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LOG Of THE GOOD SHIP "MERCEDES." CAPT. CONSTEIN GIVES AN INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF HIS TRIP IIP THE RIVER. Editor County Hecokd: I wrote yon some t me ago an account of my return trip from Georgetown up Black river to this place on ; my gasoline boar, the "Mercedes" (the name you gave to it). 1 think of -^"Sljjakiog a change in the name of the * *boat, and if I do, 1 will call it the "Pastime, as the boat is like company! for u^and when I am tired of the i laud I take to the boat and that is Via Viae* tiuolimo I hiivf So now f y IUC WOW H4..V A /% ?? v. ? ~ ..... f I will begin to tell about my trip from here to the upper waters of Black river. Mv fortress is the J g<x>d green-wood, mv trust the cypress tree, and the great Brewing ton swamp my old time hunting and tiehing grounds, something I like to: talk about as well as the warm hearted friends I have on both sides of the river fioni Kingstree to Man-, ning, Sumter on the west side, and from Kingstree to Brick church and 1 MayeSville on the east. Many have' gone to their reward, some of them > long ago, and 1 will name some of ; them in this letter; some who were' well-t'-do and had an abundance of ># >. .. j this world's gooc's aud some in very " i humble circumstances, but all treat^ ~ ? ed "foor Uon:au Kinuiy auu gave) him warm welcome whether he came at supper time or before bieakfast. MOur boat loft the landing at. , Kingstree at half past two p. m., j April 27. I had for company Mr. Henry Reardon, of the Mouzon sec? tion, Harry Britton arid Johnny Reardon, of this place. The boat glided along quite lively and we made the mouth of Montgomery lake, a distance of sixteen miles, in one hour and fifty eight minutes; the distauce from Montgomery lake' ; to Mouzon'8 bridge is said to be I eight mi es. The time made from Kingstree to Mouzon's was two hoors and fifty five minutes. We would 1 h*ve. madp the run of tweutv-four! ^miles without a single stop, or the, ^east slack of engine, but Mr. Henry Reardon had us to stop to get a mess of fine fish out of his traps. He lives near the bridge aud his land joins! the place that I owned once, but belongs to Mr. Wm. Young at present. We spent the night with Mr. Henry '. Reardon and his wife, one of the smartest little women, gave 113 a wel' come aud hot supper of fish and several cups of stimulating coffee. I was made to feel so much at home I I had to practice old Mr. John Rear"? ? ? v / 11? rr i. UOU 6 uaoic 01 puiliug ou my cuiu, ; shoes and socks and warming the '^bottom of my feet at the fire, as it had begau to rain and our shoes were pretty well soaked by the time we got to the house. We had had quite a pleasant night's rest, had a big feather bed all to myself and slept until awakened iu the morning by the scent of fish in the frying1 pan. We had the kind of meal de- j 6Cribed by an Irishman by the name of John Kiuney, from Sumter,who was a member of my company in the Civil war. John was a great talker and could palaver well, and when he; would go out on a foraging oxpedi- j tion in the army in Virginia and would happen to get a good square! meal in the country he would boast of getting a "beautiful dinner'' thai day. Poor Johu! He, like many others, gave his life for the Cause, that was lost. On April 2Sth we left Mouzon's briJ^'e about half past s> o'clock a. m. The river was pretty high at this place, but the boat could pass under the bridge, the engine missing 'A' . 1 the bridge stringers by two inches. We took our time and arrived at Epps' bridge in about a half hour's r:r.. We blew our foghorn to let ~^S^he folk-: know that we Were coming Air. Pan Epps and some of liis soN got on the boat at lloniiin liock, a few binds below the bridge, Mr. Pan Epps is a son of Mr. .lanieEpps, who was a well-to-do farmer, 1 a brother of the father of Mr. P. d. i Epps, of Kingstree. Mr. Pan Epps is also a brother of Col. .1. J*. Epps, of Cades, my old boyhood comrade and brother sohl'er in the war. W?- * took dinner with Mr. D.uj and boys.!. They did not fail to take up their j traps and his good wife gave a din ^ ner that was "beautiful," inp>^*\g CA the tine fish that were goo' for a king. In iact^; partake of them, for ' is ing of Black your readers may 11 myself "Poor Conr. |" a poor, wandering ro\ would visit the home i?. McElveeu's mother (she was ? widow of Mr. John tippe) anu she used tojuty_me and cull me "Poor 'a Conr >e was one lady that sh me when I shouldered ^ tl id told them good by?- m foi a' A alitor, to look away ~ back \of those times an? the m kind oues who ai gone bi s to these old eyes , that ha? ^'j>s and downs of , many places in ^vh world. : Well,after dinm.. XjW^we ; :l bid them good-bye u ip | the river for Martin's la... young men joined us and wei as Reardon's landing, whert learned to paddle a canoe and where 1 went many times on a hunt or a n fishing trip with my old friend, Mr. *c James Reardon, a son of Mr John Reardon, who brought me up to this Ci country from Charleston in 1850 on ^ his return trip with cotton by wagon 01 and teaui. ni We met Mr. Wingate and his w family at Keanlon's landing, or the 81 creek, as it is called by the people n that live there. Our company then w left us Mr. 1'iess Herring ton be- ^ ing among the number had never seen the boat and came down to get w a l<><?k and a ride. We then left for ^ Martin's lake, passed through Con al yer's Ink", Stephen's lake,Ben's lake, ei aud tied up at the Canoe lake about ^ one mile between Martin's lake and w walked out to my old friend's, Mr. 81 MitcTiei Epps', who thinks that there ? is no one like Conrad. lie is a land 11 friend to me and so is hife whole 01 family. He is also a brother to Dan w and .T P. Enns. He seems to feel a "* ~ " I I 1 ' ' that I am his best doctor. H" 11 dreads thunder and lightning great- r( ly, but seems to feel more safe when I am near him. He makes me feel so much at home in his house. His daughter's house was a home for nie, and his dear old mother often eaid ai to me : "Conrad, I think as much o of you as my own sons." "Aunt t< Betsey," I used to call her. Col st Pete often laughs at something I said to his mother once. I think Pete P and I had been out and as we came 8< into the house I said, ' Aunt Betsy, " is dinner n arly .ready ?" "Are yon ^ hungry, Conrad?" "I said, no ma W am, I only want to get dinger off my mind," * ai April 29th we bad our breakfast. T and told good bye to Mitcbel and ai bis good little wife, quite h Christian lady, who never fails in prayers to V\ God night and day. We were met 01 by. Mr. John Stephen Evans George Smiih and several boys and young men were our company to Martin's lake, and after dinner at that landing they went with us to Brewington lake. Mr. J. E. Reardon, of Manning, drove up just us we had dinner done. Mr. Jimmy Burgess also threw open his fish traps to us ' and we had a fry that will not soon be forgotten. After dinner we left ar for Brewington lake, six miles up from Martin's lake. Mr. J. S. Evans and the other men and boys . went with us as far as Brewington 111 lake. We took their canoes in tow and after reaching the lake they came back down the river to their jat homes. Mr. J. E. Reardon also! joined our company up the river,j H sent his buggy around, which niet!al us at Brewington. I went home with him and spent the night and part of the next day 111 Manning visiting some friends. Manning lias u grown fast. My first trip there was 1' before the streets were laid out. p..J '? * *i oai i i t A * ; ? mi April own wp nau a line *p.ne bark stew*' and fry at Iirewinirton lake. Mr. Sam Kvans opened his II li.-h traps also lor u-'. We had Dr. , ^ Toad, his daughter and Miss Her- Tt iinton to spend the day with u-. Tin* doetoi and the ladies came down the river as far as Martin's lake. 1 told them it would be a bti roii^h trip -for ladies but s iid they ?t< were not afraid, -o we spread all of li\ Din* bedding on the floor of the boat pu and several times the ladies had to nu lie down to pass under the over- in I ( ingi?fe nt win iggv was jctor and le ii and >od b\e uch for iev ei''"'-"-1 or if kt Lit . ar h c>. Corner, ver makes ? * the right or (.her \ *anch or prong vimes died, makes'ton, turns to le west from whej forks about le mile above M-ke. I will j lention old Fleming, i ho had a wo? as a gnn nith, chair-iua \de spilling wheels and louim 'i's lake as his favorite fishing . Is and londay was alwajs his . * da}', [e was well educated a <ite a riter. He was also fond o Whenever he would fall * ny one he would write pitaph. Mr Lawrence . >ld me of a few lines Mr. .. rote under the epitapli on a tomb:one that stood near the road in the raveyard at Biggin's church, a few tiles this side of Monck's Corner, 11 the public road. Mr. Fleming as on the road to Charleston with waggon load of cotton, he saw the )8cription on the tombstone and it iad: "Ye living men as you pass by, As you are now so once was I. As I am now so s'?on you'll be; PieDare for death and followme." Mr. Fleming went to Chaileston iiu when he reached Biggin's church n his return he had some lines ready ) p'ace under the lines on the toni6;one. I read in one of the Charleston apera about the time of the war unething it said about the same To follow you I would not be content/ do not know which way you went.' be roads do fork and none can tell, 'hether you went to heaven or hell." Mr. Fleming's father-in-law was n Englishman by the name of C. Winder. Mr. Fleming hated him tid after the death of Mr. Winder [r. Fleming wrote his epitaph. Mr. finder was buried (I think) in nis ivn yard under a large tree. * The epitaph was as follows: "Here lies beneath th s tree . An Englishman by name 0 T. He was a guinea fowl's benefactor, , An Ethiopian's friend; A cat's devil ami a dog's end. His right hand was even. His left hand was odd The devil has got him by G . I Mr. Winder had lost one finger of 1 is right hand. { Mr. Winder was fond of Guinea ." la anil nflifnins Tfo ha'orf id dogs and would kill any that j inie on his place. When I was a >y I would often go to Mr. Fleni- ' g's shop to hoar him talk. He . ould never stop working to say or { 11 anything. He was kind to me ? id seemed to like me, so one day 1 1 ked him to write my epitaph. In H few davs 1 went hack t?? the shop ( 11 id he had my epitaph ready. I was!, ten working at the carpenter's trade t dping to build a large dwelling t >use for Mr. D. E. Evaus, a near J41 iglibor of Mr. Fleming. My J ^ litapli read this way : I ere F the grave ?>f poor Conrad. ' i ither and mother he never knew he | ( had. j | eared up bv strangers in this happy j 7 land. ' ' ; I e had a soul to be saved or either damned. ! ;l carpenter was lie by trade, ic hardest lot Cod ever made. eed Irom toil he';, turned to clay ic Cod that made him called hinp away." I This epitaph was written in lM.w, . it was never placed on my tonib>ne. < ion has seen lit to let me ' e many years since the death of: or old "Siah," as he wasfamil-j rly called. At that time Mr. Fleni- ( g had a wife, six sons and three " M JJ?htera. All are ^ead h?it one I ^bter,1 so I h* Ul ^ a year or so )% His daughtei 6 1 hoi.ghr a great . ?f me, so ni 150 that theyN pd a pet dog L?r ,ne- One day \ passing by |^e o-'He and old Fleming stouP^ nie to tell of W in the ^"twmelon patch. | ras still a:idr^' anu WDei1 d oof hesitir^ ^ as words." Sfe sa'd she called die dogs but thei dld not come t0 ^ Said she cl,,ed them' 4,H*re Jack, fere Conrad, here : a son a b .?e " I passed by their old lile I was up there but the y oak where I used to sit and the iiirls while they were ii)g for butter, the old well, the are all gone and cotton and re growing on the spot where nt many happv hours. A wave , 8wept over the place and all is ie, gone. .slay 1 we came down from Marn's lake to the Canoe lake, went t and spent the night with J. S, .vans. This was also one of my | boyhood homes, ilis mother is the widow of Mr. D. E. Evans, who 11 told you about in the first part of this letter. He was a noble, Chris-, tian gentleman and his good deeds live after him. After spending a pleasant night we left Saturday morning for Kings- i tiee. We stopped at Mouzon's bridge. The water was several | inches higher than when we went up! so we had to puss around the bridge! over the road. We intended to cook dinner there anff rest, but we blew a ' -t from the foghorn and Mr. J Reardon's wife heard it. The' :s half a mile from the bridge! Keardon was away from; ' OlUrt I I f H A IV 1 f A rtf email nine nm; vjm ( ms i ver bo\*9 down before we ha*. slllg^^eUing us to come up . ..inner. We praised the' Lord and accepted the invitation ; After eating a good dinner, which was also "beautiful," we bid them good-bye and arrived at Kingstree.i long before sundown, making the run of twenty-four miles iu two hours and in time to still find Mr. Henry Reardon in town and to tell him we had the pleasure of eating dinner at his house. The Mercedes behaved nobly the i whole round trip, and we have had the pleasure of taking snial paries' out up and down the river since 'he | i tbrn of the boat from the upper waters. Among the parties was (piite a number of Kings tree's prettiest ladie.i, and I feel quite proud and feel honored to have them ride in my boat. If this letter deSe-vea space in I The County Uecurd I ?ill feel1 honored also by the gentleman edi-! tor. Very truly yours, ' Tonrad C'onstine. I Kingstree, May 18, 1908. COMFORTING WORDS. j i M?nr * Ifinorefr?A llnncphnlri Will 1*1 n mj a ain^ati vv hvnwvmvi? ** Find Them So. ; i To have the pains and aches of a ( bad back removed;to be eutirelv free ( Prom annoying, dangerous urinary < lisorders is enough to make any kidney sufferer grateful. To tell how Lhis great change can be brought ibout will jnove comforting words ! a) hundreds of Kingstree readers Mrs R B Smith, Logan Street, < Kingstree, S C, says: "Doan's Kid- ! . lev Pills have proven very benefic- ' j al to me and I heartly recommend ' hem. I had Kidney trouble for | ^ some lime and suffered a great deal 1 "rom dull, nagging backaches. !leadacnes and pains in the region s >f in 17 1-iilnt.vj ii'uro nf f rv-nncnf nr /A IHJ niVAUVIO ?? V I V v*. VVJ..VM. jurrence iod I always had a tireJ, A vorn oat feeling. Recently I bought ' i box of Doun's Kidnev Tills at ? jcott's drug store and taking them ' ts directed was <juicklv relieved of ^ ill the difficulties. My strength and nergy also returned and my condi- ' ion was improved in every way." '> For sale by all dealers. Price 50 ents. Foster-Milburn Co, liuffa* < o, New York, sole agents for the "nited States. Remember the name?Doun's? :nd take no other. : i Read (he Farmers & Merchants ' tank's ad. this Issue. 1 FOETSALE- i '.rick in any quantity to *-niT purchas 1 r. The l??-.-t Try Press Machine-made i AEI3ICK.V i pecial shape* made to order. Cor re- ] ointeiiee vdii-ited tMore placing vt>ur rders. W. It FUNK, / ' ' , r* AO ' " \ . _L i A strong Directo Makes a goc FARMERS LAKE CIT y Direcl J S McClam | J C Y S B Foston DISPENSARY FIGHT WAXE* HOT. I Movement for Rum Shop at Harper's, j on County Eine, Stirs up TroubleGeorgetown, May 14:?A bitter wrangle exists at Harper's, on the Georgetown and Western rail-' road, partly in Williamsburg and ! partly in Georgetown counties, over | the question of establishing a dispensary at that place. At a meeting of the interested parties to the controversy on Tuesday afternoon the strongest language was hurled back and forth between the opposing factions. Crimination, recr^pnnation, innuendoes and threats were indulged in and a general scrimmage was imminent. The Williatnburgers want a dispensary, the citizens of the Georgetown side do not. Charges were made that the &tores and shops in Harper's are virtually blind tigers, which were answered with the lie and counter charges of corruption and immorality. The intend u>'. of Harper's, Mr W S Catnli i. and the Rev Mr Thrower, f - ? i ? - JI-A. /~11 L or inc .Yiemoaist vjourLii, eugaKeu iu a hfrtted arguineat, which came near ending in blows. The meeting adjourned without settling i ht- ' question, to meet again at a later ; date. The people of the nearby; town of ltosemary, in Georgetown j county, threaten to open a dispen- j 8ary at that place should one be es-! tablished at Harper's. Rosemary is a thriving and. growing village, where the big railroad shops of the Atlantic Coast Lumber Corporation are located, and as most of the dispensary patronage would naturally rvtinp ffoni there. thi-i threat on the part of the Rosemary people may put a quietus on the aspirations of the people of Harper's.?NewCon rier. When the baby is cross and has ? you worried and worn out you will And that a little Cascasweet. the well known remedy for babies and chilJr?*n, will quiet the little one in a1 short time/The ingredients are pnnt?d plainly on the oottle, contaius no jpiate. Sold by W L Wallace: ^ Baseball at Morrisville. i j Mohkisville, May 12.?The j DDeuinc came of the season was a pulled off on the loca* diamond Saturday when our boys and the v Dauntless club, from near Kings-1 r :ree, crossed bats. .The game was a close one, resulting in a i ;core of 2 to 3 in favor of the i , ;isiting team. Mr Silas Nes- j ^ rient acted as umpire and the i ^ jame passed off pleasantly. The I fhe Dauntless boys are a gen- " tlemanl}' set and our boys will I glad to have them come back ; * my old time. t Our boys are preparing to give \ Spring Gully a licking next Sat- <3 irda}*. Tiie Morrisville team is ' jl ibout the same as last season. P Gery few changes, only that the') 'baby pitcher," as some of the r - . . . 4 '??* ?r? b i m lief Uiii r , 1MIUIM III llltu Jlllll ^ >.U1 ) las grown to be a big boy, wearing "long britches" and iouquets. But when he gets in Ire box it's another scrape of 'Case}' at the Bat.*' With kindest regards toTiiK i llEC'oko, I will ring otl, v. blundeuhl'ss. t rate I I M id Bank. I , 1ERCHANTS y, s. c. _ ; "I tors: A'Cj C M Kelly oung i /|g B W Stewart ^ ^ Plan your work?then work yonr plan. Nothing great was ever achieved wothout enthusiasm. Use your head to think with. Hat racks can be gotten at the 10^ cent stores, j ;|j "Health Coffee" is really the closest Coffee Imitation ever yet produced This clever Coffee Substitute was recently produced by Di Shoop of Racine, Wis.1 Not a grain of real Coffee in it either. Dr Shbop's Health Coffee is made from pure toasted grains, with malt, nuts, etc. Really it would fool an expert?whomight driuk it for Coffee. No 20 or 30 minutes tedious boiling. "Made in a minute'1 says the doctor,. ' M Sold by People's Mercantile Co. A cheery spirit lessens the woes andcare8 of the day. Be pleasant. To blow your own horji success-) fully always speak well of others. KILLthi COUCH mid CURE THE LUNC8 , King's Ja | New Discovery ; j for C8^8 jSSKJ 1 AND ALL THROAT AMD LUWfl TROUBLES. 1 ^>3 IGUARANTEED SATISFACTORY! Jo^fOXE^BEFUNDm^^J PATRONIZE HOME INDUSTRY % Build up Home Enterprises. / Buy Brick From fireelyville Brick Works. 3 Correspondence Solicited. E. O.TAYLOR, Pres. S. V. TAYLOR, Sec. & Treas. 3-21-tf. W. Leland Taylor, 4 DENTIST, CREELYVILLE. - S. C. 3rown and Bridge Work ' a Specialty. All who try don't aueeeed, but 11 who succeed tried. Don't grumble when things go vrong. Roll up your sleeves and uake them go right. Sour , | Stomach j No appetite, loss of strength, nervou?? less, headache, constipation, bad breath, ;eneral debility, sour risings, and catarrh >f the stomach are all due to Indigestion, [odol relieves indigestion. This new tiiscoviry represents the natural Juices of digesion as they exist in a healthy stomach, :ombined with the greatest known tonio ind reconstructive properties. Kodol for lyspepsia docs not only relieve indigestion ind dyspepsia, but this famous remedj iclps all stomach troubles by cleansing, urifylng, sweetening and strengthening he mucous membranes lining the stomach. Mr. S. S. Ball, of Ravenswood. W. Va., says:? ' I was troubled with sour stomach for twenty years. Codol cured me and wo are now usine' it In milk or baby." FOR BACKACHE?WEAK KIDNEYS TRY WITTS KIDNEY and BLADDER PILLS-Suri and Safi Prepared by E. O. DeWITT & CO., Chicago For Sale by W L Wallace. mm ? Title, Mortgage, Bill of Sale, jien on Crop, aiul Lien ami Hill of Sale combiruHl blanks for sai< at hisofliee. 2 13tf i