The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1900-12-20
THE NEW SOUTH.
Observations OF Rev. NJ. e. McLaa While
on Recent Trip 10 North Carolina.

but possibly none more remarkable
than in the South; especially because
OF its former condition.
The new South is apparent even
to the casual observer as he travels
through that region, and the new
seems to grow like green shoot from
an old and partly decayed stump,
and with the enlargement of the new
the old dies away. The marks of the
old to some extent still remain in the
old plantation mansion-the Mt
Vernon style of building with its
plllared front-crowning the summit
of some hill and surrounded with its
Negro quarters; 1t is seen in the
struggling dirty streets of the towns
and villages. The signs of the hotels
with the "Corn and Rye" for sale at
the bar, and last, but not least, in the
ever present darkey and his mule
Many Of the ways and customs of that
past era are still visible. The easy
gong, careless, shiftless disposition of
the colored man and the good natured,
hospltable, but high strung character
of the whites. But, the evidences of
the New South are many, and they
crop out very plainly and stand upon
the surface of things. Now you de-
tect them in the new style of build
ing; the neat, trim farm house and
large barn, all nicely painted and en-
closed with pretty white washed
fence, and the signs of new and
more thorough cultivation in the
fields, the new and convenient school
houses, the improved roads, the later
implements of husbandry, the dress
and manner of some of the people,
the more modern appearance of some
of the streets aud hor1es in the towns.
and the general tone and tenor of the
inhabitants, because of the ever ex-
erted pressure of the present age,
the rush and push of business, and
the charges by means of the marvel
Gus inventions and progress of the
times. One might as well try to keep
out the sunlight as 10 be unnhuenced
by these things. And SO the South is
slowly, but surely, changing.
North Carolina impresses one as
being state of great possibilities,
when you are ready to forget the many
signs OF primitive conditions. One
OF the things you notice is the bright
red color OF much of the soil :. not
like the duller red of our northern
shales, but intensely red, doubtless
due to the abundance of Manganese
ore. But this soil, with careless treat
ment, scarcely any fertilizer, and shall
low ploughing, brings forth its proht-
able crops of cotton, tobacco and corn,
from year to year and century 10 CEN
tury. The rains of the ages have de-
scended upon 1t in great gullies, but
the contented husbandman ploughs
around them, though in some of them
he could bury his little house out of
sight. There is an absence of flocks
and herds grazing over the fields,
which is such a welcome and comfort
ing sight with us. There are no
fences TO break the sameness of the
view, or to give your eye relief Most
OF the woods are made up of the
scrub pine, which is so universal there,
though there are other trees, such as
the oak, ash, poplar, and some hick-
ory, but very few OF them are really
large size.
One thing that impresses a north
ern beholder is the dreariness of the
landscape. No houses and barns. no
signs of life in the fields, no living
beauty IN the surroundings-all dead
and dark and silent as if forsaken by
God and man. The low, dark shan
ties, the tumble-down stables, the
washed fields, the monotonous pines,
the snakelike roads winding through
the fields, that stranger dare not risk
to take, lest they should lead him to d
shanty in an open field, and there sud
denly stop. And yet one is surprised
to meet SO many teams upon the road
with cotton, wool and other products;
while occasionally a finer one will
meet and pass you, and you wonder
where all these evidences of life
spring from. You know they do not
come up out of the earth, Gut you
can see SO few respectable places,
from which they might issue forth
There is, however, no real poverty Oh
distress in al. the region; for II seems
the farmer need only to tickle the sol
with shallow pillow, and it laughs
with profitable harvest. And with
good prices for corn, cotton and Other
products, there is good living fol
any one who wants it. The evidences