The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1885-01-21
Southern Mississippi Resources.
University Magazine


sequences of its scenery, and to he
bounteous supply of yellow pine timbel
which is utterably inexhaustible fo
ages to come, and which to-day is bein
most proftably utilized by being saved
and that part of the lumber which
not consumed at home is being shlppe
to the various foreign ports of til
world.
Beneath the shadows of these giant
of the forest, which rear their loft
heads toward heaven, Craze th
numerous herds of sheep and cattl
that cause the hill-sides to re-echo wit
their busy bleating and lowing; Will
the distant ak os the log man is hear,
10 resound on every side, aud the start
ling, crashing noise of the falling timber
| thrill the woods with echoes.
Mississippi probably presents th
greatest diversity of appearances of an.
other State North or South In he
northern extremity are the broad prairl
! fields; and where these are not fount
| she presents a still more desolate ap
| pearance with her bleak and muddy clay
| hills, devoid OF all timber except tn,
scrubby and stunted oak. However
where we find this desolate and barrel
| looking country we find a soil mos
| fertile and productive, and which yield.
to the planter most wonderful increase
The remarkable contrast between the
appearances of Southern and Northern
Mississippi is something not generally
known by all our citizens. In heI
southern part, as | have already init
mated, the green and luxuIianU grass
the beautiful carpet of nature, spreads
over her fertile soil; here are the dense
and sequestered forests in which the
wild deer abound, and which serve a.
hiding-places for the fox and wild cat,
and in which yet lurk rayenous beasts
and we also find here the most beautiful
plains and sloping valleys, where the
morning warbliugs and singing of the
birds fill the air with music. Here the
stranger meets that genuineness of char
acter and hospitality which characterizes
the pristine glory of our heroic ancestors.
Our people of Northern Mississippi
look down with unmerited scorn-and
| might add contemplation hei
southern citizens and upon Southern
Mississippi i'll general.
We see in this beautiful land OF
and babbling brooks that rush continual
iy into the still larger creeks and rivers,
and these rivers iii turn flow boldly into
that golden bowl of the West Indies, the
Gulf of Mexico, upon which Southern
Mississippi borders. At the mouth OF
these principle water-courses are estab
iished some of the greatest lumber mills
in the United States. Every year thOus
ands of pine logs are tioated down the
different streams to these great con
sumers of timber, there to be sawed and
shipped to almost e cry civilized country
in the world This timber industry
furnishes employment for hundreds OF
our citizens, and can be justly called
one of Mississippi's most profitable, pre-
life, and inexhaustible resources. Then
we also find here numerous tiocks of the
choicest sheep and great herds of cattle,
from which our citizens reap a very
large propotion of their incomes.
In addition to her orther advantages
we find in Southern Mississippi some o.
the greatest wooden mills to be founo
in the Southern States, ready to con
vert the yearly crops of wool into cloths
Of every kind. / refer to the Ulman
Wooden Mills, established on the sea
board at Bay st. Louis, and also to the
Mississippi Mills at Wesson, together
with several others. Besides the bene
fits accruing and derived from the
raising of the sheep, or in other words
the production of the wool, these mills
give employment to great many
laboreIs in transforming the wool int,
articles adapted to the qualification OF
mems desires. We thus see working
together admirably in this section of ouI
country the production of the wool, it,
transformation into different articles,
aud its consumption-a great saving t.
the political economy of the State. Mis-
sissippi is not a manufacturing State by
any means, but i'll the manufacture oi
woolen goods she advances to the front
sustained by the mills above named
together with many others; and in the
manufacture of lumber she stands proud
ly preeminent.
| presume it is needless for me to re
fer but slightly to the agriculture o.
Mississippi. In the cultivation of cotton
she is the Queen State of the Union:
and through the intervention of this
product her resources are manifest t,
the civilized world. The cultivation OF
cotton, which is her principal industry
and resource, gives rise to her creates,
income, and furnishes employment fol
quite all of her laboring class. These
last remarks refer to the State at large.
In this hasty glance at Southern Mis-
sissippi, cannot pay just tribute to hel
minor industries and resources; yet !
may say of her professional outlook thai
she offers as great advantages as any
other district or country in the South.
Especially is this true along the new
road that has recently been built from
Meridian to New Orleans, where the
shrill whistle of the locomotive now
penetrates the depths of her magnificent
forests and there breaks upon her death
like stiffness.
To the students who 60 fourth from
this State University I can say that
think it is a grave and almost ar
objectionable error for the young men
of our State, after being reared on her
soil, drawing, their intellectual manhood
from her University, and availins
themselves of all the golden opportu-
mites and advantages and inducements
that she proffers to them-I repeat
think it is showing an ungrateful anG
unmanly disposition and spirit for them
being thus in the prime and intellectua
vigor of their young manhood, to desert
her soil, and as if trying to show theiI
feebleness and imbecility, seek
their fortunes in some more congenial
cline. Young men, can tell you thai
to-day Mississippi is one of the greatest
countries whose soil is warmed by thC
sun of heaven, and in none other can
YOU cast your lot to better advantage
If yoa flee her limits, you show more
clearly your ungratefulness and veal
ness of mind; and can assure you that
wherever you may go. fortune will not
voluntarily intwine garlands of fame
around your affeminate biows without
unremitting cxertion on your part
In conclusion, would hurl to the
ground and trample forever into the
dust the prejudice and sectional
animocity and causeless hatred against
Southern Mississippi, and confidently
express the hope that the healthful
breezes, fresh from off her mighty Gulf,
will watt her onward in her approach
| ing and now dawning prosperity.
w. F. STEVENS.
The price of Meissonier's wonderful
| little picture. The Vedette', in stated