Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-12-28
TsuBH d fkAaAAAAAl
An fraie kcntucklan's TirAde
Against the Arkansnw
Town.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Among the guests at the Lindell
Hotel is venerable gentleman named
B. K. Moses, who according to the
bota register, has his residence at
Texarkana, the interesting town which,
lying partly in Texas, partly In Ar.
kansaw, and quite close TO Louisiana,
vas called after all these States. tho
drst syllables Of twcof them and the
dissyllabie termination OF the third
being combined to produce its high
sounding name. The impression 0
veyed by the hotel register is, how
ever. incorrect. Mr.. Moses was a res.
ident ofTexarkana, a day or two ego,
but he has shaken the dust of Arkan.
saw from his feet forever, and he pro-
poses TO end his days in his old
kentucky home at Paducah-at least
so he assured a Post Dispatch reporter
with whom he held a brief but AMI
mated conversation this afternoon.
I've had enough OF Texarkana, - hv
said, and I'm going home to Ken
lucky, I've been keeping hotel there
1.-The Brougham House, see, here's
my card--since last March, but I've
had 70 give up; l couldn't stand it. -
What was the troubled"
First OF all the niegers, then the
ceniipedes, then the ta~rantulas, and
then TIE country
The reporter suggested that race
prejudice ought not 10 be allowed TO
interfere with business but the gentle-
man explained:
I've no prejudice against the Niger
at large; it's the Texas niger I'm
down on. They're the meanest human
cattle that live, black, white or yellow.
oteaI? Thar's nothing they won't
make away with. Rheyll take the
towels rom the bedrooms, the food
rom the kitchen, the hats from the
hat rack, anything that belongs TO
somebody else that gives them a
chance to steal they remove the hrst
chance they get. I'd heard OF these
Texas nigeers before | started to Tex
arkana, so | took along with me from
Paducah, where | had been keeping
hotel, seven OF the decentest darkies
ever knew-K Kentucky boys who had
worked with me for years. some of'em
l bad raised myself. Well, sir, il
took those Texas niggers two weeks to
demoralize the whole lot OF them.
1T is a rule Of the hotels in Tex.
arkana that a niger is never allowed
to leave the building by the back door
He's always got to show up at the
office before be goes. Well about two
weeks ago, at the biggest hCAel Of the
place, the clerks eye fell one evening
upon the form OF a retreating darky,
and it struck him somehow that the
boys coat hung kinder heavy, so he
first calls him up to, and then behind
the counter, Investigation of the
nigger's coat then showed that the
lining had been cut open and kitchen
goods piled through it till you couldn't
rest. There were crackers and loayes
OF Vienna bread, two cans OF oysters,
a roast chicken, a tongue, a package
OF tea, sugar, e%offes, butter, heaven
knows what all, which the COMPOUNDED
niger was carrying off to his home
When heard ofthis it settled me.
had never felt like carrying the front
door. only rule into effect, and it struck
me that if such robbery could 20 ON in
a place where the nigeers had to I'm.
dergo supervision before they left the
premises, there was no chance at all
for me, allowing them to come and &c
when and how they pleased"
"How about the centipedes?"
Just as bad as the Texas %niQcers
They are a bug about as long as thil
Indicating a length Of Ave inches)
and when their fangs enter a human
being death IS sure to follow. They
are almost all legs. and in each leg is I
fang. They crawl over you and won't
bite If not disturbed, but make one
move at them and in go~the fangs
About two weeks ago a man il
Texarkana woke up in the mornins
and saw n Of these ~centipedes crawl.
ing about his thigh. He ought tc
have lot it alone, but he didn't. He
hooked his forefnger against hi.
thumb, sneaked it up to tho bug and
tried to bang it off. He was quick
but not quick enough. Just one Of
the langs entered his flesh, and il
twenty minutes he was a corpse"
And the tarantulas2n
They're a big, hairy spider; size OIL
a sparrow or bat. Their bite is fatal
too
Are these bugs common"
Apt to turn up anywhere. You
find en- in the kitchen, the parlor, the
bed room, anywhere around tho house
in fact"
In conclusion the disappointed no.
tel keeper explained that another
drawback to the business in Texar,
kama was the fact that the country
round about produced no vegetables
or meat Of any account. All Of it had
to be brought from st Louis, and il :
train vas delayed, by the time a con
signment reached its destination, the
food was stale; consequently a good,
square, enjoyable meal was the excep-
ton 10 Texarkana. even at the leadinl
hotels. He announced his intention
OF returning to Kentucky, re- establish
ing his Paducah hotel, and remaining
away from the land Of bad darkies
tarantulas, c~entipedes and stale cab.
bage during the remainder of his life