Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1898-03-03

FROM MISSISSIPPI. - Nicksburg,
Miss, Feb. 18th, lS9S.-To THE OUT
LOOK: have just returned to this
city, after an extended trip up the
Iazoo, Tallahatchie and Big sun
flower rivers. find this city in en-
terprise far behind cities of a similar
size i'm the North.
There are a few wealthy planters
living here who can afford to live in
princely style, but I find many others
trying to live in similar style and
''trot" in the same class whose in
comes will not justify the expense; ;
consequently they are truly shabby
genteel" and are constantly trying to
impress you with the idea that theirs
was family of great wealth till the
War broke them up. They are sue
cessful; that is, they are successful
i'm making you wish them and the
Internal War We're both as far from
you as from Tadmor in the Wilder
ness to Yuba Dam.
find the lands lying along the
labOve rivers of the richest, and there
fare thousands and thousands of acres
Of the finest timber lands as yet un-
marked by the woodman's AK.
was much surprised at the size of
many of the plantations in this Sec
tion. i found one man up the Talla-
hatchie whose plantation fronted "a
miles on the river. He had 800 FAM
lilies living on his land. .
also learned that he raised moth
ing but cotton, yet his land would
produce almost anything. This SEEM
led strange i'm a land SO fair and
'bountifully blest, with a soil rich
enough to yield KlOndike of golden
grain. 1t seemed that they would at
least raise enough for home consump-
ton, yet they had their corn, hay,
meat and most Of their vegetables
shipped to them from the North. I
made some inquiries and soon learn
ed the cause. The negro cultivates
the land. He could take his share of
grain and use it. But not so with
cotton; he can not make use Of it, SO
it must go into the hands of the
planter. The negro has a piece of
land allotted to him and he Is "fur-
nished." Every two weeks he goes
to the store at the "big house" and
gets SO much meat, SO much meal, SO
much -four, 80 much mOlasses, &C.,
according to the size of his family.
He also gets such clothes from time
to time as his family must have, and
it is charged to his account. And
you can rest assured it is charged at
price fully equal to the Dutchman's
lone per cent" At o'clock of q
morning an enormous bell at the
"big house" rings; then all must rise
and get their breakfast, report at the
barn by 8 8o'clock, get their mule and
away to the field. The princely plant
er almost invariably lives away in
some city, bat his manager stays on
the plantation, and from morning till
night he rides over the fields and
sees that all work, and II is only too
true that he often uses the whip on
those who are not working to suit
him. Doubtless, many will feel in
clined not to believe this, but every
manager will verify the statement
and claim it is necessary. At the end
of the season the cotton is picked. A
few of the more favored darkies get
a little cash (for 1t is absolutely nec-
essary to stand in with a few trusty
ones), some come out even, others
fall behind. At least so says the
planter, but he opens his heart and
magnanimously wipes out the ac-
count and tells the boys to pitch in
and do better next time. He can well
afford to do this. Then he knows very
well that darky rather than begin a
crop in debt will skip over on some
other plantation.
The farmer of the North would do
well to seek home in this beauteous
Southland. Land can be bought from
$l.25 to IS per acre. The timber will
pay for clearing and fencing. and
something over. A home can soon
be built where timber is so plentiful.
1t can soon be made beautiful, for on
the lawn will grow liveoak trees, with
their long festoons of Spanish moss
fruit trees flourish, roses bloom nine
months in the year; the tall magnol-
las, great camelia trees, cape jassa-