Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1894-02-16
ON TO TEXAS.
Diaa.t KNOW You Had SUCH = zine Country

For the last ten years Pine Bluff
has seen thousands upon thousands
of emigrants pass through our bor-
ders. on the Cotton Belt road making
their way West and especially into
Texas, At times as many as eight
passenger coaches at a time filled
with .shome seekers have gone by,
and this is not AN occasional occur
renee. 1t has occurred So often that
we Pine Bluffians have ceased to pay
any attention to it whatever. Only
| GRAPHIC was at the Cotton Belt de-
/ pot when the afternoon south-bound
| passenger came in. We noticed an
unusually large crowd aboard, and
we politely asked the conductor
| where all those people were going.
Going to Texas said he
"Why are they going to Texas?"
why, they are going out there to
purchase homes, enter land and get
rich. Why. sir, got into conversa-
ton with several of those big fellows
you see in there and you will be sur
prised When / tell You that right now
in those three ears | would be willing
to bet that every man has not less
than $500 in clean cash down in his
breeches pocket, and some of them
have $1,000. People don't go to Tex
as these days without money My,
my said the conductor, If my
train We're To be held-up tonight
somewhere down the road, don't
YOU know we would have lively
| time. y
After conductor Silverman fthat
was the man who was doing the
talking-he had just come in on an
extra run from Jonesboro) had con
cluded his remarks, the reporter de-
cided to interview several of these
gentlemen ii possible. Quite acrowd
OF them had gotten off the cars and
were taking in "Old Catfish Row
What an impression they must have
had OF Pine Bluff! No depot, a block
of burnt brick walls to look at on
one side, and an old, tottering, di-
/ lapidated iren=clad warehouse on
the other.
How do You do, gentlemen said
the reporter.
',All right, sir; how are your
stIsf,, wall ITI.oxa -,
You gentlemen going? You seem to
be members of this crowd of people
whom I Judge to he migrants
Yes, sir, that's what we are, and
we are going to Texas"
Where are You frnm2"
"Well, part from South Carolina,
but most of us from North Carolina.
We did pick up a few East Tennes-
seeans and a few North Georgians.
And you are all going to Texas"
Not all OF us. A few are going to
Louisiana"
Are none of your party contem-
plating stopping in Arkansas"
Il don't believe there is; you see
most OF my crowd came from North
Carolina, and we had heard so much
about Texas that we made up a
crowd, sold out what we could
/ there and brought the rest with us,
and decided to try our luck in
Texas.
"What part OF Texas are you going
tor
This car load you sec here is GO
ing to Waco and from there to q
place called Meridian. near which
place we will locate
How did You happen to select
that part of the State?,'
well, | hardly know how to tell
you, except TINT those people out
there have been sending books,
pamphlets and letters to us in our
settlement for two or three years
We got to reading them and finally
decided to try the country just from
what we read and heard >
"Did YOU ever get any pamphlets,
circulars or letters from Arkansas?"
"Well, we might have received IA
few, but don't remember.
We'll, You have seen part Of Ark
kansas from Jonesborro this far.
what do YOU think OF the conntry?9
ITO tell YOU the truth, sir. | was
surprised just awhile ago we
passed through the finest land | ever
saw in my life. 1t was along down
the river, | believe you have Il good
country.
Just then the conductor ended our
conversation The reporter said
good by to the gentlemen.
Who We're they? What kind Of peo-