The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-03-31
HABITS IN SOUTHLAND
Graphically Described by Our CORES
pondent, Mrs. Alice L. Davis.
Correspondent of the Palladium:
On the Cumberland
Down, Coffee Co., Tenn,

March %, 1904.
Spring has come again with her
buds and blossoms Maple trees have
been in bloom nearly all the month,
and so have peach trees, but | fear
there will be but little fruit, for there
were two or three hard frosts after
the trees we're in bloom. The hyacin-
| tbs, jonquils and some other spring
flowers are in bloom and have been
for two or three weeks. and the wild
| flowers in the woods are about ready
to blossom I had hyacinths and
jonquils in pots in the house all win
ter and they bloomed In February.
Ny south window is gay with flowers
-amarylis, with a cluster of scarlet
blossoms, pink geranium and two
kinds of begonia; a petonia has just
opened one Of its purple blossoms
and the beautiful pyros japonica is
in full bloom.
We have had some heavy thunder
storms lately, though the storms here
are not as severe as they were In the
north A man here. who used to live
in Indiana, native of Michigan, said
they did nothave nearly as hard storms
there as they did in Indiana. AS he
expressed it, "Old Indiana was cor
|ker when she got started" Several
northern people came here during the
fall and winter. One of them, jolly
fellow, was laughing about the hogs
running out on the range and get
ting as fat as they could be. "Oh,
well,' said he, ~ can eat wild hog
meat and save my corn" They are
not as nice as corn-fed hogs, but they
make cheap meat.
There were never so many nuts for
several years as last fall. Land is
cheap and some of the people think
it is just as good as they had in In
diana. One man said he could own
his own home here, thing he
couldn't d. In Indiana, for land was
so high In price there that he always
had to rent. Farming land here is
worth from so to $50 an acre. ac-
cording to improvements. would
say to northern people contemplating
moving here to look out for land
sharks. They are watching every
train to see If any yankees are COM
ing. They think northerners are load
ed with money and they are after it.
The railroad men even try to hold
their goods at the station, although
the freight is paid through. One
northerner, recently, was too much
for them. They held his goods and
demanded more money. The gentle
man got a shot gun, loaded it, and
placing his son on guard, told them
he would shoot the first man that in
terfered. This settled the affair, and
he was trouble no further. They
tried the same game on me, and paid
the money in order to get my goods
away from the railroad. Then I
wrote to Col KiIbrew about it and
told him if I wrote that up for the
northern papers it would not work
to the interest of the road He sent
his agent to see us and investigate it
and made them pay the money back
to us.
Wages are low, SO month and
board for a man on a farm, and if
the day is wet and they can't work
out it is taken out of their pay. Com
mon laborers get so cents a day and
board themselves. Stock is not as good
as that raised In the north. There are
some good horses, but most of them
are small. A large portion of the
hogs are of the long-nosed variety.
Schools are poor. We have no
foreigners, and are not bothered with
sneak thieves-flower thieves are un-
known. People leave home to be
gone all day and never fasten a door.
and in warm weather leave them open
only closing the screens to keep out
dogs, chickens, etc., and nothing is
ever disturbed
There is coal oil in great ouanti-
ties in this part Of the country. About
twelve miles from here they got everv-
thing ready to put up a derrick. but
could find no one that knew how TO
do the work.
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