Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE SUMTER WATCHMAN, Established April, 1850. 'Be Just and Fear not-Let all the ends Thou Ainis't at be thy Country's, Thy God's and Truth's." THE TRUE SOUTHRON, Established Jone, CocsoHdated Aa?. 2a 1881 Sew Series-YoL XXY1. No 4S Published Every Wednesday, -BY OSTEEN PUBLISHING COMPANY, SUMTER, 3. C. Terms: $1.50 per annum-in advance. Advertisements: One So uar e first insertion.S 1.50 Every subsequent insertion.50 Contracts for three months, or longer will be made at reduced rates. AU communications which sub? serve private interests will be charged fer as advertisements. Obituaries and tributes of respects will be charged for. WOMAN TEA GROWER MRS, ELLSWORTH NOW HAS TEN ACRES EV BEARING. Turned to It Because She Failed to Make Cotton Pay-Thinks There Is Great Future For Industry. "So far as I have ever heard I am the only woman tea grower in the country," Mrs. Clara Ellsworth, of South Carolina, told a Sun reporter, j who saw her during her last visit tb j New York. *Tf you want the exact J truth, I must admit that I turned my farm into a tea garden because I had failed to make cotton planting pay. "About ten years ago on one of my trips to Charleston I went ou~ to Pine? hurst, Dr. Shepard's tea garden at Summerville, and what I saw there put me to thinking. I had three chil? dren to rear and educate OJI what I could make from a three-hundred acre farm. I had tried cotton for three years and I was about deciding that if my children were to be educated I must get into town and try keeping a boarding house. You know how Southern women are-all we know how to do is to keep house and raise children. "I learned all I could on that first visit to the Pinehurst tea garden and when I went home I gave the master serious consideration. Before reach? ing my final decision I called in my P. .eldest child, a boy twelve years old, and laid the matter before him, not with any thought of shifting the re? sponsibility to his shoulders, but be cause he was a sensible boy and I wanted to find out how he felt about giving up the farm and going to town to live. "He was very pronounced in his de? sire to remain in the country. He wanted to peg along in the country school until he was old enough to go to college. "As my judgment agreed with his wishes I decided to try growing tea as a surplus crop instead of cotton. For the first three years I did not reduce my acreage of cotton. Hiring one more hand than I had before, I de voted a"l the time and labor that I could to preparing my tea garden "I selected loamy, fertile soil, just such land as ? had noticed gave the best results on the Shepard tea garden, and after having it carefully prepared I set out my young plants. From these plants in the second year I gathered and sold a little more than fifty pounds of tea to the acre. "I was out of pocket, of course, for the amount brought in did not cover the two years expense. Realizing that the heaviest expense was prepar? ing the ground and setting out the plants I persevered until I now have ten acres, which last year averaged about two hundred and sixty pound? of tea to the acre. "Selling this at %\ a pound my pro? fit is a little less than 15 cents on the pound. Not a large profit, perhaps, but greater than I have ever been able to make on a cotton crop. "When you take into consideration the fact that every year my tea plants become more valuable and require les*: work than during the first three years. I fancy^you will agree with me that it is a safer venture for a woman farmer than cotton. Then, too, the weather does not seem to affect the tea plant as much as it does cotton, and the prices paid for tea can in j a measure at least be counted on, while the price of cotton, as every one knows, is as variable as the wind. "To grow tea to advantage the tem? perature should never fall below 20 degrees and there should be a good rainfall. I was cautioned against planting tea in swampy bottoms where the rain was not quickly drain? ed off. So in selecting my tea fields, while I kept to the bottom lands as much as possible, because it is more fertile than the upland, I was careful to make drainage perfect. "That. I think, is the chief reason why my plants have done so well. They are in fertile bottoms, where though the moisture is plentiful the drainage is perfect. -Once a year the iea plant must be pruned severely. Were it not for pruning it would become a 1 What effect this growth would ? on the taste of the tea leaf, of coi I have no means of judging, b know it would make it very m more difficult to pick. "At present I handle my crop tirely with negroes. From the pr? ration of the soil to the packing shipment, ever:/ stroke of wor] dene by negroes. Soire day, howe I hope to be able to put in machir such as Dr. Shepard uses on his P: hurst tea farm. I don't believe use of macinery changes the taste the tea a particle and it certainly cilitates handling. "The pruning of the plants is a t calling for care, but I have so been able to get all the careful ne men necessary. In picking the lea I much prefer negro children. Ti make the best cotton pickers and Shepard), whose experience has b much greater than mine in tea rj ing, finds that they do as well w tea. I have never had occasion try any other class of pickers. "That is another point in whicl hope to be able to follow the exa pie of the owner of Pinehurst. He 1 picking -schools in which .the lil darkies are taught just what leaves to puck and how to ph them. "When these tea pickers are i working in the tea fields there \ schools for them to attend. So far I am able to judge tea picking is i ideal out of door labor for childr Aside from walking up and down t rows of plants there is nothing ti: .some about it. "After the picking comes the gr? ing, mixing, drying and polishh Polishing tea is a discovery of 1 Shepard, I believe. He discover that by stirring the dried tea y could give it the gray appearance r ticeable in the best oriental varieti This stirring we call polishing, the oriental goods it is produced mixing wich the dry tea powder talc. "Strange as it may seem, tea is n a pleasant plant to work with. 2\ until it is thoroughly dried, just you buy it from your grocer, does have the pleasant pungent odor th we call the tea smell. While in pre; ara ti on the odor to many is excee ingly unpleasant. "The plant itself is not particular beautiful, certainly nothing to cor pare to the cotton plant. The leave "a?; you can see by unrolling a leaf < the dried tea, are small and of no pa ticular beauty. "On the bush the leaf is of a velve' appearance and when the bush is kej closely pruned the plants have tl dense foliage we associate with good hedge. They are not planted '< hedges, however, as each plant mu: be set far enough from the others 1 be worked and picked on ail sides. 1 pruning the young twigs that are clii ped off . are dropped on the groun and ploughed under for fertilizer. "Dr. Shepard's tea garden is wort ed with the co-operation of the Uni ? ted States department of agricultur< i so. of course, a person going1 into th business feels quite safe in followin what have been proved to be the bes j methods on that farm. There is no> ! another large tea garden in Sout] Carolina, the American Tea Growin compainy of Colleton county, i "I have understood that the agri j cultural department is interested i: j that ventuere also and that it contem plates making the experiment of set ting the plants on hillsides, protected I against washing by terraces. If tha should prove a uccess it will meai a great improvement for our farms ii this section. "As the hillsides are now planted ? dry season means partial, if not com? plete, failure of both cotton and corr crops. If the tea plants will flouris? on our hillsides there is some hope ol farming in this section being made tc pay. " If the government could only be induced to give us a duty on tea foi a few years I am sure the Southern States would soon be able to supply the country. It need only be a tax amounting to 10 or 15 cents a pound on tea bought into this country. It would have the effect of excluding the cheap and unhealthful grades of for? eign teas and giving us native grow? ers a chance to get up a demand for our product. "It seems very peculiar that the United State, which has duties on nearly every other commodity, should receive tea free. In that respect it stands almost entirely alone among the great nations of the earth. In England the duty on tea is 12 cents a pound, even where the tea is grown in British possessions while in France they charge 20 cents duty to the pound. "Under the present conditions, while the market for American raised tea might not be called so brisk, it is steady. I have been able to dispose of ail that I have produced at a good average price. I expect to double my acreage during the next two or three years and in time hope to be abie to slop planting cotton altogether." New York Sun. GRADUATES AT CLEMSON. Diplomas Awarded at Closing Exer? cises Tuesday-Chancellor Kirk? land, of Vanderbilt University, the Orator of the Occasion. Clemson College, June ll.-The cli? max of commencement at Clemson College was reached this morning when the graduating exercises were held in the spacious auditorium in Memorial Hall before an audience that crowded it to its utmost capac? ity. The graduating class was com? posed* of 72 of as fine looking young men as ever went out from the insti? tution with its degrees. The stage was beautifully decorated for the occasion, and the weather was most auspicious. Seated on the platform were Govern? or Ansel, Dr. J. H. Kirkland, chancel? lor of Vanderbilt University, the offi? cers and teachers of the College, members of the board of trustees, alumni and other visitors. The exercises of the morning were opened with prayer, after which the Hon. R. W. Simpson, chairman of the board of trustees, introduced Govern? or Ansel, who in turn, in a brief but graceful ' speech, introduced Chancel? lor Kirkland, the orator of the day. Dr. Kirkland delivered one of the most profound and eloquent address? es ever heard at Clemson. It was de? livered with great fluency and com? manded the greatest attention from the 'audience. His voice carried with? out effort to every part of the audi ce? rium and no one present had the slightest difficulty in hearing every, word uttered by the distinguished speaker, who is' a former South Caro? linian. The speaker expressed his gratifica? tion at being in his native State again, and particularly on that occasion. He said his life work so far had been among college men and he always felt glad-of an - opportunity of ad? dressing them, for college students are always anxious .to grasp the truth, and seed cannot be sown better than among them. He said that the theme of his discourse was suggested J by the great development the South | is experiencing and its relation to the j colleges and universities of the-South. j j He said that the natural resources of j the South which are being developed ? with such wonderful rapidity would i be useless unless there be an intelli? gent, educated class of men to control \ them. Sumter county was represented in | the graduating class by Frank M. ' Dwight, of Wedgefield, and Edward j D. McCutehan, of this city. REAR KILLED NEAR CAMDEN. J Camden, June 14.-The sporting el? ement of this community had some real sport this morning. Mr. W. C. Frown, the Wateree bridge-keeper, reported that he saw bear tracks in his yard, and that the bear had upset some bee hives and helped "himself to the honey. As soon as this was re ported on the streets a party of ladies 1 and gentlemen made up a party to go in pursuit of the bear. Well armed and4$h good mounts, they set out. and som? dogs were put on the trail of tbJ?H^ar. The interesting feature was ' that it proved to be a real bear. He ! was chased into the swamp in Mr. McSmyrl's pasture, near Smyri's dis? tillery. As soon a the hunters spied him a fusilade of shots were fired at him, and he soo*, fell a victim. It Is estimated that at lest 50 shots were | fired at him. The bear was dumped on a wagon j and brought to town. Several "cou- j riers" came in advance to bring the news. It was a novel sight to see the army of hunters marching up Broad street, and when the wagon which contained the bear was stopped on the street an immense crowd gather- | ed around to view it. The bear weigh? ed 45G pounds, and was photograph? ed by Photographer Zemp. The butchers then took charge cf him and he was prepared for market. Just in the midst of the excitement ! over the bear the fire bell rang. Mr. M. L. Smith's residence was on fire, but the fire was extinguished before any great amount of damage was done. A meeting of the State high school committee will be held at Chick Springs Monday afternoon, June 24. The committee is composed of the members of the State board of edu? cation, committee of college associa? te ns and the committee of State I teachers' association. A woman's idea of tight lacing is ?hen somebody else docs it. STATE LEAGUE GAMES. Darlington never had a chance to vin in the- game Tuesday. The Game Cocks had the Fiddlers going from the jump, and it was a simple matter ci* pure luck that enabled them to score at all, and saved them from the ignominy of a shutout. ^Richardson has proved himself too much of a problem for the Darlington boys. Twice this season they have faced him, and in each game they were able to obtain only three hits. The clever twirler was in fine form yesterday, and in a majority of the innings it was a case of three up and three down. By innings: Darlington.OOO 002 OOO-2 Sumter...103 101 00*-6 At Orangeburg. Orangeburg. June ll.-Punk ball playing in the three first three in? nings cost the locals the game. When it was too late they got together and made it the fastest game of the sea on, even though they could not break into the series of goose eggs. Arm? strong pitched a beautiful game for the visitors, yielding only three hits and walking but one. He was well supported, the visitors making no er? rors and their stick work being made to count. Glaze, for the locals, made a beautiful catch of what seemed an impossible chance in left field that kept the score from being larg?r than it was. Score: ?rangeburg 0; Greenville 5 At Anderson. Anderson, June ll.-Inability to ! hit at critical times cost the locals the game this afternoon. Several times a good hitter would go to the ! bat with two men out and get a sin? gle, two-base or a three-base hit, but the batter following would strike out. McMakin and Derby pitched well. Spartanburg managed to get hits when hits coiTnted most. The game was rather listless and not more than three hundred fans wit? nessed it. Anderson. "Manning-like, is taking the many defeats gracefully. Score: Anderson 2; Spartanburg 4. THE GAME COCKS TOOK THE FI? NAL GAME FROM FIDDLERS. The game Wednesday, which was the final of the series between the Game Cocks and the Fiddlers, was a regular sv. atzenfest. It was one of those I games in which a spectator expects anything to happen, and is surprised at nothing, yet it was exceedingly in? teresting, as such games always are. Both teams had on their batting garbs and such stick work as was seen yes? terday was enough to demoralize any pitcher who was working, and should br. cause for heavenly thanks to those who were on the bench. By innings: Darlington.006 002 01C- S Sumter.500 200 21*-10 Shut Out. Anderson, June 12.-It was an er? rorless game and Spartanburg shut the locals out to the tune of 1 to 4. The game was a beautiful exhibition, j GAME COCKS DEFEATED COTTON PICKERS-SEVEN TO TWO. Orangeburg, June 14.-A rotten de? cision by Umpire MeGrath in the sec? ond inning took all the ginger out of the locals, after which time they piayed in a listless fashion, losing by a score of 7 to 2. The Sumter team is a strong one and about evenly matched with the locals, so that in a fairly contested game Sumter might have won to the satisfaction of all. Score by innings: Orangeburg.000 000 002-2 Sumter.010 lil 210-7 Anderson Defeats Greenville. Greenville, June 14.-Anderson took the rirst game of the series this atfernoon by a score of 5 to 3. Arm? strong was in the box for Greenville and showed poor form. He hit four batters and walked three others. Manager Stouch has a bad eye and was not in the game. Anderson play? ed very good ball, but is charged up with five errors. The attendance was over 1,000. Darlington Lost Another. Spartanburg, June 14.-The Spar? tans landed hard on Darlington here this afternoon, defeating them by a score of 12 to 5. In the third inning Darlington went to pieces and seven men for the Musicians crossed the plate. It was a merry-go-round for sure. Ornara pitched a good game for the home team. ORANGEBURG WON SATURDAY. And There Was No Complaint Made Against Umpire .McGrath's Decis? ions-Tho Other Games. Orangeburg, June 1">.-Orangeburg batted out her game this afternoon with ease, while Sumter, <>n the other hand, found it next t" impossible to solve Landforms deliver^-. The gam opened with Tribble in the box io. the visitors and. after Orangebur hed made seven runs in che first five innings, he was replaced by Welch who gave way to Wynne in the eighth. ?"core by innings: Orangeburg. 120 232 00*-10 Sumter.OOO OOO 100- 1 At Greenville. Greenville, June 15.-Anderson went all to pieces in . the fifth inning and the game resulted in one of the most lopsided scores of the season, be? ing 17 to 1 in favor Greenville. At Spartanburg. Spartanburg, June 15.-Spartan? burg won from Darlington in 13 in? nings. The game was hard fought throughout and witnessed by a big crowd. In the thirteenth inning, with score tied, and McMakin on third, Eskridge poked out a long uy which brought in the winning ran. Spar? tanburg 3, Darlington 2. Sumter Wins the First Game From the Cellar Champions-Orangeburg Wins in Darlington, and Spartan? burg in Greenville. Anderson, June 17.-Anderson lost ic? Sumter by a score of 8 to 2. Noth? ing deserves special mention except Gunter's excellent fielding and Bag? well's phenomenal batting. Sumter just outplayed the locals. Orangeburg Took First. Darlington, June 17.;-Beautiful weather and a score of 8 to 3 in favor pf Orangeburg-the story in a nut? shell of this afternoon's game. The Fiddlers have been perhaps practising too much for clog dances instead of for grand ball, such as the visitors are accustomed to participating in, hence their defeat. The Darlington fans are calling for better players and we hope the request will be acquiesced in. The present team will probably be strengthened in the near future. Spartans YUn From Greenville. Greenville, June 17.-Until the sev? enth inning the game was a beautiful exhibition of fast playing; then Brahie went to pieces and was pound? ed unmercifully by the Musicians. He was relieved by Armstrong, but the damage had already been done. Greenville made no errors, but got only six hits off Sitton. Spartanburg 8, Greenville 2. Orangeburg and Sumter Have Strong? est Teams at Present, and Occupy First and Second Position Respect? ively-Anderson Team Needs Strengthening-Team Batting and Fcilding Records. From the News and Courier. Interest in the State league still continues, and there have been, with out few exceptions, record breaking \ attendances at all the exhibitions giv? en by the South Carolina teams. Sev? eral changes have lately been made on the teams and others are bound to follow as one team of the league will have to strengthen up in order tc keep in the running. Orangeburg and Sumter, which undoubtedly have the strongest teams in the league at present, have been working hard, the former to keep her place at the head of the column, and the latter to sup- j plant her. During the past week Sum? ter won four games out of five played, ond Orangeburg lost foul out of five rlaved, therefore the Game Cocks o fy the State league have landed at the head of the percentage column with Orangeburg but one game behind. As the result of the games during the past week Spartanburg and Dar? lington have changed places. Last : Monday Darlington was third in the league, but in the next five games the Fiddlers did not gain a single victory, while Spartanburg won four games and tied one out of the five played. Only a few games, however, separate the teams. Greenville is still fifth in standing, but has gained somewhat during the past week. In the five games played the Mountaineers have won four and lost one, and have gained 20 points. She is not far behind Darlington. Anderson had another week of hard luck and only managed to win one game. Three games were lost, and one with Spartanburg ended in a tie. There is no doubt but that the Ai.der son team is far behind the other clubs in the calibre of the players and will have to make certain changes be? fore the team makes a good showing. It is understood that the Anderson < !ub owners underestimated the strength of the league and did n^t put a strong team in the field at the start. However, as the season is young it is not too late for the management to get players that -tack up with others in the league, and then the Electric City can still make the other teams take notice. , Record of the Teams. Crangeburg: leads the league in bat? ting, with an average of 268, and is closely followed by Sumter, with an average of 251. In fielding Orange? burg also leads with an average of 939. Greenville comes second, with only 19 points separating her from Or? angeburg. The following tables witt show the team: batting and team fielding averages: Team Batting Averages. Names. A.B. B.H. P. C Orangeburg. .. . 714 191 268 Sumter.712 179 251 Greenville.779 189 245 Spartanburg . . .748 159 215 Darlington.747 155 207 Anderson. . ..708 142 201 Team Fielding Averages. Names. P.O. A. E. P.C. Orangeburg .. . .575 247 64 93? Greenville.598 259 71 925 Sumter.545 265 72 918 Anderson.538 260 74 915 Spartanburg. . ..571 268 82 911 Darlington.598 262 80 90? ROBBED IN TEXAS. A Columbia Woman Relived of $61, 000 By Rufus Williams, Also of Columbia. San Antonio, Texas, June 14.-Ru? fus Williams of Columbia is in jail here, charged with robbery and as? sault with a deadly weapon upon Mrs. Sallie Gibson. He made the following? confession today: UI came to San Antonio on the 13th i inst, from Columbia, S. C., via St Louis, Mo. Mrs. Sallie Gibson cam? with me. We hired a horse and buggy to ride around and drove out in the country* some five or six miles fron? town. "We came to a stream of water and she said: 'Let's take a bath in the? stream.' We turned and drove up along the stream about 25 yards from* the read into a kind of open space. I got out and hitched the horse and went and sat down on the edge of the stream. "We got to talking about our trip and .1 told her that I knew I was do? ing wrong and that I. was going back to my wife and children and that she had no business to'persuade me to ga with her. She said that I was the only man that she cared anything: about and that she would kill me if I went back. I should have mentioned*, that before this. "She took $50.000, all in $1,000' biils from her bosom and laid it by het grip, the money wrapped in a pa? per, but I knew that it was $50,000 as I had previously had it in my pos? session. I also knew that she had ?3 1,000 in the grip, something over $7,000 in gold. I knew she had this money because I had sold several pieces of property in and around Co? lumbia belonging to her and this was" the money. "After she at down by me on the edge of the stream we got to talking.'' about our trip, and after I had told' hei that I had made up my mind to ' go back to my wife she said that she ' loved me better than any other man on earth and that if I did go back she" would kill me. . "Then there were several word's*"' passed and I got up and picked up-*, a stick and just as she was about to-" get up I struck-her on the head with the stick once and knocked her down. She fell in the edge of the water. X. then took all her money and put it inr the buggy and started to drive off and just as I started she hollered and said: 'Don't leave me, you have near? ly killed me.' I did not reply, but drove back to town, put the horse and buggy in the livery stable, where the manager of the stable hooked up an cther horse and buggy and we drove around town a while. All this time I kept the grip and the money in the buggy with me. After driving a while with the manager I asked hi::i to let me out at a barber shop to get a shave. I got my shave and walked on to the depot and bought a ticket tc* Atlanta. Ga. I got into the train, bu* was arrested before it started." Williams had $61,000 belonging to Mrs. Gibson in his possession -?hei"t arrested. Mrs. Gibson declares Williams had hypnotized her and tftafc this explains his power over her. She is In a local hospital and wiK go back to Columbia as soon as she is able, but the district attorney wilS have her held as a witness.-Tb* State. Lancaster, June 13.-A difficult? occurred last night at West Pc^t?- ??i Kershaw county between two* yotmg" men from the town of Kershaw-,, Steve Welch and Frank Truesdale, hs which the latter was shot twice, botte balls entering just below the heart. The wounds are serious. The weapon used was a magazine pn-'o?. Par? ticulars of the affair are r?>t know-* acre.