The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1907-12-31
LETTER FROM Mr.. COvlNGTOA
He Is Now 'SoIoWnlne In Mlssowl-HIs lmpss'
sion Of the Western counhy-0bssNstlons
Leeper. No Dec 23d, 1901

Leeper. No, Dec 23d, 1907
As,ou have not heard from me since
September, | venture again. ] leit d.
kota little while ago a. visit my 'sist,f
70 st. Louis, found her very bad OIL
made her comfortable, then driited way
down here. $50 miles south Of 81 Louis.
1 leave in - lew days % be again ia the
ost b.autiiui, productive aud hOalthiul
If all lauds ia the United 5 ates | ever
Travelled oysr-Souih Dakota. There it
Is wealth and health. hefeis poverty aud
sickness. There II is cold aud dry. here
ii Il damp aud chilly.
in 1881, my first Walt 10 1t. Louis
there WAS rivalry between the two cities.
Today Chicago has nearly three times as
many people.
How delighted am to and that M
brother " 5 CDyingtOn. lsit tuch n
good name IN all this section. tie died
Just eleven years egO
am surprised 60 ind W sy upin South
Dakota s0 much ill feeling towards The
negro Poor creatures Heaven only
knows what will become OF them Ia a
lev years. The universal opinion here "a
that in IA isw years there VIII b. an up
rising 20 drive them out oi the country.
Here lumber aud mining are the chiei
int,rest. and Il Is AT standstlil on ac-
count oi the financial Hurry.
In Dakota hands are needed every
Ehers.
When frat arrived in 81 Loui- ! saw
notice 10 large letters, fully foot big
that iarn hal d. were needed in NcbrasIa,
Iowa. Kansas. Missouri. South Dakota,
AT from 81 80 % 81 80 per day, or s3V
Der month aud board aud washing. and
not one could he procured. Yesterday IA
whole column appeared In a leading st
L.ouis paper asklng ilr aid to support
shese families Now fellow citizrns, do
not contribute one cent 20 their support
for labor has been in demand all the year
aud these lazy vsgab0uds prefer to re-
IN in IN the city and beg and starvt
rather than 20 to work. There has been
enough wasted ia the above named
states for lick Of labor 20 ised abun
dant al those Ia need Of food and they
sre too lazy u 20 for It. Transports
Il n. too. has beeneyen offered them Tree
NV nephew here, Geo. ". Clarkson
has large interest IN mining and tim
Der lands.
| seldom ever zee a buzzard in this
great West, yet stock die here as well as
in Virginia and there are abundance ol
roosting places here for them too.
There are more pretty women In st.
Louis than any place ever visited.
suppose 1t IL because many oi them de-
scend from Virginisns.
Out hers they say nav" for mo and
"yaw" for yes" and you bet, aud II
IL IA OF much Importance it is you bet
your lie "
In oil DakotaI did not meet an ex-Con-
iederate soldier, but Yanks by the whole.
sale' They all gave me a cordial and
hearty welcome and invited me- again
aud again 70 ilin their q. A. r, which
means Grand Army Of the Republic. As
yet have not done 50, but | intend to
visit them.
Surely our psople ought to own a part
oi this rich State, but the ladies, or "wo-
men" a. the men call them, are very
homely, not beauties as the Missouri la
diss are.
But little game Of any sort exists 10
Dakota or Missouri What a pity
believe I've told you all the news that
will be interesting to Yirginians excspt
that Mrs. Julian ClarksOn, OF Center
Gross, Essex county, Va, Is the most
popular woman I've met in oil my trav-
els in Virginia or Missouri. Truly "a
good name is rather to be chosen than
great riches" and I'd rather have the
name that woman has than be a mil
lionsire.
| find a lot OF Ashby's here in Piedmont,
Wayne Co, No They were originally
from Culpeper. have also seen a negro
man, Jim Lewis, from the same county.
Well, this will reach you in time TO be
q New Years gift. Goodbye, love 70 all,
affsctlonatelT, I. x. Coylngton-