The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1906-12-13
EDIT RIAL

write as we went along. We find
that such promise is ever so much
easier to make than to keep. We ex-
pect nevertheless that our readers
shall get some enjoyment from the
trip and for the next few issues we
hope to impart some Of the warmth Of
the Southland to the chill December
days of Iowa. We shall leave the
moralizing" until the last and shall
at present content ourselves with at
tempts to describe some of the pic
lures we saw of the South.
We left Denison on Wednesday
evening Nov. 18th. We went right
through on the Illinois Central with
but two hours stop in Chicago. reach
ing New Orleans on Friday morning.
Four days were spent in the Crescent
City and then we visited the chain of
pretty resort towns that lie along the
gulf coast in Mississippi. Gulfport.
Bay st. Louis. Biloxi and Scranton
were among the cities visited. This
trip included delightful sea voyage
of sixty miles from Gulfport to
Scranton, one of the most delightful
portions of the journey. We re-
turned to New Orleans last Friday
evening and on Saturday morning
started for the North. This gave us
day trip through Mississippi and
we reached Chicago Sunday noon.
Six O'Clock saw us again speeding on
our way. and on Monday morning we
walked up the hill in Denison. So
much for the bare itinerary of most
delightful vacation. We were more
than anxious for our first glimpse of
the Sunny South. All the day before
we had been travelling through Illi-
nois and we had turned in for the
night just after we crossed the great
bridge over the Ohio at Cairo. 1t was
dark then but we could see the wide
waters of the Ohio under us, the many
lights of the busy river town, which
was the scene Of Grants activities
before he became the great leader of
the war. and off in the distance we
could see lights of steamers on the
broad bosom of the Mississippi. But
Illinois is too much like Iowa to be
of special interest to the Hawkeye.
The country is more level, the towns
look older and more unkempt as one
gets farther south. still to a great
extent it was the same old story of
brown fields. skeleton acres of corn
and naked trees such as we had left in
Iowa.
On Friday morning, then we were
alert bright and early and found our
selves just about to cross the line
from Mississippi into Louisiana. The
! dark green of the southern pines
first caught the eye and then as we
eagerly pressed our faces to the pane
we saw the tangle of forest that
characterizes this section. The all
was balmy. the grass was green, all
about us were the waters of the
swamps, oozy. Shiny looking swamps
which must have been the home Of
myriads of reptiles. On every little
hummocs waved the bright green Of
the wild palms and here and there
were little huts set up on stills to
keep them out of the swamp. Ma
laria seemed to be written large al
over everything and we still wonder
how any human being can be tempt
ed to live there. Hammond. La,
seemed to be high and dry and beauti.
full however and there was an evident
attempt to make the place attractive.
The chief industrxis the lumber
production and there were evidences
of this work on every hand. The
land grew wetter and swampier as
we neared New Orleans and soon we
came to the dreariest. wierdest for
est we have ever seen. The naked
trees of Iowa ioois ghostly enough,
but imagine miles of dead gnarlet
spreading trees from every limb Of
which hangs ghost-like drapery Of
grey black Spanish moss. Imagine
all this with a tangle of dead under.
brush, few green palms from three
to six feet high. and all of this com
ing out of bed of slime and water
and you have picture of Louisiana
as it is for the fifty miles before yol
enter New Orleans. If this is the
condition now. what must it have
been fifty years ago. No wonder
that the escaping slave found nothing
but death and starvation awaiting
him. That was our first view of the
"Sunny South" and it was a most
disappointing one. Soon however,
and after passing between two wide
lakes. we came to higher ground
where there were evidences of truck
farming and the other signs of the