The Mena weekly star., 1910-10-06
A VISIT TO POLK COUNTY
". A. TalIey of Beaudry Writes of a Trip Across Country and
 What He Saw.

Beaudry, Ark. Sept. 27, 19l0.--
 This article is intended for the amuse
 ment and benefit of those who have
 never had the privilege and pleasure
 of trip through the mountainous re
 zion of Grand Old Arkansas.
 On September IA. 1910. my wife
 four children and I. in company witt
 my two brothers-in-law. Jim Roberts
 and Ezra Bates and their wives, left
 Beaudry, Garland county. Arkansas, on trip to Big Fork. Polk county, 6 journey of 80 miles; Big Fork being the home of my two brothers-in-law and my wife's people.
 Our first days drive brought us to my wife's uncle and aunt, Mir. and Mrs. Mayberry, in Montgomery coun- ty, t4 miles west of Cedar Glades near Silver, on the Hot Springs and Mt. Ida road. The features of our day s journey were fine weather, meeting with old friends. pleasant and clever strangers and good crops. One thing saw which regard as being worthy of special note was farm near Cedar Glades fenced with cedar rails, ex- clusively. being built at the close of the civil war, and barn of the same material erected at the same time, all in state of very good preservation.
 Four miles west of Cedar Glades, we came to place originally called Buck Town. Here we found the Bucks but no town; it being almost exclusively a village of negroes, who seemed to be enjoying the benefits and pleasures of free country. where every person is granted citizenship, regardless of race, color or previous condition.
 At dark on our first days journey, we found ourselves in the fertile valley of the south fork of the 0uachita. in quiring of every one we met, the way to Mir. Mayberry's and the individuals we met were few and far apart, who knew anything about the way. or Mir. Mayberry either. After several miles of weary travel in the night, through | this fertile but almost uninhabited val ley. we came to house and called to see if we could get any information of our whereabouts, or Mir. Mayberrys. The gentleman of the house had gone to bed, but was soon up and at the door, giving us the cheering informa- ton that Mir. Mayberry was his near est neighbor. living on the hill only Q i few hundred yards away and without solicitation, drew on his clothes and shoes. and accompanied us to MT. Mayberry's. We will not attempt to try to explain our feelings toward this brother. for it would be next to impos- sible to do so. We will say however, that he is man with a big heart, which is so characteristic of almost all Arkansas people. Suffice to say. that at Mir. Mayberry's we were welcomed and cared for as if we had been fam fly of Roosevelts.
 Early next morning, september IS, we hooked up our horses, bade our uncle and aunt goodbye and resumed | our journey toward Big Fork. It was a pleasant morning, and every one in our company seemed to be in an ex- cellent good humor. After a drive of about four miles we reached Silver postoffice on the Hot Springs and Mt Ida road. I am bound to say that the external indication around Silver is that of retrogression instead of pro gression. Nine miles west of Silver, we found ourselves in Mt. Ida, the county seat of Montgomery county. All the compliments I can pay this town is that it is very old, and seems to have been finished several years ago.
 From Mt. Ida we went south to Black Springs, distance of g miles. Black Springs is beautifully situated on table land, surrounded by many fine farms of a hundred acres or more each. bordered on the south by the Caddo valley, as productive a valley | as can be found in the state. To my mind there is fascination connected with Black Springs, which I am not poet enough to truthfully describe.
 Alter refreshing ourselves with good drink of water from the fairy Black springs, after which this place was named. we turned west up the valley of the Caddo, and after jour ney of IT miles arrived at Big Fork, a thriving village. on a stream of the same name. Here was the end of my wife's journey, it being the settlement in which she was reared. While on our visit at Big Fork. we scarcely met a single individual but what was some of my wife's kinfolks. being either a Bates or an Abernathy.