The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1904-07-16
TEXAS LETTER.
S. P. oliver Writes on Various Inter-
estine TOPICS.

SSSeehS sSEsSN'e
Editor Leader. II arrived here
at Springtown, Texas, thirty miles
north of Fort Worth, in thirty
hours after leaving Brookhaven.
Having promised you short note
of my observations on the trip,
will state that it was raining hard
when ! left Brookhaven, and con-
tinued on to jackson, and had
rained excessively from Vicks-
burg on through Louisiana. As
a consequence of much rain, the
cotton crops were generally in a
grassy condition. was very
much surprised at the lack of sys-
tenn in the management Of the
rich Louisiana bottoms. The
plantations seem well equipped
with good, comfortable tenant
houses, plenty of fine looking
mules and good farm implements.
The negro was very much in evil
dence, but / think / am safe in
saying that ninety per cent. of
those | saw were idle. Occasion
ally / would see one division of a
farm that was we'll cultivated, and
with magnificent crop, while an
adjoining division would be
swamped with grass and weeds.
SO much for the negro, the mule,
and the rich bottom lands.
Fortunately | passed through
the poor land in Louisiana and
Texas in the night, or at least !
was told that they we're the poor
est sections in the two States. /
struck the rich black prairie land
of Texas about sunrise, and the
first thing that attracted my. at
tention was to see the farmers,
generally white, in their fields at
work. / don't suppose they stay
ed there all night, but they were
certainly there before soon. "
Texas, farmers, in my opinion
hare an enemy to contend with
egaal to the Boil weevil, and that
is the dreaded Johnson grass. ]
saw many fine farms that to me
seem, hepelessly over-run with
this pest.
| am now eighteen miles from
the railroad in a mi-prairie re-
gion where the farmers are all
white, and workers. They use
improved implements and are
now through with the cultivation
of their crops, which are fine.
Corn and cotton are the principal
crops, though considerable wheat
is grown. Good horses and mules
are very much in evidence. / sec
as fine mules being raised here,
in large numbers, as we get from
Kentucky and Tennessee, The
broncho is thing of the past in
this section.
Improved land that will yield
from one half to one bale of cot
ton or 35 to so bushels of corn
per acre, sells at fifteen to twenty
dollars per acre, and but little to
sell, even at that.
Yesterday was primary election
day for all officers from Congress
man down, and to say that it was
a fair one, is to tell the plain
truth. No electioneering or loi-
tering within 100 feet of the polls
is allowed. / do not believe, from
observation or hearsay, that there
has been an improper use of mon
ey or whiskey in this election in
Parker county; and in a crowd
of, | would say over one hundred
men in Springtown Yesterday, I
never even got a scent of whiskey,
or heard an indecent or profane
word spoken.
The view from certain points in
this section is magnificent, as
cended bill near hele this morn
ing and could see the town of De-
catur, % miles distant; while
hundreds of farms we're in plain
view, in the valleys below. / am
delighted with the weather and
climate here, at present, but will
perhaps modify this opinion
should / be here when the hot
winds begin to prevail.
More anon,