The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, December 29, 1905, Image 1
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I ! I LJ L1 I ^T:'-I:;'-I 1 1\ I r!^ 1 |\ 71 V I Flvo Large Cotton Mill*, Knitting i
Lights Thrtu Hanks wuh %gxit>- w fl m 1 9 V 1 I I I W / S ??| ^^9^. S "'"I willi PliHit,
A fllj LJ 1\; 1 v^yAi 1 IIVIIL O. ?n
VQI" LV- N? 5" ^ V,. ^
11 CENTS
'*. ! Makes the Farmers hapjj o
* place to deposit your surpi
The best Safe'that Money
protecte<iagainst Burglary
large Firm and Individual
protect oup customers)
luteiy secure. We soLic
Wm. A. Nicholson
AN OLD-TIME CHRISTMAS IN THE UPCOUNTRY.
Men Men Shot Muzzle-Loading Muskets.
whlGh were Often Bewitched -How
the Yankees Kissed.
Spartanburg, December 2.?
These days, when crowds of
men, women and children are
crowding the stores in which
Christmas goods are displayed
and preparing to make the holiday
pleasant for the children,
bring, to the memory of older
1 j , people Christmas in the former
?> times. Even many, of the humblest
homes receive a visit from
Santa Claus now. . Seventy-five
years ago there were no Christmas
trees, no giving of gifts, no
church services in commemoration
of the day, no toy stores, no
decoration of the homes, no kissing
under the holly and mistle- j
toe, and no popping of firecrackT
T~ 4-~ 1 OTA *.1 ? _ I
cio. up l?j jlchjv uiiuie wao nut a
town of any size in Spartanburg
district, except "the village," as
Spartanburg was called. The
best people lived in the country.
At Limestone Springs there were
a few families that settled there,
1835 to 1840. There were few
stores in Kie country. Goods
were at i\r/t hauled from Augusta,
Charleston and occasionally
from Philadelphia. Clothing,
shoes and house furnishing goods
were not kept in stores^ Firecrackers,
torpedoes and all the
accompaniments of a modern
Christmas celebration were unknown.
CLOSING THE YEAR'S WORK. It
was always a rush to finish
the year's work on the farms before
Christmas. Shoes were
made, and the new clothing was
ready for Christmas morning.
Generally the children and
negroes did not get their new
shoes 'till Christmas. If they
had no old ones they went barefooted.
The last work was to
cut and haul in a supply of green
wood and lightwood or rich pine.
In one family the father said to
his boys that they might have
Christinas as long as they could
make a back log last. Remember
that the chimneys were 8 to 10
feet wide and it took two hands
to put on the wood. The old man
was named Buice, who^ave
holiday as long as a back log
lasted. The boys had been tooled
a time or two by trying gum and
poplar. They put their heads
together, and early in September
they cut a black gum about a
foot in diameter and put it in a
creek to soak. When Christmas
came it lacked much of being
dry. It required four stout young
men to carry it. When a week
was out the back log was as good
as ever. It seemed to be planted
for the summer. The old man
hah to give in and acknowledge
that his boys were too smart for
him.
Instead of firecrackers and
torpedoes to announce the coming
of Christmas the ordinary
guns were used. Only powder
charges were put in. Tne boys
of this day could not load or
shoot the guns used 75 years
ago. The quiet way of announcing
Christmas was for an early
riser?2 to 4 o'clock?to fire a
Sun. He would be answered by
is nearest neighbors, until all
i i the neighborhood had hailed
the day with the explosion of
gun powder. But there was
little funin that. It was too
tame. The usual plan was for
two or three persons to get toffpthpr
and niiipf.lv slin nn tn n
neighbor's house and fire a salute
with the muzzles of the gun in
a crack of a log house or under
the door. The men in the house,
$ they had guns, would put on
'*rk of Court * '
us is^ w^Trrmo-^vNK. s
can Buy- 4;lwhich -is also c
by )Jnsu?lnce, arid our
Resources (all of which d
ake your deposits abso- v
IT YOUR BUSINESS. a
?
& Son, Bankers, ^
HMMBHanrnMBBasI
their clothes and join the party, k
and by daylight there would be 0
a lively crowd. Wine and cake n
were not handed as they went o
from house to house, but a taste n
of corn whiskey was taken now t
and then. Often they would n
have "a stew" after the shoot- a
ing of the Christmas guns. A n
stew was made by pouring whis- tl
key into a pot and adding spice,
ginger and other condiments and c
hrincrintr if fn a hr?il If woo ry
I o o vv m MVIM AV M UO
sweetened according to taste, g
After the morning celebration 0
the men would divide into parties fi
and go out to hunt such game as b
was to be killed. The shooting b
of squirrels was a favorite sport. T
Very often several dozen would V\
be killed by a party of hunters, vv
They never shot quail, or par- 0
tridges, "pathridges" as they e
were called then. The principal p
guns were rifles. There were a n
few muskets that came down
from the Revolution, and a few
English single-barrel shotguns,
the barrels being 48 to 58 inches FJ
long. All locks were flint and tsteel.
Hunting was the princi- V
pal outdoor sport. The hunters > ^
of that day shot off hand. Their ?
rifles weighed 9 to 12 pounds, I ?
but they would have . been1 ^
ashamed to shoot with a rest. .Jj
CALVIN WHIT. - *
Some of the hunters of that C
day believed in witchcraft. Cal- \ w
vin Whit was an old-time shoe- : h
maker. Tall, straight, very*! v,
muscular, he weighed about 200 si
pounds. He was a great marks- s
man. He liked hunting better w
than anything else, unless it was h
fighting. The writer when a1 li
small boy saw him shoot twice ti
at a squirrel and miss. He gave tl
nis neaa a snaKe ana saia: "My a
gun is bewitched." He spoke n
with the assurance of one who e
knew it. He put in the charge a
of powder and the bullet and cut h
his patching. He took from his u
pocket a silver coin and cut off c
a small piece with his knife and n
placed it on the bullet and g
rammed it home, saying, I will v
bring you down. With steady a
aim he pulled trigger and the h
squirrel dropped with a hole t
through his head. The teachers ii
of psychology can explain why n
that piece of silver removed the t
spell from the gun or marksman. , n
It certainly did the work. j n
Very often in the old days d
quiltings were given during p
Christmas week. The young o
people would come in from the h
neighborhood. The girls would
quilt during the day and the
young men would come in before
night. When the quilt was a
finished and taken from the c
frames some of the bolder boys J
would wrap it around a girl's
head and he would not release "
her until a kiss was secured. It 3
had to be taken bv force, of e
course, for the girls were always s
opposed to such fun. At one of '
these quiltings a school teacher ?
from the north showed how the ?
yankees kissed. He selected a
pretty girl and her beau and, ?
placing two chairs back to back *
in the middle of the room, he *
caused the^two to be seated.
After explaining the difficulty of 1
kissing in that position, he said <
it was easy enough when one *
knew how it was done. Just as ^
the young man's mouth was wa- *
tering with expectation, the \
; yankee stooped down and gave 1
the handsome girl a kiss to be \
11 remembered. It took the young
1 man sitting with his back to her J
some time to find "where he was 1
, at. V H
1 GAMES IN THE OLDEN DAYS. 1
l 1
L} naying tnimoie, sister moeoe, '
, twisti-fication and other innocent i
I amusements were enjoyed. Oo- |
1 c&sionally there Would be a regu- j
ar khake down," or COUOtty
lance. There was generally k
iddler in the neighborhood, wlx0
vas always short on string^ &nd
unes, but he made thingsnvely.
The Christmas dinners and
uppers consisted of turkeys,
hickens, sausage, spare ribs
,nd game. Cakes and pies were
bundant and the people in that
lay carried good appetites around
nth them. Canned
II sorts oi store eatables were
/anting. Another antogbment
jM' the1 - tneri - was shooting
etches. There were no clay
ligeons then and breech-loaders
/ere unknown. Even the term
'calibre" was never used and if
L. had been no one would, have
nown the meaning. The bore
f a rifle was designated .tfer the
umber of Jbullets to the f*hin 1
f lead. The prize at th&ie
latches was generally a be^f,
nrkey or money. The sho$tif!jii
latch was generally at a skbrc^
nd many of the shooters weref
lore than "half shot'' before
he close of the day.
It is said that at one of these
Ihristmas gatherings north of
laffney, about 1840, the crowd
ot hungry. There was a bushel
r two of eggs in the store. A
re was built out of doors and a
ig pot put on and about half a
ushel of eggs emptied into it.
hey were boiled thoroughly and
rith the addition of salt they
'ere devoured. It was told of
ne of the men that he ate 40
ggs and drank whiskey in proortion
and was ready for more
ext day.
THE PLANTATION CHRISTMAS. J
The nearest approach to the
lodern celebration of Christmas
efore 1840 was on the plantaons,
where tlgpre were 20 ip
P negroes of more. The wago'r?
>qre hitched up early in Deceit
er, and cotton and flour
arried to Columbia, Augusta ,?g
;?S??nhS? as
)&CK6r0i| RiICp'
d handkerchiefs were bought,
hristmas morning the negroes
rould assemble at the "big
ouse" and catch all the family
rith "Christmas gjjft." The
hoes were then handed out, a
tout pair to each one. The
'omen received the red bandana
andkerchiefs and the men got a
ttle tobacco. An extra quanity
of flour was given out, and
he older women received sugar
nd coffee. Frequently these
egroes would bring gifts of
ggs and chickens. They generll.v
had four days to a week's
oliday. They were allowed unsual
liberty those days, and
ould fiddle and dance as late at
ight as they pleased. The nero
boys would unite with the
fhite boys, and when they got
fter a rabbit they were sure to
ave it. With all the dogs on
he place and all the boys yellng,
"Molly Cotton-tail" stood
o chance at all. There was one
hing in favor of the old Christlas
celebrations. There were
io "dark lantern carousals and
ebauches." . The drinking was
mblic, and if men played a game
f "seven-up," it was not betind
closed doors.
CHRISTMAS ON HORSEBACK.
There was another kind of
musement in the old days not
onfined to Christmas especially.
1amnr urmfav axtami'nnr^ i'r*irif
.iiv tvn^ nniv\/i V/ y v^iini^o mvituu
oung men to rove around,
['here were no club rooms or
pecial meeting places. As
iverv one owned a horse and
addle, they would mount and
ide around the neighborhood,
joing from house to house,
sometimes they would get
'pretty full" after riding in the
:risp, cool air an hour or two,
ind they would make as much
loise as a band of Comanches.
rhey had so much vitality and
buoyancy that they could not be
:onfined to the chimney corner
ieven nights in a week. So they
would ride around as a sort of
?afety valve. They never did
iny harm and there was no malce
in their frolics. As one of
:hem expressed it, they were
"just riding about and cussin'
md having a good time." ' There
were few books and papers, and
no public meetings. Militia
musters and church meetings
wore the only public gatherines.
rhe eld way of celebrating
Christmas may have been severely
simple, but there was a ruggec
honesty in the methods. Tner<
IES FOR FARMERS.
olinlans Go In and Win.
i, of Marlboro County,
in Years Ago, Raised the
p ol Corn on one Acre
er Raised in the United
December 23rd.?
me fifteen years ago
na won the prize for
yields of corn in the
es on one acre, and
ion has been of contefit
to the State,
s late day inquiries
from time to time
. Drake's achievenational
contest was
the American Agriand
the same concern
ttaow arranging for another
1 even greater contest. Prof.
G. Johnson, the able editor
the Agriculturalist, who visitCommissioner
Watson here
, last winter, has written the commissioner
about the coming contest,
and the latter is exceedingly
anxious to see South Carolina
participate, and accomplish even <
more than she did a decade and ;
a half ago. Commissioner Watson
says that it will be impossible
to provide for the State
pyizes out of the small appropri
t|on given his department, but
We intends to take the matter up ,
^Lth the fertilizer manufacturers i
and bthers who should be deeply ]
interested, and will endeavor to !
get them to make contributions !
toward the necessary prize
money.
The letter of Prof. Johnson to
Commissioner Watson is of special
interest. He writes as follows:
i
"I wish to call your attention ;
,to one of the greatest contests
[that has ever been inaugurated
for the development of cereals I
and the amount of crops raised i
4?n the. farms of this country, i
Your people should take a per- ]
sonal pride in this matter as it 1
will be remembered that the i
largest corn crop ever produced 1
on a single acre was grown in ]
South Carolina in the American i
Agriculturalist contest of fifteen i
years ago. We believe that no <
single event ever produced so i
large an amount of advertising <
for South Carolina and its re- i
sources. In fact, there is hardly 1
a week that passes, but that we
have some inquiry about this <
great contest, and the remark- 1
able results produced by Capt. <
Drake in Marlboro Connty in i
your State. I have on my desk
at the present time a letter from .
Dr. W. L. Davenport, of Mead
ovvview, Va., asking about this
great crop. He wants all the <
details. 1 am sure that your <
State will come along at the top
of the list, and we are especially
anxious at this time to have our
friends in your State take hold
of this matter, showing their
loyalty and local pride, and I
ask you to lend all the support
you possibly can in your special
capacity to land South Carolina
at the head of the list in this
great contest.
"I trust arrangements can be
made to set aside $500, the same
to be distributed in prizes to be
arranged by yourself and the
farmers in South Carolina, who
score the highest number of
points in this contest. We believe
that nothing can be done
| that would be of greater interest
I and value, and we will do everything
in our power to push the
matter in a public way. By sei
curing $500 or more for this
work, the fact would be an
nounced in our manual, and the
publication of it would be of
great value to South Carolina
farmers. I am sure that the |
n - n -- _ i _ i i '
uovernor 01 your ocaie wouia t
, endorse this idea, and why not i
have a Governor's prize? We
have headed the list with $6,000
I in prizes ourselves, feeling that,
. the results will warrant it. I
Many large fertilizer concerns,
, implement manufacturers, etc.,
' are offering additional prizes
, along these lines, thus making it
j possible for the individual to win :
from one to a dozen prizes. I
, was not as much style and parade
f as there is now, and there were
- no forced courtesies and gifts
1 given with grudging.?Charles
i Petty, in News and Courier.
IF. M. FARR, President.
T H I
Merchants and Plante
Successfully Doing Busines:
la the OLDEST Hank in Unto
a IB hus a capital and surplus of $
M 3 9 Is the only NATIONAL Hank
it n Iiuh paid dividends -inounti
H jg gj pays FOUR per cent-, inter*
H wC is the only Hank in Union itn
H B lias llurjflar-Proof vault, nm
J B B pays more taxes than ALL th
| WE EARNESTLY SOLICf
f i
For instance, a South Carolina wer
farmer may win our grand trib
sweepstake prize, and in addition tool
any grand prize that your State givi
may ofFer, besides the grand bag
prizes of the fertilizer concerns, deli
providing the crop was raised by pre;
their product; the grand prize will
from the implement manufactu- vail
rer from whom he purchased the mar
implement with which he culti- wen
vated his crop, etc. a m
"In adddition a large number
of live stock men are interested,
and are offering freely their
prizes to persons in their State,
who score the largest number of
points. As an illustration a large
breeder of Jersey cattle has offered
a thoroughbred registered **
Jersey heifer calf to the person the
securing the largest number of Mr.
points in the contest from his Mjs,
State. I think you can clearly . ,
see the great good that will come
from this contest." *<un
Commissioner Watson would tenc
like to hear from fertilizer man- witl
facturers, those who manufac- jjQn
ture farming implements, breeders
of cattle and others in this 11
State, who would be willing to ten(
make contributions to the $500, tive
the amount necessary to have afte
South Carolina properly repre- ~ra]
sented in this contest. He thinks r5
that this amount should easily be tne
raised by voluntary subscriptions mos
from such sources, and that it dim
should be assured in a week's -inc]
time. He asks that he be notified
by any concerns desiring to . *
subscribe, as at this season it is Ada
impossible to address each con- mar
cern separately. If the amount and
is promptly subscribed a conference
of the subscribers and representative
farmers will be called
to arrange all the details as to ln
what prizes should be awarded buii.i
within the State, also as to the to ix
handling of the fund so subscrib- excit
ed, and as to the conditions of tho i
the several contests.
It may be mentioned that the NVor!
American Agriculturalist publi- (l ^
publications, in which the matter
will be exploited, cover the entire * En
country, and have a circulation
of 230,000.?August Kohn, in 0r tii
News and Courier. t hiol
Oral
A PRETTY CHRISTMAS TREE. r.ion,
liaiit!
Bogansville Sunday SGhool and Parham hu)v
School Unite in a Christmas Tree. .u<Ue
(
By unanimous consent it was lie
agreed, and the children, parents,
teachers and officers of the ll0t:u
Bogansville Methodist Church
Sunday scnooi, and the pupils oi
Parham School taught by Mrs.
Sallie Hyatt joined forces, and a niul
Christmas Tree they had in the turn
Church Monday night. The tree was
was a large, beautiful holly, full
of red berries, all among the
bright green leaves. Upon this ,"1
tree was hung all of the Christ- ( iMI
mas presents and tiny Japanese ^(nl,
lanters were suspended, most
brilliantly illuminating the varied ,0('k
gifts in varied hues, in lovely vsx.r
contrast with the foliage of the mmi
holly tree. Before distributing are
the presents an elaborate pro- i>usi
gram wrs rendered by the pupils si"1'
of Parham School and the Sun- ,lis
day School children. A number ,u' '
of very pretty and appropriate . 1
songs were sung, alternating
with some exceedingly interest- fr,?
ing and well rendered recitations i,ns
by the children of both schools. i>i<>s
Mrs. Hyatt gave a charming ad- how
/luAOa nrvAM f n a anKi Artf a-P K?,1
ui con ufjwu uic ouujcct UA. ^UUCcl- ,,i,u
tion and Sunday school work 1,ot
which was greatly enjoyed by c,oa
all. Then a committee of ladies
began the distribution of presents
which had been hung upon
upon the tree, and each child, WC1
was made happy. Then the q"lJ
name of each child was called ,
and a bag of nice apples was |v,
given each one. The apples acr
J. D. ARTHUR, Cashier. |
rs National Bank, |
s at the "Old Stand." ?
'io\(ioo. n
; in Union. u
tiK- to S&W.400. 2
s?i on il?'i>ostt}?.
ipooti'il by nil nlliccr, B
I Safe with Time-Lock. J
ic Ranks in Union combiti'-ii. 3
r YOUR BUSINESS. |
e purchased by a liberal ccnution
of the neighbors and it
c two barrels to go around,
ng each child a little paper
of apples. This was the most
ghtful evening spent by all
>ent. Harmony, sweet good
and Christmas cheer preed,
and nothing transpired to
the pleasure of any, and all
it home happy and merry as
arriage bell.
A PRETTY HOMF. WEDDING.
Lillic Adams Becomes the Wife of
Mr. Louis Scales.
'ednesday, 1 o'clock p. m., at
home of the bride's father,
F. M. Adams, Adamsburg,
3 Lillie Adams was married
dr. Louis Scales, Rev. J. R.
derburk officiating. The atlents
were: Mr. VVm. Bently
1 Miss Mary Vaughan, Mr.
nie Adams with Miss Corrie
tly. The marriage was atTed
by a lage number of relas
and friends. Immediately
ir the marriage ceremony a
nd reception was tendered by
father of the bride, and a
t sumptuous and delicious
ler
was served. The bride
groom are well known and
7 popular young people of the
msburg neighborhood and
ly were the congratulations
kind wishes expressed for
r future happiness.
The Hltclit of Wny.
the early clays of western railway
ling, days not so long gone by us
s out of memory, there were many
ing racei between rival roads for
possession of important mountain
?s. Such a race, says the World's
k, was that l et ween the Santa l"e
the ltio (.Iraude roads for the right
ray through Kuton pass to New
loo and the southwest,
glneers an.I const ruction gangs
;ed in mad haste to get to it ahead
leir rivals. Tin* viotorv foil t?? ii?>
' of the Santa 1*V. Wliou tile llio
ide cohorts arrived they found hir.t (
:? in 0110 of (ho big g >rgos, shovol in
!, slicing earth from sin S.tKM) foot
>"liat nro you doing hove?" they
(I.
onstrueting a railroad." ho replied,
turned another shovelful of dirt,
pod (ho tool and hitched up his
y cartridge holt.
ny one who Interferes with the
a l'e does It sit his own risk," he
quietly.
rst the ltio tirande men laughed,
then they rage-.l, and then they
ed and went away. Their road
cut off from the south forever.
\ Until In nullities.
o take a hath sit. Titlis, in Hussinn
rasia, is to court a never to bo foren
experience," says one who
a s. I he masseur who presides
the toilet of his patrons is a weird
ing figure, llis head is shaved, a
is twisted around his waist, and
feet are dyed a beautiful red. You
seized by tills individual, rubbed,
ted face downward on a marble
, find his feet in your spine and
hands upon your shoulders. Then
grinds liis feet up and down your
i. They are round your neck, on
r head?everywhere! Then ho
Km lightly off. and in a moment,
a a linen hag tilled with soup, he
squeezed clouds of perfumed buband
you are hidden In them from
I to foot as completely as If you
fallen .into a snowdrift. You are
absolutely bruised, but you are
n."?Kansas City .lournal.
A fltirtKnln llnnti.
[low did the manager get all those
nen out of that burning theater so
ckly?"
Fie went on tbe stage and announced
t a man down at the entrance was
lug away samples of baking pow*1