The Oskaloosa herald., 1904-12-22
DOWN In ARKANSAS
News From the Mobley's Drifting
on the Mississippi.

mere. his ID a regular May Jay. All
the bother we have is fighting mos
quitoes and flies.
We stopped in st. Louis five days
on our way down and visited the Elk
position. AS nearly everybody in o.
kaloosa was there during the summer
I'll not attempt to describe the many
interesting places we visited.
One place worthy of mention, how
ever, was the government building. I
think I could have spent two whole
days in there to good advantage. AS
it was, 1 had only one nalf day. While
in this building we met a friend from
Des Moines, a Mr.. Highly, who came
from Keokuk to st. Louis in his gaso-
line launch. One other place that I
visited that ! enjoyed very much was
the Baby ncubators. Here they take
those little mites of humanity and
keep them free Of charge with trained
nurses to care for them, depending
on the door receipts to keep up ex-
penses. The part where the babies
and nurses stay, was enclosed in glass,
and everything was spotlessly clean.
We took a Lee line steamer at st.
Louis for Memphis, intending to take
another steamer there for Helena,
Ark, but the river being very low, the
steamer arrived at Memphis too late
for us to make connections with the
Helena steamer. We were three days
and three nights making the trip to
Memphis. The Mississippi river IS
so low that our boat got onto a sand
bar twice, between St.Louis and Mem
phis. We passed many places along
the route that reminded us of our
trip down in the launch two years
ago; where we had stuck on a sand
bar, or stopped for gasoline, ana
sometimes where we had stopped to
kill geese or ducks. Saw several
focks of ducks and geese with at
least one hundred and fifty ducks or
geese. ...
While the boat was landed at
Cairo, Ill, we got off and went up
town. Saw nothing unusual. 1t was
like u Iowa towns; quite a busy
place.
When we arrived at Memphis our
steamer had aboard one hundred pas
sengers, six hundred bales Of cotton,
twelve hundred sacks of cotton seed
and a lot of miscellaneous freight.
We stayed in Memphis all night
and until ten o'clock next morning.
Before leaving there 1 went up to
Court Square, a park in the center of
the business district like our park at
home. / saw not less than thirty
gray squirrels playing around in this
square. By the way, a gentleman
whom Lon met here has promised us
a pair of black squirrels in the spring
for our park. We went down to see
all that was left Of the Oliver Finney
grocery that was burned last August.
1t formerly was a large seven-story
structure, but now all that Is left
standing is parts Of three walls. The
day We arrived the real wall fell, kill
ing two men. The foreman and one
member of the wrecking gang.
We arrived in Clarendon, Ark, Sat
urday afternoon Of Nov. 10. 1t is
quite a busy town, having about three
thousand Inhabitants, and supports
eight factories, where they make boat
oars, shoe lasts, chair rockers, wag-
on wheel spokes, blank buttons and
barrel slaves. They also have a big
lumber yard and a large cotton gin.
At n factory they make all kinds Of
wooden al The residences here
are all set up three and four feet off
the ground on wooden or brick posts,
in order to keep the houses from be-
ing damp. Very few Of the yards
around the buildings have any grass
in them. They are kept clean with a
broom, instead of a rake as our yards
at home. The day we arrived there
were about four inches of dust in the
streets. AS we passed the livery sta
bic a man was out in the middle of
the street with a large watering pot
in each hand sprinkfing the street in
front Of the barn.
We came down to our old camp the
first of this week and are having
Thanksgiving dinner every day. We
have roast duck almost every day.
Yesterday we had roast turkey. Lon
killed it. All I have done toward sup
plying the larder was to catch one
fish, not a great big one like some
people have the luck 10 catch, but a
two and onehalf pound bass.
Fred found a bee tree yesterday and
we all went to help cut It. Got forty
pounds OF honey, and not one bee
sting. Now we are going to have
what the little boy asked for in his
prayer, hot biscuits and honey" We
have squirrels, ducks M fish in
abundance.
In a few days we will go on down to
Scrub Grass, where there is all kinds
Of game, deer, bear, wild cats, etc.
Lon declares if game is as plentiful
there as reported, he will stay ali
winter. He says he wants at least
to kin a bear and a deer before going
| home.