The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1893-09-09


culiuraily considered, tAe Southeast
the richest section OF the State. II
upper portion of the so-calied 5
Francs basin lies In Southeast Mi
souri,, and this st. Francis BASIN Is Il
greatest inland alluvial region fonn
1 on the globe. You all have heard {
the Missouri River bottoms? A Mi.
souri, River bottom farm is SYNONYM
for wealth. Estimating the averag
width of the Missouri River alinvia
bottom at three miles, WI claim tha
we have more arable and ruiiIvahi
} ailuvial AMI boltoIa land in Soufheas
n ssouri than Is found in the Misson-
Valley from The mouth Of the Mi,
souri, TO Kansas City. That is to say
taking the distance from tie mouthui
the Missouri to Ksnsas City to be $50
miles you have 1,050 square miles Of
bottom:land along the Missouri River
Or $4,000 acres. We have in South.
east Missouri very nearly 4:O0Osquare
miles of allavial bottom land. approx.
mately 2,500,805 acres Of tho richesi
land on earth. In other words We
have more alluvial soil in nj section
than Is found on the Mississippi from
Cape Girarjea1 to st. Paul. More
aAuvial land than is found on the
Ohio from Cairo to Pitfsburg.
- THE 81. FRANCOIS BASIN.
! Entire counties. in our section are
carved out OF this great alluvial 81.
Francis basin. Everybody that viii
work can SECURE a. big alIuvisl farm
In Southeast Missouri, IS good ss any
10 The M:ss.uii River bottom and ore
too thai will uui .sh away, bar re-
niaiu O enrich him and his family for
ever. TO give you IN idea Of this
great alfuvial district: Imagine your
self travelling with me to Bloom6eld-.|
the county seat OF Stodiard county
Sling the so-callra military road lead
ing from Cape Girardean into Arkan-
sas. Within ten miles OF Bloomfield
you approach q bils an outlying spur
of Crswles's Ridge. looming up: 400
or 500 feet over the surrounding low
lands. Tho wagon road leads up
gradually and finally you reach the
summit. II is a gravel hill, and is
called Gravel hill. 1t fs:con,cal aud
lsorns UP likes sentinel, projecting it,
self inc the low lands at its base.
Looking west below lies Castor VAL
ley aud beyond seven miles AWAY you
see the Stoddard county court house
snd churchsteepies,peeping over the
trees. Bat turn. to. the east and
south. Before you lies q vast sea
of forest, far as the eye can reach
and disappearing in: the horizon.
You gclze over counties OF Penn
New Madrid. Dunklin, Mis-
.sissippi, scot. the eastern portion OF
Stoddarl, aud the south part of Boil
finger and Cape Girardeau. To the
eye the country appears IKE a waving
and unbroken forest. Man seems to
have made no mark IN the territory
the whole appears. a'primevai wilder
ness. 1t isa bright October day, no
cloud Oh the sky, the leaves just turn
ing with frost Of Autumn, the wind
blowing gently from the south. No
cloud did [ say! But see on the far
southeast horizon a little faint, cloud
arises, moving up higher and higher,
another and another following it. IT,
mutt be smoke from some steam boat
on the Mississippi River at Caruthers-
vile or Cotton Wood Point. in Penn
iscot county, passing up or down the
River 80 miles away. But scan the
CRITICALLY. Here is another
cloud farther 10 the north, another
boat perhaps near Point Pleasant or
New Madaid 20 miles away. You be-.
come interested and look toward the
east towsrds; Cairo and sure enough
tyer and anon. you SEQ black clouds
Of smoke rise in the air floating away
and disappear, and Cairo is 10 miles
away. And toward commerce, 80
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