The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1904-03-02
HAVE GONE COTTON CRAZY
PEOPLE OF LOUISIANA FEAR THIS
WILL BE THEIR LAST CROP.
Best Farmers in That State Are GeOr-
CLANS. Terrell County Lands Produce
More Than Those Out There.

BELLEvIEW, La, Feb. 2s.-To The
Dawson News: | guess King Cotton
will take the field and crowd out all
other crops this year. The farmers
have gone crazy on cotton, aud don't
seem to think they will need anything
| but cotton. A great many believe this
will be the last year for cotton here
in many years on account of the boil
weeyil.
Labor is more plentiful than hereto
| fore. Several carloads of emigrants
have arrived from North Georgia this
winter, and most of them have set in
as troopers or "halfers" Some of
them are working for wages. They
all seem to be well pleased. with the
country, and we think they will make
good citizens.
+ There will soon be another railroad
to Minden. 1t will run from Pensa-
cola, Fla, to Shreveport, La. Min0en
| is the parish site of Webster, ana is
lively town of 1900 Inhabitants. Min
den as yet has but one road, running
north and south. The new road will
run east and west.
The price of land here is going up
| rapidly. In the last twelve months it
| has increased from SIS to $40 per acre.
| There is some unimproved land that
can be boughC for 81, and is very good
| land, but not close to market. This
part of Louisiana is building up rapid.
| ly. Twenty years ago there was no
railroad nearer than 30 or 40 miles,
and al the travel was done by stage.
| There were no saw mills or steam gins
and grist mills Our corn was ground
on horse mills and our cotton was
ginned by horse power. We never
| heard steam whistle except on still
m9rning or evening. We could hear
steam boat whistle away off on the
river. There were but few schools
and churches, and no market for any,
| thing scarcely. People went TO church
| in wagons, sometimes drawn by oxen.
| Some walked a distance of three and
| four miles, and every body wore plain
| clothes and were on an equal. But OF
late years there have been great
| changes. There are plenty OF good
! schools and churches; we can hear
| trains at all times of the day; the
country is full of steam gins, saw mills
aud grist m lis; the old stage coach is
no more: people are putting on more
style, and are gOlag to preaching in
| carriages and buggies aud driving fine
stock; they are building better dwell
! ings and better barns, buying modern
| farm implements and commercial fer
! tilizers-makipg more cotton and big
| ger debts. | fear Is cent cotton will
do away with hog and hominy almost
entirely. | don't hear OF much now a
| DAYS but cotton and boil weevil.
The farmers in Terrell county are
always two or three weeks ahead OF US
here. When we are giving our cotton
! the first blowing they are giving their
crops the second blowing.
[ see that some of the farmers of
Terrell county are making rs bales Ct
cotton to the pillow. | don't wonder at
| Terrell county la ID selling for $50 an
acre. Twenty-siX bales to the pillow is
away abeed of anything we can do in
northwest Louisiana. Even Red river
or any of our bottom lard doesn equal
it. The land here is rich enough, but
it is stiff and hard to work, and 70
acres is q good crop for one pillow.
Those who use cultivators work more
land, but they don't make rs bales to
the pillow. Fifteen bales here Is the
best have ever known, and then it is
made by some old Georgian. They are
the best farmers we have. They have
the best buildings, the best fences,
the best tools and generally the best
stock. J. N. HOR rMAN.