Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1909-08-12
N

DEAR EAGLE: We arrived here
yesterday at , p. m. having left
r. Smith at : a. m. This is a
new town. having been built up
IN the last two years. Perhaps
l. has A population of five hun
drei. has two churches. two gins.
two lumber yards. and several
substantial brick houses, with =
number OF frame houses. They
have a magnificent school build
ny. built Of brick and stone and
est eight thousand dollars.
The residence portion of the
i,ovn is not very inviting although
there are a few very nice houses.
The religious status OF the
place is said 10 be at a very low
ebb. although there are a select
few Of The sail of the earth, but
the masses seem TO care for moth
ing but making money.
The country through which we
travelled seems 10 my eyes 20 be
rather poor with a few excep-
tons. Mountain ranges on ell
iher side presented a picturesque
view, lovely to behold.
The towns along the route are
nearly all mining towns aai seem
20 be very prosperous, especially
Wilburton. Hartshorn. Haley
Vile, and McAliister. Just a we
pass Wilburton there is a beau
tiful valley stretching many miles
a. far as the eye can see, but We
now enter a rocky, rough. coal
mining stretch with iIartshorn
and Haleyville as its center.
Coal, coal. coal, in innumerable
cars standing on the side-trac&s
ready to be shipped out. and
piled in small mountains near
The railroad and elevators are
running loading the cars.
Further on. we arrived al
McAllester and stop twenty min
utes for dinner. This is a splen-
did city, and il said To contain
1900 population. Hee the st.
Louis. Kansas City Il Texas Rail-
road crosses the Rock Island and
this accounts in n great measure
Tor the growth Of the city.
The crops all along the route
are very short, corn in places is
almost a complete failure, some
helds having the stock turned in
10 devour them while there was
some nutrimeut in them. would
advise our farmers to take good
care of their corn. The whole
wrst a. far rs | can learn, Is IN
the .hroes Of one of the worst
dr8aths it has had in years. All
along the route there were nume-
rous places where the Cry grass
Ia caught FIRE from the trains
AMI in one place at least, endan-
gered houses in the vicinity of
the railroad track, and in places
tn fire was still raging. | am
informed that it hasn't rained
here in two months, and there
are large cracks in the land. but
not as large as | once heard they
were in Texas, so large that the
little chickens would fall in them.
In consequence of the wet
spring and then the continued
dry. hot weather later on, which
still continues, the crops of all
kinds are very short. All along
the route the cotton was strug-
Cling with the drouth trying to
make 4 crop, but it is very small
and willing badly and when the
rain does come it is sure to shed
a great deal of the square and
small bolls.
Summing upcrop conditions from
Fort Smith to this place. "A dis
lance of 2 hundred miles or more,
| should say the prospect is very
poor. This hay crop ia quite an
item here, and as ! write wagons
are passing to and fro hauling
bales Of hay storing it away for
future use.
My advice to any one expect
ing TO emigrate To this country
would be, TO come aud see before
moving. From what had heard
and read OF this country, | had
pictured it a a poor mans para
disc. but so fer as | have seen,
&c is a disappointment to me.
But as usual they tell me the
garden spot is Just "a little fur
Their on.
With much success to the
EAGLE and old Mississippi.
}. L. D.