The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-07

one. But after the first few months,
Austin Corbin said that the venture
would be a success, and just before he
died he arranged for the importation
of 5000 additional Italians. comprising
about 500 families. These arrived on
the tract within the past few weeks
and are now being distributed among
the small farms arranged for them.
Much of the last year of Austin Cor
bins life was devoted to perfecting
his unique scheme, and by it he hoped
to solve the problem of utilizing the
wide tracts of uncultivated lands in
the southwestern states. He had little
faith in negro labor, and it was not
until the idea was suggested to him
of importing Italians that the colony
took definite shape
When Mr. Corbin originally pur-
chased the land it was for the purpose
of preserving it as a great hunting
ground. He was thoroughbred
sportsman, and every year visited the
place for a month or so to fish and
hunt. Most of the tract is located in
what is really an island. formed by one
of the freakish bends of the Mississippi
river and by a body of water called
Lake Chicot.
This latter is unlike the average Mis-
sissippi bayou, for instead of being
sluggish and Stagnant, the water is al
ways fresh, being supplied by numer-
Gus hidden springs. Lake Chicot teens
with fish, and its advantages as a
means of gratifying a love of piscator-
ial sport was the original reason which
induced the eastern millionaire to pur-
chase the lake and the. surrounding
land.
SUGGESTED BY A PRINCE.
Some years ago the Prince Rusapoli,
who was mayor of Rome for more than
a score of years, visited Mr.. Corbin.
The prince welded an American girl
a Miss Curtis, and was naturally in
terested in everything American. Like
Mr.. Corbin. he was an ardent sports
man, and he eagerly accepted an invi-
tation to hunt and fish on the Arkansas
tract.
Previous to this Mr.. Corbin had en-
deavored to grow cotton on certain
portions of the land, using negro help,
but he found the venture an unprofit-
able one, owing to the generally thrift
less character of his laborers. In dis
cussing these matters with the prince
the latter suggested the plan of i'm
porting Italian families and dividing
up the tract into small farms.
This did not meet with favor at first,
as Mr.. Corbin feared the Italians would
be tough customers to control He
pointed out the fact that many plant
ers in southern Louisiana had dis
carded negro labor, replacing them
with Italians, and while the latter
W ere better workmen, their national
prediction for shooting and stabbing
ARRAYS interfered with the successful
conduct of a plantation quite as much
as the thriftlessness of the negroes.
The prince asserted that the troubles
of the Louisiana planters were largely
due to the character of the Italians
they employed. Most OF these, he said,
came from southern Italv, many of
them from Sicily and Naples, and
nearly all were members Of the Malta
and kindred deadly secret organiza-
tions. Many of them, too, were dis
charged convicts, and all things con-
sidered, it was but natural that the
employment of laborers belonging to
this doubtful class should be hazard
Gus.
He suggested that Italian men, with
wives and children, from the north of
Italy, principally in Lombardy, should
be tried, and he promised, if Mr.. Cor
bin fancied the experiment, to person
ally select the men on his return to
Italy. This was finally agreed to and
the arrangements were at once made
to prepare for the newcomers. These
were made on an extensive scale.
MANY SHIPPING FACILITIES.
A railway was constructed 40 miles
in length, from Sunny Side the near
est town, to Hamburg, Ark, where
is made with the Gould
system of railroads, affording. trans
portation facilities to all parts of the
Landing places for the river
steamers were erected for the ship /