The Greenville times., 1910-09-23

the artificial manufacture, and the rap
id transit afforded by the railroads.
The time consumed in the days of
river travel between Vicksburg and adj
jacent landings, was six days for the
round trip to New Orleans, while the
| same trip can now be made in one day,
and still give the traveler few hours
| in which to transact business when
making the trip by rail.
The rate on cotton from Warrenton
| to New Orleans was one dollar and
seventy-five cents per bale, shipper pay
| ing landing charges of ten cents per
| bale and marine insurance. Now the
rate by rail is one dollar and forty
cents per bale, loaded in closed cars,
free from the muddy banks, and heads
twisted out by the use of cotton hooks
AS T look back over the long lapse
of wears and remember the general re
ioicing of the people when they knew
they were going to have the long-cov-
eted railroad, can plainly see the oc-
casion for them to rejoice. I mention
these facts in order to show that the
railroad has been greater benefit to
the country than the steam boats.
The officers who had immediate
charge of the building of the L., n. 0.
& T. were, as I remember them, as
follows: Major Jas. M. Edwards, gen
eral manager; Captain A. A. Sharp and
Captain A L. Jaqueth, superintend-
ents; w. T. Mathews, superintendent Of
telegraph; Peyton Harrison, assistant
superintendent, with headquarters at
Vicksburg.
Some of the early pioneers were Law
renee Tracey. engineer an charge of en-
CINE No. 4; Henry Horton, engine No,
3; Jack McCraney, engine No. 10; Alex
Mcneil, operator at Vicksburg; E. L.
Christian, Anthony Ferry (Yazoo River
bridge), Geo. L. Herndon, Warrenton;
Mason L. Dansby, Big Divide; Albert
Hutchinson and the writer, telegraph
students at Warrenton with Mr.. Hern-
! don Geo. Jones, section foreman at
Yokena. The contractors camps were
located at Khnston, Warrenton, Big
Black, and the Big Divide, most of the
labor bening negroes brought from
| Georgia, and more thrifty, industri-
] Gus lot of laobrers I have never seen.
| or more willing and cheerful lot.
I am often reminded of the evenings
| when the work trains came in from the
| front to the camps, on fat cars filled
with these negroes, singing the Old
songs. peculiar to the southern negro,
and playing the banjos around the
| camp fires at night. There was no
labor trouble with the road from start
to finish, and I think I can say without
fear of contradiction that the 454 miles
of road was built quicker than any 9th
er line ever constructed in the south.
Uhe longest delay taht I remember;
| was in building the Yazoo River bridge
and cutting through the hills of the
Big Divide, where the chain from the
water sheds of the Big Black River
and Bayou Pierre form small noun
tains that extend to the Mississippi
River at Grand Gulf. The springs
caused the banks to cave, and several
men were killed by these slides. Often
after a days work found the cut thru
| the divide clear, morning would find
several feet of dirt had caved over it,
thus causing no end of labor and trou-
bic. The use of dynamite, in those
days, was unknown for blasting pur-
poses, nothing but the negro with pick
and shovel.
The first telegram that I ever re-
ceived was after our camp had been re
| moved from Warrenton to Yokena, the
contents of which [ remember, and read
| ''Will get through Big Divide this ev-
ening''; to Capt. Powers. and signed
'EShane'
| have been promoted from time to
time since, but have never experienced
| the same thrill of good old fashioned
| Joy that the knowledge of my ability
| 10 receive a message gave me on this
| occasion The operator, whose home
was tsill at Warrenton, was sick, and
| told mo +o ooma down and do the hest