The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-10-18
TRAVEL NOTES.
To Omaha and Return
BY YE ASSOCIATE EDITOR.

. OG EE q SSOCLAIE EDIIOhs
The first thing needful before start
ing so I was told, was health certifi
cate, and this was especially necessary
IL Memphis, Tenn, was in my line Of
travel. Accordingly I called st the offs
Of Rsleigh's health officer. As he was
at dinner, I found No one there except
q grinning skeleton, I shook hands
with that not very handsome or talke-
tive gentleman and proceeded to make
myself comfortable. Finally ! secured
the certificate and armed with that
document stating that had been ex
posed to no conts gious or infectious
disease and should pass all quarantine
stations unmolested," / left the city
about p. m. Arrived at Asheville 2
q. m. Wednesday, Sept. lat and about
daybreak reached Rockville, Tenn.
The country between MorristOwn,
Tenn, anG Chattanooga, Tenn, was
tho DreStiest farming COUNTS y Eaw,
unless I except Southeastern Mis-
souri,. Perhaps we have as good farm
ing country IN North Carolina, but the
farmers of East Tennessee are not lone
crop" farmers. They also use modern
improved farm machinery, and know
the value of meadows and improved
live stock of all kinds. Hence they
seem to be more prosperous than our
Tar Heel farmers. Their land is we'll
watered and well drained; gullies are
very rare; clover and peavlnes are
found on nearly every farm; the many
cattle are sleek and evidently not
s'scrub stock" and nearly every farm
has a number Of haystscks. The chief
products of the farm are: corn, wheat,
oats, peas, cane and live stock. Little
cotton is raised. In Mississippi, Ala
bama and West Tennessee, l found i'm
mense fields of cotton. At Memphis,
which I reached about p. m, mans
free agency is now interferred with.
One Heber Jones, M. D., President OF
the Board of Health, seems to be lord
and master of the town. He has but
to say to one ''go" and he goeth; unto
another ''do this" and he doeth it.
There had been even at that time
several cases of yellow fever in Missls
sippi and louisiana, and as seVera
thousand people died in q yellow fever
endemic in Memphis several years
ago. she is making every effort to
s'stave it off" this year. For several
weeks at the time of the epidemic re-
ferred TO the daily death rate was
about $50. Now Memphis has quaran-
tined against the world and no one can
enter the town without permission OF
DIR. Heber Jones. Accordingly and
several other passengers were hustled
off the train about five miles this SIDE
of Memphis, and put on q special car
under police guard. This to me was
new experience, and the idea or being
locked I'D under guard Of big Ourly
policeman with club and pistol was
not especially pleasing. confess
felt rather like a criminal. The GER
ssopped near the banks Of the Mlssls
sippi. and there waited very lmpa-
tientIy about an hour. The passenger
train for ST. LOUIS had left and so our
car was finally ''hitched on" to a local
freight train, the policeman jumped OF,
and we pulled out" Crossing the
Father of Waters over a mammoth
bridge, we entered Arkansas.
This was the fifth State / had been
in that day, the other four being North
Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and
Mississippi.
It din't take me long to decide that