A. has still nine]) forest area, and game remains in large supply; such as the deer, bear, turkey, prairie-hen, and quail. Fish are plentiful in the streams and bayous, where very rarely an alligator may be found. In the lowlands are many reptiles, and moccasin and rattle snakes inhabit the hills in some sections.
The railroads in A. at the opening of 1879 were: the A. Midland, 48 m., Helena to Duncan and Clarendon; the Hot Springs, 25 m., Malvern to the springs; Little Rock and Fort Smith, 165 m., L. R. to F. S.; Little Rock, Mississippi River and Texas, 100 m., Arkopolis to Pine Bluff and Collins; Memphis and Little Rock, 133 m., Hopefield to L. R.; St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern, 304i m., St. Louis to Texarkana on the Texas line. The Memphis and Little Rock railroad will be a part of the Southern Pacific, when that enterprise is completed.
Seventy-nine newspapers and magazines were published hi A. at the beginning of 1879; 7 daily, 70 weekly, and 2 monthly. A. has 216,475 children of school age-6 to 21 years.— of whom 33,747 were enrolled in 1878. The school fund amounted to $168,236; income, $25'6,450; expenses, $148,392. There were normal departments in the industrial university at Fayetteville, and in the university at Pine Bluff. There are four colleges in the state: Arkansas college, Presbyterian, Batesville; Cane Hill college, Cumberland, Presby terian, Boonsboro; Judson university, Baptist, Judsonia; and bt. John's college, non sectarian, Little Rock. There is also an industrial university at Fayetteville. In all the colleges there were 35 instructors and 204 students. Both sexesure admitted to all except St. John's.
Probably no other of the states has less of written history than A. Doubtless the first European on its soil was De Soto, or some of his men, and there is a belief that the great explorer was buried in the Arkansas and not in the Mississippi. The Spaniards left no marks; they were searching for gold, and did not attempt to settle. The French, however, who came with or followed Bienville, made a settlement about 1680, near the junction of the St. Francis with the Mississippi. In 1720, Louis XV. granted to John Law, the notorious Scotch speculator, 12 sq.m. of land on the A. river, on condition that lie would settle upon it 1500 German immigrants, and maintain at his own expense a sufficient force to protect them against the Indians. ' This was a small part of the famous "Mississippi scheme," but the settlement of Germans was not made; 200 Alsa tians came over, and 500 negroes were imported from Africa shortly before Law's failure, and they settled at Cote d'Or, 80 in. from New Orleans. It was long after the
revolution that a permanent settlement was made within the bounds of A., which was French territory till 1803, and when the territory was organized, in Mar., 1819, by congress, the entire pop., excluding Indians, was less than 1000. But even then the printing press was on its way, and in Nov., 1819, the Arkansas Gazette was started at Little Rock.
A. was one of the first of the seceding states, voting for a convention on the subject in Jan., 1861; in favor, 27,412; opposed, 15,826. The state officers anticipated the business by seizing upon fort Smith and the federal arsenal, at Napoleon And Little Rock. In May, 1861, the convention adopted, with but one negative vote, an ordinance of seces sion, but did not submit it to the populur vote. The confederates were defeated at the battle of Pea Ridge in Mar., 1862, and again, under Hindman, Dec. 7, 1862, at Prairie Grove. The union forces captured Arkansas Post, Jan. 11, and Little Rock, Sept. 10, 1863. A diversion against the rebellion was made in 1864, when nearly two thirds of the counties in the state were represented in a convention at Little Rock. A constitu tion was adopted and voted upon a few weeks later, 12,177 being for it, and 226 opposed. Congressmen and local officers were chosen, and a regular state government. was organ ized in April. In this manner, A. practically returned to the union a year before the end of the rebellion. Under the reconstruction acts, a convention to frame a constitution was elected in Nov., 1867, and in the following Mar. the present constitution was indorsed by a small majority of the popular vote. the close of 1868, several counties were declared to be in insurrection, and were put under military rule, in consequence of the frequency of outrages upon individuals.
The state capital is at Little Rock; the governor is chosen for two years, and has a salary of $3500 per year. Legislative sessions are biennial, and limited to 60 days. The three electoral votes of A. were given first in 1836 for Van Buren and Johnson; 1840, for Polk and Dallas; 1848, for Cass arid Butler; 1852 (4 votes), for Pierce and King; 1856, for Buchanan and Breckenridge; 1860, for Breckenridge and Lane; 1864, no vote: 1868 (5 votes), for Grant and Colfax; 1872 (6 votes, not counted); 1876, for Tilden and Hendricks.