A Bit Of Good Road History

As far b:ick :is 1 8."9 the rcsidents of Pike ccmnty proved theauel ve an exceptiou tu the general rule by discovering that goud roads were a source of comfort, ccnnom v, and even wealtli. Thcy formed the Clarks ville Koad Cumpauy, though they lived Ín whatwas tlicn ;i wíld ana bllly WMte, by steady perse veranee they poined miward untll thelr work was finUhed In 1870 by the completion of the Clarksville Belt sy8tem,novv well known n eyel ii{í liistory, wlth Its tributarles raonlng north l 7 milis to Louisiana and beyond, west to Prairieville, and south to Palnesville. Beeldes this, the county luelf now controla somn 40 miles of gravel pike. Tlie foondatlon of these roads is laid with large stowes wedgeü together and covered wlth (iraTel boulders, wlth a surface of smull gravel hauled from rioh bed, whtch abonnd in the county. The expense of keeplogthe road in repair, raiiging from $100 to9900 per nille per }enr, was soon counterbiilanced by the iucreased baultng facilities, and President Carroll and Secretary Roberts now tell willi prkle that by a modTate toll thecoMiiany is iiot only fnabltd 60 furnish the Belt with iron brtdgei Rnd otlK'r iiuprovements, bul pays the stockholders a dividend betidw, while tlie lniuls adjacent to the pike have inereaseel Mveral fold in valué. The farms in the county, in fact, are as neat and clean as the wellkept lawns In the sabnrbt of a city. Thli is in strong contrast to the country lying south, a wajroo trip over 12 mllea ofwhlch took me something like S hours to cover.