The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1889-01-10
Northern Views OF Southern
Scenes-Notes No. I,
To the Te1egrabh- Courier.

from your sanCtum on the I'd ult..
he directed his steps toward the land
of Dixie. A two hours run landed
him in the city of Chicago, which
city is celebrated for it's poor water,
bad whisky and high board bills.
Here the boy sought the hospitality
of a hotel, where he remained over
night. On the morning of the third
the boy purchased passport over
the Illinois Central r. R. via Cairo
to Hot Springs, Ark, paying there
for $37 round trip. Boarded the
train at $40 a. M, and glided swift
ly over the 400 mile prairie toward
the land of Dixie, passing through
the following cities: Kankakee,
Champaign, Nation, Efingham,
Centralia, DuQuoin and Carbonate
in succession. and arrived at Cairo
soon after midnight's silent hour.
CA very unreasonable hour to view a
city,. The boy landed on the dump,
was conveyed by a bus into hole,
and lodged in a human hosiery.
When daylight dawned on the 4th,
the boy was up and dressed, and lit
out to see the sights. He fastened
to scale the ramparts of the city, and
like Mother Lot, looked back and
beheld veritable Sodom, where
whites and blacks promiscuously
dwell, and their deeds of darkness no
tongue nor pen can tell. Low as the
city lies and high as the waters rise,
there are thousands of human beings
that live and die in this subaqueous
town; but where they are sepulchred
the boy fails to say.
Breakfast hour over the bus boss
cried: "All aboard for Birds Point
Mo- The boy grabbed his grip and
boarded the bus. He is now within
the car and in the boat and aAoat on
the bosom of the Father of Waters,
the matrix of mud and the sewer of
North America. Presto, pass! The
boy has landed on the Point, having
crossed the big muddy Mason and
DlXon's line and the bounds of civil
ization all at the same time. He has
entered strange country a Terra
InCognita.' The face of nature is
changed. The English language has
lost it's meaning and is superseded
by the Dixie dialect. The U. S. &C.
ography says that ''the surface of
earthls composed of land and water. :"
The boy notes an exception and in
slsts that as matter of fact, it is
composed Of land and timber In
Illinois the surface is 90 per cent.
land and TO per cent timber. Here
the order is reversed, and we see 90
per cent. timber and 10 per cent.
land.
All aboard! the bell rings, the
train starts for the woods on the cot
ton belt line in a southeast course,
passing through Mississippi, New
Madrid and Dunkle counties, Mo.
Thirty miles out the train halted at
Paw Paw Junction, seven miles west
OF New Madrid, on the Mississippi,
which place is noted for historical
event that took place in the year
1871, when the devil or some minor
divinity essayed to dam the big mud
dy and succeeded in damning the
surrounding country most effectually
as may be seen by the numerous
bayOus which remain as testimonial
unto this day.
From the junction the train crossed
the little river to the west, and why a
river mile wide is called "little,"
the boy does not perceive, unless
there are greater things ahead. The
train makes another thirty miles and
arrives at the St. Francis river,
which is the boundary line between
Missouri and Arkansas. Crossing
the liver the train entered Clay Co.,
three miles south of the northeast
corner of the state, and here it also
strikes Crawley's Ridge, which forms
a division line between the St. Fran
els on the east and the Cache rivers
on the west for distance of TO
miles. At this point the St. Francis
IS beautiful stream; but few miles
south it enters bayou sixty miles
long. The train continued her
course through Clay and Green
counties to Paragould, where it in
tersects branch of the IroA Noun
tain road, running down to Helena
and Memphis on the Mississippi.
From Paragould the train continued
southwest on Crawley's Ridge
through the counties of Raighead,
Polnsett, Cross, Woodruff, to Brink
ly, in Monroe county. Here the por-
Ter cried out: "Change cars for
Newport, Memphis, Helena and Lit
tie Rock" The boy grabbed his
grip and jumped from the train AMI
sought the hospitality of the nearest
hostelry, where after bracing up the
inner man he may have something
more to say.
THE BOYS AFTER DINNER GRAFTON.
"Dear Friends and FetZozg Citizens
Of the Solid North;
1.