People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 March 1895 — Letter From the Sunny South. [ARTICLE]

Letter From the Sunny South.

Perhaps people of Rensselaer who are passing through a very cold time, would read with interest a lettei by one sojourning in the south. I left my home January Ist. AtMaysville, Ky., I found snow in abundance, sleds and sleighs running in all directions. This is quite a large town surrounded by hills that seem almost to touch the clouds. I took a conveyance by sled to Germantown, Bracken county, one of the old pioneer towns, near which the old pioneers, Boon and Simon Kenton, first owned land and settled. I went over the ground, or a portion of it. Many years has wrought a great change, it now being a very rich country, with fine houses, fine stock, fine homes, and tables that almost groaned under the weight of luxuries. With kind relatives I then went to Mason county, called on a wealthy, kind, old time lady, who met me at the gate and said: “Lord a mercy, whar’s yo man; you come by yo’ sef.” I explained that I had got that far without serious damage. “Well,” said she, “sho, you never get me on dem ere cars.” She has lived her three score years and ten, and never seen the cars.

Among the noted sights visited was the resting place of Henry Clay, at Lexington. Here is what is known as the Blue Grass region, and it well deserves its reputation —a beautiful fertile country I can hardly describe. In Tennessee the country is very rough for hundreds of miles. I here saw some grand sights—towering, gigantic mountains, deep, frightful gorges and chasms, that yawned beneath us. We could look out upon the small, smoky cabins as we passed, and often saw sad poorly clad people. How different from our own Jasper people, with their cheerful homes, their smooth roads and fertile fields. The easy carriages of our country could not be used here if the j people were able to buy them. The beautiful city of Atlanta is in the land of cotton. The land almost level, with large fruit farms, known as the Ohio Fruit Company farms. On reaching Macon I found my heavy coat, which had been such a comfort in Kentucky, to be anything but comfortable. Thomasville, where thousands of northern people come, is a town of six thousand inhabitants, fine hotels, many of them full to overflowing with people from the northern states. Boston, at a distance of twelve miles, I find a very healthy place, with kind people plenty. The darkies here are very superstitious, holding their prayer meetings at. four o’clock in the

morning, saying they want to get there before the devil gets up. They live in very open houses, a hole in the wall for a window, with a wooden shutter to close at night. Some of the houses have chimneys, others have none. The great beauty of southern Georgia is the magnificent pine forests, thousands of acres in heavy pine timber. Walking through one of those pine forests on a windy day, reminds one of the roar of the sea. This land can be bought at from two to four dollars per acre, and improved land with very good houses, well of water and out buildings, with fine pear orchards, perhaps ten acres of bearing pears, on it, from six to ten dollars per acre. The cold spell that struck here on the seventh, killing all the oats, cabbage and garden vegetables, with the low price of cotton, seems to discourage the southern people very much, but then they can fatten hogs on pinders (peanuts) and sweet po tatoes. Cows live on the wind and wire grass; mules, on cotton seed mixed with corn; hogs are of razor back stock, and if they can’t out-runr a darkey they aro no good. This south Georgia is the garden spot of the world for fine watermelons. It is nothing for a farmer to plant twenty acres. What are called the Cob Gem melons, sent north, they say are only fit for hogs and Yankees, the rind being tough enough to stand shipping. I have seen snow once only here, which fell the 14th inst. The people almost ran wild with delight. Many never having seen snow before, took lamps through the night to see it fall. Many never closed their eyes that night. Very early next morning a sled was hastily constructed, and with a long bugle and a darkey to sound it, the sled was drawn through the streets, people running in all directions to see the sight. The northern people all seemed to participate in the fun. But the old darkies say: “Chile, dis cold spell all from de Yankee bein heah. Neber find dis ere way befo.” I will say for Georgia, that I hardly think the world can beat it for melons, peanuts, sweet potatoes and clever people. I. K. Boston, Ga-, Feb. 20, 1895.

If you are going to set trees this fall, give me a call. I sell the best stock at very low prices. 5,000 2-year-old grape vines at 5 cents each, ready for delivery after October 10th. Nursery one-half mile northeast of Fores-

man, Ind.

J. A. WOODIN.