The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1916-10-06
FROM M. T. ALDRIDCE.
Sunny Side, Ark, Sept. 81, 1916.

ter from me here would be of inter
est to my friends black home" |
will write of my trip.
My two boys, Everett and Lewis
and myself left Grenada at noon on
the 2lst, spent the night in Winona
with friends and took a train for
Greenville at sunrise. Reached there
at ten O'Clock. Went at once to the
landing to learn just when a boat
would leave for Sunny Side. Find
ing it would not leave until 2 p. m,
we went to the "Cowan," a splendid
hotel, and after meeting friends
whom | had not seen for twelve
years, wen to lunch with them and
spent the time pleasantly until two
O'Clock. We found the levee "piled
high with freight for Sunny Side
and other way-landings. 1t took
them two hours to load. My boys
were much amused watching the
"rousters' trying to get a mule on
board. 1t fell off the gang plank
once. Finally, we pulled out" and
very soon noticed a storm brewing.
Just as we were nearing Vancluse
the storm broke out in all its fury.
At first We felt alarmed, but remem-
bered: God is on the water Just
the same as on the land" We an
chored there until all danger was ov-
er and a beautiful "bow of promise"
appeared in the Eastern sky. When
We reached Sunny Side l saw a per-
pendicular bank more than a hun
dred feet high. | asked the captain
where we would land; (the river is
very low.) He said, Right there"
pointing to a steep, winding path up
the bank. l wondered how on earth
would ever get up. When / saw
them begin to hoist freight by q ca
BILE and derrick, thought we would
have to go that way too, but a crowd
of men-whites and negroes-join-
ed hands from the top of the bank
and formed a chain down to the
gang-plank, the last one holding me
by the hand, the captain behind me
to push, and finally we reached the
top. My joy at seeing my friends
compensated for all danger. One
mis-step would have plunged us into
the water below. The path was
"slick as glass" from the recent rain.
This is an immense property; four
thousand acres in cultivation and
worlds" Of it lying out. There is
a private railroad over the place anc
trains to bring the cotton to the gin
Seven men to manage the farming
1done mostly by Dagoes and some ne
grocs. While my friend, Mr.. Moore
does all the store work, keeps land.
ing and p~ostofice, with only the helr
of his thirteen-year-old son and a ne.
gro porter.
Sunday morning we went over part
Of the place in their auto. / saw
400 acres of freshly planted oats. all
in n body and fully that much in
peas. Saw ninety thousand bushels
Of threshed oats, housed in one long
building; cotton that would hide a
man on horseback, and loaded with
! open cotton from bottom to top.
The crops worked by Dagoes are all
like this, while the negroes crops re-
mind me of hill" cotton, mostly
very poor. Mr.. Moore told me the
Dagoes are very thrifty and most of
them clear hundreds of dollars year
ly. They live on almost nothing. but
raise goats, chickens, hogs, ETC., and
Give at home"
Yesterday we motored to "Fawn-
wood" (this property on beautiful
Lake Chicot." The boys waded
and fshed, but the waters were too
high to catch any fish. 1t was sure
ly a grand sight to witness a sunset
on the lake. Nothing in Italy could
surpass it. Along the banks we
picked up pecans from trees a hun
dred years old, and five feet in diam
eter.
Have met some charming people,
many of whose ancestors were the
very cream of aristocracy" in ante
bellum days.
Today we are invited to spend
with friends at Lake Village, four
teen miles away, and it's time to go.
Tomorrow we leave for Greenville:
motor fifteen miles to Luna to
get a boat rather than descend that
awful bank at this landing.