The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1918-06-27
Six Days and Nights On a
Slow Train Thru Arkansas
By G. u. H.


and haven't time to write it. But
am going to set down now few brief
remarks about some of the places
we visited on a 1500-mile trip thru
Arkansas just to show you how a hos
pitable state treats its guests.
Texarkana.
Here we had breakfast the first
morning out, in a hotel Then we
were taken for a drive about the town.
rode with a Methodist preacher. The
town is half in Texas and half in
Arkansas. 1t looks like a prosperous
city of about 10000 people. Two of
the finest homes in the state are here.
costing about $150.O00 each, owned
by the Buchanan brothers. lumber
men. Lumber and timber have made
many millionaires in Arkansas Tex
arkana has good newspapers and poor
hotels.
Camden.
We had lunch here the first day out.
We were driven about the town.
which is an old town and rather hilly
for Southern Arkansas, and then to
the court house square, where a fine
lunch was spread on tables. Bevo
helped to cool us off. Bevo is popular
in Arkansas. In most all court house
squares in Arkansas stands a monu
ment to the Confederate soldiers and
the women of the Confederacy. Cam
den has a fine monument. We saw
big screen door factory, which ships
two car loads of doors day. Women
and machinery dc most of the work.
Pine Bluff.
This is one of the best little cities
in the state-about the third in size.
Little Rock and FIT. Smith are the two
larger Pine Blum is on the Arkansas
river and, believe me. the old Arkan-
sas is some river here. It is wide and
the city is on a blum with high bank
on the city side. The river has a way
of biting into this bank and taking
off chunk every now and then. One
Spring recently it washed away Sec
tion of the town consisting of two
streets and the blocks of houses there
on.
Pine Bluff has a big cotton COM
press. We went into the warehouse
covering seven acres and saw several
million dollars worth of cotton in stor-
age. A lot of cotton is still in storage
because of lack of shipping facilities.
We also visited cotton seed oil plant
and saw the oil pressed out of the
cotton seed. Here l learned that when
the planter sends 1900 pounds of cot
ton to the gin he gets back 500 pounds
of cotton and 100 pounds of seed
Both are high priced now. The cot
ton brings about soc a pound and the
seed &c pound.
Cotton seed used to be thrown
away. Later it was sold for feed and
fertilizer. Now we use so much of
it for making lard and olive oil that
it brings fancy price.
Citizens met us in good cars here
and showed Us the country and then
ucNf IN ha fpr haA n
quet and ball. The Pines Hotel is
a fine one. one of the best in the
state.
MIR. Brooks Fletcher. who lectured
in Canon City at the Chautauqua last
summer, was here and gave us a fine
talk at the dinner.
We left Pine Bluff at midnight and
had breakfast at Lake Village and
lunch at Dermott the next day. These
places have been mentioned in an
other story.
Stuttgart.
We arrived in Stuttgart the second
day in the afternoon and the party
was taken for seventy.mile drive
thru the rice fields.
Stuttgart is in the Grand Prairie.
This large prairie covers a large part
of three counties. For years this land
was considered next to worthless. Sew
eral times il was sold off to poor
farmers and spectators at about $500
an acre, and usually went back to the
mortgagors or was sold for taxes.
Then about fourteen years ago some
one tried rice. After some expert
menting rice proved great success
and with present high prices is max
ing many folks rich Rice is grown
in great fields like wheat Only it is
flooded during the growing season |
The fields are about level and the wa
ter is pumped from wells and the |
ground irrigated in the usual way. A |
well and pump costs about 50 900 now.
The crop is pretty sure. recent years |
showing but one failure, when the !
fall was too wet to harvest. and brings
big returns. Well-equipped farms now
sell for about S125.00 an acre.
This county last season produced
$6 600. 900 worth of rice and $3,0O0,0 900 !
of wheat, which should make a rich |
county seat town. II is a fine little
town and rich, but ! was surprised to |
find the bank deposits of Stuttgart
only about s1.5O0.O0O, while thetotal |
deposits in Canon City exceed $2,000,-
900.
Cur driver happened to be Mr.. c. c.
Price. who has been much in Colo
RADIO and knows Canon City well. Az
ter a forty-mile drive we agreed that
we had seen enough rice fields for one
day. as all rice fields look about alike,
and he took us to his fahter's home
for little visit All my life I shall
remember Mr.. w. NJ. Prices porch.
1t was the biggest porch ! have ever
seen. In front of the house 1t was
30x100 feet and went all around the
big house.
Later otrr crowd was given a fine