Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1883-07-25
From the ",Satsty South"
MONTGOMERY, Ala, July Is, IS

to summer weather, and instead of its be-
ing oppressive to us it is proving to be,
on the whole, the most charming part of
the year. So far as I can learn, from re-
ports received from many parts of the
north, the mercury has not averaged
higher here during July than there.
AS write now, 9 a. M, it is delightfully."-
cool. The mercury stands at so with q
peculiar southern breeze blowing. Our
thermometer has not indicated higher
than 90, so far, and that for only two or
three hours in the middle Of the day.
There are places in the city where it has
gone as high as 100. We are on such an
eminence and so separated from every
thing else that we catch every breeze
that blows. [ am surprised at the per-
lection of our nights. Though the day
be ever so hot and dry by nine or ten
o'clock at night heavy dew falls and a
soft cool breeze comes up which, at once,
invites the most restless to a refreshing
sleep. The one feature which distin-
guishes the southern summer from the
northern is not its heat but its length.
Summer here lasts as truly from April to
November as it does at the north from
June to September. A great many of
the wealthy citizens of Montgomery will
go to various parts of the north for Au-
gust and September, not so much to es-
cape the heat, as for the change. The
families Of many of our business men and
mechanics go up the Louisville and Nash
vile r. r. about thirty miles to a place
called Verbena and there spend from two
to three months. 1t is delightful coun-
try place in the "Piuey woods" with a
large hotel and many little cottages for
rent. Here the wife and children live in
the woods and enjoy the beautiful spring
water by day and the husband comes up
to spend his nights and Sundays. Ice
and all the luxuries Of the season are
brought up daily, in refrigerator cars,
from Montgomery. Now that we have
decided to remain here another year we
expect to find little change and recrea-
ton at Verbena before the hot weather is
over with.
We hear great deal about cotton being
king and wheat being king but think
if you had been here the last few DAYS
you would have come to the conclusion
that watermelon was king The ap-
proach of hot weather has exalted the
melon into monarch indeed. Every
body is engaged with the melon in some
form or other. The fast freights are given
up almost entirely to the transportation of
watermelons. The Daily Advertiser, Of
this city, devoted full column editorial
on Monday to the consideration of the
watermelon. The city is packed sfull Of
them. They lie in heaps at nearly every
street corner and nearly every shaded
place. The stores are full and the mark
ct is full and SO many are the wagons
passing to and fro, in every direction,
that find it almost impossible to write
this letter from the interruption "nice,
sweet melons, want any melons, one for
a nickel, three for a dime" It is anus
ing to see the people gather about every
fresh wagon load that comes in. White
and colored, oldseand young at once
mount the wagon and a grand testing ex-
hibition is soon opened. | used to think,
when [ was boy, that [ could show some
capacity and speed in the presence Of a
good watermelon but give it all up since
witnessing the southern way Of disposing
of melons. A short time ago a panther
escaped from menagerie not far from
here. He is now at large on the Conley
tract and is creating as much excitement
among the darkies there as the "smoth'
ering Doctors did in the city, not many
weeks since. It is lively panther fol-
his tracks are seen each morning in every
direction and by everybody. All the
hunters and hounds of the city have been
out after him but still no one, except
some frightened colored man, ever catches
a glimpse. of him. The panther has torn
to pieces SO many. women and eaten up 50
many pigs that the whole country is ex-
cited over it. It has been said that the
panther was even seen on one Of the prin-
cipal streets of the city by lot of colored
brethren and sisters who were late home
from church that night. When we go to
bed the last words to each other are, "may
you escape the jaws Of the panther" and
when we awake in the morning and find
ourselves unframed the first inquiry is
"what news from the panther" A re-
ward of $500 is offered to the ,one who
shall kill the panther or lead him alive
into his iron cage. Yesterday morning,
moved by the desire of gain and desire
to examine fine melon patch and see
other growing crops, on the Conley tract,
l started out with our missionary rifle, a
ciytnnn ShOptnr oOd n bO6U 0Uar6 of