The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-04-28
PINE WOODS OF DIXIE.
MR. cAMpsELL's EXPLORATIONS
or the TlHs.r.d Region. Of nl,.l..ippI-P.sallAr
Character Of the cOuatry asd PsOpls-ys.t
Extent Of the Forests ssd the Prlni.
tive Habits Of the Natives.

/
Correspondence erMs Lplalistneer.
BAY ST. LOUIS, MISS, April l24.-Irecently
made trip Of week into the piney woods
that lie back OF this coast region, and have
thought that some account Of it might in
terest your readers. You have all heard
Of tho piney woods country and the piney
woods people Of the South. This State Of
Mississippi has something over $4,000
square miles OF territory, and know you
will be astoniGhed when ! tell you that
about 10000 OF it belong to what Is known
as the piney woods area. This pine coun.
try has distinct features OF It's own both as
respects the country and the people. You
who live in the thickly settled country Of
the Upper Ohio, where the land is so gen.
orally underlaid with limestone, and where
the soil produces strong grass, and where
the mud is deep in the early spring and late
fall, can have no proper idea OF q country
where there is no limestone, and where the
sand is as fine as gunpowder and white as
marble; where the soil is porous and almost
without even the skim OF soil, and where
such thing as mud Ia rarity away from o
swamp. You would call this pine woods
country vast waste except for It's timber.
1t Is covered with two or three kinds OF pine,
the principal and most valuable portion OF
which is known as "long leated pine" the
kind that is used for lumber. There Is also
the resin0Us pine which Is used for turpen.
tine aud rosin.
The origin Of this region Is matter OF
speculation among geologists, but It is gen.
orally conceded to be cretaceous or shelly
formation as to its original stratifcation
thrown up by the sea, upon which the sand
has been blown by the winds for ages. 1t
characterizes the South Atlantic coast, and
extends inward for from 100 to 200 miles,
and embraces in the States Of Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida,
the Carolinas and Virginia, some 10000
square miles or more. These piney woods
differ as to their soil, some being abso.
lutely WORTHLESS, while other portions are
susceptible OF cultivation, stock raising &c.
Within II there are areas OF rich land in
the river bottoms, but away from the
streams that overflow 1t is for agriculture, as
measured by the Ohio river country, o very,
indifferent soil indeed.
POVERTY OF THE SOIL.
"Poor land, poor people," is an old
adage, the exemplifcation Of which can be
seen to any extent in this Southern coun-
try. OF course there are some well.to-do
people among them, just as there are in all
poor countries, for after all, as Southern
poet once observed.
"There's IS much In the man
| As There Is iu the lau',"
and no odds what obstacles oppose, some
people will get onin the world, while Others
with an equal chance, will fall behind. So
it Is with these piney woods people-but,
for the most part, they are without ambi.
tion, without energy, without education,
and conse quently without thrift, and seem
content to live mere animal existence.
And yet, after weeks travel and sojourn
among them, cannot find it in my heart
to make any harsh criticisms on their gen.
eral characteristics, for they have the vir-
tue OF hospitality, and while ! did no fare
very satisfactorily among them in some re.
spects, yet such as they had ''gave they
unto me, not exactly without money and
without price, but at very decided dis.
count as compsred with the rates OF the
outside world. do not like to
sleep in houses, however well ven.
tilated, that have no windows
in them-no glass windows-and l do not
like to sit down TO table where meal alter
meal-breakfast, dinner and supper-it is
sweet potatoes, rice, fried fat meat with
the rind on) soggy and sodden corn or
wheat bread, no butter and very often no
milk, but only black and insipid coffee
made out Of some oi the villainous extracts
that bear the name Of coffee. As the phil.
osophic individual who said he could eat
crow but did not banker after it." 80 l
say in regard TO this perpetual diet. What
renders one all the more impatient of Il
ia the fact that while 1t is all but universal
in the piney woods It Is wholly unneces'
sary. Sweet potatoes are good, rice Is good,
corn bread 10 good, properly prepared, but
cooked and served as they are in the piney
woods they, like the quails Of the children
OF Israel, pail upon the palate and are
with difficulty forced down. ! was glad q,
one place to make my supper wholly on o
sodden biscuit and glass OF water, by way
OF change.
TIE DIET or THE PEOPLE. '
And yet, while this is 80 generally the
diet the woods have plenty Of cattle and
sheep-including cows-but inasmuch as
no provision in the way Of corn and hay Is
made to feed them, the calves must needs
have all the milk land 1t is not much) that
the grass will manufacture. Then again,
while all sorts Of vegetables can be raised
on the soil by dint Of fertilization, yet, out
side OF sweet potatoes, the people have nc
vegetables except very few in the sum
mer season. Ask them about Irish pota'
toes and they will tell you-many OF them
vill-that they will not keep through the
winter, whereas the fact is that they will
keep, il late crop, planted, say in septem'
her. Ia grown. Ask them about tomatoes
and they will tell you that they do not like
them. Ask them about stewed fruit (for
All this Is peach country and they do not
understand you. They do not appear to have
heard OF canned fruits and vegetables, and
no such thing Is 10 be seen in the pine
woods. Ask them about fresh meat, and
they will tell you that sometimes.they have
deer or wild turkeys, and after the calves
and lambs are weaned they have beet and
mutton occasionally.
Do You wonder that their compilations
ara salloy, living on such diet? Do you