
of pine, in the boughs of which the
plaintive sough of the wind mingles
with the low monotone Of the sea- The
midday air is hot and still in the sum-
mer, but, during the evening and on
through the night, the fresh saline
breezes from the Gulf induce a gracious
and delightful temperature. But here
the rigors of the hot season are not so :
4 bo1 |
ther north The contiguity of the tenn {
pering sea is a sure safeguard against t
any extreme of the atmospheric condi- t
tons. The day time here invites the |
indulgence of somnolent musing and !
inert relaxation. Nowhere does the ,
twilight disclose with more luxurious :
fitness that sober loveliness and demure |
grace with which the genius of poesy t
loves to invest it. The coming Of the f
evening GOODNESS is visiblv welcomed by !
the reviving flowers, and the mocking a
bird--the merry, many-throated min q
strel of the South rejoices with song t
of changing sweetness. A little later 0
the shadows deepen on the sea and
shofe, and then Il
" Refreshed as a bride and set free, 5
With sea winds and stars for her raiment l.
10
The night, in its serenest moods, nat II
urally leads the mind to the contempla- a
ton of the past and here along the |,
Sound, under the crowding stars and
the queenly moon, the Imagination can r
easily go back a few centuries and view p
upon the still waters the phantom ships il
Of the eariy explorers, sailing under the b
flags of the Old World and behold the 0
depths of the Unreasonable solitudes o
and wildernesses, startled and made h
suddenly gay with the military pomp t.
and pageantry OF France or Spain.
MISSISSIPPI SOUND is
the waters Of the three rivers, q
the Pascagoula, the Pearl and the Wolf. II
The last named is an inconsiderable t
stream, and lies between the other two. Is
The general character of the soil along G
the coast is sandy and sterile and the |
culture of cotton and corn is hardly at g
But the lack of fertility in
the soil is compensated for in the vast Ell
wealth of pine forests that abounds. II
Hence, timber-getting is the main in b.
lustry, and has enriched many inhabi- 81
tants of the coast. For several wears W
past there have been collisions and law ii
suits between private individuals and st
the United States Government, grow Il
ng out of the alleged unlawful cutting tt
If timber on the public lands; but OF
recently the last of the clog cases. were ia
dismissed by the proper judicial author &c
ties, and the matter seems to be per- I'll
nanently settled. The timber on the Sc
coast is first sawed up and then shipped be
n schooners and briggs, and less fire. tn
luently in larger vessels, to various ST
parts of the world The saw mills are tn
quilt on the banks of the streams and 1t
he logs RATED down to them. al
The Mobile and New Orleans railroad pr
'uns along the shore of the Sound, OF
keeping quite close to the water The
Of this road welded a WI
,uickening influence on the Industries pl
md the prosperity of the coast region so
It is well-kept road, and is considered tx
he fastest in the South. Much of the VI
Dad runs over marshes, bayous and w
of the salt water, and is, in
II such cases, built upon trestle-work. a
Until within the past few years, when ad
yer it was necessary to submerge tim ce
lers in salt water in the construction of sV
bridges and trestle-work, the custom en-
vas to use copper-plate as a necessary an
against the attacks ofinsects; We
'ut on this road, and perhaps on others, tn
far better means have been substitu- III
ed ne
fir,
FOR PRESERVING TIMBER. ~
This consists simply in injecting creo- ar
ote into the pine logs before using M
hem. There are extensive works ON so
he right bank of the Pascagoula river, Sc
lear its mouth, where this process has de
'een carried on for years The logs stl