Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1900-01-05
IN LAND OF dixie.
Sta1lt9l Man Playing the Role
OF ArkanSaV Traveller.
INTERESTING PEN PICUTRB
Writes About Cotton Raising in
Arkansas and Many Other Lines
of Industry--Many Augusta Peo-
pie There and Doing Well.
Especial to The SPECTATOR

|
| Especial to The Spectator.)
| Bentonville, Ark, January 1.-Since
Preaching Arkansas eight weeks ago, 1
have travelled by rail thousands and by
private conveyance hundreds of miles
north, south, east and west in this far
off Southern State, passing through
the cotton belt and up and down in it
along the alluvial bottoms of the
Arkansas and Red rivers, through the
coal belt along the great Chocktaw
railroad, through the newly developed
lumber regions along the recently con-
structed Pittsburg and Gulf railroad,
called for short the P. G. road and
now 1 am in the orchard county OF
Benton, where for miles and miles you
drive through what seems vast apple
orchard, thousands of acres planted in
apple trees.
Arkansas is great State, but you
must not pronounce it down here as it
is spelt. You must say "Arkansaw," "
or you will be picked up. The people
are so jealous of that pronunciation OF
it that the Legislature in 1881 settled it
| by legislative enactment and you are
a law breaker if you do not say "Arkan-
saw" 1t is comparatively a new State,
having been admitted into the Union
in 1886 and it is unusual to find mid
die aged man who was born in the
State and very rare to find grown
man whose father was born here.
COUNTRY HOUSES.
One mark of the newness Of the
country is the scarcity of brick houses.
1 have driven 40 miles without seeing
brick farm house and only in the
villages brick houses of any kind.
Another popularity about the coun-
try and village houses is, they are
nearly all of one story and the majority
of those in the country have only four
rooms, great many only two, one
front room and shed room in the rear.
1t is strange to see what shabby little
house will be squatted down on a good
cotton farm and it is mystery how
the row of children, who sit on the
fence to watch you pass by, can be
slowed away in the little band box of
house, while you find yourself wonder
ing how they manage when company
drop in to spend the night.
THEY WEAR RED.
Red is the prevailing color for the
dresses of the women and children.
You see the red dress in the house
through the open door nursing the
baby, you see it along the public road
adorning the aged as well as the more
youthful, you meet it driving along side
by side the beau, also in the field pick
| ing cotton and strung out on the
clothes line. Red, red so much, red
excited the curiosity of your CORES
pondent and in answer to his inquiries,
| it was explained that not so long ago
this was the country of the Chocktaw
Indians, whose taste ran in ''the red
and gaudy." AS the country filled up
with white people many fell into the
red habit and the color still fingers,
mostly in the country and to consid-
erable extent in the towns and cities.
THE ARKANSAS CITIES.
But the cities get ahead of us in the
old States in the wide streets and solid
even brick blocks. They did not grow
up by building gradually on some mar
row cross roads until the town was
too large to change as in Staunton,
Peters burg, Alexandria, Richmond and
other Virginia cities. Taking advan-
Itage of our experience the early settlers
there from the old States laid off the
Towns in regular blocks with streets
lS0, 80 and 100 feet wide and then built
to them. Texarkana, named from the
Estates of Texas, Arkansas and Louis
lana. cornering there, has the widest
streets 1 ever saw. From the curb
stone of the wide sidewalk to the near
rail of the street car track is as wide
as Main stl eet in Staunton, sidewalks
/ and all, and whole blocks of handsome
3-story brick buildings making solid
wall of even height from street to
street. 1t looks well, but the city,
though of some $4,000 inhabitants,
presents an unfinished appearance,
most of the cross streets without side
walks and the street cars drawn by
mules. The postoffce, fine govern
ment building, is half in Arkansas and
half in Texas. and good walk takes
lyou to Louisiana.
ATYPICAL ARKANSAS TOWN
is Fort Smith, which is on the Arkan.
sas River, and partly in the Indian
Territory, with population of about
: 10000. wide well graded streets, roomy
and smooth sidewalks, spacious well
stocked stores, handsome public build
ings and private residences, fine hotels,
a good system of electric street cars
and pushing, enterprising people
proud Of their town, it bids fair to be
large and wealthy. But they handle
Sunday very recklessly. The billiard
rooms wideSpen in the best hotels,
the knocking of balls and explosion OF
oaths from early morning far into the
| night, the open stores of many, the
busy office men at their desks and the
. noisy firing of pop crackers all day
Sunday before Christmas, are in
painful contrast with our orderly
Sabbaths in Virginia.
In st. Louis on Sunday nights the
theatres we're in full blI Ize with crowds
. of well dressed, but hafii faced people,
pouring In the doors. What would the
good people of Staunt9il say II oof
pretty opera house were to be opansa
1 % Snn7av We sren saints pns
! whala h0Ys aaere Na..g .as .za..sIs..