Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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IN THE FURROW OF ipiii Story of a Wornout Farm and Its Restoration to Fertility. By KENORICK FERRIS. ICopyright, 1909. Dy American Press Asso ciation. J "I can't let you go, son. I need you for the barvestin'." The tone was patiently persuasive rather than authoritative, and a note of pleading crept Into It as the old man added. "1 dou't like to feel I have to force you to stay at home, Mat thew." "You can't!" cried the boy passion ately. "I'll run away first." As be spoke he broke a piece off the rotting rail fence by which they were standing and filliped It angrily into the field of waving grain. Then as his father did not immediately answer he turned to see the effect of his threat, but Zepba nlah Whltcomb's thin, seamed face was as quietly Impassive as if he had Dot beard. "I'll run away." reiterated the boy doggedly. His father Ignored both the words and the tone. "This field'U be about ready for reapln' Monday," he remark ed with the air of a connoisseur, let ting his eyes travel slowly across the acres of billowing rye to the dark row of windbreaks opposite rearing Itself against the northern sky. "And the ten acre piece across the way is about ripe now. There'll be considerable thrash In', all told." "Not as much as last year." said the boy meaningly. "And the weather's been better too." Again the father Ignored him and continued lmperturbably: "Sam Curry, from down ou Heaver creek, was up .at the Corners store yesterday, and he said help's goin" to be scarce this season. He's sent for a couple of his sister's boys frum down Maine, and he's only got a hundred acres under the plow." The boy looked his contempt. "Sam Curry cradles and flails," he said, bracing himself by his elbows against the rails. "1 should think be would have to get help from down in Maine, but some day even Malne'll kick on a cradle." The old man pulled bis hat brim lower as he looked past bis son down the dusty road that ran westward for a mile or more. "Sally Marks was tell in' your ma this mornin* there's goln' to be more dances this harvesting than ever be fore," commented Zephaniah. slipping his thumbs under his suspenders and spreading bis feet apart "She's get tin' to be a fine lookin' girl, Sally Marks is. Looks like an August pop py with her red cheeks and her red hair." Matthew Whitcomb etraightened himself slowly. "Sally Marks Is the wrong bait father." he said dryly. "Her horizon Is covered with a dance and a recipe for mince pie." As. he was speaking the sound of horses' hoofs approaching rapidly came from the curve In the road to the east, and before the farmer could answer a trim little phaeton, drawn by a span of bays, drove briskly by. A girl In gTsy, with brown hair and large brown THE OLD MAN 8TO?CK HIS KIBT ON THE RAIL. eyes, held the reins, and as she noticed the boy by the roadside she nodded pleasantly to him. But he. caught in shirt sleeves aud suspeuders. rivaled an "August poppy" as the carriage passed, forgetting In his embarrass ment to hide bis telltale face from his father Neither spoke while the beat of the hurrying hoofs died away down the road, but the silence was tense between them. The boy broke it at last, taking the aggressive. "The farm Is beginning to fail now," he exclaimed, turning toward his fa ther. "I tell you you're outraging na ture, exhausting the soil stupidly year after year this way without any re dress. Mark my words, four years ' from now every harvest will be a fall- j ?ore." The muscles about Zephanlah'n ! mouth twitched and his eyes narrow- I ?ed as he looked at the tall boy before j him. but be spoke In the same even . tone. "And Bpendln' fonr years with vnnr Everyone would be benefited by taking Foley's Orine Laxative for stomach and liver trouble and habit ual constipation. It sweetens the stomach and breath, gently stimu lates the liver and regulates the bowels and is much superior to pills and ordinary laxatives. Why not try Foley's Orine Laxative today? Lowman Drug Co.; A. C. Dukes. The two persons to whom a wo man's voice can be sweetest are a ?small baby she loves and a large wo man she hates. nose In a book. If it won't 'save tin farm.' at least it will please tut Judge's daughter. I might have known i a woman was at the bottom of this." The farmer's tone did not deceive his son. Be knew that he was faring j an angry man. but be fared him reso Intel;, bis own anger dying as his father's increased. '. "1 don't have to go till the thrash ing's done, father." he began. The farmer interrupted him shortly. "If you go at all you never come bock. Newfangled methods are agin seus* and agin God. and no son of mine has four years to waste." Ton always do the winter plowing without me. father, and there's very little corn this year. I could go"? The old man brought his clinched flst down upon the rail fence. "Go," be cried?"go and be hanged!" A black cloud came from behind the windbreak and spread Itself out thick ly, darkening the sky The light breeze had become a wind and now tossed and whipped down the tall grain. The first drops of rain fell on the boy's white upturned face. 'The drought Is broken, father, just in time." he snid. "Let us start home." I But the old man turned from him without a word. Four years dragged themselves slow ly over the Whitcomb farm, and Mat thew's prophecy began to be fulfilled. The grain came up fitfully under the warm, germinating rays of the April sun; it grew half beartedly through the early summer days and in July and August yielded but an ominous handful. The corn, hardier and still promising, was beaten down and bro ken by September rains. The harvest bad failed. Zephaniah Whitcomb and his wife talked little over the blazing hickory logs that burued cheerfully during the long evenings of the following winter. Abigail knitted by the firelight silent ly and iudustriously. sighing now and then, possibly over a dropped stitch, while the farmer smoked his corncob pipe und watched the pictures that etched themselves tirelessly in the dancing dames. The day before Christmas Abigail J watched for Zephaniah's return from the Corners store with uncontrolled impatienee and, despite the drifting snow and the ccld wind blowing out of the north, hurried forth to meet him. He banded her a bundle and then felt in the pockets of his great coat while his wife waited expect antly. "Here's a letter for you." he said, producing a fat envelope. Abigail flushed happ?y. "I thought maybe there'd be." she said, holding out ber hand. "I haven't bad one since last June, when be graduated. 1 want to answer this one, Zephaniah. please," she added in a burst of te merity. "It's not from?blm." The farmer hes itated over the pronoun. "It's some ad vertisements from the Corners store." He leaned forward and gathered up the reins that he might appear not to see the bitter disappointment on the old face. In the spring the Whitcomb farm went under the yoke of a mortgage. The old dilapidated barns had to be rebuilt, and fire had partially destroy ed the summer kitchen. The bald, cold eyed investor from the neighboring town who advanced money proved to be a friend of the judge. "Yes. indeed; yes. indeed," he re marked sententiously while Zephaniah was laboriously signing the paper. "Judge Graham took me down to Montelth with him last June to see his daughter graduate. But It was your son. Mr. Whitcomb. who bore off all the honors. Yes, Indeed?yes. In deed; really a remarkable boy. I sup pose you are quite Inordinately proud of him, Mr. Whitcomb?" Zephaniah was shading the "b" on the downward stroke and did not see fit to Interrupt so delicate a proceed ing to answer, but later over his cup of ten he repeated the conversation of the pompous country gentleman verba tim. Abigail's heart warmed within her as she heard, but she knew better than to comment on Matthew's suc cess. "Sally Marks says the Judge's daughter's real p'ensant spoken and friendly." she said, now with brimming eyes, reaching across the table. "Hand me your cup, Zephaniah. Your tea's got cold." So a sympathy and an understand ing far deeper and sweeter than those of their earlier, untried love welled up between this lonely, disappointed man and woman, for the most part silently, but sometimes, at the touch of the other's pain, spilling over In little homely acts and words of half embarrassed tenderness und care. They began to be even more constant ly together than their Isolated life re quired, Abigail following ber husband nightly when he was "doing up his chores." saying that the bouse looked "so big and skeery" to her when the sun commenced going down, and Zeph aniah caring less and less often to take the long drive to the Corners store. This close companionship and devotion worked a subtle, slo rly per ceptible change In the countenances of the old couple till at last they were seen to actually resemble each other. The following fall the grain again yielded sparingly, but as much of the seed bad rotted In the ground under the persistent spring rains Zephaniah had no thought of defeat Little couid be saved for the mortgage. But the amount was not grrat. and there still remained three years In which to meet IL Moreover. Zephnniah's child like faith In a loving and interfering Father precluded all Idea of failure. The Whitcomb farm bad supported four generations of Industrious. God fearing men?supported them easily ? and well The Lord would not desert Hoarseness bronch:tia and other throat troubles are quickly cured by Foley's Honey and Tar a3 it soothes and heals the inflam?d throat and bronichal tubes and the most obsti nate cough disappears. Insist upoa having the genuine Foley's Honey and Tar. Lowman Drug Co., A. C. Dukes. Foley's Honey and Tar not only stops chronic coughs that weaken the constitution and develop into con sumption, but heals and strengthens the lungs. It affords comfort and their equally Industrious and God feat ing descendant In the boor of his need. But In the fall, when the mortgage became due. something leered at Zeph anlah from the barren rye fields. It glared at him from the scanty stub ble of the oats and wheat It reared its ugly heud exultantly at him out of the mean shocks of corn. Zeph aniab stood face to face with defeat. And Zephanlah's suffering was two fold, for his thoughts now bad become self accusatory. He had dom^vrong; hence the Lord had turned a*ay his face. He bad made bis only son an outcast and by his mandate of silencp he had saddened his wife's life. Had he been patient a little longer with his wayward boy. hud he permitted Abl bail to answer the affectionate, en thusiastic letters. loss and disaster need not bare come upon them und Matthew would still have comforted their old age. It was a late afternoon In September, the day before the mortgage was due. The old couple were to leave the farm THEY WERE DRAWN 8CDDENLI TO A STAND STILL. on the following morning, and Abigail was now busy In the big garret pack ing some forgotten belougings. As Abigail began upon a second trunk Zephanlah stole miserably down the stairs and out into the fields?his fields, his father's fields and his fa ther's fathers' to the third and fourth generation before him. The old man walked through them unsteadily, not ing lovingly every familiar undulation, every knoll, every outcropping of rock. He passed through the bare rye field and came to the rail fence, opposite the elm tree, where he and Matthew had quarreled eight years ago. The flare of reddening creeper could be seen in the windbreak; the fields were empty and brown. He remembered how the grain had swayed and nod ded before them on that other day. At the end of the western road the sun was beginning to set in a glory of purple and bold, and the sweet notes of a hermit thrush came now and again from the elm tree. A completer realization of all that he was about to lose mastered the old man's heart Mutely the scene about him spoke of work that was done? the gleaned fields, the setting sun, the creeper reddening In death. Zepha nlah, too. stood in the evening and au tumn of his life. But the sun would rise again, the creeper would put forth new leaves, and the young grain would come up where the old had been cut down.' But for Zephanlah there was no resurrection. In anger he had cast his seed from him. He buried bis thin, seamed face in his hands. "Oh. Matthew, my son. my son.'" he cried. Again the beat of hoofs fell upon the ah", but this time the judge's bays, driven by a young woman In gray, came out of the west. As they drove alongside Zephaniab they were drawn in suddenly to a standstill, and a man sprang out into the roadside. "Father!" The clear voice came like the answer to a prayer, bridging the eight years. "Matthew!" And the old man held his "boy" In his arms. The Judge's daughter drove slowly on toward the house. She and Matthew had but that day learned of the mort gage on the farm, and, armed with its cancellation, Matthew had decided to brave once more his father's wrath and to tell his parents of his coming marriage Margaret Insisted upon ac companying him. "Perhaps be will not forgive you, jnd then that will be my oily chance to know your mother," she had said. Down by the rye field the yonng pro fessor of agricultural physics was bracing himself by his elbows against the rails and saying: "By keeping my nose In a book four years you see I have succeeded In pleasing the Judge's daughter. Now will you let me try to save the farm?" Zophaniah was looking at the pro fessor with the eyes of a starved lover, and now he laughed, low and happily. i "Boy," he said, "lefs go In and see Abigail." And so It came to pass that Zeph anlah Whitcomb lived to see the desptspd "book learn In'" bring back the full, glad harvests of his fathers. The soils were carefully analyzed by the young professor and their tilth and fertility Intensified. Crops were rotated scientifically, and prosperity returned. And "the hand of the Lord." which his fathers had peen in the prodigality of nature. Zephanlah Whit comb now wonderlngly beheld In the knowledce of his son THE BANK OF SPRINGFIELD. Officers. L. M. Mlms, President; Jno. McB Bean, V. P.; J. B. Smith, Cashier; Edith Phillips, Asst. Directors. L. M. Mlms. Jno. Bean, Joe. A. Berry, L. B. Fulmer. W. P. Hut to. J. W. Jumper, H. A. Odom, T. L. Gleaton, O. C. Salley. All business Intrusted to us re f.elves careful, official attention. Leave your Surplus funds with nt ?t four per cent nterest Undivided Profits.. . . . 12.ooo.on Capital...$30,000.00 THE COMMING CROPS PROSPERITY WELL COME WHEN THEY ARE GATHERED. The Farmer, Who Feedeth AH, Is Once More Pulling the Country Out of the Rut. The reports from the cotton belt indicate considerabe reduction in the cotton acreage aud a condition foreshadowing a comparatively short crop. When these conditions were announced about the first week in July there was a sharp advance in the price of cotton in the markets of the world, carrying the price of cot ton to the highest point it has reach ed in some time. The highest price reached was nearly thirteen cents for Midlands in New York. If, says Home and Farm, the re duced acreage of cotton means an increase acreage in corn, grass and other products of the farm, the Southern farmer Is to be congratu lated. He will receive as much for a reduced crop of cotton or more, per haps, than he would receive for a large crop. He has his other crops in addition. There is much talk of the boll worm in the Delta, but the boll worm has ceased to alarm the farmers save the individual farmer who has made no preparation against the worm and has nothing to fall fack on when his cotton crop is largely curtailed. It does not follow that because? speaking of the crop as a whole?the Southern farmers get more for a small crop than for a full crop that the same statement is true as to the individual farmer. The reduction may fall upon a small territory or upon a few individuals, and these are the sufferers. It all means that no farmer, large or small, should confine himself to one crop, should rely solely upon cotton. He should have corn and potatoes and cowpeas and alfalfa and clover. He should study his market and prepare to meet these demands. The corn crop promises to be the largest in the history of the country. The price of corn for '.wo years has been high, has probably been in the markets the most profitable of all farm products. The result has been that the acreage is greatly increased this year. The season has been fav orable; that is, we have had moisture and heat. If we have heat and no drougth during July and August, the result will be altogetner satisfactory to the farmers. The rains through the agricultural regions have somewhat Interferred with the harvesting of the wheat and of the hay; but only in a few locali ties have the rains been disastrous. Speaking generally of the West and South, the season has been favorable and the promise of grass is fine. The outlook Is cheering. The farm er is once more pulling the country out of the ruts. He is getting from the soil the wealth needed to make good the losses due to extravagance, fire, earthquakes, war and the pre parations for war. Seven thousand millions of dollars is a great amount of property; that much the farmer I will get out of the soil this year, as he did last, and it will set all the wheels of industry moving. If the farmer now will market his crop with as much wisdom as he displays in raising his crop he will soon be well [off. But let him not assume that he has reached the highest result on his own farm. If ho will study his own experience as recorded in his ac count book, if he will confer with his neighbor, he will find that there is no limit to be set to the increased production of the soil, if the soil is rightly understood, if the seeds are properly selected and if the proper machinery is used in cultivation. NEGROES USE COCAINE. Said to Otain the Drug from a Cer tain White Man. A dispatch from Lexington says a prominent farmer from the Hollow Creek section was there and stated a fact that the law governing the saie of cocaine was being openly and flag rantly violated In his section. The habit among the negroe was rapidly becoming intolerable, in that farm hands were using the dope to the extent of being useless. I He says that negroes carry it around in their pockets, selling it at I church gatherings, and in some in stances they become wild and almost unmanageable. One negro is said I to have had as much as $12 worth of the drugs at one time. It is said that it is much easier to peddle co caine than whiskey as it can be more easily concealed. It is thought that a prominent gentleman living in one of the near towns is acting as a kind of a whole sale dealer, and that the negroes and whites that have become addicted to the habit get their supply from time to time. It is said that a negro moving into the community from Prosperity some months ago started the use of the drug among the negroes, and the habit has steadily grown, until most of the negroes in the setlement use it in preference for liquor. Both men and women use it, it is said. It will be recalled that not many weeks ago the mayor of the town of Leesville fined the violator of the cocaine law $500. He was tried on five different counts convicted and fined $100 on each count. One ne gro, Mack Manning, is now in jail having been sent up by Mayor Hen drix. The officers are going to work on the case reported and it is thought that the guilty parties will be ap prehended, j A doctor of divinity should believe in the faith cure. CLASSIFIED COLUMN One-half Cent a Word Found Notices Free. Gillette Razor Blades on sale at Sims Book Store. To Rent?Two nice , cottages on Green street Apply to C. W. Prescott. For Sale?Lot and House on Green Street, in good location. Apply at The Times and Democrat office. For Sale?One Middleby's portable oven, In perfect condition. Ad dress Geidfuss' Bakery, Charles ton, S. C. If you want Winter Cabbage Plants to be sure to head up for winter use, D. D. Dantzler has them at 20 cents per hundred. D. D. Dantzler, 49 Whitman street. For Sale?I have for sale one good twenty-horse power boiler and fifteen-horse power engine. Will sell cheap. Paul A. Gleaton, Neeses, S. C. 7-15-8t-th -[ Wanted?Every business and profes sional man to see our line of the celebrated "Shaw-Walker" Filing Devices. Suit any business, large or small. Sims Book Store, Or angeburg, S. C. For Sale?One hundred bushels Toole Cotton Seed, raised in Or angeburg County. This stood a high test at. Georgia Experiment Station last season. Ayers & Wil liams, Orangeburg, S. C. 155 Acres?On the Blackville road, 8 miles west of Neeses, S. C. and five miles west of Salley. lv ) acres cleared, balance in woods. Has 8-room house on place, also tenant'houses, stables, etc. Daily mall service and telephone connec tions. Good price for quick sale. Carolina Sales Agency, Orange burg, S. C. Wanted?To rent, 3- or 4-room house, or three or four unfurnish ed rooms on first floor, either In Orangeburg city or in auy nearby town on railroad communicating therewith. Moderate rent re quired. State rent. Address X, office Times and Democrat. ? Tobacco Habit Cured or no Cost? Harmless home treatment. Nlc Ko House, Wichita, Kansas. A good worm powder for horses and mules. Safe and effective. Sent postpaid on receipt of 25c. T. E. Wannamaker, Cheraw, S. C. Fairview House, Clyde, N. C.?Fine view, good water, good table. Rates $6 and up per week. No consumptives. Dr. F. M. Davis. Wedding Invitations and announce ments. Finest quality. Correct styles. Samples free. James H. DeLooff, Dept. 6, Grand Rapids, Mich. ORIENTAL RUG COMPANY. 1101 Cathedral St., Baltimore, Md We make you handsome and dur able Rugs from your old wornout carpet, any size to fit a room or hall Let us send you a price list; Just write for one. Teachers?Write for free booklet, "A Plan," showing how we help you get a better position. Thou sands excellent vacancies open, paying $30 to $150 monthly Schools supplied with teachers Southern Teachers' Agency, Co lumbia, South Carolina. Make Your Own "Will?Without the aid of a lawyer. You don't need one. A will is necessary to protect your family and relatives. Forms asd book of instruction, any State, one dollars. Send for free litera ture telling you all about it. Mof fetts' Will Forms, Dept. 40, 894 Broadway, Brooklyn, New York City. New Laces and Collars We have just received a new lot of dainty val laces and Insertions to match at.5 and 10c Also new lot of baby irish laces with insertions to match at f> and 10c We have also a new lot of lace trimmed Dutch collars at 10 and 25c. Keep cool and comfortable by get ting some of these collars. Our ribbon stock has been replen ished with new crisp ribbons at prices to suit everybody. You realize that our ribbons have always been cheap er in price than elsewhere. Agent for The Ladies Home Journal Patterns. Edisto Dry Good Co. Hayden & Briggmann, Mgrs. 58 W. Russell St. Phone 12S Many people with chronic throat and lung trouble bfve found com fort and relief in Fotey's Honey and Tar as it cures stubborn coughs after other treatment has failed. L. M. Ruggles, Reasnor, Iowa, writes: "The doctors said I had consump tion, and I got no better until I took Foley's Honey and Tar. It stopped the hemorrhages and pain in my lungs and they are now as sound as a bullet." Lowman Drug Co.; A. C. Dukes. Worn Women Women, worn and tired from overwork, nee3 a fonic. That feeling of weakness or helplessness will not leave you of itself. You should take Wine of Cardui, that effectual remedy for the ailments and weaknesses of women. Thousands of women have tried Cardui and write enthusiastically of the great benefit it has been to them. Try it?<Lon*t experiment ??use this reliable, oft-tried medicine. The Woman's Tonic EaTrft. Bena Hare, of Pierce, !Fla^ trie3 Cardui and afterward wrote: "I was a sufferer from ell sorts of female trouble, bad pain in my side and legs, eould not sleep, bad shortness of breath. "I suffered for years, nnril my husband insisted on my trying Cardui The first bottle gave me relief and now: I am almost sell.55 Ii? Cardui. Twill help you. AT ALL DRUG STORES THEBLACKSTONE SCHOOL FOR bIRLS Established in 1894. The aim of the school is clearly set forth by its *It OTTO "Thoro"r?h instruction under positively Christian influences at the lowest MUI iu: possibio co?t." Thescliool was estab.L-h? d by the Methodist Church, not to make money, but to furnish a place where girls can be given thorough training in body, mind, and hun t at a moderate cost. The objdCt has been ro fully carried out that as a Itis to-day, with its faculty of 32, its boarding patronage of 300, and its building and grounds, worth $140,000 THE LEADING TRAINING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS IN VIRGINIA. pays all charges for the year, including the table board, room, li?hts, steam heat, laundry, medical attention, physical culture, and tuitiin in all rrLJocta except music and elocution. Apply tor cataloguo and application blank to REV. JAMES CANNON, JR., M. A., Principal. Blackitone. V?. RESULT: W0FF0RD COLLEGE SPART ANBURG, S. C. HENRY NELSON SN YD ER, M. A., Litt. D., LI. D. M PRESIDENT. TEN DEPARTMENTS?Gymnasium under competent director. Athletic Grounds. Library and Librarian. . Science Hall. Fifty fourth year begins September 15, 1009. For catalogues address J. A. GAMEWELL, Secretary. WOFFORD COLLEfiE FITTING SCHtOL S PART AXE U?(x, S. C. Three New Brick Buildings. Electric Lights. Steam Heat. Individual attention to each student. Next session begins September 15, 1000. For catalog and information address A. M. DuPRE. Headmaster. The more we are civilized the more care we bestow on our toilet needs, as that means respectability. We mention a few of the more im portant needs that you should take with you on your vacation. In our complete drug store we can tell you of many more. Brushes. Combs. Tooth Brushes. 100 ACRE FARM WANTED We have a client for a farm of ?0 to 100 acres. Must ln> able to produce halo of cotton p?'r acre and Im? within one mile of town on main line of railroad. If you have such a farm for sale write us full informa tion and price. Carolina Sales Agency, 40 E. Rus sell street, Orungcburg, S. C. SPAHR'S TALK ON YOUR VACATION NEEDS! There are many things you want on that trip. First of all you may need a re membrance for those you are going to visit. No matter how much you take with you it is the thought that counts. We are particularly well stocked for gifts to take with you. Then we can tell you some good things you should take with YOU. THERE IS A GOOD KODAK FOR ONE THING. There is no Kodak like the East man and we are direct agents. Gather the Idea? You trade with one price. YOU MAY WANT A GOOD WATCH, or a cheaper one. We have them. Little toilet articles which are In dispensable on a trip let us supply you. Perhaps you are an Elk and will go to the Los Angeles meeting. We can give you the emblem direct? beautiful ones with the right price. Ask us. The Best Jewelers Since '67. SPAHR'S BAT CAVE INN, 8AT CAVE, N. C. Located in the finest scenery of Western North Carolina, near Chimney Rock Dome and the Caves, 14 1-2 miles from Hendersonville. BOARD REASONALE. B. F. FREEMAN, PROPRIETOR, BAT CAVE, N. G. Common Medical Needs. Tooth Paste or Powder. Alcohol Stoves. Rubber Gloves. Sun Burn Lotions. Cold Creams and Lotions. Talcum Powder. Wash Rags. Soaps?100 kinds. Witch Hazel. Mosquito "Skoots." Hand Brushes. Cigars. Candy. Razors, Strops and Soaps. Manicure Goods. Stationery. J. 6. Wannamaker MTg. Co. "AU Yonr Drug Store Needs." Mail Orders Filled.