ARKANSAS

the ‘Bear State,’ a S.- central state of the U.S.A., bounded on the N. by Mi ouri, E. by the R. Mi i ippi, 8. by Louisiana and Texas, and W. by Texas and Oklahoma. The surface of the state is very varied. It may be divided about equally into the N.W. highland division.and the S8.E. lowland division. Out of the broad alluvial bottoms of low elevation which border the Mi i ippi R. and its chief W. tributaries rise the Costal Plains, which extend N.W. to the Boston Mts. belonging to the Ozark Uplift. The Mi i ippi forms the E. border, while the state from W.to E. Other important rivers are the St. Francis and White Rs. to the N., and the Saline, Ouachita, and Red Rs. totheS. The climate is pleasant and healthy, except in the malarial swampy district of the E. The normal rainfall is from 45-55 in., but even this is not sufficient for the rice fields, which have to be flooded through artificial means. Agriculture is the chief industry. There are large deposits of bituminous and semi-anthracite coal. The growth of manufactures has been considerable, the most important branch being the lumber and timber industry, which includes logging operations, planing |, sawmills, etc. There are good railroads, except in the mountainous districts of the N. and W., the chief being those which connect the cities of the N.-central states with the Gulf cities on the 8S. There are natural hot springs, world-famed as a cure for rheumatism and kindred ills, and the town of Hot Springs (11,695) has sprung up beside them. A. was visited by the Spaniard, De Soto, in 1541, but the first settlement was made by French men at Arkansas Post in 1686. The Mi i ippi was explored further by Marquette and Joliet (1673) and La Salle (1682), and the territory, after pa ing through French and Spanish hands, was purchased by the U.S.A. in 1803. A. was erected into a territory in 1819 and admitted as a state into the Union in 1836. Its pop. 1920, was 1,752,204. The chief cities are Little Rock (65,142, the capital), Fort Smith (28,870), Pine Bluff (19,080), See Mar Unitrep StTatTzs,