Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/751

Rh 221,546 bales of cotton, 6,806 tons of hay, 60,272 gallons of cane and 138,859 of sorghum molasses; value of home manufactures, $723,979; of slaughtered animals, $3,466,152; estimated value of all farm products, including betterments and additions to stock, $36,524,608. The number of manufacturing establishments was 1,364; capital, $2,137,738. Of these the most important were 272 flour and meal mills, 283 establishments for ginning cotton, 35 for the manufacture of leather, 212 saw mills, and 13 wool-carding establishments.—The state is remarkably well stocked with wild animals, valuable for their meat, hides, and furs, among which are the deer, elk, beaver, otter, rabbit, raccoon, wildcat, catamount, wolf, and bear. Wild turkeys, geese, quails, and various other birds, are also found in great abundance. The chief exports are cotton, maize, wool, hides, and lumber, which find a market in New Orleans, through which port Arkansas receives her foreign merchandise. A thriving domestic commerce is carried on along the Mississippi, Arkansas, and other navigable streams of the state; and the traffic with the Indians on the western border is of considerable importance. Among the most striking natural curiosities in the state are the famous hot springs, beneficial to those suffering from the effects of mercury in the system, rheumatism, stiffness of the joints, &amp;c. These springs are situated on a small tributary of the Washita, about 6 m. from that river, and 60 m. S. W. of Little Rock, in Hot Springs county. From 75 to 100 of these springs, varying in temperature from 105° to 160° F., issue from a lofty ridge of sandstone overlooking the town, while a number rise from the bed of Hot Spring creek, which flows at the foot of the ridge, and, by reason of

the springs, is rendered sufficiently warm for bathing in midwinter. In Pike county, on the Little Missouri river, is a natural bridge, and near by is a mountain of very fine alabaster.—Up to Jan. 1, 1870, only 128 miles of railroad had been completed in Arkansas; but many important lines are now in process of construction. The Cairo and Fulton road extends from Cairo, Ill., S. W. across Arkansas past Little Rock to Fulton in Hempstead county, and thence to the Texas line; 301 m. of this road will lie in Arkansas. The Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and New Orleans road extends from the former city to Napoleon on the Mississippi, a distance of 125 m. The Little Rock and Fort Smith road connects these two points, which are distant 156 m. The Memphis and Little Rock extends from a point opposite Memphis, Tenn., on the Mississippi, to Little Rock, and is 130 m. long. The Mississippi, Ouachita, and Red Eiver road extends from Eunice on the Mississippi westerly to Fulton on the Red river, 155 m. The St. James and Little Rock is projected from St. James, Mo., on the Southern Pacific railroad, 104 m. W. of St. Louis, to Little Rock, a distance of 240 m. The Missouri, Kansas, and Texas extends from Junction City, Kansas, on the Kansas Pacific railroad, to Fort Smith, Ark., 325 m. The Memphis and St. Louis extends from Wakefield, opposite Memphis, northerly to Morley, Mo., 142 m., with a branch extending southerly to Helena, 60 m. Under the act of 1868 the number of miles of railroad for which state aid could be granted was limited to 850. The bonds, of the denomination of $1,000, are payable in 30 years, with 7 per cent. interest payable semi-annually in New York city. The amount of aid awarded to the various companies up to Jan. 1, 1871, is as follows:

The amount of state bonds actually issued to railroad companies to Sept. 30, 1870, was $2,750,000. Pursuant to an act of the legislature of 1869, 53 m. of levee work have been completed upon the rivers of the state, at a total cost of $505,917, and 167 m. are in course of construction, comprising levees, railroad beds answering the same purpose, cut-offs, and other works securing land from overflow. By these improvements many acres of valuable land will be reclaimed. In 1870 there were two national banks in Arkansas, with a total capital of $200,000 and a circulation of $179,500.—The present constitution of Arkansas was adopted Feb. 11, 1868, and ratified by the people March 13, 1868. The equality of all persons before the law is recognized. The ordinance of secession of 1861 and the state debt contracted in waging war against the federal government are declared null and void. The legislature, which assembles biennially on the first Monday of January (odd years), consists of a house of representatives of 82 members chosen for two years, and a senate of 26 members elected for four years. One half of the senators are chosen every two years.