Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1911-03-08

-FOUR 1eeC nlXn along Tie SIue"dlho.
But the luxurious Seminole Linn
ited", over the Illinois Central,
advertised to take us to Sum
mer Land and when we awoke
the next morning we had crossed
the Ohio river and were in "Ole
Kaintuck and it was spring with
young lambs frisking about in
green pastures. and blue bird was
sitting on the fence. 1t had rained
all night and all the low places
were filled with water and it looked
good to me after year without
rain IN Minnesota.
As we passed through Tennessee
we saw cotton fields on every side,
and all the houses have the Chin
neys on the outside, at the gable
ends; the soil is red and the water
is yellow. This is a heavy timber
country mostly oak, with a few
pines scattered through. We see
piles of railway ties at every sta
ton. and wood seems to be used
exclusively for fuel. At Corinth,
Miss. the railway platform was
piled with bales Of cotton, and the
fields were covered with dead cot.
ton plants like an Iowa corn field in
winter. In Alabama the timber is
chiefly pine; there are d few small
coal mines to be seen, and there is
but little farming in this section of
the State. The only things that
seem to thrive first rate are the
pickaninnies.
We reached Birmingham about
an hour late, tho our double header
did fine work with the ten sleepers
and four other coaches. hauling US
at the rate of as miles an hour.
Birmingham is in the New
South, the center of great coal
and iron industry. Immense smell
tiers are numerous, and the coax
ovens cover acres. The passenger
station of concrete is an imposing
structure and the passengers. leav
ing the trains. 60 down stairs to a
tunnel under the tracks and streets
and come up to daylight some
where over town, too for away for
me to explore.
The impression one gets through
car windows is that an endless
procession Of pines is marching
through Georgia.. The lumber
and turpentine business seems to
be about all one can see except
''razorbacks' and pickaninnies. The
land is red clay, but the peach tree
is there. and in full bloom by the
cabin door, and it sure did look
good to me. The weather was like
May. Here l discovered what had
become Of the old fashioned wood
burner locomotives with the balloon
stacks-they had all been sent
down here. Our train arrived at
Jacksonville about three hours late,
as after we left Birmingham, we
had but one engine. and the south
ern languor seemed to effect it in
some way. | thus missed connecr
tion with the party of land seek.
ers had planned to join here. and
as there was no train for Fl. Mey.
ers till EVENING" set out to explore
the town "a fine one of about So.
600 population. 1t has good stree,
car service, and through steamship
connection with New York, Boston
and Philadelphia, and tho it is
twenty-five miles to the sea the St.
Johns River channel is so deep that
the ocean liners come up to the
town. One Of the show places is
the Ostrich Farm. There are about
200 of the big birds kept there.
One part of the enclosure was sci
part for the ''sitters" pens.
The eggs were laid in the bare sane
the male and female taking turn:
in sitting on the eggs, what time
they were not stalking around anG
looking up in the sky, and eating
sand, and they consume quaint
ties of sand. Every day there arr
races-bare back and sulky which
are very exciting. There is store
in connection where plumes ant
fans and eggs are sold at quit,
thrilling prices. Getting back int,
town l refreshed myself with straw
berries at IS cents per quart. (The,
were only 80 cents in Chicago.)
continued my sightseeing till it wa
time for my train to leave for Fl
Meyers. 1923 miles further on
Around Lakeland we saw the frs
truck gardens with refreshing look
ing green things growing ant
strawberries ready for picking
However the soil is very light ant
sandy, requiring from one to tw,
tons of fertilizer to get any kind 0
crop; and that seems to be tn
condition of the soil wherever
went in the State. The natura
products are the pine and. the
palmetto, the latter is a pest grow
ing wherever it is not wanted. Tn
portable saw mill is likewise ever.
where present. and after the terpen
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