Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1888-01-24
MIscELLANEoUs.
letter from ,Arkansas.
Hor SrnIN,es. Jan. 5. 1sss

AlQ4 IL ehft- tPt9'4fff
1fr. Editor - When i last wrote
you l was enjoying the October sum
sets of northern Ohio, beautiful de-
scription of which. written many
years ago, has made the name of
. Sunset Cox famous. To-day i
am inhaling the warm hreezes that
come from the shores of the Sunny
South, and makes the climate Of this
region of the great Southwest SO de-
tItgitfdl. L left GAINESVILLE, o., by
way of the g. & NJ. S. r. r., for Gin
cinnatti, passing for fifty miles
through the Muskingum Valley, the
garden spot of the State The hand
some residences and the general ap-
lipearance of the farms were visible
hevidences of the great agricultural
wealth of this favored region i
spent but few minutes in Cincin-
natti, a city which boasts of having
two such reviiers of the southern peo-
pie as Gath and Mnrat Halstead.
ks..I.llis anti ti-southern feeling is some
what strange, when we remember
that this city has an immense trade
I with tile South over the Gin. Southern
I Ry =h:ch zsss built by the city Itself
at an expense of twenty million dol
liars * What fools these nortals be-
The l.. & u. crosses the edge of
Tic 6fde Grass II eel0ii 0r-is.Y NJ La
grange, twenty-five miles from Frank
fort, on the c.. & o. r. r. i spent
about thirty hours in Louisville,
distinctive KY. city. The. average
Kentnckian is fond of the sport, and
does not hesitate to gamble on the
race-course or elsewhere. Signs in
front of nearly every saloon, reading,
{" an oyster with each drink, f" amused
me very much. could not decide
whether it was intended for a bribe
to strangers, or not, but was. certain
it could not be Intended for the home
trade. Louisville has a vast whole
sale trade. 1t is the centre of the to-
bacco and whiskey trade of the coun-
try. Relative to the population, il
operates more street-Tailway than any
city in the Union. Famed for the
beauty of its women, and no less for
the hospitality of its people. They
show their chivalric appreciation of
the fair sex in the immense numbers
of pictures of Mrs. Cleveland seen on
every side. The Kindness and po-
liteness shown me by old friends will
always cause me to remember my
short sojourn there with emotions of
pleasure. The road from Louisville
to Memphis, a distance of 377 miles,
passes through one of the most for
Iorn looking and barren countries ]
have ever seen. / can only speak for
the two hundred miles from Memphis,
as we passed through KY. in the
night. The houses are small, few in
numbers and primeval in appearance.
CIarksville, on the Tennessee river, is
fiourisLing tobacco and cotton mar
ket. There were but few stations at
which our train stopped; the natives
of these places reminded me forcibly
of Mark Twain's description of the
accIimated man." and L have no
doubt they would be taken for an
archists if seen in Chicago. ..-J
The change of temperature from
the cold gray skies of northern Ohio
to the balmy breezes that make the
climate of Memphis so salubrious was
pleasant in the extreme. Having.sev-
eral hours at my disposal, 1 strolIed
about the city, watching the great
steamers that throng this great high
way of commerce, the Mississippi,
pass up and down the river. The
great piles of cotton, the boxes of to-
bacco, the laughter of the darkies, all
interested me very much. At night
1 attended the opera, and afterwards
saw a seventy-five thousand dollar
fire. 1 left the Bluff City about mid
night. The cars are run into the de-
pot in Memphis, and then run upon a
steamer, built for the purpose, and
ferried across TO the Arkansas shore.
/ lay awake much of the night and
vacantIy watched the great swamps
and forests of cypress, cane and eye
amore, which extend for fifty miles
back from the river. and which at
times it turns into vast inland lake
The impenetrable darkness of these
swamps, the splashesin the water Of
some frightened animal conjured up
to mind visions of allfgators and
snakes. Thoughts of possible
wreck in this dismal swamp made me
shudde-, and was more than re-
lieyed when our train pulled into Lit
tie Rock for breakfast. A branch
road of % miles length leaves the S.
& L. /. II. & s. at Malvern J'c for
the Hot Springs. This branch is
owned by Diamond Joe'' of st.
| Louis. The charges for travellers and
freight is iniauitous, ) cts. per mile