Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1915-03-23

the riders with their gay colors, the
beautifully dressed women and their
escorts who thronged the track, the
hum of voices long since stllled, the
intense faces as they watched the
swiftly running horses and awaited
the outcome of the races, which for
some meant beggary, for our men did
not show much discretion in the
matter of betting and frequently
backed their horses far beyond what
war rudent. And then after the
races there were dances at the big
hotel, grand balls at which were
shown costumes and Jewels that
could not be duplicated elsewhere in
the South. Just off to one side there
is where fellow named Weeks used
to have bar and sell liquor. He
had a gambling room in connection
and made money hand over fist, but
religion got him and he closed up his
place, poured his liquors into the
street and went into the mercantile
business, but he got nipped the year
of the big freeze and went broke"
"The people of this town organized
. stock company and built thirty
seven miles of railroad to the ST..
Johns river at Green Springs, so as
to facilitate the travel OF those at
tracted to the races, but after the
big freeze which by the way marks
an epoch, the orange raisers went
broke and the road became more or
less neglected. About this time it
was put into the hands of an official
of the Georgia Southern, and he had
the rails torn up and removed, leav-
ing MelroSe with roadbed only, and
the roadbed is still there.
"a few tourists come there yet.
They are mostly rich stock brokers
from New York and want quiet.
They have been buying up most of
the lake front property, but not with
any view of developing or Of restor-
ing Melrose to its former condition.
Someone recently spoke to them
about reopening the railroad, but
they did not favor the project, and
even went so far as to complain of the
little dummy which sawmill
company runs into the place each
morning, on the ground that it dis
turbs their rest"
Gainesville, the county seat, is a
compact aud substantially built city,
! i'm many respects reminding one of
| Wausau as it was about twenty years
ago. 1t is supported almost wholly
| by the surrounding farming country.
Around Gainesville and Waldo, | saw
many good farms, but there are thou
sands of acres of untitled lands, and
many farms which are far from de-
serving to be called good. These lat
ter are generally the property of small
owners or tenants. In either case the
aim is to merely raise enough to tide
them through the present season.
Cotton with these people is the staple
crop. Flowing is usually done with
one mule and small ploW that Scrat-
ches the earth for only few inches.
| Few whites are engaged in this line
of agriculture, and that is the trouble
with the community. The whites
are living upon the traditions OF the
past. They have an idea that there
| is something demeaning about la
Dor, and it is only when necessity com
pels them to it that they work in the
| fields. As long as they can afford tC
do so they allow their land to be
| worked on shares by negroes. This
has not tended to better their for
tunes, nor to stimulate the black man
Ordinarily he is satisfied and in debt
the land owner or some merchant sup
plying him with the necessities oI
| life while he is growing his crop, be
ing protected by a lien on the croE
and generally seeing TO it that th'
negro Just about breaks even wheT
the crop is sold, so that he can star
lin on the next crop in debt.
| on these ''one-mule" farms th'
buildings are as rule dilapidated
cheap and unattractiye affairs, sci
dom painted and with little effor
Iput forth 10 make the grounds at
tractive. Most of these houses are o
Il such a character that IN our climati
thev would not be habitable, in fac
would not do for even cattle.
In sharp contrast with these place
are the homes Of some of those VIII
have really farmed-. Some OF theS
places are owned by men from tn
north, but inquiry revealed that som
of them were owned by people VIII
had been born in that community
but who had rid their minds OF tn
; idea that manual labor was disgrace
|. ful for a white. These few hay
shown what that portion OF tn
country might be if peopled with II
/. ltelligent and industrious farmer:
/, such as we have in this county, 10
the soil is rich and the season long.
/ This very prodigality of nature ha
! been a drawback in a way TO tha
t section Of the country, because 1t hs
: made the mere getting OF living
easy, has made it improbable tina
4 one could suffer any real hardship
: that the incentive for industry hz
not been there. This in a measure
I trne. of the more thrifty and prOgre