Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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^X?""'r " ''' ''' (^ROT^W IS77. ""' *'"" ^"'^ ^ 30/ ' Written expressly for the Tluies. which, Testifier on a 5- **:? it I ' A TRIP TO TBYON MOUNTAIN. It was a party of thirteen highly respectable people, who might huvc been seen three weeks ago climbing the steep ascents of Tryon Mountain. We left with many assurances from those who stayed bchiud, that the trip could not be made by tender ladies; whilo some of usfearelthat :tho delicacy of frame iudicated by such 'beautiful faces would not take their fair , possessors to so great an altitude, llut , ' brave hearts were there, determined to succeed. ( 1 . \bout.8 A. M, wo startod; that is to say, ] " " *" two uiulos started, drawing a wagon in which ?vere seated the two Misses H. of Union, j /It-! A n v " Vunion comes nrsc, ot course,; Miss F, ot t Spartanburg, tho two Misses M., Miss K. t and little Miss W. of North Caroliua. The a mules, no doubt, thought that load enough, v but there seomcd to be a different opinion q 0 entertained by Messrs. and C.. of Spar* u tanburg, H?n, of Virgtfcia and II?s and S. of Uniou, (last this time) who crowded in, c too. However, pity or discomfort (for moun- c tain roads arc rough and rocky) induced j, the gentlemcu to jump out, as we crossed ? the North Pacolct, and walk up tho bill on the other side ; while some of them never jt y got iu auy more., mjJih p, and trotting, talking and laughing, an oc* w casional soream in acknowledgment ,of a w breakfast-settling jolt, views "of magnifi- | it* cent mountain and valley scenery, and we are at the base of Tryon. Although no man of our party is loDgcr permitted to ride, ^ and Miss B. M., the heroine of the oxpe- ^ ditiou, has gouc on ahead, the other ladies keep their discomfortable scats in tho wagon, and soften the noise of the wheels rattling ef over rocks with uiost musical shrieks, and q greet the commingled echoes on their return j down the mouutnin slopes with hearty peals j of laughter. And so on to the farm of ^ Capt. Williamson, whero may be seen a ^ At .-^a^eh flf.wpotton, ahead of auything we have ; *?r*3; T1 ^ ^tha* ftidioua Thermal BeR, of frlfich our as '' host is wont to relate the wonders', as he ag hospitably welcomes at his gate the weary p, travellers on the "new schedule." But although Capt. W. is really a most clever rp gentleman, who could hot raise good cotton nj from laud whero frost never forms. Hence q cotton-picking iu December, tomato blooms iu Jauuary, and uufuiliug crops of luscious j)) peaches. (Virgil). c, At this same farm the ladies were order- ^ cd to their feet?the wagon could go no u farther. The line of march was now taken f? up, Gad and Pack bringing up the rear, w with three lunch baskets. We cannot do- C( scribe that straggling, toiling party J to be appreciated it must be seen. In front marched the heroine, with her escort, lead- ^ ing the party easily, and only resting as ^ guide posts to those behind. Miss ,j would dash frantically at the steep ascent, aud having accomplished it, fall exhausted ( on the first flat rock or grassy tuft, qucs- ^ tioning in her mind whether Macbeth's ad- j vice was of universal application : "If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well a It wero done quickly." a Just behind her would rush up Miss S. u M., who protested her inability to climb a * slowly, tread like a plantigrade, or keep her d lips closed, as she was told to do. The en- t ginecr of tho party, tough as a whatobone, ascended readily the slopes, assisting his \ fair companion, who seemed exhausted ere ] wo had gono far on our way. Miss F. ] stood it like a woman, tirod, no doubt, ( and glad of every halt, but determined to t ??1- i An Mr IT a , It'ilUII IUU IJIUUlltdiu vuj;s * * ** ') j rpassed froin group to group, now helping i hero, now encouraging there; and Mr. I., j with a friend, prettier than himself, acted ] as rear guard to all, mounting slowly but i surely the cliffs of Tryon. ClimbiiiK and i walking, running and halting, sighing and laughing, wo havo now pulled our straggling band up to the top of the gap ; but misery ! the goal looks as far off as when we crossed l'acolct River. The guides tell us, however, that it is only a half mile ; but oh ! how steop ! Some'device must be adopted to help those frail ladies, who keep up only from pride?the heroine always excepted. Mr. I. proves equal to the emergency, pressingly felt by his fair companion ; and he invents the moans. Look at Mr. S., marching bravely up with both hands behind his back, y holding on to a stick, at the other end of p ... ? wiVUUj is> I'lilO XI the younger, weighing ? ever so many pounds; perhaps on account of tbo rarefac- i tion of the atmosphere. Mr. II?s was I pulling up iu like maimer Miss F., fragile I enough on a level, but as heavy now as a like siso of lead. If the reader ever finds I himself in like predicament, we advise him J to do as wo did : hold on to the stick with i on: hand, pick whortleberries with the oth- { er and offer them to the lady bchiud. As \ she releases her hold to take the berries and I put them into her mouth, you will experi- t once a slight relief. This may not be gal- t lant, but it is comfortable.' t The halts become more frequent, the t ulking less animated, the heat more inteuse, s he climbing utoro perpendicular, the party g norc scattered?the desire for water univcr- o ial. A miserable littlo spring appears, ii rhich we are told is the highest on Tryon- tl Too shallow for use, we send Pack (gentler* unu 01 color) up the steep path with orders ci o greet South Carolina's Governor with a ts heer, if he finds any moro water. The y< ngineer gets a switch, which is converted V ito a miniature trough, and so arranged that be rntcr may be dripped out below into a cup. yi tut just as it is fixed, we hear Pack shout- is ?g, "Hurrah for Hampton !" So up we g? ull, nud WMrtad a Dold mountain spring, 13 ith our hcroino sitting complacently by, A ho twits our engineer with his ignorance th F Tryon's topography. to Fortunately for our party, (and our read- P ) wc arj very near the top, and with a w' w long, hard pulls, a few recuperating ve ills, we rest our limbs upon the highest ^ >iut of this very high mountain. And oh! be )w grand ! Hazy as it is, wo still see ro' lough to compensate us for all our loil.? J? ff to the left, lies Columbus, with its real- uu fiuo Court House, its brick jail, nud its ou sarth of otfyer buildings. In front is our )st's farm and dwelling house, visible to ic naked eye; and with our glass wc can Til it winds along the mountain sides ou its _ 1%, * * 4 ceiiumg course irom j>in mountain 10 im aces' Gap. With the imagination we may at stinctly trace the handsome house tops of C'1 ryon City, its fine hotel, and eveu recogzc the features of friends from South t|, arolina, as they saunter along the paved an rcets. Back of us, mountain range rises shiud mountain range, as far as the eye ^ u sec. while the brain is bewildered with ic names which arc repeated, and located tu pon tho various peaks. Farms spread out in ir below in the valley, and North Pacolct, ith its silver thread, makes the landscape oinplote. Painters or photographers may jr ^produce that view ; pensmeu never can. th To every romanco there is a reality, and 01 lountaiu scenery was now forgotten in the *u jmpting display of a bountiful lunch.? 'he beaux seemingly most lost to things ti< jrrest rial?i. e. in their judgment, for some f us knew that ladies were terrestrial? cc ame down sledgo hammerly to thut munane lunch, and contributed wonderfully ?: owards emptying those baskets. However, fo 11 got enough, aud felt in good humor, nd whilcd away an hour with seven-up, S aumblo-thc-peg, and other highly dignified g. muscments. But we arc called to come lown below to the other side of the moun- il ain ; and we?i. c. all except the lazy ones ?hasten to obey. And oh! how magnificent, vas the view which burst upon us ! Caesar's w [lead may equal it?it cannot be surpassed, n; ^o trees to obstruct the view, wo look down fi >ver a precipice for a thousand feot, and lee the valleys below, like a rich green car- ^ pet covering spread out before us, for miles j. upon miles. Near at hand is the Pcakc n farm, where Jho children playing looked I1 like ants, tho father no larger than a beetle, I1 and a dog ran along like a mere dot upon a llio nnrfli'e onr('w>i> V nlViinrv uric nrrl v Mt.v. VIIIVU O J vy 4W?IIIII^ nus UjjlJ S nothing was plain?nothing was pretty?it y was all grand, majestic, magnificent. We ' have seen the ocean lost on all sides in tho c dip of the horizon ; we have climbed vari- j ous peaks of the Blue ltidgc; we have stood j on Maryland freights and admired tho grand sconory for which it is noted?moun- ' tain ranges spreading out north and south, with the valley below, bougded by waters of the Shenandoah and Potomoc visible for miles, and the blue waters of the latter boiling through tho gorge which its own current had worn ; we have enjoyed all the beauties which expand before your oyc from Mi Washington; but never have we been more impressed with the grandeur of nature, than while sitting on those rocks dowu the side of Tryon Mountain. Too grand to leavo, even now the subject teuipts the pen bo siay. Back to toil, and back to the mountaintops. Some had gone ; others awaited us. New muscles aro uow brought into play, md going dowu we find less fatigue, but a greater strain upou the tendons. Now we Talk, now we run, now we stop at the berry )ushcs. One couple fell on a steep descent. hrough the slip of ouo of them, aud the 00 great haste of both ; and it wa\th(ninriy hiug worth recording on the downward rip, except this, that some people are such low coaches -sometimes. At any rate, they ot down safely to the wagon, and the wag- 1 n, with its contents got safely to its shed, | 1 spite of the screams which outcchocd | ic rattling of its wheels. i Aud do you know, gentle reader, that you ' in now get to the very base of the inouu- ' iins, for less money and iu less time than y iu would expend in going to Glenn's or j /est springs, which have nlways seemed to c i at our very doors ! Do you know, that 1 >u cau take the train after the day's work " over, spend a night in the mountains, and ^ sc back in time for the next dnv'a u-r>'V? . ut so it is, thanks to the Spartanburg & 6 shcvillc It. It. We havo to get use to J" in!?8, aud these are facts which uecd yet ^ be realized. The time will soou couie? a rhaps not thij year, but couic it will? t :Ii ?_i 1* ?i uu^aiuu^u ?T ill UU UIMjU Ui U1CMJ IUJ* V uicDces; aud when you have run up to fl c mountains lor a rest and a cool change, C sure to go to the top of Tryon and to the f( cks down its side; and may there be in c ur party as uiauy interesting ladies, as fi my fascinating belles, as there were in c. rs?but fewer guui-arabic beaux. * ? t< THE STOCK LAW. ~ IE THEORY OF THE NO FENCE SYSTEM. l' i *11^ ii f We publish by pcVinissfl5fi wu; ^ r"~' tcr from Hcv. A. Hanson,-of North Caro- p ia, formerly of this County, which gives length the bonetits derived from the h' ango of the fence system in parts of Norlhj P irolina. The letter is well worth reading, d we hope the friends and opponcuts of s< c proposed change will give it their calm s< d candid perusal; Huntkusvillk, N. C., July I), 1877. 0 . F. Cray ton, Esq.: w Dear Sir?Your request through my S1 other, William Hanson, for my "obsorva- c >ns aud expurienee in the matter of lcnc- Si g up the stock." has been duly received. a soling a deep interest in the welfare of a )uth Carolina, uiy nativo State, 1 hasten 1 reply. This is the fifth year that I have t id an opportunity to observe the working of f ie system, aud the third that I liava. been a ;peripncing its benefit^ They arc, 1 :vm V-* illy persuaded, as follows : I 1st. It saves a heavy expense. 1 2nd. It brings valuable land into cultiva- -s an. * 3rd. It improves land and enhances its t >mtncrcial value. 4th. It is favorable to renters. 5th. It cuablcs men to retain small unmhered farms, and others to obtain farms ir the first time. 6th. It promotes tho cultivation of the rasscs. 7th. It facilitates the improvement of *>ck. Now, each of these points I propose to lustratc : (1) My interest in land comprises one undrcd and fifty acres. It had through . a long lano and a short one. Whilo we 'ere canvassing for the stock law, I often 1 rid 1 would rather have it than a present of vo hundred dollars, Hut now I go up < pon that. Were it possible for no one to e affected by it but myself, I would not go nek to the old system lor one thousand dol- 1 irs ! That will sound extravagant to many, o doubt. Hut consider this : besides my iresent pasture lot fencing two thousand lanels of new fence would be required.? Jut would ouc thousand dollars build that nd leave a sum whose interest would be uflieient to keep it in repair from year to 'car? I reckon not. Then, why should 1 ?e willing to go hack for the consideration if one thousand dollars ? Thus, in afiuaueial mint of view, I regard the change as being ?:?II.. ?.tL t. 1 .LSIJu. u itutiuai i y vtuiiii iw urn aim mjr uiiuuiuii ai oust seven del In re per ncrc ou our land. In a few weeks we will have fiuishfetVrJ leat, substantial and eonvenicnt barn, forty eet square. Began it a year ago. Did nost of the work ourselves, and worked at it only when farm work was not needed, or jould not bo done. Fifty dollars will cover t.hc whole amount paid out for hired labor, nails and the sawing of plank. But uodcr the old system we could not have touched it at all; we would have been kept in a continued strain to renew our fencea. And thus, it gives all farmers a better opportuui | ty to make improvements?io droiu laud, to j make compost heaps, and to give their sens a 1: better education. u (2) On this point I uced only remark r that the best laud iu your * State is under v your fences. Now, wero they all removed tl ancLthe ground they oecupy iu wheat and cofri, would it not bread all the people of tl yow- State? All through the old fields, too, u aid many rich spots. Our people have huu- ft ted up all these, and are lettiug the poorest o; oftho land they had been cultivating lie si and rest, liesides, it is a nice thing to be ai rill of thn ??J * L " ? .. ? VMI.ID iuu urunu in mo jence cor- 8C ncrs, and drive out in the clcau road to turn, w * (8)-0?r most observing people arc now fi< convinced that the injury they did their *e fields by pasturing them was far greater than all the benefit to their stock. If turned in hs for only a few days to glean the wheat, oats st and corn left, and not suffered to remain in ru when the ground is wet, the damage would 'u be small. But not one in a hundred would c'' be so careful. Forty-five years ago 1 heard neu discuss the question, why is it that a U8 icld cleared now will uot produeo more than A aalfof what the same kind of land in an idjoiuiug field produced when the country a" vas first settled ? Some young men were disx>6cd to deny the fact, and hint that the a ' >ld men had forgotten, or had fallen into j?l he habit of telling big stories. But Mr. '8 Tauics Hamilton Lowry, of Laurens District, w' vhu was then an eld man and a close obser- ^'u or, explained it thustJ/Whga l&yfjjax o^oose that a walking stick could easily be *ru un down twelve or eighteen inches. Pcrmps for hundreds of years growing roots had een raising the ground, and as they died 8jn nd rotted they left it very open. It held tju he most of the rain, and slowly supplied the *'u rops as needed. But by the time the catIc men had destroyed all the pea vines and sov j ? ' * aucn, uiu ground was irampiea nnra, ana n"j eased to produce as I know it had done be- nSl ire." I believe lie was right. And if you s*? on Id sec the crop of vegetation on our old u,a elds, which were formerly clipped bare by 10 i verybody's stock, you would think so, too; |nc ir vegetation growing and decaying?the 'u* >ps above and the roots beneath the surface 80,1 -is what enriches land. Hut when it is a8f ropped off, just when starting to grow, and no* ic ground trampled hard, there is no chance Pca ut- >!>?? t ? ?? ' VI. %tsi?v "t ' nich hinders the recujperaypu ifctViVtfiMf UU! o on it, only to haul out manure, till tho ^o md and gather in the crop; then far less "ie ibsoiling will be necessary to maintain the a 8 rimcval looseness of the soil. jjcs (4) While canvassing for the stock law )tnc asserted that the enclosed region would ion be without laborers; that renters would .j avc no place for their stock and would move . ut. But, as some of us believed, the thing . _ rorks just the other way. With us, and I J. ^ appose with you, renters had to repair fen- ^ cs to protect their crops. But they soon 4 , aw that it was much easier to move old rails nd fence a pasture than to repair fences round all the fields. Nobody has ever bought of refusing them a pasture any more j han a house. Nor are the rents any higher han when they had fences to repair. Take ^ , case illustrative of many: Mr. C., a renter, j. ras much opposed to tho proposed change. ^ Ic and his son went to an Election and iclped to defeat it for a time in our townhip. lie boasted that he and his son could iil) the votes of the land owner and another nn enant as often as they wished to try that ^ hing. Hut the law provided for it, and it vas convenient to take that and a few other g arms, where owners were willing, within yr, he euclosure of another township. Mr. C. j J vas furiously mad, nnd threatened to leave, hough it was the first of April. Hy movng about sixty panels of old fence he got oj( in excellent and convenient pasture, much ^ letter than the land owner had. Still, he nc grumbled; ho did not like to be beat in that way. Towards the close of the year it was ' ^ signiGed to him that he might go out to where he could find things as he liked thcui. Hut he made a contract to rent over in the township which had voted for the stock law. However, before he moved he and his man 4t disagreed, but not about a pasture. Then w< he had to move out on a large old place, whero he could repair fences to his heart's Bft content. Now, guess what he did ! He and m an adioininir laud-owner, who had also been nc V n ' opposed to the change, rr.vilvrtf oh haviny a ftP little /cuer. Into brtitr.cn themselves Accordingly, tbey put up gates, threw an outside m fence around both places, and made them a g, pasture* A mighty revolution of thoughts fo and footings in one short year was thut.? u! But this year they are happy in having the Jj,' great enclosure extonded far beyond them, j; And many such eases havo we. g, (5) When moving for the change, many of us held it as a theory that the stock " law would enable not a few to hold on to arms from which the old fence law was obout to drive them Now, we are happy to y know that we were not mistaken. Almost a every neighborhood furnishes one or more tl cases to the point. Take one as a fair sam- <1 pie. Mr. II. owijs about sixty acres. lie a had cut his last rail tree to repair his fen- \\ ccs. His neighbors, the brothers G., had v talked the matter over, not very recently, t that he eould not "hold the fort" much a longer; that the place would be of very lit- li j tic use to any one who did not have ad- v oiuing land ; that they would take it at uat and divide it between thcui in a certain nanner. Hut the stock law cauie to the cscuo rf* H., and tho brothers G., who faored the law, have candidly acknowledged hat "that game is spoiled." ^ On the 8uuic principle the law facilitates J lie dividing up of large old farms, now nwieldy and unprofitable to their owner*. I any of these have scferal hundred acres f cleared land and all in oue body; and drtiug around this, in one placo thirty, in nether forty, iu another fifty, in another iventy, and in another a hundred acres of cod luud. These, with souio of tho old i aid, could ho readily sold under the no nice law system. But the owner cannot ) that, because it would rcudcr more than ill' of his laud practically worthless. Tho oek law, however, has begun a change ulady. There ore men who prefer an cxlustcd old field, tlint is pretty level and ear of stumps and stones, to the best ;avily timbered forest. There they can o the improved implements of culture.? nd they claim that with the same outlay labor they can pay for their fertilisers, d lay up uim-c money than thoy could taring land, Tolling and hurniug logs for iozen of year's hitching on roots and hoci? around trees and stumps. Ilcnce, there arising a class of enterprising fnrmcrs to, if not able to buy a plantation, will y a field, or what will make a field. Far jmportaucc is qqw. aUiyMt/nV roaa in ono place to another. (t>) As to the grasses, I havo this to say: lave rode about a little this spring and nnicr, and being one of the pioneers in s grass business, I have noticed carcfjlly ; clover, millet and lucerne (which is tho it of all tho forage plants) that have been rn, and I feel that I hazard nothing in ing that for every aero five or six years > there arc twenty now. It is true, tho ck law has uiadc it a necessity. But hull nature is a curious thing. It is hard get up out of old ruts. When our judgnt is convinced that it would bo to our crest to make sonic chango, we still need ncthiug to push us a littlo. Ten years > there were very few among us who did: , say that we ought to sow clover, and is, and corn, and such like; that we ougbt > -tack and treat it better. But /'MCO.tus.of ju j- ' ? ?w, however, Biircc the cliango has forced in out ot it, no ono regrets having made rass lot of any kind. All soy it is tho t investment they have, and uinny won1 why they did not get at it before. < ) As to the improvement of stock, it is soon for marked results. But even those 0 opposed the change unite with others the opinion that ns the matter is now comtely under control, it will be as easy ami more profitable to have good stock than I. There are yet many things which I would c to say ; hut this communication is akidy so long that you will never lead it, less you arc an enthusiastic stock-law man. vould say, however, don't be discouraged; u will be suru to get it, though you may defeated the first trial. We were the >t election, and iu some of the township* tbo secoud trial. . I never knew anything be more unpopular when it was first menncd; never anything to make friends so it. Were it at all practicable, 1 would be ich pleased to spend a few weeks in the 1 State, and canvuss for this thiug. I was notified with the movement here from the 3t. I studied the subject, and wrote sovil articles for tbo country papers. I think Lindcrstand it. If you cannot carry the ate, go it by couuties ; if you cannot carry y county, go into it by townships. Tako 1 rails and enclose a single township, if o or more cannot go together. You will ver have the fence to repair. Having en the working of it for one or two years, c adjoining townships will come in. It jrked so here. Yours truly, A. HANSON. Narrow Escapk.?Wednesday afternoon, the h, a parly of eighteen or twenty gentlemen rnt out to Mcndinhall's pond, on Bush Hirer, swim. Mr. Kohert Moorman, in attempting swim across the pond, became exhausted and nk. Dr. Pope swam to his rescue. When r. M. rose he seized the Doctor round the ;ek, and both sank. Hising to the surface ;nin he seized him around the waist and they nk ngain. Dr. P. was scarcely able to reach le bank. Meanwhile Mr. Htoddard was swinging toward Mr. Moorman, but before he could :t to him he sank the third time. Mr. 8. dired r him, seized one of his hands and broughthim, p: Mr. John Harmon then caught the other and, and they swam with him to the bank ? he water was orer fifteen feet deep. Mr. Wilain Johnson, who is not much of a swimmer. r>t into drop water and wr* pulled out by Mr. larmon. Fo there came nenr being four drownigs on the "Glorious Fourth."?Nrwhrrry \trald. It is not known yet where she lives this ear, but don't let us worry ; she will surely ppear in the newspapers within the next itrco months. We allude to that farmer's augbter of seventeen who plows twenty ores of grouud, cuts fifteen acre? of grain ritli a reaper and tnower, threshes all the theat, cultivates one acre of cabbages, milks wenty cows every morning before breakfast, ltd does nearly all the house-work, while i.t father lies abed with inflammatory rlieu,? nalisui ail summer.