• , :=:::ILL 0

Board of Aid TO

Land Ownership.

Report . OF THE

Second Exalllination

OF THE

Estate ON THE

.Table Land OF

East Tennessee.

PUBLISHED BY THE BOARD; OFFICES-lO, PEMllERTON SQUARE,

BOSTON.

]878, G~

COLONIZATION~

MORAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPDY, DR. PALEY, 1785.

CC Suppose a fertlIe but empty island to lie within reach of a country in which nrls and manufactures are already establis~ed ~;. suppose a colony sent out from such a country, to take posses- . sion of the island, ~d to live there under the protection and authority of their native government: the new settlers will naturally convert their la.bor to the cultivation of the vacant .soil, and with the produce of that soil will draw a supply of mauufactures from their countrymen at home. Whilst the inhabitants continue few, and lands are cheap and fresh, the colonist will find it t:ru!ier and more profitable to raiqe corn or rear cattle, and with the corn and cattle purchase· woollen cloth, for inst.'\nce, or linen, than to spin and weave these articles tlH~mselves. The mother-country, meanwhile, derives from tllis c~nme.c~ion an increase of both provision and employ­ment. It promotes at once the two great requisites upon which the facility of subsistence and, by consequence, the state of population depend-production and distribution j and this, in a manner the most direct and beneficial. No situation can be imagined more favorable to population than that of a country which works up goods for others, whilst others are cultivating new tl'acls of land for them. The condition lUost favorable to population is that of a laborions, frugal people,ministel'ing to lhe demands of an opulent, lnxurious nation; Lecaus(> this sitna.lion, lcltil.~t it leaves them elJer!I adlJan~ tage oJ lUxury, exempts them from the evils which naturally accompany its admission into any country."

Entered I\CCOrding to Act of Congress, in t.he year 1878, by FRANKLIN W. SMITH,

In th~ office of t.he Librariau of Con~! at Wasbin~on

PREFATORY. E:etract. from Report published by the Boston Board

[BULLETIN, No.1.] June 8, 1878.

IN December, 1877, the formation of this Board was announced, its object being" to promote associated migra­tion to fertile unoccupied lands; to aid their development into agricultural township's and homesteads; by these means contributing to a redistnbution of labor,-its diversion from trade and manufacture, where in surplus, to TILLAGE OF THE EARTH.-THE BASIS OF ALL INDUSTRIES, ·AND THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF ALL WEALTll." Its proposed pl~n of operation re­ceived general commendation. Meanwhile, committees have made four extensive journeys to Western and Southern States.

The first delegation visited Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas. They investigated thoroughly the various railroad land-grants in those States. Through the courtesy of the officials, they were favored with unusual facilities for observation along the lines of following railways:

The Chicago and Northwestern Iowa lines ; Union Pacific; Burlington and Missouri, in Nebraska; Kansas Pacific; Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe; Missouri River and Fort Scott; Missouri, Kansas, and Texas; Little Rock and Fort Smith; '!'exas Pacific; Texas Central; Houston and San Antonio; St. Louis and Iron Mountain.

This tour occupied two months; extended 7,500 miles, from Omaha, to Galveston and San Antonio southward, and to various places 600 miles westward from the Mississippi.

But it was found that the limitation of these grants to alternate square miles was a serious impediment to the plan of the Board, ·which requires solid tracts; that the territory may be entirely under their control for the common benefit, as to roads, building restrictions, temperance laws, &c. This opinion was confirmed by the subsequent observation of other committees, as inconsistent with their purposes, viz.: to develop a large, compact area from central town sites, by con­struction and impro-vement upon a comprekensi'te plan and under regulations for tke common good. Meanwhile a liber~l charter was obtained from the legislature of Massachusetts.

From ~he announcement of this Board, the adaptation of an area, l~ South~rn States, for its purposes, has been pressed npon theIr attentIOn.

This r~gion comprises the plateau, or table-land, liftell above adjacent levels by the central belt of the Appalachian

6~ ~'-~\C:,< 17(10.09 t::; 0 ,0 0.311

2

range of mountains. There is a ten-itory with a climate unsurpassed for salubrity, invigoration, and healthfulness;

' abounding in springs of pure, soft water, and perpetual streams, abundant for mechanical power; forests of the most valuable timber, coal and iron, potters' clay, sandstone and limestone, for construction and .fertilization; with ·excellent soil for mixed agriculture, the most sure of continuous, and ultimately the largest results.

The fifth exploration by the Board, was made in May, to the table-land of Tennessee. This unparalleled geological development-an upward lift of strata of . iron, coal, and sandstone above the limestone formation which underlies almost the entire West-is one of the most -interesting features of our continent. · A territory is abruptly elevat.e~ above adjacent levels, clear of all malarial influences. Its · undulating surface is covered by varied forests, with such slight undergrowth as to take the name of "openings." It is a series of natural parks, with deep gorges cut by mountain streams, shaded and fringed by verdure.

For fruits and vegetables the climate of this upland region is unsurpassed, and for such culture the soil in many places is specially adapted. For intelligent, economical industry; utilizing stone and timber for building ; minerals and water­power for mechanical pursuits; felling and sawing trees by portable steam mills; sheltering valuable hard-wood for mar­ket; manufacturing wagons and wooden-ware for Southern trade, now dependent upon the North; gathering the pro­fuse wild products,-oak tan-bark, sumac, ginseng, turpen­tine, nuts, berries and honey; rotating crops to the enrich­ment instead of the exhaustion of the soil; planting orchards and vineyards which come niore speedily into bearing than at the North, with more perfect fruitage; and, by late im­proved methods of preservation and transportation, deliver­lllg the product into home or foreign markets; with increased means, adding to herds, flocks, and poultry,-by such thrifty ~evelopment these lands may open homes of comfort and mdependence to a large population. _ This is Dot theory. Colonies of Swiss at Gruetli and of Germans at Cullman, who celebrated their joyous fifth anniversary on the 22nd of 1\pril, have demonstrated its truth. Andrew .Jackson pre­dIcted, from frequent personal observation, that" this table­land would beco!lle the garden spot of the Un~on," -

8

REPORT OF SECOND EXPLORATION ON THE TABLE-LAND OR PLATEAU OF TENNESSEE.

To the Board of .A id to Land Ownership:

GENTLEMEN ;-Accbrding to the recommenda­tion in the Report of your Committee, June 6th, 1878, Mr. W. A. Williams and myself left Boston for Tennessee; and-reached Knoxville on the 30th of July, and Careyville (forty miles north-west) the same even,ing. .

On saddle-horses the next morning, made the steep ascent to the crest of Walden's Ridge, the rocky, precipitous edge of. the table-land, forming its eastern boundary. It overlooks the valley of the Tennessee with panoramic effect across to the bold peaks of the U nakas; a scene of itself worth a journey from New England.

The travel on the plateau was from Carey ville to Huntsville (twenty-four miles); then northerly toward the Kentucky line, in, Scott Co.; over the graded bed of the Cinn. Southern Railroad"; pack again to Huntsville; over thirty miles of the railroad grade southerly; then across the Clear Fork to Jamestown, Fentress County, and beyond (thirty-two miles westerly); an excursion easterly to the railroad in Morgan County and return, forty miles; over the plateau "again south-westerly to Wartburg, and thence to Kingston (twenty-four miles); by steamboat on

4

the Tennessee to Loudon, where we had again railroad conveyance to Knoxville and homeward, reaching Baltimore on the 14th of August, having travelled in wagon, horse-back, mule-back and afoot, more than two hundred miles on the plateau. (See map.)

The estate visited lies in the counties above­named, to the west of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. This line from Cincinnati to Chatta­noogo was built by the city of Cincinnati to make connections for its trade at that junction of main southern lines. As a trunk line it has been constructed with a thoroughness equal to that of the Pennsylvania Central. It crosses the Kentucky River at a height of two hundred and seventy-five feet upon a pier bridge, said to be the highest above water in the world.

To cross the Cumberland Mountains, the road rises to the plateau at the Tennessee State line, and passing over its north-eastern corner, descends through the gap of the Emory River to the valley of East Tennessee. Only that portion of the plateau, therefore, in Scott, ~Iorgan and Fentress counties is opened by the road. The features and capabilities of the region are detailed in the evidence appended to this Report; but it may be well to classify some of the most important facts. F()r a ge~~ral des-

5

cription of the topography of the table-land, with other details, see Commissioner Killebrew's letter, first of' the correspondence appended.

From Carey ville to Huntsville was a pic­turesque country, the valley of East Tennessee. With gradual rise winding among wooded hills, the road followed a river-course until the walls of the plateau rose abruptly in front, hundreds of feet, and stretching southward beyond vision, like a continuous Gibraltar. The rocky ascent accomplished, fatigue was quickly dissipated, as we rode our horses under grateful shade, without harm in August heat. We camped for dinner daily by the springs, and with appetites sharpened by exercise in the exhilarating

CLIMATE OF THE TABLE-LAND.

Superlatives on this topic are justified. The description of "its freshness and vitality," by Col Killebrew, as "producing an intoxication of spirits," is not exaggeration. The traveller is elated thereby; but the residents also do not lose in appreciation. -H See this breeze 1" ex­claimed an Ohio man, now twelve years on the plateau; "you could not drive me out of this. Best place I ever saw to live in I" Another said: "One-third of the crops at the W est are at times destroyed by storms. Here they are very rare-no piercing winds. Storms laRting three

days are unknown. In winter there is 'frost enough to insure health, a beneficial effect on the soil, and a crisp atmosphere; but in twenty years I have never known frost over six inches in the ground. Irish potatoes ' are left in the ground all winter."

COMPARATIVE METEOROLOGY. "A low temperature is not per se any evidence of the

healthfulness of a locality. The mean temperature is a matter of far greater importance. At Vineland this is 50°. This is almost exactly the point marked 'temperate' on the thermometric scale."-Healtk Influences of the Climate of Vineland, N.J.

Mean annual temperatures : Boston, 48° ; New York, 51°; Philadelphia,

50°; Tennessee Plateau, 54°; St. Augustine, 67°; Vienna, 55°; 11ilan, 54°.

The highest range of the thermometer d~ring our 'stay, from 1st to 11th of August was 88°, while at Baltimore and farther north, it ranged from 92° to 97° at the same date.

Rainfall in 1873 at Knox-rille, one thousand feet below the plateau, was 59.25 inches. On the upland it would not be less. The light, porous soil absorbs rain; the sloping surface gives frea- subterranean drainage over sandstone, to streams that flow in deep and rocky beds, with rapid currents, preventing all miasmatic exhala­tion.

7

"The climate of a country is the result of all its meteorological influences. It is modified by latitude, height, mountains, and their direction, proximity of large surfaces of water, winds, and the nature of the soil. It acts an important part in agricultural development. If it is too hot, muscular energy is relaxed; if too cold, it is benumbed. If the climate is too moist and too hot, the exuberance of vegetation renders the labors of man in­sufficient to keep it in subjection, and the infections of malaria. destroy the habits of systematic and hardy industry. If too dry, vegetation withers and the labors of . the hus­bandman are not rewarded. by a bounteous yield of the fruits of the earth. If the growing season is short, the variety of crops is small; if continuous, the ameliorating effects of freezes are lost. The most happy combination of climate appears to be that in which the amount of humidity a.nd sunshine is just sufficient to produce the highest degree of perfection and maturity in the crops, and where the degree of cold is just enough to invigorate the physical system, ameliorate the soil, and destroy the germs of disabling disease. Such a combination is to be met with in by far the larger portion of the State of Tennessee. By reason of elevation, healthy breezes sweep over the State. The atmosphere ia kept pure by motion, as the waters of a stream. 'rhe days of rain and sunshine are beautifully ordered. Health is the rule, sickness the exception I Visitors constantly wonder at the large number of healthy old men-active, strong, and vigorous.

" The agency of climate is far more important in deter­mining the intellectual improvement and material prosperity of a State than even the soil itself, for as health is due in a great degree to climate, so wealth is dependent upon health and enterprise. The two latter are almost the necessary antecedents to the former. However fertile a region may be, it cannot become the focus of wealth unless its con­ditions are' favourable to health, and consequent activity of

8

mind and body. The two united, fertile soil and salubrity of climate, coupled with a fair degree of enterprise will ensure a high degree of material development." -Killebrew' B

Resources of Tennessee;

SOIL OF THE PLATEAU.

Second only to a healthy climate, for the sup­port of agriculture, is a fertile soil. The soil of the region proposed for settlement is that of the " third" description in the elaborate report of Col. Killebrew, viz.: a sandy soil, incumbent upon a mulatto-clay.

The evidence was conclusive of a clay subsoil. (See statement of Mr. Williams.) As Mr. Kille­brew states "this enables it to catch and pre­serve fertilizing material, and makes it the most productive of the soils 'of the mountain. It works kindly, yields abundantly, and is very dUrable." Mr. K. adds: "Upon level plateaus where this soil abounds, extensive and valuable white-oak forests occur."

Of the tract visited, many square miles were covered with white-oak and occasional hard-pine. As that timber indicates strong soil, the question of its fertility need not be debated. " Extensive forests of white-oak" must have sustenance, sub­stantial for ordinary farming.

A Southern planter would pronounce the table­land lig~, and compared with his stan~ard of

·9

fertility, and fo~ his idea of cultivation, the opinion would be correct. Rich" bottom" corn­lands have been and are the ideal for Southern farming,-if farming it can be called, when the land is "skinned " annually by a bull-tongued plough, a few inches in depth, and re-planted without fertilization. Cotton and corn have here­tofore been the great staples. Corn made bread and fattened hogs. The rich deltas and coves, black with vegetable accumulation of ages, are as ample in. area as exhaustless in fertility. In Tennessee, but one acre in ten is cleared, and at least two-thirds of the balance would be arable or pasturage.

But such lands would be deadly to the unac­climated. The land commissioner of a Texas rail­road company, in speaking of them upon his line, said: "I will warrant they will yield as much hog and hominy to the square acre, and as muchfever and ague to the square inch, as any lands upon the face of the earth."

While the plateau lands cannot raise corn as a market product in competition with the valleys, yet every mountaineer's cabin has its adjacent cornfield. One, apparently as good as the average in Massachusetts, had been cultivated, according to the memory of the aged proprietor, "going on fifty or sixty years." The details of actual production appended to this Report prove that

10

ample corn and wheat are grown for domesti( production (corn being the staple bread of thf. 'mountaineers); while all other grains, with vege­tables, fruits and grasses cibo1.l.nd, upon reasonabl(; cultivation. But aside from the question oj healthfulness, over-rich lands are not adapted to production for our people, who want a variety of products for a well-assorted diet. Such lands ~ill not grow good vegetables. Esculents from them are watery, and tend to decay. They will not produce the Irish potato mealy and in perfection. Hence the great market opened for them from the plateau throughout the adjacent region.

Cultivation such as Vineland, and as below pro­posed for the plateau, is new to the South. But it is the highest type of agriculture, which, like all other pursuits, pays best to do best. The opposite practice of large farms, rudely tilled, labor scattered over untidy 'fields, has made the misfortune of the "poor rich" farmers of the South-land-poor.

Hence, a mixed agriculture will be the wise policy for the table-land; as experience has de­monstrated it to be wisdom generally in all latitudes.

The Western States, for the past year, have been on a rampage for wheat. Figured profits on wheat have sold hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Kansas, Nebraska and Minnesota.

11

The area planted has been immensly increased; but for mishaps the crop would be enlarged in proportion, though not in cash result, to the farmers. Allowance was not made for a decline lin price; and when they find that their wheat ibrings them two-thirds their estimated figures, while their outlay for breaking, seed, planting, harvesting, threshing and hauling has been doubled, they will not find their wallets better filled at the end of 1878 than in 1877.

A friend in Philadelphia sends a letter from Davidson, Colorado, July 28, 1878, from which the annexed is an extract :-

" Well, I am busy harvesting ou; wheat, but it is doubt­ful if it will sell for enough to pay cost. The last sale of old wheat was sixty cents per bushel, and the new crop is being contracted for at forty cents; this is ruin, pure and simple. We never expected that wheat would sell for less than one dollar per bushel. I have exerted all my powers, exhausted all resources, to fence, to plough, to sow, and irrigate land, fondly looking forward to the harvest, when I would realize 7,000 bushels, equal to $7,000; but now the bare prospect is that I will not realise one-half that sum."

The "Chronicle," Knoxville, Tenn., May 11, 1878, in argument for an increased growth of fruit to supply the home demand, said:- .

" We produced, last year, thousands of bushels of wheat ~ow in the county, for which there is no market; but there IS always a market for fruit."

12

Add to the contingency of low price in an over-crop, the chances of casnalties,-nlst, wee­vil, grasshoppers, drought, flood, tempest, fire,-r: -such.as have suddenly reduced the harvest in counties of Minnesota to one-third the expecta­tion, and the folly of putting all the eggs in one basket Will be newly impressed.

The exhaustion of land by successive crops of cereals, as has taken place in New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania during the past twenty years, will be farther considered.

When in Kansas, I said to an intelligent land comnusslOner: " Your constant reiteration of wheat profits fails to impress me. Do you not believe that if one farmer should plant wheat steadily for ten .years; and another meanwhile should have grown some wheat, some corn, some rye, oats, barley, castor-beans, &c.; laid his

"(From the Inland" Tribune," Great Bend, Barton Co., Kansas, August 81, 1878.]

PRAIRIE FIREs.-During the pressure of the manifold duties of the farmer, he should not lose sight of the fire-fiend. The grass has grown a.bundantly this season, and the heated term through which we have passed has rapidly ma.tured it. A fire started anywhere on the prairies now would cause untold loss to property and endanger life in some places. If possible, therefore, the fa.rmer should prepare for this unwelcome visitor, as he is likely to spring into existence at any moment. The labors of a year can be suddenly snatched away, leaving a comfortable farmer penniless.

[From the" Central Nebraskan," Hastings, Nebraska, Sept. 7,1878.]

FIRE I-There is this year an unusual growth of grass on the prairie, and consequently there will be unusual danger from prairie fires. Fire will sometimes whisk through the tops of dry weeds, across even four rods of spring-ploughed land, as we know from sad experience • .

13

i nelds every three or five years down to clover; planted an apple-orchard; kept bees; raised some beef, pork, and nlutton; gleaned and husbanded his profits from each as some yielded and others missed, but never all failing,-do you not believe that at the end of ten years, the general farmer would be a richer farmer than the

livheat grower, and have a better farm than when 1e began, while the other has steadily imp over-shed his land ~ " .

L" Undoubtedly," was the reply, "and I wish issionaries would go up and down the State

preaching that sound doctrine. But wheat profits rgure plainly and easily, and sell land." L This policy is warranted because the estimates are reliable. For the welfare of the people, how­~ver, tons of advertising publications should

ave recommended a more varied culture. The eater thought and industry involved would be benefit The illustration will serve for argument that the ew Englander had better not seek exclusively

orn or wheat lands, but a light, open, porous oil, friable, clear of stones, and easily worked, ke that of Vineland and the plateau: that,

under an intelligent hand, is best for a mixed Cl.gricultU're. I Especially for a comparison of soils, I visited Vineland-that prodigy of modern colonization

14

-,vhich was planted on what was known as the " Jersey sands." The culture of that tract probably now equals or excels in fruitfulness and beauty, any like area within the borders of the United States. It is therefore no disparagement to that, to say that the soil of the Tennessee plateau apparantly much exceeds that of Vine­land in vegetable hu-mus. The growth of timber, also an accepted indication of the strength of soil, sustains the opinion. The suburbs of Vine., land, with soil precisely like that under. cultiva­tion in the town, are covered with stunted, scrubby oaks; whila the oaks of the plateau are from 8 to 18 inches in diameter, and from 50 to 100 feet in height. The land and roads of the former place are very sandy; much more than those of the plateau. But the development of Vineland is a clear demonstration of the true agricultural theory for the plate::tu, and is con­clusive assurance of its success.

Vineland has been developed according to the wisest maxims of modern agricultural -science; viz., that production from the ground is not to be continuously maintained from original fertility; but that the earth must receive of substance, if it is to return a hundred-fold. When the ground yields a harvest, it yields a portion of its vitality. Accordingly, the exhaustive policy of American farming upon prairie and bottom lands1 is simply

15

gradual impoverishment. Ohio began with a ~ield of .80 bushels .?f corn per acre, which ~as now declined to 40 ;"I~ and her farmers are seekIng to restore a degree of fertility which ought never to have been lost. Normandy (France) 1-~as been farmed for centuries, and is to-day ~robably as productiye to the acre as any pro­rince in the world. Its peasantry rely not upon its primeval richness,-that was gone before Columbus dreamed of America,-but upon "high culture."

* "The effects of a. bad system of farming can be seen all over the United States. Twelve years' continual cultivation of wheat in the rich new lands of Wisconsin will reduce the yield to 10 or 12 bushels per acre.

ce The great Sta.te of Ohio has, in some past years, had to import wlea.t for her own consumption. Many counties now produce very little wheat .

• Contrast the above with the facts that Belgium, which has been tilled for over 1,000 years, produces 50 bushels of wheat per acre, and other crops in proportion. Less than 100 years ago wheat averaged, in England, only 10 bushels per acre. By a. proper rotation of crops, drainage, and liberal use of manure, the average yield has been brought up to 36 bushels per acre; in some section.~ as high as 50 to 60 bushels being often given."-Report of Oltio State Board of Agriculture, 1871.

"The average product of wheat in Ohio for four years, 1872-76, was but 111 bushels per acre."-U. S. Agricultural Repo,·ts.

"The average yield from 261 counties in eight Western Stat€s, iDcluding Nebraska. and Kansas, for 1878, is estimated at 12! bushels, agairut 17 4-5 for 1877."-Chica;;0 Commercial Bulletin.

t Americans are addicted to boasting of their domain and its products. France has an area. of 204,825 square miles: population in 1874, 381102,004. The Unitc,1 States have an area of 2,844,900 square miles: population, 1870, 38,505,768. France, in 1869, raised, of wheat, 297,000,000 bushels; of potatoes, 275,000,000 bushels. The United States, 1870, rnised of wheat, 230,000,000 bushels; of potatoes,

16

This is defined as the greatest profitable amount of labor and capital applied to the smallest area. The results depend, as elsewhere, upon the cultivator's skill, judgment, capital and energy.

The following analysis, by Dr. Charles T. Jackson (1867) of the soil of Vineland, appears remarkable, in that such fertile soil could consist, of gravel and sand, -i-Jdrs; and of vegetable matter, but·rk of T~%5rs=TM7j.

First, mechanical separation of the surface soil :

Gravel, 55 Silicious sand, . 480 Very fine loam, . 465

1,000

120,000,000 bushels. In 1874, France exported of natural alimentary products, $298,332,000, not less than our exports of similar character.­Oentennial Suggestions by the Oommissioners from New Jersey.

Tracing those facts to their source, we find instruction for the enter­prise suggested. The United States had, in 1870,3,000,000 farmers and planters. France has 6,000,000 ; of whom 5,000,000 own but seven and a half acres each. These aggregate the grand total from their small fields, the vine, the olive, the mulberry, the osier, &c., &c., &c.

The United States, with its great range of latitude, can add greatly to its variety of production. Now they export the perfume of the wild peppermint, sassafras and winter-green. France, of the cultivated rose, violet, jasmine, tuberose, &c., &c. Large districts are devoted to their culture, and more than one hundred houses are engaged in their manu­bcture. The plateau, from month to month, is a na.tural parterre. It can surely rival Grasse, Cannes and Nice. Jute has been proved a 8uccess in the South, in a soil and tempera.ture of the table-land; and the Angora goat of Asia Minor (supplying all mohair) has bean acclimated in the Blue Ridge.

17

Chenlical analysis of the fine loam :-Vegetable matters, Insoluble, Alumina, Peroxide of iron, Lime, . Magnesia, Phosphoric acid, . Potash and soda (by difference),

6.00 86.60

3.00 2.00 0.10 0.04 0.82 1.44

100.00 To see what proportions of sand and gravel

exist in ascertainedfertile soils, see Sir H. Davy's Chemistry of Agriculture, and also Booth's Report on the Geology and Agriculture of Dela­ware, in which Davy's analyses are quoted, pages 113 to 115 (1841 : Dover),-

Moderately good sandy soil, .g. sand. Good soil, % sand. Good wheat soil, t sand. Rich soil, t sand.

Porosity of soil is essential, that the atmo­sphere can penetrate to roots and supply its ingredients of plant-food, especially for green crops; therefore sand in large proportion is indispensable.

In an address by Mr. Landis, before the New J¢rsey State Agricultural Society, in the supreme court room in Trenton, January, 1874, he said:

"There is no subject upon which less judgment is dis­played than the soil. Ignorant people judge of it by its

B

18

color; chemists by its constituents of fertility, it being a well-known fact that some of the best soils of England are light in color; ~nd the same may be said of some of the best wheat lands in Poland and Russia. Whilst popular prejudice is in favor of a black soil, enlightened experience proves that it is not the best. Fessenden says: ' r.J.'he best loams and natural earths are of bright brown and hazel color. 'l'he best emits a fresh, pleasant scent on being dug or ploughed up, especially after rain, and being a just proportion of sand . and clay intimately blended, will not stick much to the fingers on handling.' This is a soil that will not only produce· the cereals and grasses to perfection, but all the fruits and vegetables natural to the climate The practical agriculturist judges land by what it produces.

" Soil, climate and markets being suitable, a soil that will grow clover and the different fruits and vegetables will afford the man the best living and greatest certainty of an independence. A deep, black soil, very rich, will not produce this result. It will afford a living, but a coarse one, and not over-healthy."

Mr. Landis sums up the theory of Vineland cultivation in a few words: "ON A CLOVER SOD."*

Normandy discovered the great principle of the

* The introduction to the National Census of 1860, treating of the exhaustion of crops in the old wheat-growing States, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the struggle of farmers to restore their lands, remarks:-

" A correct application of this fact, that clover, bea.ns, peas, tares or turnips retain all the ammonia. received from the soil and the atmosphere, while cereals dissipate it into the atmosphere during their growth, forms the key to good farming. We must grow more green crops and less breadth of cereals."

In an elaborate "Treatise on Grasses, Cereals, and Forage-Plant' ,' just published by Col. Killebrew, it is stated tha.t

19

rotation of crops. Clover, rotated occasionally and turned under, to give to the earth the rich­ness of its dense leafage and rootlets, will supply all requisite fertility; lime being available for occasional use to correct the sourness of its rank growth.

Clover revels in the soil of the plateau. At the time of our visit (August), the first crop of clover had been cut, and the second far advanced; but the statements as to the height and weight of clover yield were extraordinary. Rev. R. Newton (see page 50), whose intelligent letters will serve as a text-book for plateau farming, writes: "I have never seen a country were people can get better crops for the same labor than the. mountain, if they begin right and keep right. Corn is the most exhaustive crop that can be raised; not so much from the strength it

"There is no grass, natural or artificial, that is more useful to the farmer or stock-grower than red clover. It has been styled, with some show of reason, the corner-stone of agriculture; and this is not only on account of its vigorous vitality, but because it adapts itself to a great variety of soils. It furnishes an immense amount of grazing, yields an abundance of nutritious hay, and is a profitable crop, considered with reference to the seed alone. But beyond all these, it acts as a vigorous ameliorator of the soil, increasing, more than any other forage-plant, the amount of available nitrogen, and so becomes an important agent in keeping up the productive capacity of the soil; increasing the yield of other crops, and n.dding to the wealth, refinement and culture of the farmer who sows it."

From the IC Advertiser," September 10, 1878: "The second crop of clover in Michigan for setld is now harvesting. Good judges think it is " P:l.vin3 crop at $l per bushel"

20

takes from the soil, as from its exposure of the soil so much to the leaching infl~ence of rains." He then gives an instance of a heavy corn crop, after restoration of land by "turning under" rye.

But Mr. Newton emphatically, with Mr. Lan­dis, insists upon clover as the cardmal restorative, and the basis of success; and "finer clover fields," he adds, "I have never seen, than on this plateau."

From the above it is conclusive that the soil of the table-land is precisely adapted to intellig~nt, mixed culture by a compact settlement; which is essential to religious, educational and social advantages.

Furthermore, lime being the only ingredient lacking for the production of the cereals; and as it is the substratu1n of the plateau, available by the mere labor of burning, and a few miles of freight on the railroad, with its use following clover, the soil can be made to yield a much larger product of cereals than the average of the United States.

THE PLATEAU AS WOODLAND.

Ordinarily, woodland suggests excessive labor in clearing: stumps as obstacles to culture, and rough surroundings of the homestead for many years. With such woods as in the N orth~ or that

21

cover the Alleghanies, these impressions are warranted. ~iuscle and endurance are demanded to dispose of the giant trunks, and plodding patience to clear out the dense undergrowth.

But the timber of the plateau is not a half of the former in size or quantity; while the under­brush is of slight account, owing to the annual burning, that the ,vild grasses may have free growth for 10,000 cattle driven up from the valley for summer pasturage. Hence the Southern term of "Openings;" and the aptness of com­parison of the plateau to "a vast picnic ground." Frequently, spaces of an half acre are entirely clear; so that each 10 or 20 acres may have ample garden area ready for the plough. At any time we could turn our saddle.: horses or t.he wagon, with a double team, and a top nine feet high, directly from the road and drive among the trees. l\1istaking our road, in one instance, we made at least three miles at random ~der and among the trees.

All extra labor in clearing such woodland is abundantly repaid: in the supply of timber for construction; wood for fuel; in its value for manufactures, for staves or cross-ties for export; in' its natural parks, and grateful shade for man and beast; in its protection against winds and its exhalation of moisture; in its charm to the landscape and verdant vistas along its roadways;

22

in its beauty and comfort provided for the new rural home.

A prairie cannot in a generation grow its counterpart.

Prairie-culture is comparatively a recent de­velopment in the United States. Previous to the opening of illinois by railroads, the territory newly settled was unbroken forest. The axe opened the splendid farms of New York, Ohio, Michigan and Missouri. They are still being brought out from woodlands, to secure their rich virgin soil. Along the lines of roads in all these States, extensive corn-fields are now common, among the stumps of recent clearings.

One of the prairie railroad companies issues a caricature, "Prairie versus Woodland." The four scenes are: "A start on the prairies." " A sta.rt in the woods." " The same place after six years." " The same place after ten years."

The start in the woods is in a log Qabin. The home, after ten years, is still a cabin; still closely shut in by woods, and surrounded by stumps; all of which is absurd, except in heavy timber and isolated pioneership.

With a portable steam-mill, timber in wood­land is a trifling cost compared with "$25 per thousand" for common, and" $67.50 for firsts and seconds," as quoted in the Kansas circular. By kiln-drying, with fuel for nothipg, a frame

23

cabin can be built by the personal labor of the owner with little more outlay than for a log cabin. Then, as to being "buried up in the woods," the danger will be, in the compact settle­ment proposed, that the land will be denuded of its trees. In the caricature, none of those superb ornaments are left on the road for shade; but a rail-fence (of which there should be none near houses) has the place of a hedge on the prairie.

The light timber of the plateau would leave few stumps after ten years, if left alone; but this is needless. If winter leisure is employed, they may be rapidly cleared from the light soil. A personal experiment is here in point.

Some years ago I saw that a noble elm must give place for my fruit-trees. When the branches laid about wilted, the stump looked obstinate. There was no room to haul it out, blow it out, or burn it out. Its roots were fast hold of loose rocks. It" stumped" me, and I learned the origin of that word. I thought, "If you were under water you would last for ever, like the piles of Venice. If I can let moisture and air through you, you will go quickly." A few holes with a large augur, bored perpendicularly, divided the trunk for the work of decay into saplings three or four inches in diameter. They held water at every rain, soaked the wood thorou~hly, and opened twice its circumference to

24

the atmosphere. The stump rotted entirely in three years .A boring-machine, with a Cook~s patent circular-lipped auger (copied from nature in the teredo), would easily bore thus fifty stumps per day.

In the settlement of the plateau, original restrictions should protect twenty per cent. of the timber. Beside parks, each farm of con­siderable size should have its wood-lot, and these should be massed for shelter, density of moisture, and climatic influence .

.A method of meeting this requirement is suggested in the plan proposed for a town and adjacent farms. (See drawing.)

COAL AND OTHER MINERALS.

The Coal .Jleasures.-" Some of the beds of the great Tennessee coal-field have been opened for local purposes, and show coal of good quality. The want of transportation has suppressed development. In Cumberland, Morgan, Overton, Fentress, and Scott counties, all on the plateau, are many fine exhibitions of coal, especially where streams have gashcd the mountain-top. Coal has been mined for local purposes in all these counties."

"In Rockcastle Cove, two miles southwest of Jamestown, there is slate of excellent quality, the layers of which are thirty feet thick in the agbrregate." . "The most' interesting iron deposit in the county is an ?utcrop .of the dyeotone, a stratified red-iron rock, yielding m practIce forty to fifty per cent. of iron."

25

" The whole cost of raising this ore at Cumberland Gap, and depositing it in the bridge-loft ready for smelting, is one doller per ton. This fact will be appreciated · by the reader when he reflects that ores delivered for smelting in the Pittsburgh furnaces cost from ten to twelve dollars per ton. On the spurs which shoot out from the table-land are deposits of limonite iron-ore of superior excellence, yielding from the furnace fifty per cent.."

" I~imestone for flux, and sandstone for hearths, are found all through the dyestone region. Coal too, abounds in juxtaposition to the iron-ore, though preference, until the establishment of the Rockwood furnace, was given to char­coal, for the manufacture of which there are ample supplies of timber. The limestones below the bluffs, on the western slope of the mountain, afford a beautiful variegated marble, similar to that found in East Tennessee."

"On East Fork, ten miles west of Jamestown, is an oil­spring. The oil flows out with the water and is sometimes skimmed off. Another oil-spring, three miles higher up the river, confinns the existence of petroleum in this region. A group of oil-springs is reported at the mouth of Poplar Cove Creek."

"A dozen or more excellent chalybeate springs are scattered over the plateau, but as yet none of them have been improved."-Oommissioner Killebrew's (C Resources oj Tennessee. "

Coal-veins, four to five feet thick, are in the vicinity of Jamestown. The inhabitants have it free for their own quarmno. or it will be • -J- ~,

mmed and delivered at four or five cents per bushel, or $1.25 per ton of twenty-five bushels; as good as any at the East for donlestic or steam purposes.

26

PICTURESQUENESS OF THE PLATEAU.

Mter due estimate of the features of the region which are essential to its population, its value, is greatly enhanced if the charms of natural beauty may be added for their happiness.

Its topography wonderfully combines, in near proximity, the lovely and gentle, the wild and romantic, with the grand and majestic aspects of nature. Lawn-like slopes join their graceful lines as imperceptibly as the waves of ocean. These undulations are not monotonous, but beautifully varied in size, height and contour. IIere and there a hundred acres can be selected of unbroken grade, that, partly cleared, with trees left singly or in groups, would be the ideal for an English park, with a mansion on the crest.

More frequent are slight elevations, covering twenty to fifty acres on each descent, that would give to smaller homesteads sightly eminences for dwellings, and groves at pleasure. Approaching a water-course, they break into hills and va1leys, with sharp descent to its rapid and clear current, through a precipitous canon; its walled sides verdant with trees, shrubbery, and vines rooted in the crevices of shelving rocks. When a range for vision is opened through the woods, peaks of the Cumberland Mountains will tower in the horizon, catching the glimmer of daybreak, and the glow of sunset.

27

Few of the local beauties of the region have probably yet been revealed to travellers; for roads are at distant intervals, and the rocky, embowered walls of streams were only seen for short distances as we crossed them at the fords.

The inhabitants speak of rock-houses (caves) as common conveniences . for shelter of their herds.

By diverging a mile from the road, ,ve fortunately inspected two of them, which would be a bonanza for an Eastern watering-place, if they could be transported there with their surroundings.

A dell, sunk from the adjacent surface, was filled with a grove of rhododendrons, the foliage interlaced in dense shade; the trunks, bare to twelve or fifteen feet in height, intertwined, semned like shoots from one common root into a common foliage, like a banyan tree.

The glen is enclosed by a circular rampart of rock, of great height. Woodland extends to its projecting crest, majestic trees bordering the very edge. At the base of these walls two immense semi -circular caves penetrate the ledge. The cord (or opening on the face of the rock) of one was estimated at 1,000 feet, and the depth of its recess, sweeping inward in a regular curve, 300 feet.

Over the masses of superincumbent rocks, hanging in fearful wildness, waterfalls scattei'

28

spray from among the trees at the top upon the foliage at their base, adding to the clear stream which courses through the dell.

A chalybeate spring, so strong as to redden the soil around, flows from a crevice in the per­pendicular rock. The drinking-gourds about, appropriate in rusticity, show it as a resort of the inhabitants.

In the grove, rude seats-slabs from pines­were arranged about a rostrum for the gatherings of the people.

Such a spot might well inspire the courage of Covenanters, or the heroism of mountaineers for the defence of a Republic.

The flora of the plateau cannot be forgotten in the mention of its natural beauties. A resident there, from Massachusetts, spoke with enthusiasm of the profusion and beauty of its wildflowers,- in variety continually renewed from early spring through autumn. At the time of our visits the slopes were brilliant with scarlet phlox; on the borders of streams the magnolia and bignonia were gorgeous among the foliage of trees, and laurel and rhododendron along banks and in the glens.~~ Coves were gay with extra­ordinary water-plants, and tiniest bright blossoms

* Among sa.mples received at the rooms of the Boa.rd, is a. section of a rhododendron-trunk, about six inches in dia.meter. Ima.gine the splendor of 8u~h a. tree in full flower i

29

hid among grasses. The sensitive-plant and golden-rod were neighbors at the roadsides.

It is safe to predict that 't\rhen access to this region is opened by the Cincinnati Railroad, its attractions of entire healthfulness, mineral springs, cool breezes, and rural beauties, will make it a convenient and favorite summer resort, not only from the South, as is now that portion reached by Southern railroads, but from ICen­tucky and Ohio, on the North.

THE PRESENT POPULATION OF THE PLATEAU.

Intercourse with natives, confirmed the tes,. timony appended, that they are loyal, honest, peaceable and hospitable. Their cabins are rude, their fare simple and coarse, but they provided for us their best, and proved their interest in our mission. They live idly, speaking frankly of it as a fault. Said one from a group, "Don't send any people as lazy as we are." This judg­ment is not without palliation. Their training; their isolation frOlU other comn1unities, and all markets; the want of saw-lnills especialiy,­without which they can have none other than log­cabins,-are reasons for a lack of ambition and energy.

They are happy people, those mountaineers! They average ten to eighteen children to each

30

household, and" they all live to grow up." (For cheerful statistics, in illustration, see thO? state­ment of Mr. Mosier.

Their ancestors were hunters. Game abounded. The rifle was the reliance for meat, and a corn­field for bread. As game diminished, - the hog took the place of the deer, fattening, without care or trouble, upon mast (nuts and acorns) in the woods. When opportunity is opened to these kindly people for the education of their children, it will be cordially welcomed.

WHY HAS NOT THIS REGION BEEN SETTLED ~

Because of inaccessibility; Until this genera­tion there might have been added this conclusive reason: the surrounding (not the existence on the spot) of an antagonistic institution. This obstacle no longer circumvallates the grand mountain ranges of the South.

A range of rolling surface on the plateau, forty to sixty miles from north to south (unbroken save by canons of streams), will be opened by the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. Heretofore

* Game is still quite abundant. A stag came successive mornings to the well of our lodging for salt that had been scattered. After N ovem­ber, venison is a staple food and market product. Wild turkeys abound. A letter of September 2nd speaks of a shot into a flock of about seventy. Rabbits, partridges, pheasants, squirrels, &c., add to the variety of wH·l meat. Fish also are in the streams.

31

it could not be approached either by the railway termini of Somerset on the north, or Careyville on the east, save by roads almost impassable, up and down a height of 1,000 feet. In many places there are no roads but the rocky beds of the mountain streams._ Our journey thither fr0111 both directions was at the · rate of twenty-four miles in twelve hours. The spring-wagon which conveyed luggage as we rode on horseback, or went afoot for safety, had not its counterpart in the region. The .entire livery of Huntsville and Jamestown consisted of one buggy each. Mails are carried on horseback. One heavy team hauls merchandise up the plateau at $1.50 per hundred pounds. No better proof of its utter isolation from civilization need be given than that there is not a sign of " Rising SUll Stove Polish," or "Gargling Oil" to mar the beauties of the region, and tha.t the sOlmd of the hand -organ has never been heard in the land.

Yet this secluded territory is central to a richly developed region and large cities. Within a radius of two hundred miles is Cincinnati; of one hundred and fifty miles, Louisville, Nashville and Chattanooga; of sixty miles, Knoxville,­county-seat for thirty thousand inhabitants; the trade-focus of all East Tennessee, large portions of south-east Kentucky, south-west Virginia, western North Carolina and northern Georgia

32

and Alabama. In Knoxville are several whole­sale houses, whose sales figure in millions; and the East Tennessee University, "one of the oldest, largest and best equipped, in every respect in the South." This university affords special advantages to students of limited means. It has classical, agricultural and mechanical depart­ments. The entire annual expense of board and tuition is only about $120. State ~tudents, nominated, three by each representative, are free, and railroad Hues are free also. To other students, fares are one-half rate.

The Cincinnati Southern Railroad will bring this land within eight to ten hours of that city, and the junction therewith which must soon follow by construction of thirty to forty miles only of the Virginia roads, from Careyville, east­ward, will open it to all the seaboard ports by the trunk line through Lynchburg.

The rapid settlement of the Westenl States has not been attributable entirely to their superior fertility, and certainly not to their preferable climate; but to their accessibility by cheap railroad construction. Could the Alleghany region have been opened by rail, laid, as on the plains, at a mile per day, the result would have been different.

The greater distance alone of one thousand miles of Central Kansas and N ebraska1 from the

U. S. CENSUS MORTALITY TABLE

NEB

I lOOirb ,000 "all

I :" -- -100-2bO- " - - _. - - - - _. -n' - . 250-.550- .. - ~ - .. - "- . - - -m -' 6bO-900 . -- . - ,,- . - . -IV -,900-1400.- - - .. - . - " -v Ilu 1I S Faille of Inlt3stinal J)esea8es Shows WJatealso fbr tJu, PL ATE A lIwhere . ' £(FU,';TlVflr/1i

".J1forlaLity Tables [f. S {;en&US 1870

MAP SHOWING RAILWAY CONNECTIONS.

ALABAMA

~~~~

W . Va"

N.C

-.--._- ---. "'~-.--- .-. -~ -."".'.

7 "0 __ / I '\',

\\ S . C. , "\

33

table-land, over which grain must be freighted to the East, at so much discount from its value where grown; and again over which manufactures must be returned, adding to their cost in living; this item alone would raise severe competition.

The Cincinnatti Railroad, per mile, has been one of the most expensive in the country, for the difficulties of the route; the excessive outlay for " cuts and fills," bridges and tunnels.

Had there been access to the plateau, where water is soft, at twenty to twenty-five feet, instead of hard and (as in Nebraska) at more than one hundred feet, to be pumped by wind­mills; where fuel, both wood and coal, are free gifts, instead of a matter of severe economy, as in Nebraska and Kansas, where coal costs five to ten dollars per ton, and cornstalks bundled by patent machines, or straw in Russian Stoves, are troublesome substitutes in the entire lack of wood; where timber of all kinds is on the spot instead of being freighted from Chicago; where delicious breezes perfumed by the woods are, instead of hot winds from Texas plains, varied at intervals by tornadoes; had these regions been available, there would have been some diversion from the "through routes" to the West.

Those who have reaped late profits by wise investments at the West, certainly are too

o

34

magnanimous to be jealous of such comparisons. They cannot fear disparagement of that empire, teerning with an incoming tide of humanity. As well might the Mississippi consider itself depreciated because some prefer seats on the Hudson!

And it is because of such a preference, because many must recognize the resthetic impulses of their nature; because there are many who crave a rock, hill, stream, tree, within their range of

' vision, that western emigration draws so small a proportion of its numbers from New England.

When I entered Kansas for the first time, in December"last, on exploration for the Board, the first comment of a land commissioner of one of the most prosperous land-grant roads in' the State,. was: " Yon can't get New England people out here! The money we have spent on adver­tising in New England has never paid. Our buyers are from the prairies." The statement was a surprise, and was debated as improbable. But that it was correct, is proved by the follow­ing statistics from" A Sketch of the Garden of the West," a land-advertising publication of the" Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company. The table is headed, "Who have settled on our Lands," and states that the settlers in thirteen counties, according to the State census in March, 1875, came as follows:-

TIIinois,. • . . Iowa, .... Missouri, Ohio, .... Indiana, .

11,690 5,599 4,896 3,308 3,111

28,604

35

Maine, . . . • . New Hampshire,. . Vermont, . . Massachusetts, Connecticut, .

134 36 83

274 60

587

Nothing can be more absolutely conclusive, than that from the north-eastern sections, from the hilly country, the people do not take kindly to the treelsss plains.

Bishop Ireland in his pul)1ication, " An Invita­tion to the Land," for the Minnesota Colony (from whose letter I have quoted), is compelled from his experience to forwarn comers of home ­sickness on the prairies.-

"To a western farmer there is nothing bleak or lonely in a prairie; to a man coming fresh from a city and looking on it, for the first time, with city eyes, it may, very likely, seem both. Indeed, a sense of loneliness akin to despon­!lency ,is a feeling which the newly-arrived immigrant has generally to contend agaip.st, a feeling which may increase to a perfect scare if he is a man anxious to consult Tom, Dick and Harry-who are always on hand-as to the wisdom of the step he has just taken."

The nlajority of northern families I have met on the plateau, have retreated thence after prairie experiences.

36

As the members of the Board are aware, the first movements suggested for their consideration were all in reference to the new prairie States. It was taken for granted that there was the field for our enterprise above all others. On my return from the first trip to Kansas, the following letter awaited my return, besides others, with docu­ments setting forth the uplands of the Middle States :-

It ·is a specimen of appeals, arguments, and statements made by strangers, which impelled the attention of the Board to the resources of the mountain plateaus of the Middle States.

WINCHENDON, MAss., DEC. 22, 1877.

To the Sec'retary of the Boa1'd of Aid to Land Ownership:

DEAR SIR :-1 have spent several years in agricultural pursuits, and many years as a mechanic, in different branches and different locations. Agricultural pursuits are fascinating to me, but necessity compelled me to become a mechanic, and failure and a weakened constitution have been the result. I have watched the colonization movements for several years ; have posted myself much on both South and West; I have looked the subject over much, and for some time have been convinced that New England mechanics can make no pleasanter homes, and no better investments anywhere, than in the mild, healthy portions of the South, where as healthy climate, as majestic timber, as superb water-power, as ample coal and iron mines exist as there are in the Union, with

37

agricultural resources nearly or quite equal to any. Large colonies of New England mechanics, settled as farmers in the vicinity of extensive water-power, and within one to one hundred miles of both coal and iron mines, would be sure to attract capital and brains from the North, and colony after colony would follow in succession. For such colonies, for several reasons, I prefer and suggest Tennessee. The Cum­berland Mountains table~ lands would furnish cheap and superior fruit, and thousands of families would settle there to enjoy its healthy and salubrious climate.

Manufactories of wooden-ware; chairs, furniture, carriages, farm-implements, machinery, boot and shoe, and woollen and cotton goods,-would be established, with water as motive­power, and nearly all its materials taken from within the State. I suggest Tennessee, that should you deem it best, you will acquaint yourselves with, and weigh well, its resources.

Very turly yours, J. T. EMORY.

From that time, facts such as are given in this Report have accumulated on my hands, until they compelled recognition. The extensive travel in the prairie States, however, has been well worth its cost and effort, as it has afforded basis certainly for intelligent and satisfactory compari­son.

I have been asked: "Will the people go to the Middle States ~" Correspondence from all directions, like that above, proves that Inany are aware of the attractions of the highlands of the Southern Middle States, which are about being

38

opened by the new railroads, and . are eager to take the earliest advantage of them.

As I write, a gentleman from Brooklyn (N.Y.) calls to say, that several of his friends there, having a few thousands of dollars each, but too small nleans and income to maintain their families reasonably in cities, or to secur~ prospect for their children, wish to go to Tennessee together, under the auspices of the Boston Board. Another party of intelligent persons wait our action in aNew England city.

Many are on file to the same effect, not only from New England, but from New York, Penn­syl vania, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois, the evidence showing not only willingness but impatience to go. The nucleus ·of a well-ordered settlement by the Board would undoubtedly attract imita­tion, and spread over the table-land southward; and in the future be ~recognized as the potential example which tended to the fulfilment of the prophecy of Mr. Carey; the occupation in thrifty industry, agricultural and mechanical, of the uplands of the Middle States. Has not Provi­dence ,held them in reserve for the . entrance of free, intelligent labor 1

39

WILL NORTHERN IMMIGRATION BE WELCOME1

The present population of the plateau· is so small, that it "is more important to be satisfied of the good-will of the people of the State, and the adjacent States. Of a cordial welcome from the. general population of the State, there is no question. East Tennessee, a territory nearly twice the area of Massachusetts,t is strongly Re­publican, and it has demonstrated its loyalty against terrible odds. Thirty -four counties in East Tennessee gave Hayes 10,800 majority­more than the State of Ohio. On the question for a convention, with reference to secession, the vote stood: for a convention, 7,550; against, 34,000. In 1860, in the midst of the greatest terrorism, the people voted directly on the sub­ject of secession, with a.majority of 18,30.0 against it. East Tennessee furnished, by the records of 'Washington, over 25,000 soldiers to the Federal army, and is still Republican by 4,000 majority.

On the 10th February, 1864, a meeting was held in Faneuil Hall, Boston, to hear the appeal of Col. N. G. ~aylor, for relief to the distressed

* By the census 'of 1870 the population of-}Vhite. Colored.

Scott Co. was • 4,139 40 Morga.n Co., 2,999 101 Fentress Co., . • . • • • 4,717 ' 170

within an area. of 1,546,546 acres; or about one-third of Massachusetts. t East Tennessee has 7,961,079 acres, Massachusetts has 4,992,000

acres,

40

loyalists of East Tennessee. We will not quote the painful record of their sufferings-'tis best forgotten! The result was a donation, raised· by a committee, of which Ron. Edward Everett was chairman, of more than one hundred thousand dollars. The aggregate of contributions from the rest of the country, was less than $40,000. The following year, at a public meeting in Knox­ville, in reference to the death of Mr. Everett, Chancellor Temple spoke as follows:-

"When the terrible desolation of war had visited our fertile and hitherto abundant country, and left our people destitute, this great orator and philanthrophist pleaded the cause of the naked and starving before the people of Boston and Massachusetts. Most nobly did Boston and Massachu­setts respond. One hundred thousand dollars were boun­teously given. Noble Massachusetts! Chill though her winds, and ungenial her sun; frost-bound though her soil, and her face swept by storms of sleet and snow; yet, within, there beats a heart as warm as if glowing with tropical heat .. Who shall say hereafter, and especially what East Tennes­seean, that Massachusetts and Tenessee are not fond sisters, linked together by bonds of affection, and that her people shall not be, through weal and woe, our people 1"

In the light of such memories, and sucll utter­ances, it cannot be doubted that New Englanders will be welcomed to Tennessee by a fraternal people.

And there is ample evidence of the eagerness to cordially receive accession~ of Northern popu ..

41

lation by the Southern States generally. They now officially notify the country that their land is open to all honest comers. Bureaus of immi­gration are organized, which are rivals in induce­_ments. The following is from the report of Leonidas L. Polk, Commissioner for North Caro­lina, for 1878 :-

"Under our system of slavery, we wanted no immigrants; hence our indifference as to what the world knew of our re­sources. But it is our plain duty, under the great changes wrought by war, to utilize every advantage presented by the situation. That our people feel this, no stronger proof can be produced than is to be found in that provision of our organic law, to devise and prosecute such measures as may induce immigration to our State."

This is a specimen of the frank admissions of change from former policy upon this subject. I would add the testimony of personal experience and observation from extensive intercourse with men of all classes in the Southern States, during the past eight months, of the subsidence of animosityi~ towards Northerners. The mention

• That a yellow-fever epidemic should prove an important element in the work of national reconciliation would seem, at Jirst bh:sh, an odd idea, but no careful observer can fail to realise that the" North" and the "South" have not been so closely bound together in feeling and tlympathy, since long ~cfore the firing on Fort Sumter, as they are to-day. The heartiness with which almost every northern community has contributed its share towp,rd the relief of the stricken South has

42

of · the object of this Board, has received; from Virginia to Texas, expressions of hearty approval a.nd sympathy, especially from officials of State governments, as well as late officers of the Confederate army. The amiability of the latter moved my adnliration; and, without an exception, their courtesy commanded the kindest remem­brance. Privates of the Confederate army have told of fraternal relations with Union soldiers across military lines, and in hospitals, and their eagerness to welcome them as neighbors. They have said, "Old soldiers won't quarrel, like politicians. "

Northerners, located in Nashville, Chattanooga, Little Rock, Galveston, &c., &c., have in no case said that their social relations were unpleasant . or their opinions not respected. No more con­genial neighbors could be desired than leaders I have met, civil and military, of the late Southern Confederacy. They have said that -a Northern colony would find them, if need be, their cham-

proved how essentially national our whole people really are, and· erased almost the last vestiges of the fast disappearing Mason and Dixon's line.-Springfield Republican.

Extract from a letter of Chancellor Temple, Knoxville, Sep. 2, 1878 : " We have no fears whatever of the yellow fever. We are 1,000 feet above the sea, and that disease never prevails at any place more than 500 feet high." (The plateau is 1,000 feet higher than Knoxville ; and the tract proposed is over 300 miles from Memphis, or as far as Boston from Philadelphia.)

It is said also that it never prevails on a limestone foundation, such as underlies East Tenn~~see and the platea1.\.

43

pions. An officer of Morgan's Cavalry, now In Scott County, said :-

" We will pass any resolutions of welcome you wish, and notify all concerned, that if any man should molest one of your people, we will find him and treat him as a horse tltie/. \Ve all know what that means, and that there is no escape for a horse thief."

The citizens of Tullahoma, on the rim of the table-land, at a meeting on the 22nd of July; ultimo, passed resolutions inviting the settle.;. ment of our colony in their vicinity, and kindly appointed a committee for the reception of a delegatioD: from the Board.

I avail myself of this opportunity to place with the Board additional facts and arguments having an important bearing upon its colonization.

:First. Is colonization of the plateau prac­ticable ~

This is no new and vision~ry theory of enterprise; but one which has been practically successful ill the highest degree in that latitude, and without many of the advantages possessed by the table-land.

Cullman, in the mountainous land of North Alabama, celebrated its fifth anniversary last April with great rejoicing, and in December, 1877, the axe VlJ,S laid to the first tree for the site of Garden City in Blount County, Ala.

44

(mountain woodland), by the Colonization Aid Society of Chicago,-a German organization. The report states, "they are enrapt in ecstacy over the romantic and picturesque aspect of the country, and its invigorating climate. It will only be the sluggard, or he afflicted with sickness, who will not be able to make headway in a cOlmtry where two crops can be raised each year."

The Anaheim colony in California, and Greeley in Colorado, are famed successes in colonization.

"Gruetli, the Swiss colony on the Tennessee table-land, in Grundy County, was located on the southern portion of the plateau for accessibility to the (then) only railroad,­the Nashville and Chattanooga,-for which purpose they accepted the soil of a pinery; much inferior to that of the northern counties. They commenced in actual poverty.

"By industry and rigid economy they have managed to stock their places. '~Phe region which six years ago was bleak, desolate and uninhabited, now shows signs of a thrifty population. The·· wilderness is crowned with orchards and gardens, with meadows and rich fields of clover, and even wheat. Rye, corn, Irish potatoes, oats, tobacco, millet, &c., &c., are grown with profit. Oxen are used, instead of horses upon the farms. 'rhere is an average of two cows to each family, and butter and cheese are exported in limited quantities,­about 2,000 pounds of the former and 1,000 pounds of the latter having been made in the past year (1876-7). About seventy-five acres have been planted in apple-trees, and the colonists expect to derive their largest revenue from this source. A portion of the land has been set apart for school purposes. Two saw mills are kept employed. Wagon

45

blacksmith, and paint shops are established. The colony is growing in prosperity every year. The homes are neat and tasteful, and the yards ornamented by flowers. It would be difficult to find, in any part of the State, a community that has made more rapid advances within the same time as this colony. What they have done has been without money or assistance, and it is but an earnest of what may be done by the application of capital and intelligent labor."

One of the most philanthropic colonizations has been prosecuted quietly, but effectually, by Bishop Ireland, of the. Catholic Diocese of Minnesota. In a letter of Aug. 10th, 1878, he says :-

CC Colonization upon the land is unquestionably the question of the hour. It is to be the solution, and an excellent one, of the many problems now agitating society. Our success here has been flattering. AP, we had no means, we had to be satisfied with railroad lands, and could not control the odd sections. Each colonist secures land in proportion to his means, and takes it on terms of long payment. The poorest should have $350. Our first colony lately gathered to thank God for their harvest. Henceforth these people are' in possession of prosperity. We have alreatly placed on tlle land some fifteen ltztnd1'ed families, and 'lee feel tltat we are only at the beginning of our work. The whole question of colonization we find to be a very simple one, and it is to be regretted that the public generally do not seem to app1'ehend how easy a task it is, and how much good 'may be done through it. Philanthropists llQ'Ce in colonization the means of gi'Ding homes to thousands with­out losil1g a dollar themsel'D88."

46

Another successful colony is reported in Virginia.

Space is afforded for brief extracts, to illustrate the rapid progress and the good living of the colonists.

On the 17th of March last the mst ten families began to prepare their land for cultivation. But two of the number were practical farmers; yet, "hard work, · energy, and perseverance have accomplished much, but the reward is already great, for at any colonist's house you are welcome to a dinner fit for any person to eat, the com­ponent parts produced entirely off the new farm. Chickens, turkeys, gu~ea-hens, and Muscovy ducks abotmd, and eggs are very plentiful, fresh butter churned every day, potatoes six and seven inches long, tomatoes, squashes, beans of many varieties, peas (pole and field), large and heavy onions, lamb and mutton, sugar-earn, parsnips, carrots, &c., with berries in the greatest profu­sion, can be served up in one hour's time, and washed down with · rich draughts of sweet or butter milk. The women, though deprived of many conveniences they were accustomed to in Philadelphia, yet appear to put up with the dis­advantages cheerfully, and are really glad to be be away from the sweltering streets and in a region where they can bring up their children morally and uncontaminated by the temptations of a city life."

47

Forty "families have located, and large acces­sions are to be made this fall from :M.aryland and Ohio. "The town site has been laid out and is . fast being built up. There are at present thirty­~ix buildings erected, or in 'process thereof, con­sisting in part of large store, drying-houses for lumber and fruit, wagon-shop, two blacksmiths' shops, saddlery, cabinet-maker's, boarding-house for visitors, tobacco warehouse and post-office. There is also a steam saw-mill, 'and grist-mill run by water-power."

." Already we are shipping potatoes, onions and dried blackberries to the North, and claim to be ahead of any colony established ' the same length of time."

Chatauqua County, New York, is a notable instance of organized cfevelopment of wild lands. It is stated by the gentleman, who, for nearly thirty yeatS, was manager of the Chatauqua Land Company with the, late Hon. Wm. H. Seward, its projector, and ex-Governor Patterson (now member of Congress from New York), that" it has been one of the most successful in the Union." The area purchased was about 600,000 acres. In 1870 the' population was 83,592. There are fifty­six towns and villages, the largest numbering 12,143 inhabitants. •

The planting of Vineland, N. J., through the energy and tact of ~Ir. C. K. Landis, is widely

48

known in the Eastern States. · He purchased, in 1861, 28,000 acres, at $7 to $18 per acre, an average of $10.40. The selling price has been fixed at $25 per acre. The land was covered with scrub oak, costing $8 to $10 to clear, per acre. Now a noble avenue, shaded with double rows of trees, the side-plots neatly grassed, ex­tend ten miles in length, the homesteads on either side indicating the highest cultivation. Their grape crop last year was 4,000 tons. About 2,000 families have locatad their homesteads, and the central town of 3,000 inhabitants is thrifted with trade and manufactures. Present popula­tion about 10,000.?~

On my way from Tennessee, I visited Vine­land, to contrast its advantages with those of the plateau. t The comparison of the soils has already been made, to the advantage of the latter. In facilities for drainage, and in general attractiveness, the table-land has greatly the advantage. Vineland has a grade of but nine feet to the mile, and the theory for sewerage is

* Of course there must have be~n a proportion of the unlucky, incompetent, impatient, dissatisfied. Are there not always some for whom it seems appointed, or who seem to be by nature specially adapted to not get along in the world I

t Mr. Landis considers the sandstone of the plateau very valuable asJmilding material. He would encourage the use of it in construction from the start. Laid up in rough, it will make dura.ble and picturesque fa.nn-houses. It is of various tints, soft when quarried, and easily wrought.

49

to utilize it on the ground. This is an economical expedient, but dangerous if neglected. The slopes of the plateau are ample for all water­flow, and are beautiful in perspective.

A paper on "Vineland" in the United States Agricultural Report of 1869, has the following discriminating lessons from its history:-

"Ten thousand people, gathered within ten yea,rs on the 'Jersey sands,' are an example in colonization of the effect of popular educational and social advantages of associated improvement in enhancing values of real estate, and creating a market even amid a community of producers nearly homogeneous.

" It is but natural that enterprising young men should find few attractions in regions of large farms and careless culture, and in sparsely-settled neighborhoods where social and intellectual privileges are relatively small, and where attempts at rural beauty are regarded as misspent labor."

"Small farms, fruit-culture, or thorough culture of any crop, rural charms and the social advantages of a populous and intelligent neighborhood, will serve to retain thousands of young men in the country who would otherwise enter the cities, too often to their ruin."

Mr. Landis kindly returned my visit in Boston, and manifested a magnanimous interest in the purposes of this Board. He tenders the result of his experience, that experimental outlay may be saved. The importance of many of his sug­gestions is manifest. For instance, the promotion 0/ local manufactures and mechanical pursuits, as a sti1nl.llus of agriculture, by creating a home mar ket for its tproduce.

()

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In 1865 he erected factory buildings, costing $29,000, in which are now established five ,different manufactures. N ow there are thirty manufacturing industries in the place.

The conditions in Tennessee are far more favor­able to manufactures for local consumption than they were at Vineland; for the latter is in the manufacturing centre of the United States and must withstand the severestcOlnpetition; whereas East Tennessee is in the heart of a region largely consuming, but entirely non-producing, of manu­factures.

Chancellor Ten1ple, in an address before the I{noxville Industrial Association, in 1869, said:

" Manufactures are yet in their infancy in East Tennessee. In this respect we offer all the advantages of choice and monopoly of a new State. 'Ve import from other States all our reapers, mowers, tltl'eshel's,-and engines; all of our chairs, axes, shovels, spades, hoes, 1'akes, forks, wire, sheet-iron, iron pipe; hinges, scythes, picks, 'U:illo~c-u:al'e, and rope; and even our axe and pick handles and 'wagon-spokes, most of our ploughs, b,'ooms, jU1'niture, u:ooden-u'are, fire-grates, stoves, corn-shellers, horseshoes; domestic prints, woollens, boots, shoes, and hats; most of our ca1'riages and many of our 'Wagons, besides hundreds of other articles."

"The average cost of transportation upon thirty of these articles is seventeen per cent. of the original cost. Carriages are brought from New Hampshire; ploughs, from Connecti­cut; brooms, from New York," &c., &c.

"By the manufacture of implements adjacenli to the fanner, he has a market for his produce at enhanced prices and purchases his farm-tools low. He saves the cost of his

51

produce to a market and the transportation of implements from market. Yet there is not an article that enters into their construction that cannot be had as cheap, and, with lumber, coal, and pig-iron, more cheaply than in Ohio or Connecticut. "

Manufacturing industries greatly enhance the value of adjacent agricultural lands. For in­stance, Hon. D. J. Morrell, Manager of the Cam­bria Iron Works in Johnstown, Pa., reported to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue that land within seven miles of the works was worth $150 to $200 per acre· for the market supplied for pro­~uce. Land beyond this influence was worth only $20 per acre.

Mr. Henry C. Carey, in a published letter to the late Hon. Henry Wilson, said :-

" 'rhe great backbone of the Union is found in the ridge which extends northward from Alabama; a country abound­ing in coal, salt, limestone, iron-ore, gold, and almost every other material required for a varied industry, and for securing the highest degree of agricultural wealth. Seeing these things, and that its whole upland presents one of the most magnificent climates in the world, can it be doubted that the day is at hand for emigration to the South 1"

But it may be asked:

lIct'Ve the Board practical experience tn such enterprise?

Anaheim, Cal., was colonized by German me­chanics. .Twenty acres of land, which cost $40

52

in 1857, sold for $6,000 in 1876. Mr. Nordhoff says; "Any sensible American can imitate t.his example."

Greeley was founded by an editor. St. Adrian, Minn., by a Catholic bishop, who

has moved fifteen hundred families. His letter will show "how easy a task it is, and how much good may be done."

Chatauqua County was settled by a lawyer. Vineland by a lawyer. 'This Board is conlposed largely of practical

business men, who have had long training in the school of human nature and executive direction. N early all are agriculturists in the summer; some are experts in farming, horticulture, scientific and practical mechanics,

There can be no fear of our ability to do what has been done, with the advantage of previous examples.

THE COLONIZATION MOST EXPEDIENT FOR THE

PLATEAU.

To the Report on the "'-tV est Carolina tract visited, are added practical suggestions for its settlement, the result of experience with similar lands. Its rich soil, which for SOlne years can spare any outlay for fertilization, and its heavy timber, are adapted for men of very small means and strong muscle.

The plateau should w:ve .smnewnat different development. A small capital can be there utilized to great advantage, because there is less obstruction to a higher culture. Clearing of the land and the construction of buildings and roads may give employment to a considerable number who would earn their land by labor; and many more of such applications than could be accepted are now on file at the office of the Board.

If North Carolina colonization demands four hundred dollars, as the minimum for a colonist, the comer to the plateau, with a family, should have at least six hundred dollars. A thousand dollars ,vill start a capable man, comfortably. The field, however, would offer profitable employ­ment to a larger capital, in stock for grazing.

Nurseries and orchards, upon a large scale, would be excellent investments-the former, especially, yielding a quick remuneration; and the latter beginning to bear in four or six years.

Who should go, ancl 'Who should not go, to the Table-land.

The man in middle life, with a small com­petency; with a capital saved of a few thousand dollars; with boys from twelve to sixteen, com­pleting their school days, that" he don't know what to do with." He can easily and happily settle them each on a self-supporting farm homestead and fit them to live,ilnprove and enjoy.

The father, moth~l!, - ~tother, who have them­selves, or with their dependents, tendencies to pulmonary, catarrhal or febrile difficulties; whose weak constitution is shaken by the extremes of a New England climate, can learn from testimony herein, that the even, pure, genial atmosphere of the plateau will probably give to them strength for active enlployment and add to their years.

The college graduate, with good sense as ,veIl as book-knowledge, habits of application and of physical exercise; who finds "law" a.nd " medicine" overcrowded, and" is now struggling in an uncongenial life, more from force of habit and submission. to an imagined standa.rd ·of gentility, than from personal choice or fitness."*

* An article in the "Advertiser" of Sept. 2, is so apt in this oonnection that more of this is borrowed :-

AN OPEN DOOR.

Not long ago, the school committee of a town in the suburbs of Boston, wished to procure an assistant teacher for their high school. Seven hundred dollars salary they were willing to pay. Ninety-two answers were received, and among the respondents were graduates of Harvard, Yale, Amherst and Dartmouth. Finally, a woman, living in the town, was engaged for four hundred dollars.

A few days a:;Q, there was brought to our notice one of the large dairy fal'ms of the western part of the State. Its manager is a college graduate, who has studied law. For more than two years he has been in charge of this farm. He is an enthusiast in his work; finds in it a congenial atmosphere, and is making money. Why should law, medicine and theology monopolize the name of "learned professions 1 " Efforts have been made, and tJ:ere are societies now organized, to aid iu the transfer of labor from the cities to the country. But this transfer should include quality, as well as quantity, though it will be made by indiviJual, not concerted, effort. Agriculture, in it~ best form, is coming to be a

55

The widow, with a thousand dollars or up~ards, and one or more boys; who can live independently, care for the dairy · and bees; while in the light soil, a boy can do a man's work, and secure a farm for her grandchildren.

The mechanic, who, trained as a farmer, can now find but half employment, and, straitened to meet the weekly outlay for his family, can return to farming with a will, and wait patiently for returns for work, that will not come in ca,sh to spend each Saturday night.

The trader, whose business career has been a failure; who has a small capital left with which he vainly strives to hold a footing.

learned profession. Dairy farming alone is not the branch which may be successfully pursued. Stock-breeding, and fruit-raising will be found prolific, and the large cities will always be immense consumers. People will always be found, moreover, who will pay high prices for fine goods, for products of such careful training as will place them, to a great degree, out of competition with the wholesale, cO:l.rser-grained products of the W:.est.

No man Can be expected to turn to the more direct form of production, after he has secured a liberal education, till he is satisfied that the pecuniary rewards will be good and his work do him as much honor as medicine, law or the school-room. These considerations are on the personal side. On the side of the public good it is flo manifest and positive advantage that trained intelligence should enter the different fields of production_ The superiority of the scientific over the prevalent -which, from its blindness and shiftlessness, deserves to be called, in its extreme type, the ignorant-method, is becoming clearly apparent.

To have the liberally educated distributed among the different pro­fessions will give a solidity and intelligence to the average population. ~ol!t~cal1y, it will add to our security, and what is begun as a means of lD<l!vldual profit will turn to a good to the State. Dangerous political beliefs and reckless political agitators wiU hl\ve less influence. .

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The clerk, minister, teacher, who from approach­ing years, or loss of situation, finds himself casting about for a livelihood; provided he can be a practical, not theoretical farmer.

The porter, watchman, truckman, who came from the country to make his fortune in the city, and, finds it harder and harder to keep good his amount in the saving bank.

The continuance of this theory will be "in the application of it." *

Who Should not Go. The man who "never did like the country," or

whose wife "always hated it ;" he who thinks the world" owes him a living somehow," without hard work; he whose happiness is in a billiard­room, a saloon, or on a barrel-top in the country grocery; he who would rather live by his wits than by his brains and hands; who would rather be circus door-keeper than reap in a harvest; the man who will run better in town politics than in the race of industry; he who seeks to change his business with each moon, and has always been "a rolling stone;" the man who always grumbles at his hard lot in life; who is always a "little

* The above are not supposititious applicants, but personal sketches from among the hundreds who have placed their names on the waiting list. It has been remarked, that with the most intelligent and considerate who have had a preference, it has been for the uplands of the MidtUe Statesl rather th~n the prairie.

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too late;" who acts without thinking; who spends before he has earned; the man who never mends things, because he cannot drive a nail without pounding his fingers, and then getting mad with the hammer.

The continuance of this theory "is in the ap­plication of it."

A PLAN FOR A TOWN WITH SMALL AND LARGE

FARMS ADJACENT.

It is important that farm homesteads should be as near together as practicable, for neighbor­hood and protection; also, that roads should be direct to the trade centre. The French plan, which is imitated in Vineland, ranges houses on the line of a main street. To reduce the great length which this involves, the Mennonites divide their land into narrow and deep strips, with houses close to each other on the road. But still this extends the streets and separates them as far apart as villages.

Mr. Landis is of opinion that, if he were to repeat Vineland, he would lay ollt the land like a cart-wheel. A Massachusetts man upon the plateau had two plans with the same idea of radiating streets,-one in an octagonal and the other in a circular form.

The rectangular lines of government sections, or a city like Philadelphia, compel inhabitants to

58

travel for ever over" two sides of a triangle," and, so long as they "are greater than a third side," they will travel needlessly. Modern Paris remedies this by her streets diverging from main points.

GENTLEMEN,-To the previous review of the capabilities and attractions of the plateau of Tennessee, of which the topography is without a parallel on the American Continent, I beg to add, in brief, my conclusion, after constant study and conference upon the subject for more than a year: That the mountain plateau of ,East Ten­nessee, in consideration of its climate, soil, eleva­tion, sufficiently level surface, timber, water, mineral resources, accessibility, natural mechani­cal facilities, and attractive aspects; its proximity to a refined civilization, educational advantages, and markets, with the kindly disposition of its present population,-oifers greater opportunity for the accOluplishment of the design of this Board, than any other tract I have visited, in travel for six months, and over a distance of more than twenty thousand miles, in Western and Southern States.

Yet the interests involved in the purchase of land for the use contemplated are too important "for a selection by one or two individuals. I solicit,

59

therefore, the immediate return of a delegation to the Table-land for a concurrent judglnent upon the matter.

It is more than twenty years since the writer advocated, in the Boston press, land-ownership as the greatest boon for 'the people. In 1876, the pressure of the times again awakened my interest in the topic. Of late it has been con­stantly agitated-what shall be done with idle labor and capital? N ow, it is but the echo of public opinion to say that the time is ripe for agricultural colonization.

An intelligent observer of events, in Philadel­phia, writes: "In 1840, there were but five (5) per cent. of our population, in cities and towns of 6,000 population and upwards; in 1870, fifteen (15) per cent. in such towns. The reme­dies for the poverty thus engendered are in de­pleting the towns, or in opening foreign markets for our manufactures. When you are ready to establish a branch society in Philadelphia, I shall be glad to do all I can to aid. We need, greatly, WISDOM IN CHARITY."

No enterprise is so legitimate to-day as the improvelnent of fertile and cheap lands by an industrious population. N one more beneficient. The project contemplated by this Board will, to the extent of its prosecution, and beyond that

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by the power of its example, be a benefit to tho North. Is it not an additional nlotive that it will be of equal value to the South 1

Under the prestige of a l\fassachusetts Charter of Incorporation, granted exceptionally to the policy of the State, as its purpose was" of great public utility," the mOVelnent will have wide­spread influence, and have unprecedented de­velopment.

Let us respond to the confidence implied, by the planting of

01f the lovely highland of Tennessee, now being opened to the country. If in the fnture of its moral influence, of the mdus. ' and happiness of its people, it shall' e.lf the virtues which marked the found' g of its prototype, ,ve shall Le glad that we had a hand in the work.

Respectfully subnlitted, FRANKLIN 'V. Sl\UTII.

BOSTO~, Sept. 3, 1878.

ll1

The annexed plan gives a park in each of four corners of a village, meeting at the central point; also a large park extending from near the centre of the town. As the lots extend outwardly they increase in size, from store lots to small homesteads, and to larger farms. On the out­side, the strips across from street to street would be long as with the Mennonites, and, by the wood-lots uniting in the rear of the farms, belts of timber, with intervening openings, would encircle the town.

The plan is intended to illustrate methods of placing farm houses adjacent to each other and with direct approaches to the centre of the town. The Mennonite plan is at A A A A.

On the land' like the plateau diagonal roads could not be located with the regularity of the figure, but if secured where the level would ~dmit, the curved roads following undulations of the surface would add greatly to the beauty of' each estate and the general landscape.

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CORRESPONDENCE AND STATEMENT&

LETTER FRO1\! HOX. J. B. KILLEBREW.

[Commissioner of Agriculture, Statistics, and Mines, for Tennessee. Published by Mr. K, in "Nash\'ille America.n," May 16, 1878.]

MR. FnANKI,}N W. SMITTI, NASHVILLE, May 15, 1878.

1'1'esident Boa1·d oj .A id to Land Ownel'ship, Boston, Mass.

In answer to your inquiries I have to say, the Cumberland table-land of the State of 'fennessee has an area of five thousand one hundred square miles, and passes entirely through the State in a north-easterly and south-west~rly direction. The southern and northern boundaries are parallel, the first being seventy-one miles long, and the latter, or southern boundary, fifty miles. A central longi­tudinalline, bearing north twenty def,rrees ea..c:;t, would be about one hundred and fifty miles long.

This table-land, for the most part, is capped 'bya con­glomerate sandRtone, or pudding-stone, which has an average thickness of seventy feet. Oil the slopes of the table-land this sandstone rock forms a bold line of steep cliffs, almost inaccessible, except where it has been cut through by streams or crumbled down by erosion. Upon many parts of this area there are hills and even mountains superimposed upon this cap-stone. Fertile areas occur, and the soil, generally sandy, is often argillaceous. 'fhe average height of this division of the State is two thousand feet above the sea, but at places it rises to a much greater altitude. In the counties of Scott and Morgan there are some parts that attain an elevatian of three thousand five hundred feet. Viewed from the Valley of East 'fennessee, the table-land

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stands out with singular boldness and sharpness of outline, resembling a huge fortification, difficult to scale and im­possible to destroy.

Soils and Timber.-There are five groups into which the soils of the table-land may be divided :-

1. A thin, sandy soil, resting- upon sandstone, which comes near the surface and often crops out in extensive ledges. The soil has an original poverty of constitution, has but little depth, and is unfruitful. It generally occurs near the breaks of stream-beds, and occupies but a small percentage of the entire area.

2. A sandy soil, light, porous, but deep. Upon this character of soil the wild grasses flourish, and retain their succulence and nutritive properties until the heated months of July and August. The characteristic timber upon this soil is chesnut-oak (Quercus castanea) and occasionally groves of yellow pine (P.inus mitis). This soil is found mainly on level areas, though not occupying them exclusively.

3. A sandy soil, incumbent upon a mulatto-clay. 'l'his, by reason of its clayey foundation, which enables it to catch and preserve fertilizing material, is the most pro­ducti ve of all the upland soils of the mountain. It is found on slopes and level stretches. It is especially fertile upon northern slopes, assuming in such places a black color, very much like the black prarie-lands of rraxas, but more friable and not so waxy. It works kindly, yields abundantly, and is very durable. Very heavy timber is found upon this character of soil. Upon level plateaus where this soil abounds, extensive and valuable white-oak foresLs oecur. Upon northern slopes, black walnut, poplar or tulip-tree ( LYl'iodendron tulipijera), maple ( Acer saccharinum), black gum (Nyssa aquatica), hickory (Oarya alba, O. sulcatas etc.), iron-wood or hornbeam (Oarpinus Americana), beech, buck-eye (~ESClttliS glabra), and black oak (Quel'cu, tinctoria). Chestnut-oak also occurs on certain situations,

64

especially where the superincumbent hills rise to the eleva­tion of two hundred or three hundred feet. About one-half the soil in Scott and Morgan counties is of this character.

4. Alluvium, which is formed along the water~courses, is black, friable and highly productiYe, except where it is submerged during the winter and spring months. In such places, which are rare, the soil has a whitish cast, is cold, clammy, and unless drained is unproductive, e:wept for certain wild grasses which will be named hereafter. These bottom lands are very nar,row, but, where they occur, the native forests consist of sugar-maple, walnut, poplar and shagbark hickory. Altogether, this class of soil is · un­important, inasmuch as the areas covered by it are very limited.

5. Glade lands, the beds probably of ancient morasses and lakes, in which are accumulations of vegetable matter. ~rhe soil on such land is sometimes black, often ashen in color and always charged with humic acid to such an extent 8.8 to be unproductive, unless thoroughly drained and sweetened by treatment with lime and aeration. Very little timber is found in such places, except a few water oaks (Q. aquatica), sweet gum (Liquidamher stracijlua), and the red flowering maple (Acer rubrum). When cleared, a wild, coarse grass, cocksfoot (Panicu,om crusgalU), springs up and is greedily eaten by stock.

On the rolling surface, and even upon level areas, great forests of pine (P. mitis) occur. Some of these forests are very extensive and valuable, extending for many miles. Before the war a large amount of tar and turpentine was manufactured. Some extensive forests of chestnut (Oastanea 'Desca) are also found, though the trees have been greatly thinned out in recent years by the ravages of the bore­worm. Chincapin (Oastanea pumella) trees abound, and the fruit of these, as well as of the chestnut, is abundant, and finds a ready sale.

65

In general; it may be said of the timber, that on level, sandy soils, it is thin, scraggy, and of but little value, except where pine forests occur. On the clayey soils, oaks, especially white-oaks, are abundant. On the sides of ravines, and on the slopes of the mountain where it descends into the valleys, the timber is unsurpassed in quality and quantity. Taken altogether, the Cumberland table-iand may be said to hav..e a great wealth of timber untouched by the woodman's axe and awaiting the skill of the manufac­turer and artisan to . be turned into valuable implements of husbandry and other articles for domestic uses. .

Grasses.-Probably nothing strikes the traveller more favorably than the wild luxuriance and beauty of the mountain grasses. When the woods are thin and the under­growth absent, the surface is clothed in a mantle of verdure from April until November, and thousands of cattle and sheep browse over these extensive tracts until their sirloins fairly roll in fat. When looking over these broad stretches where the grass flourishes in primeval beauty, and sometimes untrodden by a single hoof, the wild flowers emblazoning these natural pastures with their modest beauty, and no human habitation to be seen, and no evidences of occupancy, it is not difficult to imagine this mountain landscape as it appeared before the discovery of America by Columbus. Here is the herdsman's paradise. These grasses if converted into beef, would feed the entire population of the State of Tennessee.

Among the grasses which flourish most vigorously and are in greatest abundance are Andropogen 8copariu8, An­dropogen jurcatu8, Sporabulu8 Indicus, Bromus Kalmii, Festuca nutans, F. elatio~, F. tenella. These flourish in Succession for several months. The leguminous plants, suitable as food for cattle, are not numerous on the mountain as to variety, but abundant as to growth. Among these are Galactia molU8 or wild pea, Ampkicarpaea mono.ica or

E

66

hog pea, and several others. The two mentioned are the most abundant and valuable for forage. In the fall many varieties of Desmodium (beggar's lice) ripen their fruit and furnish rich and nutritious food for cattle.

The grasses and forage plants mentioned are those which are indigenous to the soil. There are others_ which have been sown and found to do well. Herdsgrass (Agrostis 'Culgaris) grows very kindly upon all clayey soils. In river basins and on glady lands it flourishes with surprising luxuriance. I have seen some excellent meadows of this grass. Orcha:rd grass (Dactylis glomerta) has been tried at Tracy City, at the Swiss colony of Gruetli, and at the University of the South at Sewanee, and at all these places found to make a remunerative return, although the soil varies at each of them. Red clover grows very well when treated with gypsum (sulphate of lime), or upon land that has had an application of lime or stable-manure. Esparcet and field spurry (Spergula ar'Censis) would both be found suitable to this mountain soil.

Cereals.-In portions of Scott, Morgan; and Fentress counties there are argillaceous soils that will yield from thirty to thirty-five bushels of Indian corn, and ten to twelve bushels of wheat.

Candor, however, compels the confession, that but a small portion of this land is adapted to the gr<;>wth of these two cereals. By properly manuring and cultivating, enough can always be raised for domestic consumption, but in every case the cost of cropping will be as much 88 the crop will bring in market. Rye, however, makes a very good yield and is found to be a profitable crop. The same may be said of oats. Broom-corn grows well and makes excellent straw.

Garden Vegetables.-It is almost incredible, yet it is nevertheless true, that no soils in the State of Tennessee produce better vegetables, or produce them more abundantly, than the soils of the table-land. Cabbages, onions, peas,

67

beans, sweet and Irish potatoes all make a fine return. The Irish potatoes grown here are unexcelled by any grown in America. They are not only large, but very mealy and of a delightfully mild· flavor. The average yield without manure is about one hundred bushels per acre. With an application of stable-manure I have known two hundred and fifty bushels per acre to be grown. The soil al1d climate sujt them, and they here attain theIr highest perfection.

Fruits.-What has been said of garden vegetables . may, with equal truth, be affirmed of almost all the fruits suited to the latitude. In all the -State there is no place that will at all compare with the table-land in the healthfulness of the apple tree, and in the production of the apple. A personal examination of more than fifty orchards failed to disclose a single diseased tree. The extreme looseness of the soil gives free range to the roots of the trees, and they do not knot up and become diseased as . they are so apt to do when planted upon land having a compact subsoil. Not only are the trees more healthy, but the apples are healthier than when grown upon the valley lands, rarely, if ever, specking or rotting. The skin is smooth, and the fruit plump and juicy. . The character of many apples changes entirely when planted upon the mountain. The limbertwig, for instance, in the valley is a greenish apple, tough and insipid; on the mountain, it is suffused with a delicate red blush, and is very tender and juicy. Nor is this all. I have never known an apple crop to fail on the mountain. Thousands of bushels are dried and shipped every year. ~'his region will, in time, become the great apple orchard of the Mississippi valley.

The grape is a very sure crop, where proper varieties are planted. The fine air of the mountain develops the saccharine matter profusely, and excellent wines are made without the addition of sugar. The soil of the mountain is similar to that of Schloss-Johannisberg, a. name long

68'

associated with the choicest products of the Rhenish vines. In a few localities, where the exposures are unpropitious, the vine has become diseased, but this is unusual and abnormal. I have examined a great many vineyards and have seen but few diseased vines where they had proper care and attention.

As to the peach, it often fails and the trees frequently become diseased, but localities may be selected where an abundant crop may be gathered every year.

Strawberries attain their most luscious sweetness on the mountain-top, as also do blackberries, raspberries, currants cherries, plums, and nearly all the smaller fruits.

Tobacco.-A fine cutting leaf, free from gum, is grown upon some situations. Tobacco will grow everywhere upon the freshly cleared lands. and will yield a remunerative return for the labour expended, though the cutting leaf requires a peculiar soil.

Honey.-Of the smaller industries, the pursuit of nona will prove more pleasant and profitable than the production of honey. The honey-bees find here a climate and food entirely suited to their nature. Many swarms are found inhabiting the hollow trees in the forests. Bee-keeping is a promising industry, and honey forms no inconsiderable part of the daily food of the mountain people. This is a land, indeed, literally flowing with milk and honey, for the abundant highway pasturage is capable of supplying un­limited food for producing 'a copious flow of milk, and the flowers that enamel the open woods and the blossoms that fill the air with their fragrant odors make this an Eden for the honey-bee.

Poultry.:..-One of the largest sources of income of the mountain people is derived from the sale of eggs and chickens. Turkeys, geese and ducks are extensively raised,-the last two for their feathers, which find a ready market. .

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Other Sources 0/ Re-venue. -Sumac grows all over the mountain, and the leaves when gathered and dried find ea.c;y sale. Ginseng is found in the coves and on the slopes of ravines, and is always in demand. The tan-bark, which may be gathered in unlimited quantities, brings about six dollars per cord, delivered on the railroad. The timber-trade is increasing every year. The opening of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad will give still greater activity to this trade. There are numerous water-powers, which could be cheaply utilized, and manufacturing establishments could be erected at a small cost, for making woollen and cotton goods. The adaptability of this mountain region for the breeding of sheep and the raising of wool, will always be a source of profit.

Climate and Healtk.-The climate and healthfulness of the table-land are proverbial. The mean annual tempera­ture of this division of the State is 54°. The mean summer temparature of the mountain is 70°. This temperature makes these airy heights a delightful abode during warm weather. The mean winter temperature is not lower than in the central parts of the State, being about 40°. The atmosphere in summer is cool and bracing, and the lassitude so common in the low lands during that season is unfelt on the- mountain. Chills and fevers are unknown. Consump­tion is unknown. Malaria, with its debilitating influences, is dissipated by the breezes that sweep so delightfully over the mountain-top. The warmest nights in August are so cool that blankets are in demand. These summits of tran­quil glory are charged with freshness and vitality, and the air produces an intoxication of spirits that makes life a joyous existence and rids poverty of half its evils by destroy­ing half its cares.

Water, pure, fresh and sparkling, can be found anywhere by digging from ten to twenty feet. When this water per­colates through a ferruginous sand, it is chalybeate. It is delightfully cooL

70

Ooal.-I have said nothing about the coal of this table­land, because it would require a volume to treat it 88 it should be. Let it suffice to say that co'allies all under this plateau. The aggregate thickness ,of all the seams will average eight feet under the whole surface. N or have I mentioned the iron ore at the foot of the mountain. There is one stratified seam that extends Olie hundred and sixty miles along the enti1:e foot of the mountain, upon which the coal can be rolled down.

With no rent to pay, no fuel to buy, no severe weather to provide against in the way of clothing; with health, a sunny sky, a bracing atmosphere, the cost of living here will be reduced to a minimum. Let your people come. They will be welcomed with a heartiness characteristic of Tennesseeans. They will be protected in life and property, have full justice accorded them by judge and jury, will be warmly received in the social circle if their virtues entitle them to it. Let it be remembered that there is no prejudice existing in _the minds of our people against Northern men and women. The same qualities that will command respect and confidence in Massachusets will command them here; no more, no less.

Very truly, J. B. KILLEBREW.

OPINION OF MR. W. A. WILLIAMS, OF BOSTON,

[Known to membe1'i of the Board as an experienced Civil Engineer and Surveyor, practised in obseryation of land by railroad construction,­who accompanied F. W. Smith a..'! an expert in the first and second tours of inspection over the table-lands.]

BoSTON, MAY 21, 1878.

F. W. Smith, Esq., President Board oj Aid to Land Ownership.

DEAR SIR :-In relation to the reconnoissance made with yourself and Mr. Clarke over the Cumberland plateau in 'fennessee, I have the pleasure to say that the statemenb made by Mr. Killebrew relating to the character of the soil

71

and climate are reliable in every particular. I have no doubt the products are as abundant as stated; and as far as I can now determine, on so slight an examination, a detailed report would be . simply a recapitulation of the published statements in Mr. Killebrew's various works.

The abundant hardwood timber, the coal and iron mineral, together with numerous waterfalls and the prolific soil, in­duce me to believe it to· be a highly desirable location for the settlement of aNew England population composed of mechanics and farmers.

Yours truly, W. A. WILLIAMS.

BOSTON, SEPT. 3, 1878.

Franklin W. Smith, Esq., Prel. Board of .Aid to Land Owner8hip.

DEAR Sm :-The second reconnissance we made of the Tennessee Plateau afforded me much better opportunity to judge of the country near the line of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, in my ride for thirty to thirty-five miles over its grade, and then across the country and back by the different roads. My opinions, as stated in a. former letter, are fully confirmed. I have observed several excellent locations for towns lying contiguous to the railroad; between it the Clear Fork Creek and the South Fork of the Cumberland River.

'fhe evidence of a clay subsoil was apparent, not only from examination of earth in the roots of fallen trees, but from pools of water remaining from six to eight days after rainfall.

The extensive picturesque slopes of the plateau present surfaces admirably adapted to subdivisions. The portions could be all well drained, and are of pleasing contour.

Respectfully and truly yours, W. A. WILLIAMS.

72

NASHVILLE, AUG. ~, 1878.

Franklin W. Smith, President Board of .Aid to Land Ownership, Boston, Mass.

My DEAR SIR :-For people from New England I do not know that you could make a better selection of lands than those lying over the route of the Cincinnati Southern Rail­road. You can there procure tracts large enough to have a distinct and compact neighbourhood, enjoying those social and educational advantages which New Englanders prize so much. Having direct railroad and telegraphic communica­tion with commercial centres and seaport towns, many industries could be built up that could not flourish further in the interior. Fruit-raising, especially, will no doubt proye an exceedingly profitable pursuit. The soil all along the railroad, from Emory Gap to the Tennessee and Kentucky State line, is wonderfully adapted to fruit-culture, and, with the intelligent industry that characterizes aNew England farmer, a thrifty colony would soon fill the counties of Fentress and Morgan. Even now the fruit-culture is very profitable, in the absence of the outlet which the Cincinnati Southern Railroad will give. In Warren County, lying at the western base of the Cumberland table-land, there are ·very extensive orchards, some of them covering two hundred to three hundred acres, the proprietors of which have amassed large fortunes without the facilities for handling or selling the fruit which a colony in the counties named would have. For apple orchards, $120 per annum for each acre is not considered a large profit.

Strawberries, gooseberries, currant~, cherries, and indeed all the smaller fruits, would be even more profitable than apples. A good crop of strawberries could be gathered in twelve months from the time of planting, and with even medium success $600 per acre ought to be realized from them.

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Watermelons, cantaloupes, and muskmelons ripen ln great perfection on the mountain. When the Cincinnati Southern Railroad shall be finished no place will afford better advan­tages for melon-growing than Fentress and Scott counties. I have known from $100 to $250 to be realized in Davidsoll County from a single acre of melons. I am decidedly of opinion that if you should select -lands anywhere on the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, or even on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, your colonists will be satisfied and gratified with the wisdom of the selection.

Hoping to meet with you at an early day, I am, Very truly yours,

J. B. KILLEBREW.

[From" A Brochure of Tennessee's Attractions to the Immigrant." By John Moffatt.]

" We know we do not . exaggerate when we say that Tennessee-with its genial, healthful climate; its great diversity of soil and production; its boundless mineral wealth (especially in iron a~d coal); its vast areas of land, that can be procured at a low price and upon easy terms, in the midst of an · old cizilization, where the settler is not subjected to those privations that he must encounter in the far-off western wilds-presents attractions to capital and energy not surpassed by any State in this great Republic."

Healtk on tke Table-Land.-'rhis is a. country where consumption is unknown. We give below extracts from an essay delivered before the Medical Society of the State of Tennessee, at its regular meeting ill Nashville, in 1875 ;-A People witlwut Oonsumption, and some Account 0/ their

Oountry, the Oumberland Table-Land. By E . .J1. Wight, M.D., OhattanooJ~, Tenn. (( During the ten years that I have practised medicine

in the neighborhood of the Cumberland table-lands, I have

often hear~ it said that the people on the mouutams never had consumption. . Occasionally a travelling newspapef correspondent from the North found his way down through the Cumberlands, and wrote back, filled with admiration for their grandeur, their climate, their healthfulness, and almost invariably stated that consumption was never known upon these monntains, except brought there by some person foreign to the soil, who, if he came soon- enough, usually recoTered. Similar information came to me in such a variety of ways and number of instances, that I determined, some four years ago, that I would make an investigation of this matter. These observations have extended. over that whole time, and have been made with great care and as much accuracy as possible; and, to my own astonishment and delight, I have become convinced that pulmonary con­sumption does not exist among the people native and resident to the table-lands of the Cumberland Mountains. In the performance of the work which has enabled me to arrive at this conclusion, I have had the generous assistance of more than twenty physicians, who have been many years in practice in the vicinity 'of these mountains. Their knowledge of the diseases which had occurred there extended over a period of more than forty years. Some of these physicians have reported the knowledge of the occurrence of deaths from consumption on the table-lands, but when carefully inquired into, they have invariably found that the person dying was liot a native of the mountains, but a sojourner in search of health.

"When we look over tbis magnificent table-land, with its elevation of over one thousand feet above the surrounding country; and when we study its capabilities, and reflect upon the fact that in these grand old hills are stored up the fuel for a thousand generations, while on their surface may be produced all the products of a much more northern latitude, the mind naturally looks away in the fut,ure, when

75

orchards and vineyards shall crown its glori~us summit; when the lowing of herds shall mingle with the laughter of children; when the debilitated, fever-stricken pilgrim of the South, and the chilled consumptive of the- North, shall alike flee from the destroyer to this GREAT SANITARIUM

which. a kind Providence has provided."

The following extract from Mr. Safford's geological work on Tennessee-a valuable work-will be read with interest. It was originally from the pen of an accomplished gentleman and farmer, who has resided on the table-land for many years.

"So much has been written about the table -land of Tennessee, by interested parties, that anyone stating the plain truth will be said by them to be an enemy to the progress of the State. Such persons have, in my opinion, been a real drawback upon the prosperity and settlement of the table-land. It is true of a country, as Washington Irving has said of a man: 'The public will forgive a man anything sooner than being overpraised.' So of a country; if it be praised for that to which it is not entitled, emigrants, on being disappointed, will not give credit for its real merits.

"But many things belonging to the table-land of this State can scarcely be overpraised. The water, the climate and the health have not been fully valued in the estimate of this part of our State. On the great plateau of Tennessee, the soft, limpid purity of the water is admired by all observ­ing travellers. The climate, equally exempt from the frigid rigor of the North and the debilitating heat of the South,· is nowhere exeelled for the comfort of its population. Here may be enjoyed the clearness and the brightness of an Italian atmosphere, without the baleful influence of the Maremma marsh, or debilitatinG effects of the African sirocco. Here Hygeia's reign is undisputed. N either cholera, consumption nor fever ever pretended to dispute her salutary sway_

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Emigrants from the frozen shores of the St. Lawrence, or from the fenny bogs of the Carolinas, here meet the invigo­rating breeze, and if health is to be found upon earth, they may hope for it here. - ,< The extent of the Cumberland table-land within this State makes it important that its value in an agricultural point of view should be understood. The soil is a sandy loam, easy of culture, and though not so fertile as other portions of the State, may be made, by the application of lime, which is within reach, and proper tillage, very pro­ductive at moderate expense. The same facts are observed here which have been demonstrated elsewhere, that all Alpine productions are superior for their kind. Though the soil will not produce so many bushels of wheat per acre, yet the · bushel is heavier than that raised upon richer land. So of other cere alia and the grasses. At no distant day these highlands will be much prized, not only for the production of all kinds of fruits, but for the raising of stock. Sheep are as healthy as the deer which roam over the forests; no rot or foot-rot ever attacks them; old age appears to be the only malady that attacks them, and that the flock-master need fear. The natural productions of the soil furnish a copious pasturage for two-thirds of the year, and improved meadows of blue grass, red-top, or other perennial grassess would supply the balance. Here swine live from year to year, and increase without care, upon the natural range."

Mr. J. W. Dodge, who formerly resided in Cumberland County on the table-land, and who made himself and the mountain famous by raising and bringing to market superb apples, related the following circumstance to me :

"While I was at the Hermitage, painting Gen. Jackson's picture, the old general one day said to me, in his emphatic way: 'Mr. Dodge, I have travelled over the table of the Cumberland mountain frequently, and it is my opinion that it is destined to become the garden-spot of the Union,' It

77

is as pasture or range ground that these mountain areas are at present interesting. A rich spot, here and there, may be found in cultivation; at these places heavy crops of wheat and other cereals are sometimes raised. I recollect of seeing at one point, near' Cold Spring,' buckwheat high enough to completely hide a man riding through it on horseback."

STA.TEMENT OF MR. A.. J. C. ROBBINS,

[Of Robbinsville, Scott County.]

I was born in Orange County, N. Y. Came to Kentucky in lR57. Lived in Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas. Trained as a farmer, in youth, in Windham County, Conn. Farmed in Kentucky, and raised cotton in Texas; joined the South in the war, as one of Morgan's cavalry. After the war, settled in Louisville, to construct street railways in Louisville and Cincinnati. Assumed the contract for a tunnel on the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, and afterwards for another,­half-mile, the longest in the State,-the first party having failed on his agreement at $250,000. Finished it under the contract, and made money.

[Refers to the trustees of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad as to reliability.]

The attractions of climate, and the advantages offered by the land of the plateau, observed during my construction of the tunnel, decided me to locate in Scott County. I foresaw also the rapid settlement of the region after the Cincinnati Southern Railroad should open access to it. Bought 3,000 acres of land, though I had no expectation of organized colonization. Have built a barn, grist-mill, store; tobacco­factory and a dwelling, combined temporarily, until I erect a np.w house.

Farming--Have cleared 150 acres of all timber. Planted in 1877, immediately upon clearing, 40 acres in tobacco. It Was a great success; as fine as in Virginia or North Carolina.

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Crop estimated at 20,000 pounds 01' , more, noW' on hand; worth at present low prices ten cents, where it is. It was planted without manure, on ' land of the same general character as Fentres~ County. Believe tobacco to be a. very profitable crop. Raised fine oats and German millet.

Last fall, after tobacco, I followed with wheat. Finished sowing, the 27th of November, 32 acres on the same land. Estimate a portion of it at 15 bushels, and a part at 25 bushels; an average of 20 bushels-equal to Pennsylvania.

Planted corn with deep , ploughing and manure, as in the :Middle States. Yield, '45 bushels to the acre. Vegetables, especially Irbh potatoes, did well. Best of watermelons. Had 15 acres in rye; 30 bushels to the acre. Have sowed this land down to timothy (herdsgrass), red-top, and orchard grass, all of which grow well, as grasses will fertilize the land fully for rotation of crops. Grass itself is a. very profitable crop for stock ..

Stock.-I bought In the spring of 1877, 250 head of cattle. Turned them on th,e range and soJd them in the fall at 0. profit. Am raising improved full Durham stock. Have done nothing with sheep" but they do well here. Some left out all, winter have come in fat. They find shelter in the rock-caves. One in Fentress will hold 2,000 sheep, safely covered; hut I advise ' building sheds for all live-stock in extreme weather.

My year's experience satisfies me that, con~idering the advantages of climate and geographical position, there is no more desirable land than the Cumberland plateau, for agriculture, by men of small means or large means, at its cost per acre, provided it is farmed intelligently and industriously.

I know an old German who had nothing-must have 'borrowed his hoe,-two years ago. He has now five acres in corn, potatoes, cabbages, and other vegeta.bles, all doing well.

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Water-pOlrer on the . New River, Clear Fork, and While oak is abundant. None of these streams are ever dry, llnles~ it be at their heads. There is good fall along their flow.

Wood abundant for timber and manufactures. · Bark and sta~es may employ men in winter months. Wild honey is a profitable product. The adundant wild-

flowers, and especially the blossoms of the persimmon, the chincapin, and the tulip-tree supply exhaustless resources for the bees. The phlox, coreopsis, bignonia and rhododen­dron grow wild in profusion. Each month brings its variety of wild flowers.

Limestone underlies the entire plateau, and brick-clay is convenient along the line of the Cincinnati Southern. '£he long seasons enable men to work the entire year out of doors, save in an occasional storm or cold spell, which quickly ends. Can plough every month in the year.

The sole reason that this beautiful region has remained a forest has been inaccessibility. N ow, it is a climb from the East Tennessee or the Middle 'rennessee Valley of long stretches over rocky roads to reach these counties. The immediate completion of the Cincinnati Railroad will remedy all this, bringing us within eight hours of Cincinnatti and four hours of Chattanooga, a junction of all the main lines to the South.

Game.-Deer, wild turkeys, rabbits, partridges, pheasan~, red and gray squirrels, coon and possum. For furs, whIte and black polecat, mink, marten, fox (red and gray). Hunters do not find it as abundant as formerly. For the industry of the people, it would be better extinct.

CleQ1'ing Land.-fJ.'lltlre is a wide difference. ~etween timber-lands in the East with which I am famIlIar, and these woods. These are ~ot timber-lands, as understood by lumbermen. The woods are too light and sparse to meet

80

that description. There is wood enough for all construction, fuel, and uses of a population, but not, unless in the valleys and near the railroad, a stock for distant market.

This was plain on our ride hither. We turned to the right and left of the road, both wagon and saddle horses, and rode freely at full speed among the trees, and we could have gone on for ten miles. 'The trees we have seen for miles. have been say white and black oaks, four to six inches in diameter; some, eight to twelve. Hard pine, six to twelve inches, sixteen to eighteen inches, but ten to fifty feet apart. I plough up shrubbery with a simple square coulter, a bar of iron bent on an ellipse.

Roads require hardly any work, except at streams. During four years past, beside tunnel work on the railroad,

I have cut perhaps 200,000 feet of black walnut lumber on Obed River and rafted it, for milling to Nashville. Conse­quently I have ranged constantly through a region fifty to seventy-five miles of this vicinity. I have never seen a stagnant pool on the table-land. The freedom from under­growth is owing to its annual burning by graziers, to grow the wild grasses for their stock. I can only compare it to a 'Cast picnic grO'D8.

[I commend especially the annexed statement and letter to carefUl reading, for the demonstra­tion of capabilities by Mr. Hill. Mr. Schenck is an intelligent gentleman, a surveyor by profes­sion. He moved from Ohio nine years ago, to pre-empt the advantages of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad, owning 6,000 acres of land. He has been an able correspondent of the Cin­cinnati " Commercial." F. w. S. ]

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REDMOND, SCOTT COUNTY, TENN., AUG. 26, 1878. Po W. Smith, E'g., 334, Beacon Street, Bolton, Hall.

DEAR 8m :-Have been away on the road, and take the first opportunity to comply with your request for such infor­mation 88 is at my command, with regard to the fitness of this region for successful farming operations. I regretted afterwards that I was not a little more inqui~itive as to your intended journeyings. Had I known your plans I should have volunteered as your guide the next day or two. I could have shown you a number of farms which fully prove that this section is no way different from the greater part of the land in its conditions for agricultural success; a region in which industry and skill yield the same return as in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michi­ga,n, or Wisconsin.

It is simply secluded, tkinly settled, and at present far from markets; wkick last difficulty tile completion of the "ailroad will remedy and place it on an equality witk tile most fa'Dored parts of the land. Geologically, resting on the sandstone of the coal measures, the soil is of much the same nature as the dairy regions of Northern Central New York, the Western Reserve of Ohio, .and the lower Michigan peninsula. I mention these because I know them. Every farmer between the railroad and Clear Fork, for eight or ten miles south of the J am'estown road, on which I met you, is making a , fair living; one or two of them are quite poor; none are ' rich, according to New England ' standar~s, but the majority are increasing in property year by year; slowly ,enough, but easily seEm by looking back a few years. .

Mr. 8. came from the army in 1865 and commenced WIth a bare piece of land, getting trusted for a lame horse,-the ' only sort that it was safe to own in ·those days. ' He now has seventy or eighty acres fenced; good ,house, barn, and ,other buildings and orchards; , a ,full stock of cattle, horses, and sheep; fifty or sixty head of' cattle, which are the best

11

money-oringers just now. He produces abundant proviaions for family and stock, and his farm is improving in productive capacity,-a showing which would in almost any region be thought above the average of the sure and steady but slow returns for steady industry and skill. He has eight or nine children.

His neighbor, ~Ir. H., up on the hills, has a story almost precisely similar, children and all. Ten others named are all thrifty men, living in comfort and gaining in substance; and, the remainder, about as many more, all in the same vicinity, are only in a less- degree prosperous than they. The two colored men are exceptionally favorable specimens of their class, and would be respected anywhere. There are but few Africans here.

The most notable success, all things considered, is that of Mr. Amos Hill, whoD?- I mentioned to you. Mr. Hill is an Englishman; say fifty-five years of age, one of the God­loving, sin-fearing, and laziness-hating sort that have given his native land the start of the rest of the world, and mainly have had the moulding of America. He lived for about fifteen years in Northern :Michigan, except when in the Union army, and was successful there; but sought a region where the winters were not half so hard nor much more than half so long. So he located here in the fall of 1872, buying a farm on the-glades and pine ridges at $1. 50 per acre, as poor as any naturally, and four times killed and pulled up by tke roots by tke skinninq culti'Dation it kad recei'Ded.

N ow, in the sixth year of his residence here, he has 80

increased the productiveness of the farm that it would be unwisdom in him to sell it for less than fifty or sixty dollars per acre: and this all by steady work: without mineral or commercial manures, or any appliance whatever, except labor well applied and such manures as were made and savod upon the plac;c. Sixteen hushel" of wheat pel' acre, and

thirty of oats, are the yield.· this year; and the corn-field, though cut short at least twenty-five per cent. by drouth in May and June, still promises to yield at least thirty bushels per acre. Abundant root-crops, garden vegetables, fruit, etc., with hay and other forage enough, with the grain produced, to winter fifty head of cattle, four horses and mules, and fifty sheep, besides fattening ten or a dozen hogs and supplying all the needs of the table that any farm can furnish. Three hundred heavy two-horse wagon-loads of manure is the quantity made now, and it will increase with the increasing fertility of the farm: so the larger the yield

. the more manure, and tke more tke manure the greater the crops; and J:lr. Hill intends to continue tke present system of 'I'e-in'testing all profits and. surplus upon tke farm until it has reach·ed the higkest condition of productiveness. These yields, of course, would be nothing remarkable upon ground

. rich and unworn, but upon soil so utterly exhausted, they are very creditable and prove that in the worst worn-out soil there are still the possibilities of restoration and improve­ment to the highest degree of fertility. When it becomes possible to procure gypsum, guano, and the phosphates at fair rates, instead of the exorbitant prices they would cost now, it will of course be possible to bring up the fields much . faster and at a much lower relative cost.

[Lime will.be abundant, at no cost but labor, when the road is open.]

Mr. Hill has had the greater part of the place seeded to grass, but has turned under the most of the sod the past spring and summer to get the benefit of the decomposed pJant-food to clear out the sedge and weeds that were forcing th~re way in, and to re-set with a heavi~r seedin~. His plan is to have at least three-fourths of h18 fiel~s III

lP'a~s all the time? and to mow them aU,-for there IS at

84

present, and will be for some time, abundant pa.c;turage outside of the farm for all grazing animals, and so the grass lands are to be reserved for hay alone.

Mr. Hill proposes to increMe his stock of sheep largely and to improve their quality by working the common stock over into Southdowns or Cotswolds, as he finds them to thrive even better than in Old England, and with them he can improve his land still faster. So far he has been fortunate enough to escape the ravages of the dogs.

There are . plenty of natives and immigrants who are farming successfully . and keeping up or improving their farms, and Mr. Hill is only notable for taking the worst­worn tract that could be found and improving it at a good rate of progress, without outside aid of any kind.

Quite a number of settlers from the North have located not far from here within the last ten or twelve years. Some have succeeded, some are holding on and waiting better days; some have drifted away; some would -be 110 benefit to any community. On the average, those who would have won success anywhere have done it here. Where tkey !ta '~e failed it is not the fault 0/ tke country, but, perhaps, partly of the times, and the rest, of themselves. Not one, in . all the years while the Northern papers were full of tales of the hostility of the Southern people to settlers from the North, especially in Tennessee, not one has been put to annoyance in any way becausehe.was from the North. All reports of that sort were absolutely false as related to this region, and many families of us have lived here and felt as safe, and actually been as safe, in the enjoyment of life, property, opinions .and pleasures as we could have been in Massachu­setts, New York, or Ohio.

Respectfully yours, C. C. SCUENClt.

STATEMENT OF MR. GEORGE B. DYER~

[Formerly of Hartford, Conn. ; in the spring of 1877 from Washington, D.C.]

Last year we (Messrs. Gill and Dyer) commenced without a barrow of manure, on old, 'leorn-out land. We sowed millet for stock feed; kept without trouble two horses, a. cow, and seventy-five sheep; raised northern sweet com; Boston marrow and Hubbard squash, &c., &c. In fact, all garden vegetables will grow in perfection, and many things that will not · grow in New England, sweet potatoes, tobacco, sorghum, &c. Strawberries where unknown here; had never been seen -by many residents. We planted and gathered this season. We planted late last year, the last of May. Yet we have Lima beans, bush beans, squashes, summer and winter (magnificent I), potatoes, Irish and sweet (very fine), corn, musk and water melons (abundant I), turnips, carrots, beets, radishes, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes (luxuriant I), peaches on old trees, very fine; abundant crop this year. Apples were good and abundant. Have had fine cherries. Currants grow well, and plums, as do all fruits and vegetables, trhen ·cared for.

Our native cow preferred rag-weed to sweet clover, until she was enlightened ..

If we had come to woodland in March, could have cleared land by home labor, that we have since employed at five dollars per acre. This includes girdling large trees, grubbing small trees, and piling brush ready to bum. One­half of this region should be kept in timber for climate, cattle range, fuel, construction, and to contribute to rain­fall. Timber supplies moisture; it absorbs and exhales. The timber should be utilized; the waste is wretched. .

Building.-A log-cabin, 16 x 20, can be cut and laId up in one day, roofed and completed in a w~ek, by two men.

'l'he first want is a saw and planing mill. Boards sell now, cut with the rudest appliances, at one ~ent .p~r . foot,

but wood-working machinery would quickly alter the aspect of the country, changing the hewn-log cabins to frame houses. At one cent per foot, timber would make a mill profitable. Good second-hand machinery can be here utilized to great advantage. (Mr. D. was an experienced lumber-dealer and millwright.)

Sandstone abounds and is a most substantial and desirable building material, at every hand, being so easily worked.

[The building of stone houses should be encouraged from the outset. The material is soft to quarry and cut. A stone house is warm in winter, cool in summer; durable without repairs and shabbiness; in fact, adding to its beauty by age, and to picturesqueness in the harmony of its color with vines and shrubbery. With that material, best appliances, and skilled labor, stone houses from the simplest cottage to the mansion can be built, it is believed, at very nearly the cost of wood, if not as cheaply; especially conSidering slight foundation required for 'only six inches frost, the outlay for paint, repairs, &c.] -

Limestone is abundant also, in the under-strata of the 1able-Iand; with-the stores of fuel, wood and coal, at mere cost of getting, lime can be supplied to farmers more freely than kelp along New England shores; because it is there always.

Fencing can be done by hire; of chestnut, at one dollar per hundred feet, made and put up. One rail makes one foot of fence, eight rails high.

[All fencing, a needless expense, . should be saved in the vicinity of the small farms, as at

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Vineland. This can be accomplished by the control of a large tract by a corporation, when it could not be by isolated settlers.]

()haracter of tke Mountain Population.-We came to Huntsville, which had the reputation of being one of the rudest mountain villages. We lived as peaceably, though but five hundred feet from the centre of the town (of perhaps thirty houses), as ever in New England, We leave our ladies alone as trustfully as in Boston. The people are amiably disposed, thoroughly Republican, peaceable among themselves, except when in occasional whiskey bouts. . [I was in Huntsville, the evening after an exciting county election. The sale of' all liquor was . stopped by stringent law while the polls were open. The excitement was continued through the night, while returns came in, horse­back; but there was no disturbance beyond outcries, as on the evening of fourth of July at home.]

We have no fear of robbery. We (including our party) sleep with open windows. As to safety of life and property, we feel Rafer here than in any city of the United States. 'fools are sa.fe; always found where left.

[On one excursion, we halted for dinner at a cabin, as arranged. The owner and family were absent, but the door was unfastened; we entered, cooked and spread our meal; found our way to spring, dairy, stable, and left explan~tory note with money (the proprietor was acquamted with our guide), and departed.]

'S8

Olimrite.-I have travelled over the United States, from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic coast; from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, in summer and in winter; and I believe this climate to be the finest in all respects 'Within my experience. . Last year we fed stock from the middle of December to the 1st of April; but much stock was not fed at all. In my opinion, feed should be provided for cattle and sheep -for three months; although flocks of sheep came in in fine 'condition last year, without feed. The rock-caves afford them perfect shelter. Snow fell for a day or two at a time, four to six inches, remaining but a short time. . No sleighing. Have not seen a sleigh. Winter vastly more gentle than in New England. Spring begins so that we can prepare ground in March. We can grow two crops of sweet corn or oj potatoes. Have not known the raw, piercing, chilling, freshet winds of the Connecticut valley. We have a great deal more of June and October weather than is known there.

Farmi'!tg.-It is my judgment that the most profitable farming is stock - raising; beef, mutton, and pork, with marketing of wool; consequently clearing of lands for grass. I have chosen this section for raising cattle, sheep and hogs of best grades. I believe the best plan to be to graft improved breeds upon native stock. I am now clearing land. It can be planted the first season to yield twenty­five bushels of corn to the acre, without manure. It would do better the second year still without manure. The third year there should be some fertilizer, and the crop should be thirty - five to forty bushels, according to the degree of fertilization. I have never seen land that responds so largely to slight manuring.

Labor can be had, honest, faithful, for clearing land, at seventy-five cents per day, or fifty cents with board. Horses,

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fifty cents per day, with keeping. Eggs are five to eight cents per dozen. Th~ opening of the Cincinnati Southem Railroad will make an outlet for our produce.

STATEMENT OF MR. L. H. MOSIER, [Stapleton, Morgan County.]

I am 53 years of age. Left, through the woods, in the night .. of Aug. 9, 1861, to join the Union army. Never per­mitted to return until after Burnside crossed the mountain. Confederates pillaged entirely my home; burned my barn, well filled, 64 feet long. Destroyed farming tools; cleaned out the house of everything, even bedding and bed-cords. Wife and children fled to the woods, destitute; suffering until succored by Union people back in the country. She paid fifty cents per pound for salt, from pay I sent home. People dug up the dirt in their smoke-houses and boiled it to get salt.

I returned to find my farm all laid waste; to begin again with my hands.

[Such experiences were frequent e~tertain­ment during evenings in log cabins.]

I cultivate now 40 acres. Have 35 head of cattle, 30 hogs, 3 horses, twelve children .

. [Indeed! Why your neighbor, old lady Peters, had 13, and between 100 and 200 grandchildren and great grandchildren! F. w. s.]

Oh! yes' we have large families. Neighbor J. has 16; one mother. Mr. W., 16, all grown up; the mother still young and hearty. Sho will ride seven or nine miles. to church, or with a sack of com to mill. Saw her last sp~ng clearinO' up a fence row' hale and hearty and full of life. Brothe; Peters' uncle h;s 16 or 18, and the old lady is still "peert." The B. family have 13. Families of mi~dle lif~, generally 10 to 12. S., the Baptist minister, has rune; his wife's family, 12.

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[Met five of the minister's children the next morning on their walk to school-two miles. F. w. s.]

Food is abundant. Climate healthy. We know no doctors or medicines. Clothing cheap; for we spin and weave it at home.

[The spinning-wheel and loom were usual objects under the porches of the cabins; and hanks of yarn hung from the. beams.]

When I married I had a trifle of furniture and a cow. Built me a log-house. This log-house, 16 x 40, with two stone chimneys; two rooms below, 16 x 20, and two. attics, would cost about $100. The kitchen cabin, 16 x 16, $25. Had gained in possessions up to the war. Then neighbors, like myself, were cleaned out. 'Both armies raided us, taking all they could carry away.

N ow, the 25 or 30 families within five miles square average 12 head of cattle each. This region can graze vast herds. Last spring I gathered up a little money I earned from the railroad and bought 13 steers for $195. I grazed them about three months on the range. Didn't cost me a cent, except a little salt. Sold them at the end of the three months for $315. If I had lotted my cattle every night, by driving them a mile and a half, and saved the manure, I should have enough to enrich greatly a ' large piece of land.

[One farmer in the neighborhood, we met one evening driving in his herd of 90 head for the night for this purposeJ .

I raised a cabbage that, after being trimmed, hauled to Wartburg and again trimmed, weighed 26 pounds.

Have been revenue collector, and travelled alone, as

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everybody knew, throughout 'this region, with two or three thousand , dollars in my pockets, and was never harmed; never feared hurt.

[Mr. Robbins made the same statement, with amounts of seven thousand dollars or more.]

I never had a day's schooling in my life.

[Yet Mr. M.'s intelligence and conversation would have indicated much to the contrary.]

All I want for my ' children is that they may have an education. & to their being rich or poor, I don't caro much about that. I will sell my place here, 500 acres, lying both sides of the road, at whatever is reasonable, and move to your colony if you will start a school. Brother Peters, who is with us here, is going to keep school for us a few weeks, and we shall have Sunday worship. When we get a minister we generally have worship Saturday and Sunday too.

[The spaces on the battened wall of the cabin we covered by two maps: "Christ, from the manger to the cross;" "The Father of his country and the heroes of 1776," bordered with illustrations. The recollection of evening family worship in that simple but well-ordered home; the singing" The day is past and gone," in its old-time tune, "deaconed" in two lines by the father, for lack of books; is an incident too interesting, too indicative of an influence. and power for good in a near future to be oIllltted from these notes. F. w. S. ]

FRo"M TOWN TO COUNTRY. (By Jlr. Dis8 Debar, of Philadelphia, formerly Oommis8ioner oj

lmmigration for West Virginia.)

"Colonization is eminently the province of private enterprise, and though it may require SODle philanthropy, a..q well as capital, it need not involve the smaJlest sacrifice. On the contrary, with ordinary prudence and business management, it should yield returns far · above any other investment now quoted on change, and being secured by real estate in a progressive state of improvement, could not be surpassed in point of safety. Among the few objections I have read of against such a project, was, that people who have long · been engaged in mining, manufacturing, and other mechanical pursuits, especially in the cities, are lacking the skill and experience necessary to agricultural pursuit, and risk to become discouraged before having fairly tested their adaptedness. While this objection would be of weight in case of farming on an important scale, involving large investments, risks, and responsibilities, it would not apply to the poor man of ordinary good sense, and manual craft, who settles down on a piece of land for a living. All he has to do to get along, is simply to imitate his next - door neighbors, who have preceded him in the locality, and improve upon that, if expedient, by the light of his own experience as he goes.

I have, in my mind's eye, a colony now numbering about seventy-five families, principally recruited in the city, and along the lines of public works, of whom only fifteen were originally farmers, or had previously performed more or less field labor along with some mechanical occupation. They purchased their homesteads at froni $1.50 to $3. per acre, payable one-quarter cash, balance in one, two, and three years, with interest. Many of them, after making their cash payments, had barely enough left to procure a cow, an old plough-horse, a beginner's stock of poultry and pigs,

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and seed and provisions until first crop. Not a few ot them even had to hire out to old settlers, in order to keep their families in provisions, while their children attended to the clearing 808 best they could. The land was hilly, and densely covered with underbrush and large timber, the latter of which, not being within reach of a market, had to be chopped up, rolled into heaps, and burned on the ground. Scarcely any of these settlers were familiar with the axe, and their first experiments with that implement were almost discouraging. Perseverance, however, soon carried them out of the woods, and, soil and climate being favorable, they made a comfortable living, and paid for their land according to contract,· with very few brief extensions. Two or three years after their last payments, nearly one-half of them purchased additional land to round off their farms, or to give a start to their grown-up children. Even before they had paid for their first purchase, these people saw their way clear, and could not have been induced to sell out, except at an unreasonable profit.

"The nearest market for the small produce of these people, was at the railroad station, fifteen miles distant, by a common country road, requiring a day and a half for the trip and return, and often more. The live stock was sold for cash at their own doors.

" 'Go West, young man,' is not to be taken in So strictly geographical sense. There are, in the Virginias, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky, an aggregate of one or two millions of acres of hill and table land of good enough · quality for general or mixed farming, grazing, dairying, and fruit growing, which could be obtained in good-sized tracts for colonies, and at a wholesale price, which would admit of So fair profit upon re-sale to actual settlers in farming lots. Railroad and river transportation to those regions is not expensive, and the abundance of good water, fuel, and entire freedom from malaria1 droughts, grasshoppers, and

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'tornadoes, places the settler beyond those fearful risks which too frequently blast the hopes and means of the far-western pioneer in the , start. I have; in my varied experience in

,the section referred ' to, never known a ' pioneer family to lack for ample food for themselves, and indispensible live­'stock, if they succeeded in clearing even as little as' ,five or six acres the first year, -and am ready to dePlonstrate this in the smallest details. Nor -is the advantage of greater proximity to the best markets, and to the headquarters of the enterprise to be overlooked, beside the absence of that feeling of total isolation so discouraging on the trackless prairie.

Respectfully submitted,

FRANKLIN W. SUITII.

BoSTON, Sept. 3, 1878~