The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1890-08-28
"WE ARE THE PEOPLE"
A MICHIGANDER STROLLS DOWN
THIS WAY AND DISCOVERS US.
He Goes Home and Writes Some Interest
ing Facts About North Carolina Her
Soil and Climate.


IJansss Clement ins5ross in. Chicago Interior.l
NV late several weeks of travel in
the cold North State," that is South,
vet not too southern, pCrsuade me
that I was amazingly ignorant as to
this one of our thirteen original
packages" and that I then represented
large northwestern class not yet ex-
hausted, and that ought to make
them this disclosure. - - kssss'
To day | question whether another
State in the Uuion is possessed of
equal natural resources, for maintain
ing herself as a separate and exclusive
little ernpire. Lying half way be
tween the lakes and the gulf, with her
feet in the ocesn, and stretching west
ward over lowland, upland and
mountain sections, till her head is
bolstered by the Smoky mountains
1000 feet up and 800 miles away, she
holds the golden mean of this temper
ate zone, and is gifted with bountiful
variety of climate and productions by
great change in elevations And still,
shielded west northwest by her private
mountains, and the gulf stream wash
ing her coast. she keeps mild temper
ed even at midwinter, vegetation In
parts always growing, and stock al
ways grazing even in the mountains at
New Years. Her soil is productive
of all good things to eat, drink. wear,
and keep warrn by, besides something
to chew; and two thirds of her $4,000
square miles is still shadowed by for
ests of heavy timber. Her pockets are
full of useful minerals, notably iron,
gold and copper. She enjoys rain
fall of forty five inches, has mean
summer warmth that is not mean of
rs degrees, and winter GOODNESS of
43 In the midst of tar, pitch and
turpentine, she resels in good health.
She grows chiefly cotton, corn, tobac-
co, wheat, oats, rice and rye. Her fac
tories handle cotton, wool, tobacco,
iron, paper, furniture and cotton seed
OIL In her fish and oyster beds sleep
millions of tons of food-enough for
people of brains, and those who need
them She rides upon LOO miles of
her many streams by steam craft, and
has railroads enough to toddle around
comfortably OF. So you see she could
manage to live alone-a nice old
maid-if the rest of the country gave
her the mitten.
Now, let me open my notebook a
little more in detail Stand on deck
in the mouth Of Tar river, and look
ing seaward to the "Bauks' you cover
twenty mile breadth of shadows. 1t
is Pamlico sound at its widest. 1t is
sixty miles in length, and the county
| clerk will show you a chart of its sur
vey into lots, and the entry of title to
many blocks of odd shape and size.
They are natural oyster beds, artificial
beds, and many still implanted. There
and in adjoining small sounds, are
oyster farms of one million acres; and
| at Savannah l lunched on Pamlico
oysters as robust as if selected in Bal
timore, while shad, herring, bluefish,
Spanish mackerel, mullet, sturgeon.
etc., yield to commerce an annual
catch of 50,000,000.
Try to go ashore and at many
points you will wonder for many miles
whether you are on land or under wa
ter, so thoroughly on level with the
sea does the State begin; yet portions
of these lowest bottoms are drainable,
and others are becoming so by wider
inland cultivation. A few miles fur
ther back you are on the seacoast ter
race of the State, timber shelf rising
but foot to the mile, railways run
ming forty miles without curve, cut or
fill. II is mostly productive sand
loam,th habitat of the long-leaf pine,
cypress, white cedar, live oaks, grapes
and other fruits, as lavish as the
Promised Land. This is one of the
grand patches where grow the early
water melons of commerce, and pres
ent means of transportation seem tired
with over carriages of the forest pro-
| ducts.
| After about 120 miles in this old
valley of the deep, you meet a rapid
ascentto the second plateau, change
of climate, soil, surface, vegetation
and now amid hills and valleys of va
rious grades, and embracing half the
State, you feel more at home. 1t is
something like my native Michigan
with it villages much like hers. and
their people as pleasant and industri
GUS as I"Michiganders." The cult
vated lands are. devoted. tocorn, wheat
oats, buckwheat, sorghum and tobac
co, all familiar north, as also the red
top meadows and the clovered hills
here and there The atmosphere i,
clear, little cooler than below, and
its partakers more active.
This is the the solfd section. of tbs
State, the territory of principal agri.
cultural and manufacturing Industries
Many Friends made homes here, at al
early day, aud their habits Esof thrift
have given character to the communi
/ ty. was amid their blossoming or
chards of peach, pear. apple, appricot
aud cherry Of great size in the region
of Greensboro, where vineyards are
numerous. and gardens and neglected
fields are laden with all the small
fruits. Many tons Of wild berries
gathered and died, net d comfortabl,
fall pin money to thousands ofwomen
and children.
This is the Piedmont section, where
the gold belt often TO thirty mfbrir
width crosses the State. And i2 ~.
j United States ASSAY office at Cfafiott,