Gainesville , Greene County

Arkansas

August 26th , 1868

Respectfully

J. M. Lewis

Commissioner of Immigration

Sir:

In answering your interrogatories , I can not find half the space to give you a minute description of the fertility of soil and different crops grown ! Greene County is 52 miles in length with a high ridge running north and south through her center, with a base of twelve miles at the widest point , known as Crowley Ridge. The backbone of this ridge is lined with beautiful pine forest , which makes valuable lumber for building purposes . The west side of the ridge juts out on the Cache River bottoms with fine springs trickling down her rich valleys terminating in brooks which lead out through what is known as the swamplands of the Cache River. The east side of this gradually slopes off to the rich bottom lands of the St. Francis River with beautiful little streams ___?__by flowing springs ____?__ through nearly every section of the land , supplying abundance of stock water at all seasons of the year. The soil is of the dark mulatto kind , somewhat sandy , very rich and fertile . Wild fruits grow here in abundance . The wild grape will almost compare with that cultivated in northern latitudes . I have seen the trunks of the vine of wild grapes that its diameter would measure six or eight inches. Sassafras grow large enough to make canoes or forty rails to the cut . We have yellow poplar in abundance . In fact we have the best variety of timber known in the state. There is generally nuts sufficient to keep hogs fat the year round. I have seen acorns in the spring of the year on the creeks in drifts by the wagon oads. In the bottom lands we have fine winter range for horses and cattle . Great many planters drive their stock to those bottoms in the fall after frost kills the vegetation on the ridge lands . They generally come out in the spring beef fat . There is thousands of acres in these bottoms covered with cane . Soil of a black , sandy nature and the ____ lands is covered with a winter grass that resembles large wheat fields which makes everlasting ___ range for stock of all kinds. The timber in this bottom lands is not so good as that of the uplands . We have plenty wild game , deer , turkey, bear in abundance. Also plenty of wild bees , some men have honey year around and never ___ a bee. Also plenty of furs , mink , otter , beaver and all other kinds of wild varmints. We also have plenty of cat perch , and pike in all of our little creeks and when we want large fish we go to the St. Francis River which is but a short distance and gig buffalo fish. We sometimes salt up these fish by the barrel and keep them year around . Or you may dry them and hang them up in your smoke house as you do your bacon to use at any time you wish. There is plenty of fish in this river to supply the State of Arkansas. One man can go in among these fish where lands will compare with almost any other portion of the state . For fear I shall weary your patience I will bring my remarks to a close. I have the honor to be your obedient servant ,

James M. Livesay