190 THE ALABAMA OPPORTUNITY. 



the enjoyment of life, liberty and property absolutely made se- 

 cure to all ; churches and school houses in every neighborhood 

 and society, not only thoroughly established, but its rules 

 strictly observed as to the vicious and the outcasts. 



THE SITUATION. 



The geographical situation of the State can be seen at a 

 glance at the map, — in the Southeastern portion of the United 

 States. It is bounded on the north by Tennessee ; on the east 

 by Georgia ; on the south by Florida and the Gulf of Mexico ; 

 and on the west by Mississippi; lying between latitude 30.10 

 and 35 north, and longitude 84.53 ^^^1 88.30 -west. The length 

 of the State is 336 miles, and its breadth 200 miles, with an 

 area of 52,250 square miles; 710 square miles being water 

 surface. There are 32,460,080 square acres, with four grand 

 divisions, viz. : — cereal, mineral, cotton, and timber belts. In 

 the northeast and center of the State is situated the Allegheny 

 Mountains, which cause the water-shed in the northern portion 

 to empty into the Mississippi through the Tennessee River, 

 while those below the range of mountains flo winto the Gulf 

 of Mexico. The Cereal Belt is in the northwestern portion 

 of -the fertile Tennessee Valley; the Mineral Belt lies to the 

 south of the first, consisting of more than one-third of the total 

 area, and having vast and inexhaustible deposits of minerals, 

 the development of which has opened new and valuable indus- 

 tries ; the coal fields cover an area of 8,000 square miles, with 

 beds' of rich ore which rival any in the world, and there are 

 also boundless supply of limestone, sandstone, white marble, 

 soapstone, flagstone, graphite, and granite ; then comes the 

 Cotton Belt, made up of broad, rolling prairies, diversified by 

 timber lands, and abundantly supplied with water ; it is com- 

 posed of one-third of the total area, and possesses a stiff, black, 

 fertile soil, and is the most productive portion of the Sta:te and 

 of the South ; then, last is the Timber Belt, which is nearly 

 fifty miles in width ,and has a uniform surface slightly above 

 the level of the Gulf. The prevailing growth is the yellow, or 

 long leaf pine, but there is also oak, cypress, hickory, beech, 

 magnolia, walnut, sweet gum ; all of which are inviting the in- 

 vestor and the capitalists, and the home-seeker to come and de- 

 velop them, and make their homes, and aid us in bringing them 



