The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1883-12-05

| tarY 70 the heu River Dy way VI Lake
Sedo and it was once the port through
which passed all the imports and ex-
ports OF eastern Texas and large
part Of Arkansas and Louisiana, but
with the advent of railroads and the
consequent building up of new towns
she lost her footing and has been re-
duced to her present condition.
This portion of Texas is situated in
what is known as the "Great cotton
belt" and what wheat is to Dakota
and corn is to Nebraska so is cotton
to Texas. The whole country is white
with cotton and polka. dotted with
negroes picking it, Cotton gins. are
to be. found in all the small towns and
in the large cities are located the COM
presses and the oil mills. A compress
consists of powerful machinery which
takes bale of cotton as it comes from
the press at the gin. and reduces
its bulk abont two thirds. This is
done in order to lessen the cost of
transportation from here to the points
where the cotton.is manufactured into
4 goods The oil mills furnish a mar
ket for the cotton seed, which few
years aHo was all used as a fertilizer
for the Bbil. Cotton-seed oil has become
staple article of commerce, and it
finds ready market where ever it-
has been introduced.
Among certain class of Texans
the following Toast is frequently pro-
posed as. an appropriate prelude to
looking through the bottom ofa glass:
""When another State fOrsakes US,
here's to the State that Takes.us." !"
This Of course, has reference to the
large number of persons who have
come hither to escape the penalties
of the law for crimes committed in
other states. However Texas is by
no means a paradise for criminals,
and the civil authorities, together
with an occasional "neck-tie party"
are able to maintain the majesty of the
law and the protection of life and
property. The only exception to this
is in regard to the fence cutting which
is now 5elng done over great por-
lion of the state. The men who do
the cutting are actuated by a desire
to redress what they believe to be
their wrongs and hence their unlaw-
ful acts present quite strange spec
tacle in the great calender of crimes.
The cutting is done with sharp pin
GERS and the wires are cut OH both
sides of every post thus rendering it
impossible for the fence to be repair
ed. was told of man who hired
four men to watch his fence at night
AID thus prevent the cutters from
performing their work. The cutters
came along in large numbers and at.
ter disarmiDg the four guards they
gave them each pair of pincers and
compelled them to work all night at
destroying the fence they had been
employed to protect. The wire.cut.
ters comprise two classes of men.
First: cowboys who have lost their
occupation by the fencing in of large
ranches. Second, poorer class of
stockmen who own few cattle which
have been fenced out Of large tracts
of the best grazing land. just how
the difficulty will se settled is a dis.
puted point, and the Governor has
called special session of the legisla.
ture to act upon the important ques.
tiOn,
Some of the provincialisms used in
Texas sound quite strange to the ears
"Pennamite." For instance, He
made a heap of cotton on that
plantation this year but reckon he
cant do it again, mo how" When
l got off the train at Texarkana a
pickaninny about the size of a pint
measure called out Justify, Mister!
tote yer grip for two bits',' but
much to the little fellows chagrin |
decided to tote it myself.
One day last week l passed by the
Jail ia the neighboring town Of Mar
shall and as l did so l noticed two
men on horseback ride rapidly up to
the building and as they halted one
of them blew a loud blast from o horn
which was suspended by his side. In
response to the signal two fierce blood
hounds came bouncing out of the Jail
and the men at once galloped rapidly
out of town, closely followed by the
dogs which kept up an ineessant bay
ing. Upon inquiry | ascertained
that the men we've in pursuit of mig.
ger who had just murdered a man
out iD the country and that the blood
hounds. which cost the county $500,
were kept at the Jail and were used for
hunting down criminals. The scene
only lacked the provorbial donkey
to have been fair representation of
"Uncle Toms Cabin" 1t now re-
mains for some one to suggest that