The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-05-10
THROUGH ARKANSAS.
Bill Arp Takes aTrip Through a Rich and
Fertile Land.
Atlanta Constitution.

| E6Etl1c xLdhNs
atlanta Constitution.
!. Well, thought had seen rich, fertile
land and big timber before, but [ am
free to say never saw anything in
Texas OF elsewhere to compare with the
region I have just been over. Going
from Memphis to Forrest City, a distance
of thirty miles, the traveller sighs, and
wonders if this is Arkansas-a more mis-
erable swamp cannot be found, but that
is the end of it. You there reach Crow
ley's ridge, which extends northward
from Helena for hundred miles, and
marks the break between swamp and
table land. went from Forrest City to
Helena, distance of 45 miles, and from
there, northwest to Clarendon, a distance
Of 80 miles, and it is all one unbroken
area of tho finest lands on the continent.
1t is not prairie, and never was in the
memory of man. 1 suppose that half of
it has been cleared, and the cleared land
alternates with the primitive forests that
stand up grand, majestic, and happily has
mo undergrowth. There is q dignity
about these forests that I have never
seen elsewhere. The big trees are not
close together but at stately distances.
The hunter can ride all day in the chase
and the teamster who hauls logs to the
saw mill or slaves to the depot does not
have to cut his way or take any particu-
lar route. Tt is all beautiful sylvan
scene. These lands average bale of
cotton to the acre without fertilizers and
with but little cultivation. From sixty
to seventy.6ve bushels of corn is consid-
cred fair crop, though I heard an old
Mulhattan say that the corn stalks used
to grow so big that the bears climbed
them, and he had pulled many cub out
of the shuck. There is a world of cotton
made on these lands, and ninety per cent
of it is made by negro labor. They
work when they please and quit when
they please. They will go to town every
Saturday and glory in rainy day so'that
they can go again. They. pay FIVE dol.
lars an acre for the rent of the land, and
as there is nobody else to rent it and
labor is not abundant, they have their
own way pretty much. am assured
that they do not really work more than
about four months in the year. The
merchant who advances to them will sell
seventy.fve dollar mule for hundred
and take a lien, and he hardly ever loses
his debt. Cotton is everything here.
The nice little town of Mariana, with
only 1000 inhabitants, handles about
twelve thousand bales, and that is not
half the product of the county. Here
are nice churches, pleasant homes, good
schools, and happy prosperous people,
and it all comes from cotton-nothing
else but cotton. The landlords most all
live in the towns or villages along the
railroads. The negroes occupy the
country. It is notable fact that negro
labor, uncertain and unreliable as it is, is
the soarce of all the wealth of this beau
tiful region. Just let them have an exc.
dus all of a sudden, and all business, all
property would collapse like balloon
that had burst. The negro is still great
factor in Southern homes and Southern
industries. He is still the servant Of the
white man and is happy and contented
in that service. They are fat and slick
and greasy, and can laugh louder and
show more pearly teeth than anybody.
They know no want or suffering, they
ask no pity, and the commiseration of
philanthropists for their condition is
altogether wasted. wish the white race
had something of their contentment and
cheerfulness. Now these landlords who
generally live in the towns and villages
along the railroads own from 160 to 1000
acres Of land and all they have to do is
to watch the labor and either persuade or
drive it, and then collect their rents out
of the cotton. The merchant who advan-
ces does the same thing, and 80 the
entire community thrives and prospers.
Hero is Forrest City, only seventeen
years old and handles ten thousand bales,
and everything is lively. Helena han.
dies fifty thousand bales and has electric
lights and oil mills and ice factory and
leyiathan saw mill and other industries,
and will soon have street railway.
This was the home of General Hindman
and Pat Cleburn, and they are buried
here among the Confederate dead.
1t is a novel sight to Georgian to see
these towns on the last day of the week.
It is not the black Friday but the black
Saturday. The streets and sidewalks
and stores are crowded with negroes.
Old negro women, who look like the fat,
greasy cooks of the olden times, have
their little stands at the street corners
where they sell sandwiches and cakes
and chicken and ham and boiled eggs all
day. Itremirded me of the olden time
when on muster days and court week and
election days, the good old women had
ginger cakes and pies and simmon beer
and they sat up in little one horse COW
cred wagon with the hind gate let down
for shelf, and they wore great rufled
caps and spectacles and had their knit
ting with them and made the needles fly
when they had no customers. How sweet
and lovely the ginger cakes were to us
children.
Dear old mother Tuition, what good
angel she was to the little folks, for if we
didn't have the money she would divide
big fat ginger cake among us. know
that she is in heaven. In those days our
smallest piece of money was called q
thrip, and when folks spoke of anything