Page 15 - Jefferson County AR 1889 History (Goodspeed)

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HISTORY O F ARKANSAS.

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Isnrfaae embraces the Arkansas River, which entere into the lower soils, reaching the wtton rootlets,
'near the northwest corner, and, taking an irregular for good cotton will grow on s a n d ~ whhere w r n

Icourse, leaves near the sonthead corner, almost would not thrive.

dividing the connty equally; Plnm Bayou, Bayou The growth of timber on snch land has always
Ba~thulomew,three or four permanent lakes, and ! h e n great The immense cypress growth in the

other shallow lakes and bayons to the extent of I lowest parts has hardly been tonched; the fine yel.

about 20,723 acres, OF less than one.twentinth of low pine and white oak of the i~plandshave great

the area, very much of which can be easily drnined futilrefi before them; oakr of all kinds, walnuts,
, pecans, hickory, sweet and black gum, sycamore,
nnd reclaimed.
, Thelanditself almosthasnogeology in the popn. elm, maple and cottonwood are among other more

Inr sense of the term, for i t is all n deaploam, clayey prominent speciea that avail the f ~ m irntroduction

and sandy on the nplands, and alluvial delta on of mills and factories. As to the cnltirated prod-

the lowlands, of great and ancient depths, the ucts, wtton and corn lead, h11t the slightest at-

sanle soilhaving been diecovered to a depth of over ; tention to small fmits and vegetables, especially un

tifty feet, where ancient shells and pre-historic / the nplands, is attended with the most happy re-

remains were found. This, having been washed sults; grapes, peaches, pears, plums, cherries,

1down from the rich mineral ~wgionsabove, preg. strawberries and raspberries would rivalany region

nant with potash and soda, and a wealth of or. if anything like the attention w a given them that
ganie and inorganic m a t h , has made Jefferson i cotton and corn receive.

County the equal o t any a g r i c i ~ l t dregion in the This sitnation, in connection with the mild cli-

south, and, second only t~ Washington County, j mate, makes a field for raising ho-, mule, cat-

Miss.. ax a cotton county. I n some placer, as in tle, h o p and sheep that is nnsnrpaased, for the

Bogy Township, Dr. David Dale Owen found the abundant vegetation renders systematiofeeding al-

strata to be alternate layers of red sand and ; m03t nnneoessary the year around, and shelter is a
loam, and dark stiff " I)~ickshotclay," and several remarkably smaller itom that in localities farther

feet of white clay to the depth of about thirty-three norlh. While the expert stock raiscr might not

feet. where water wns reached, containing salt, use this method, the far less expenditure fur f e d

soda, potash, lime, forms of magnesia, iron and and shelter would be allnost a source of wealth in

silica, a compositiou vel~similatro the river water itself.

in dry seasons. The " bnckshotclap" is socalled Cheap labor and lands, too, nuder intelligent

from its peculiar crumbling quality. I n noma and trained dirndion, have already been sources of

places good soft water is obtained a t a depth of rapidly gained wealth Ly planters even of small

twenty-one feet, as near Redfield, where it also capital. The rich lowlauds favor the large planta-

I breaks out in springs. At Pine Bluff n seat,ion tions, ou which may be found as high as 126 labor-
showed about a foot of 6ne silicious loam; sixteen , ing families, chiefly colored, while the stream-cut
f r t of ash-colore~land light yellowifih grey loamy uplands. n w g from the miasma of the nndrained
clay, with some gravel; sixteen feet of red clay; lowlands, have secured a large population of the

twenty-six feat of oraoge.colored sand,a little'ferro- well-to-do white small farmers. The plans in

ginous sandstone and yellowish gray s d . A see. - vogue by the large land owners are the lease sys-

tion a t White Blnff showed "ten feet of soil, sand, , tem, rent system and share system, along with

clay and gravel; ten feet of thin.banded light gray which the merchant-mortgage is a marked factor.

clny with sand; fiixty feet of green marly clay with The cultivated land is mostly in the hands of

foeails underlaid by ,light and dark-wlored marl. white men, and the great bulk of farm labor is done

highly fossilifemus." The well-known red sediment by colored people, who ant sometimes improvi-

of the river, which has so mnch to do with cotton -dent and by laboring bnt a few days of the week,
growth, was supposed by Dr. Owen t o pereolnte
fail to acquire much property. There are notable