1 62 Musifigs by Camp- Fire and Wayside 



wasted — the forests. One is astonished to see great 

 pine forests of the finest timber deadened and set 

 on fire to clear land, one good tree of which is 

 worth more than the whole acre on which it and a 

 dozen others like it grew. Still this Southland is 

 the seat of future enormous wealth. It contains 

 nearly all the elements of the wealth of the world, 

 and eager hands are reaching out from the North 

 and from England to develop it. Dig the Nicara- 

 guan Canal! Keep the Oriental doors open, that 

 the golden tide may flow in and flow out of this 

 peerless empire! 



The Southern renter, be he white or black, is a 

 peon, who is allowed a bare living by his landlord. 

 He lives mostly upon corn-meal, for which he is in 

 debt, and be his crop of cotton large or small 

 makes no great difference to him, as it all goes any- 

 way at the end of the year, to pay for the year's 

 living. As for the landlord, he is not much better 

 off, because the cotton will barely pay his debt tor 

 the year's supplies for his land and tenants, his 

 fertilizers, pork, meal, and mule feed. The Ben- 

 sons, father and son, have set themselves, as I said 

 previously, to build up a thriving neighborhood. 

 John J., the father, simply in the way of business, 

 and to get the most out of his large landed estate, 

 has been trying to bring up the character of his 

 tenants — to teach them the value of intelligent 

 planting, and of industry. Finding a desirable 

 man he offers to sell him land, and show him how 



