Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-03-21
Letter From COokevilIc Tennessee.

Mr.. Chas. D. Lemley received letter
from Mrs. c. H. Brown who is visiting
Dr. Whitney and family in Cookeville,
| Tennessee. The letter was not written
for publication, but a portion of it will
be Of interest to the readers of the
REPORTER, therefore we publish it with
out the consent of the author, as
| follows:
C0oKEvILLE, Tenn, Mar. Is, '95.
Dear Mr.. Lemley and Lilly
| thought when we separated
at the depot in Centralia that | should
have written you before this, but with
all my good intentions the days 90 by,
little has been accomplished except
visiting, of which we never seem to tire.
When we woke this morning we found
it raining as if it never meant to stop
but this afternoon the sun is shining
and the air is spring-like and bal,ny
The grass is growing and as we look
away to the woods we can see a faint
tinge of green-a promise of the beauty
to come. The last sixty miles Of our
trip here was right up among the
mountains s-one peak alter the other,
seeming to be thrown in promiscuously
as if they had just so much land and
didn't know what else to do with it.
What seemed funny to us was to see
fences and stone walls reaching up to
the very top. We wondered what it all
meant, and why they deemed it
necessary to fence up such seemingly
inaccessible places and were told that
was some of the choice land of Tennes-
see. We concluded that they must put
pulleys on the mules when they plough
up, and an air-brake when they come
down.
Cookeville is on the first plateau and
is called the Flat-woodland, but is by
no means level. In fact it is quite hilly
and broken. The timber is very
black walnut and poplar which grows
four to five feet in diameter and makes
very nice lumber. Of the oak there
are Is varieties. The dog wood is also
native here and seems worthy of
prettier name, as it is said to be very
lovely when in bloom. First-cass
building lumber is worth from $500 to
$500. Black walnut is worth $1,000 per
M in the log and is mostly shipped from
here as there are no furniture factories
near. There is a saw-mlll, planning mill
and a new process FIGURING mill here.
There are good many northern people
here and their energy aud thrift have
done much for the progress of the town
during the past Syears.
This morning one of the produce
dealers sent car load Of chickens to the
Chicago Market. They are gathered up
from the surrounding country and
brought in every Monday and Tuesday,
during March and April. We went to
see them last night and were shown
wire at the sides for the sake of venti-
lation and filled with latticed coops,
made to fit from top to bottom, each
coop containing thirty chickens. There
is a feed trough for each two coops
which draws out to be filled. Under
meath the center portion Of the car is a
receptacle which holds 1000 lbs. of corn
and on the top of the car a tank that
will contain 1000 gallons of water. This
is conveyed by means Of a faucet,
through rubber hose to their drinking
troughs. He shipped 1900 to-day and
during their busiest weeks ships two
car loads. Last year $4,000 chickens
were shipped from this point. The
price is ) cents per pound live weight
this year-that is the price which the
shippers pay the farmers.
If you were he1e you would have no
excuse for not attending church, for at
the niger church which we attended
last Sunday the preacher, singers and
congregation performed their parts in
tone which was audible at consider
able distance.
The Dr's people have a very pretty
and pleasant home in the midst of
lovely grove. They have 5 acres of
land.
We would be under obligations to
Mrs. Brown if she would write us
letter containing her impressions of the
South for publication. We know that
her many friends here at home would
appreciate letter Of that kind from
her ready pen.