The Harrison times., 1917-03-24
Winter Time In The South
Biloxi, Miss, March 9, 1917.

left Harrison on December 5th and
arrived in Biloxi on the 18th, making
short visit with our friends in Rip
ley and making short stops at Mem
phis, Birmingham, Montgomery and
Mobile on the way, and the trip was an
enjoyable one, with many new scenes
OF interest everywhere. We have been
here three months and like the place,
the people and the climate fine. Both
OF us are we'll and are certainly enjoy
ing the sea coast winter weather.
Everybody here lives mostly out of
doors and get the benefit of the salt
sea breeze, and will soon be bathing
in the gulf-in fact some have already
tried it-but it is a little cool yet for
me; two more weeks will be all right
for it, when everybody will be in the
Swim" Fishing is a great treat here
and the best place | ever saw for the
sport, and everybody, old and young,
can be seen every day with hook and
line and all catch fish; one old man
Sc years old fishes every day and en-
joys it. | saw him out this morning
in boat by himself, anchored about
200 yards from shore just pulling them
in. You know | am somewhat of a
fisherman myself and have not miss
ed week since being here without
fishing two or three days, and | al
ways bring in from so to 100, weigh
ing from 142 to pounds. My wife
thinks l fish all the time.
We have quite variety of fish, in
Guiding the speckled trout, sheephead,
mallet, drum, croakers, reddish, cat,
eel, crabs, founders, ETC., and | have
caught some of all kinds. The bait
used is principally shrimp, but for
the trout they use live minnows. DR..
Andrews, Colonel Crump and Dick
Crowdus ought to some down and try
1t. The speckled trout are the prettiest
fish | ever saw and weigh up from
3 to pounds. And when it comes to
oysters, l never knew what oysters
were till | struck Biloxi, and | never
miss day without at least one meal
calling for a dozen. The cooks here
sure know how to cook and prepare
oysters and fish. Big oysters fresh
from the sea in the shell can be had
for 80 to 40 cents a hundred. The
ladies' from one of the churches last
week served a dinner composed solely
Of sea food, and called it Sea Food
Dinner" Fish, oysters, crabs and
shrimp fresh from the briney deep,
ard it was real treat. The fish and
oyster and shrimp business of Biloxi
amounts to two and one,half million
per year-twelve canning factories
tnat send them all over the world
Biloxi is a pretty little city of 10000
inhabitants, with street cars, gas and
electric lights, ice plants, artesian
water in ceaseless flow, fine schools
that are up to date in every respect,
and is the third oldest city in the
United States-St Augustine, Florida,
being the oldest and Mobile the sec
ond. Biloxi was first settled by the
French more than 200 years ago.
There are over fifty miles of fine shell
road extending up and down the beach,
also electric cars running out close to
the waters edge for IS miles down
the beach, connecting several towns,
among them being Gulfport, the only
port for vessels in the state having
deep water for ocean vessels. The
centennial celebrating the one hun
dredth anniversary of the State of
Mississippi as a state, will be held at
Gulfport beginning on December II,
and lasting six months.
wish some of my Harrison friends
were here to help me enjoy this eli
mate and escape the billiards. of old
northwest Arkansas. There are many
attractions here besides the climate
to interest the tourists and they llock
here in droves every winter-perhaps
more than thousand here now from
many states-some have been here
for years and remain till May and long
er-come to avoid the severe win,ers
of the north and escape the gr.p, as
we did. About three miles down the
beach is "Beauvoir," the old home of
Jefferson Davis, now the old Confed.
crate Soldiers Home The state pays
a pension of about $40 per month to
all old confederate veterans and they
have free access to the home-250 new
in the home, including widows of old
soldiers. Many cottages, a house of
worship, a hospital, office and other
buildings in addition to the Davis man.
sion, and all are fed and cared for
We visited the home and attended
services and witnessed the marriage
Of two inmates, aged so and Il. One