The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1852-05-25

prove our condition by using our re-
sources or even maintain our present
standing bciora the world. .n@",iIi
Union or tlisphion, secession or
submission, this is our present home;
here We find our bits cast; here our
abiding place. And the Mighty
Makers command 70 Adam in Eden
to subdue, to dress and to keep it is
a command to lis. /. Ii not so audible
from Deity, we hear it from interest,
from nature stfirst law, from, tho de-
sire to provide for those dependent
upon us, and to enlarge otr blessings.
I" Let our rivers be stSaig ightcned
= throw all the water into one
straight channel, that it nay; run off
qnick and wash out dceT thus
securing their deltas free from
frcshets, and you open up aur i'm.
mense mine Of agricultural wealth,
which must add to your capital, in
crease your productions and com
forts, employ your labor and skill to
greater advantage, invite an incrcasc
and retait your present numbers
which if something is NOT done,
must look out for other fields to
operate in. 10 effect this purpose
worth an clfort--for if we loose them
we lose the essentials Of strength,
capital, ande population--when the
opposite course willeencouragc them
to remain with their energies, means,
and productions. ~" r51' = '7@a!
" Small streams are ditchcd, drain.
ed and redrained, as we will see on .,,
almost every plaptation----then why
not the rivers that are; worth So much
more? .;t. l,.,. sr,,.5
y From Camden falls tor;Santee is
about 0OImiles--the swamp will av-
rage at least two miles-many
places it is four miles across
but say two miles all the way, and
you have eighty square miles or
upwards. fcsy oae thousand acfcs3 OF
land, !aG which there is not now under
culture above lE $50 acres. thus
abiding $4,000 acres of new land; or
say an increase Of value on the whole
of $50 per acre, gives us ,0G0, 900.
And this i'll short distance Of Wa
terce alone, in the centre of the State,
while thcle is Santce, Congorcc, the
Pee Decs, Lynchcs' Creek, and Sc
vcral other streams, abiding in all ten
or twenty times more.
As We know moro about Waterce
River, and wc lelicyc that no other
wonld yield SO much at so little
expense, we can say more about it,
and would respectfully ask particular
attention to it, from Camden to
Santcc, in a straight line, it is about
forty miles as it runs, / 25 miles or
more. The fall IS inches or more
to the mile, as it could not run with
less. Reduce the length to forty
miles, and concentrate the fall, gives
us five feet, and if the flow increases
III proportion, it would run off in
one day as much rs it runs now in
one week, and tho single channels
give sufficient vent for all the water.
The old river beds could soon
be plantcd,-the creeks, lakes, and
ponds could be drained by litchcs
into the dccpcncd channel, and all or
nearly all rendered secure from over
flow Of water, which has been so
frequent the last few years as to dis
courage the few that plant them.
The crops and stock lost in the last
ten years would be sufficient sum
to yay for the work propose.
Ihcsc lands are greatly needed,
for what w;ts naturally fertile of tho
high lands, has become much worn.
while these lands once made free
from ireshcts, arc almost invaluable,
the quality Of the soil being the
very riches, and lying so as never 70
wear out, producing cotton, corn, or
small grain equal to any lands
on earth. These great advantages
would not be for few years only, or
require a periodical expense to keep
thcm up, as most improvements do,
but they will tell, and tell, we'll for
all time to come.
An expenditure Of 100000 by
the State will add one million to its
wealth. Lands now valued at five
dollars, will be worth fifty dollars per
acre; it is 100 large an undertaking
for individuals, though they have
done much in banking out, which
does not answer the purpose, re
emDank all the way would cost three
times the money that Strengthening
1t would, and the embellishments arc
always liable to break or be under.
mined, while the water outside Of
them must lie on the ground, Which
is often an injury 70 crops, te
tho ground, and q hindrance from
work The epterpriselis soinvitins
to the State, so fmneh can beilma