The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1898-04-23

flower river, necessitating tn,
building of standard bridge a
Lehrton, TO Matson on the Talla
hatchIe branch of the Y. & NJ. V
road. The other charter is for
road running South from Lehrtol
to Indianola, the county seat
When all the lines of railroad nov
under contract are completed ther
will not be a single acre of land il
the county more than eight mile
distant from a railroad, and onl,
three townships which are no
traversed by one. Sunfowe
county, instead of being occupied
like most of the other Delta countie
by immense plantations, was set
tied originally by white farmer
who owned and operated small
tracts, doing much or most of thei
work themselves.
1t is no doubt this fact, IN
great measure, to which the free
dom from debt, general prosperity
and extraordinary development 0:
the county IS to be attributed
While it contains a few great
planters, men who control great
estates and annually raise severa
thousand bales of cotton, the greai
majority of its people are farmer
who own tracts ranging from nifty
two or three hundred acres, and WI
are almost without exception pre-
porous and contented. The St
Auditors report of 1890 sho.
that II per cent. of the county was
then in cultivation. The fact that
80 per cent is now cultivated is q
convincing proof of its rapid adj
vance and improvement.
The county is heavily timbered
with valuable wood. The cypress
has been almost exhausted, and
the ash and white oak, formerly
abundant, has been culled until
the best has been used; but of the
two latter varieties enough re-
mains in many portions of the
county to pay the cost of the land
back to the purchaser. The most
and valuable timber in
the county at present is red oak
and gum, of which a great quanti-
BY is found, the largest trees meas
lring so feet or more to the first
Hickory is also found
n great profusion, and this wood,
ike gum, is constantly increasing
n value and coming more and
more into use for a great variety
If purposes. The beauty of the
riroin forests of Sunfower county
S not exceeded by that OF any
,ther region. In many places
practically untouched by the axe,
hey stand as when they sheltered
he Choct: " Ind aus before the
DOT of white man tIod the earth
them. Game Of all de-
is more plentiful in this
county than in any other portion
If the Delta. Bear, deer, turkeys,
md smaller animals and birds
abound; while the fishing afforded
oy the numerous streams, lakes
md bayous is unexcelled.
The remarkable increase in cul-
ivated area, population, railroad
mileage and growth of towns is
lue to the heavy immigration to
county in the last few
years from the hill counties OF
Mississippi and from the agricul"
Lural districts of the northwest.
Northern capitalists, recognizing
he possibilities of the county, and
oreseeing its speedy development,
lave purchased immense tracts OF
is wild lands at figures which en-
tbled them to sell to bona fde set
,lers in small tracts on most ad-
vantageous terms, and the result,
N a few years, will be that the
county will be thickly peopled
with farming population, large-
" composed of northwestern
people, who own and, work their
own property and enjoy the pros'
perity that thrift, trugality and
intelligence always gains.