The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1889-11-09
rATHARINE COLES GRACE
FUL LETTER.
A Grateful Tribute to Grenada
and Some of Her People.

A Grateful Tribute to Grenada
and Some of Her People.
impressions Made Upon an Accomplished
and Celebrated Writer by our Com
munity.
It is we'll known that Mrs. Field, bet
ter known as "Catharine Cole" spent a
few days in our town last week, and in
last Sundays New Orleans P'cayune we
find the following beautiful letter written
from The Chamberlin House, in this city.
In the name of our good people we tender
the Picayune and "CatharIne Cole" our
grateful acknowledgment:
aThis is the 1st day Of November, and
sit by an east window in the best room
Of the big and rambling old hotel at Gree
nada. Miss. The window is open, because
7 should melt otherwise, and now and
then a frisky. March-like wind comes
putting in, scattering my. papers and
fetching on it's invisible wings all sorts
of erfumed souvenirs Of this sweet out
door world. A tangled and untended
rose garden straggles around the house.
II is like frayed mantle of silk that is
shot with gray color, and lovely even in
it's age. Chrysanthemums, yellow and
orange and crimson and pale pink and
rich purple, are tossing their crested,
feathery heads over the garden walks and
falling before the winds in fearful rain
of petals because there are no graves for
them to decorate on this holy day. A
Marechal Neil rose vine that chambers
over the old porches and half way up the
stately columns is hung with huge
globes of luscious bloom, and now and
then pretty young lady stopping in the
house comes out and nips one on aud
nins it at her throat SO that somebody
NAV see how fair she is. There are other
flowers in this sweet old garden-morning
glories that are the matln prayers OF Da--
ture, and marigolds and zinnias that are
her sweet old maids, with rank beds OF
geraniums and brown honeysuckles climb
inc to the combs of the roofs.
Now and then big country wagon
tolls over the brown uplands where the
tawny grasses beard the horses heads,
and presently dumps load of wood at
the garden gate. 1t will be oak or ash
or pine yellow and sticky with its
own fat, and worth, suppose, about
81 5Oa cord.
All about are the far blue hillsjust now
hung with the vapory, purple and pink
mists of the Indian summer, 30 that they
seemed to float on the horizon. The
camp fires Of the Indian glowered there
once, and the first home in Grenada was
a wigwam, but to-day it is a very brisk
and busy little city that is framed in by
the hills whose foliage, like shield OF
Persian dyes, has taken on all the lovely
tarnish of the autumnal world.
Once at dinner party in Washington
a distinguished Bostonian informed me
that he had never been south before.
It took me some time to discover that
he meant to call Washington the south.
IL was a compliment to Washington.
Grenada county, in the riches cotton
belt of Mississippi, lies nearly 800 miles
north of New Orleans, but ii to possess
the most delightful climate, tito lie under
The fairest skies, il to grow good crops OF
cotton and corn, if to be trellised on the
tree tops and home roof with roses, if to
own the kipdliest people is to be southern
than Grenada is just as southern as il
she we're lodged only line or SO aboye
the equator.
Tn the days to come when the gooo
people of the wild northwest shall have
been frozen out, or blown out, or fired
out of their hardly earned homes ane
come south in search of health, wealth
and peace, they will be surprised at ,what
thew shall see. Where they expect
swamps we will show them beautiful
hills like those that frame in Grenada
Where they look for snakes and alliga'
tors we shall show them titled fields
priceless forests OF hard woods, mines o
coal, iron, salt, marble, and the :precon
ceived idea of shotgun country Where
lawlessness prevails must fall before th'
peaceful flags of smoke floating from ou
best and strongest tower, the kitche1
chimney on the home roof
Yesterday morning the mayor OF Gre
NADIA took me for drive over the town
He was a young man--that is to say, n.
was not vet an old one, and am tolo
he is one Of the most thrifty and enter
prising in 'nor,h" Mississippi, and HI
looks as if the climate and the life agreed
with him and he with them. The carriag
was a large and handsome one, and Wa
pulled by spanking pair of homebre'
horses that would have done credit to
first-class Kentucky stock farm. w
drove from the Chamberlin House, tn
biz hotel down by the station. along
wide road faced by good plank walks
until we reached the town square, two
or three blocks away. Behind us wa
the big, busy oil mill, and at our rrlgh
the wind blew the smoke from the chin
news Of the cotton compress. The tow
Of fGrensda is built Of excellent home,
made brick, and about the square, on al
four sides, are fine rows of brick stores
This quaint way Of planning towiI
around a plaza or square prevails al
over the south. 1t makes our southern
country seem more than halt akin II
picturesque old world cities.
During the cotton season Grenada is a
busy in It's way as if it we're great me
tropolis. About 10000 bales of cottol
are, hauled into the town for sale AM
sh.ament and lintlike snow flies in tn
air. the bales are everywhere and tn
great square as large as Jackson squar
ir Nav Orleans is blockaded by 0,