People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-10-10
Letter From Alabama.

some of your many readers.
This place is located on the louis
vile and Nashville railroads, and is
25 miles southwest Of Mobile and III
miles northeast Of New Orleans: it is |
in Mobile county, about miles from
the west line Of this state and . miles
from the Gulf of Mexico.
A Kansas man would call our soil
very poor, but at the same time he
would admit that it was the only poor
thing we have-eyen the pine is fat.
l have seen considerable of the south,
but for a timber country, this is the
SmOOtheSt section have Seen-still it
is not wet, the soil being sandy
loan, underlaid with clay-mOre or
less mixed WITH sand or fine gravel.
which allows the water to percOlate
freely. at the same time it is not
"thirsty" land like the sandy soils Of
Florida. We can raise anything you
grow in Kansas, except wheat and
some of the tame grasses, and OF
course we can raise some things that
you could not prOftably do. The
most of the farmers in this locality
raise truck for northern markets.
Beans, Irish potatoes, melons and
Cucumbers being the early crops, and
sweet potatoes are grown in the late
summer; these finding a market in
New Orleans and Mobile. Sugar cane
is raised for the making of syrup
some people even making their own
sugar, and this without the aid of ex-
pensive appliances.
All our lands have to be fortified
to raise good crops. commercial fer
tilizers being extensively used; this is
rather costly, but a liberal use Of
'sack manure" inSures good crops,
and big crop of crab graSSOr Mexican
clover hay later in the season, and
hay never brings less than $40 per ton
at the barn. This county Mobile is
the finest watered body Of land | ever
saw, and the water is the pureSt: all
our streams are fed from springs, and
are always clear for this latitude)
and cool. When it comes to the
question Of health, we can afford to
boast a little, for the United States
census reports say that in this sec
ton there is no "lOCal' cause for
disease, and an experience of seven
years here confirms the conclusions of
census officials. On the principle
that facts are more convincing than
theory, may say that in seven years
here have paid 81 for physicians
services, while in less than one yeal
in north Louisiana l paid out over $50
You would naturally expect that
this climate would be much warmer
than southern Kansas, but such is not
the fact, the morning from to about
10 o'clock is the warmest part of the
day, the Gulf breeze commencing tt
blow between 9 and 10 o'clock modife,
the heat considerable, and unlike
Kansas, it is always cool in the shade
on the Gulf coast. | have no heSita
ton in saying that white man car
stand the heat here as we'll as he car
in the sunfOwer state, and it is M
trouble to stand the cold in winter, il
fact, it seems almost a pity that w
don't have more cold weather, so tia
we could have more enjoyment il
burning our nice fat pine wood.
Land is cheaper here than in any
other section of the pine belt; thu
Louisville & Nashville railroad com
pany don't spend any money in ad
Vertising the country, but the Mobile
& Ohio on the contrary invests a great
deal in extolling the virtues of theil
lands, much OF which is located il
this country. Raw lands can b.
bought within six miles Of this place
at from sl.25 to $500 per acre. I'm
proved places can be bought at from
$3.50 to $500. Lumber is worth al
the mills from $500 to $500 per thous
and for rough lumber; dressed ceiling
and flooring from $500 to $500 pei
thousand. Socially and politically
think the whole south much more
cOngenial to northern people than il
was a few years ago, and more
peacable community than this is hare
to find. Our school here is at leasf
equal to schools in Kansas villages O
equal size; the term is nine month.
every year, and unless a person here il
a patron of the saloon, he don't pa!
much to the cause Of education, a
the schools in this county are almos
wholly supported by the saloon licens,
in Mobile.
l might write considerable abou
the natural beauties Of this country
of its fruits and flowers, of its fin
and abundant fish and oysters, but
have worked in newspaper offices my
self, and l have seen full waste pape
baskets great many times.
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