Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-04-22

PEN PICTURES.
Little Rock, as Seen by a COrre-
spOndenf Of the New York
Tribune.
Houston CTeIasl Lottsr.l

Houston Texas Letisr.l
A LOOK AT THE ARKAEsAw CAPITAL.
l ran up to Little Rock the other
day. 1t is a place of considerable
business and capital, but the streets
are exceedingly dirty. and the grounds
about the state house have a wonder
fully shabby and neglected appearance
The legislature wa in session. and |
went 10 70 see the representatives Of
the people Of ArkansaH. Everybody
in the southwest ssys-and always has
szid-ArkaDsaE.) They are a fine
looking body Of men, and were doing
their work with an appearance Of dig
nifty and deeorum, joined with good
tsuper. which strongly attracted and
interested me. ! have been in several
similar assemblies, and, so far as |
have observed, southern men, IN such
public bodies, appear TO be character
iEs3 BY deeor0us good h1mor. They
ssen 70 be comfortable. a. If their
business did not i~rrltete them.
The negroes IN Little Rock and IN
that region Do not seem 70 be 10 a very
promising condition Many Of them
are idle and indispossd to work, and
there is a great deal Of work done BIZ
white men 10 that region which would
naturally belong 70 the negroes If they
would do it. There Is some good
country in ATksHsag the worst feature
Of it being that it is unhealthy along
the streams. where much Of the rich.
est land lies. The state Is too far
north to be southern and two far south
to be northern, and it has hardly at
tracted the attention it deserves.
There are many northern people in
Little Rock. Some Of them are not
of much advantage to the place.
while others are doing well in bust
ness. l could not learn that there
has been any trouble between the
races there Of late, but labor in that
part Of the country is not so we'll Or
ganized or 80 prosperous as in the
sugar regions Of Louisiana.
BROKEN DOWN AND DIsHEARTRNED.
Coming northward and eastward
through Texas had got acquainted"
with q poor fellow who had been ten
years in Texas, having gone out there
with his young wife, soon after their
marriage, from Alabama. He had
lived all over the state, on highlands
and lowlands, and had been sick CIV.
eryWhere." He had finally given VI
the struggle with i'll fortune in Texas
and was on his way back to the OLE
home in northern Alabama, with bare.
lymoney enough to carry him thither
"and with nOthin' in the world to shoy
for all my work in Texas" he said
but these six children He was al
excellent representative of a larg,
class of "poor whites found every
where in the south. Not very wei
equipped by nature. in any respect
for the struggle of life, he was dis
couraged, and the little spirit he hat
ever possessed was exhausted by hi
long experience of sickness and fail
ure. He knew little more than a bah
of the great world or its ways,and wa
painfully conscious of his %ignoranc
and helplessness. He was afraid 0
everybody, yet he longed to trust ev
eryone, and to have somebody Away
to guide him and instruct him. tn
conductor, a northern man, was ex
tremely harsh to him, which added b
his distraction. / felt sorry for him
and for his wife, who was a true aul
helpful consort and mother to the ex
tent Of her powers, but was not great
" supt rior to her husband.
We reached Little Rock very late a
night, and this family had to wait til
morning for a train. They could no
remain at the depot, and when the.