The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1885-05-20

sure LuAL All w DO come s1DAItA 10 Et atl-
ual citizens and TO 60 to work 80 help
Us degelope our farming interests a. the
Churchiils have done and are doing,
will not only form the same opinion Of
our people, but will find better lands Ia
Mississippi for that purpose than in any
other State. Truly yours,
d. i. HEARS.
MADISON, Mss, March IA. 1884.
G. i. HOUsER,-Dear Sir: Your. OF
the 10th Of this month is at hand, and
! am quite amused at the conflicting
reports there, in regard to myself and
family, Of which you informed me.
have been here about six months and .
can truly say that our health has been
better than in Illinois Nv son Herbert
and family have been here over one year /
and they have all enjoyed better health /
than they did there Yes, believe this /
TO be a healthy country. Since I came .
here the change of climate ha, nearly /
cured me of catarh. OF which ! was /
greatly troubled with in the North. /
You spoke of chiiis; ] have had Just /
one here, but / came here with them, SO /
that is not very strange. There is "a /
larger percentage OF hale. hearty old !
people here than in northern Illinois I
The prevailing sickness here is Pneumo- 1
MIA, and if you could see how people 1
live you would not wonder al il; half /
clad, half housed and damp, cold wind /
from the north; the result: cold on the I
lungs. The coolest weather was 20 de- I
grees above zero
] have bought 500 acres of land. all /
fenced in three fields, 50 acres timber, .
fair house, barn and other buildings, cost |
ing me So, 100 No | am not sorry and /
expect to stay. The people are more
kind, friendly and social than they were
there This has been a wealthy country,
the garden of Mississippi, "before the
wah.' Its owners were an aristocratic
set; their plantations were from one to
two thousand acres in size and were
hedged in by the Cherocee rose, which
was set so thick and trimmed 50 that q
rabbit could not get in. Each planta-
ton, a kingdom of itself and little TO do
beyond its hedge Of roses. Visits from
other plantations were conducted in
princely style, with court manners quite
unknown to the "AIudsills" of the north.
Raising cotton was the business. Slaves
were brought from farthernorth to do it
with; they were brought IN droves by .
AidhflSg anu 0btA dN HlhitH al tlyNr
to whoever wanted to buy. No lands
in this county for sale at any price and
nearly the whole in cultivation. All
how changed now; how completely were
they whipped by war Slave all gone,
lands deprecated in value, hedges
burned and lordly mansions rotting
down. Lands begging for buyers at
from one to five dollars per acre.
Nanrnag WI Ill tRovl- brf,- do ,gf
know how. Those are the reasons that
explain the present state of affairs.
Cattle raising will be the business that
will reclaim this country | think. Lands
are held in larger. bodies than small
farmers can buy, and most owners will
not sell unless you will buy all.
Cattle were all fat last fall; very few
have died this winter, but many are
poor; very few have been fed at all
Sheep have lived all winter without
either care or feed; OF course little
care in either case would have paid.
Any amount of grass, that would have
made the best of hay, is allowed to 60 to
waste and burned in the spring. Tame
grasses are said to do well except timo-
thy, but native grasses cannot be much
improved on, for either hay or pasturage.
This is a grass country.
Politics here Is like a jug handle, all
on one side; very little is said. The
negroes seem 10 accept the terms OF
peace, and peace we have. 1t does really
seem wrong to have given the ballot to
the negro in his condition. just enamel
pated from slavery, where IL WAS 3
crime to learn them to read. Ignorant,
no knowledge of business or how to care
for ones self, turned loose on country,
with neither means or a home and at
such a time. Would it not have been
better to have made at least a property
and educational qualification TO the bal
lot? rs 1t was the negroes were more
numerous than the whites, and so elect
ed negro Supervisors, negro county Off.
GERS, who could not sign their own
name; thee led by "Carpet baggers,
levied taxes, etc, till lin this county,
over six per cent was reached, which, in
many cases, amounted to confscatiOn
Then it was that "bulldozing' com
menced, and the whites are not ashamed
to own it; but tell us you would have
done the same. 4 white mans vote is
counted on either side; white man can
read, speak or write what he pleases and
all is well, but not so with negro.
Socially, the negro does not expect to
come in your house, much less sit at
your table. If he works for you a plate
in the kitchen or back door is all he
wants, all he has ever known.
/ have been here six months and have
not seen any good grazing yet. They
say this has been the hardest winter
ever known here. We are busy sowing
oats, rice, planting corn, ribban and
sorghum cane, planting sweet aud Irish
potatoes. This is q great fruit country.
! DIR. Mckay, a northern man, came here
Nabout ten years ago and commenced with
the strawberry, much to the amusement
of the natives, who ridiculed the idea
of making much out of those little
berries. He has patch of about 300
acres and has made a fortune at it.
Last year he raised spring crop, sum
mer crop and a fall crop, which he sold
at very large figure. He has straw
berries continually bearing at the Expo
sition, at New Orleans. Peaches seem
ingly grow wild and are scattered along
the branches, common as plums in the
north. Neetarines, apples, plums, figs,
grapes aud pears do very well, and yet,
not one man in hundred pays the least
attention to fruit.
Plenty of good water can be had by
NAoeClucy Uul We'll N8ttT IL water
and not very good. All the pork that is
made here is made on the mast living
the year round on it, and get quite fat.
Naturally the soil is not as good as in
Illinois, but often crop of oats and
corn is raised on the same land in a
year; few people think of manuring
land and turning under of green crops
for manure, is unknown. Flowing is
done by one mule and four inch pillow,
and the same tool cultivates the crop.
They throw together from four to six
burroughs and then corn and cotton is
planted on the top; this is called bed
ding; level cultivation is an experiment
and almost unknown. In schools and
churches, the color line is drawn very
close. Timber is plenty and good; all
kinds of oaks, hickory and other hard
wood. Pine lumber is cheaper than
there. For the rest, friends, come and
see. l.. B. CHURCHILL.
Trees have, been found in Africa