Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1866-07-07

At the time that Capt. Cook visited the
Islauds he estimated the population Of the ma
tivcs at three hundred thousand now they
do not exceed sixty thousand, all told We.
nercal, and other diseases havoapade sad havoc
in their ranks; not only the parentshaae died
and cked out miserable existence by their
! folly, but their children. FROM their sallow and
feeble appearance, have inherited portion of
| the misery of their parents. There is dis.
ease which is very fatal with the males of ma.
jority, called Leprosy it may be similar or
the-samc disease the jews had in ancient
times. With the natives it Is pronounced in
durable; it appears to be in the blood, and
first breaks out with an itching. which is fol-
loved by eating sores, mnnyo of which penc.
tr"te to t;e bone; the patient lngrrs for
months before death ends his suffering. This
loathsome and fatal disease continues to spread
and the time is drawing nigh when they will
be almost extinct as a people and nation The
Missionaries have probably done some good,
ut least SO far as outward religion is concerned,
but in teaching them the paths of virtue, af-
frction and gratitude, they have made sig
! nal failure. In their barbarous and unciyiI
izcd state, and prior to their contamination
with foreigners. they were doubtless more hap
py and prosperous than. they arc at the pres.
ent time. They have dt least one rcdccning
trait, which is very comnendabo throughout
the civilized world is honesty.
on horseback, with gay and Rashy cnlorcd
gingham wrapped around their waist aud logs
They are much better horscmen than the men
indeed they sit a horse we'll, and, ride clc-
gantIy; this is their greatest pleasurc-a real
enjoyment. With al occasional exception,
the women are not handsomc-far from it
however, some Of the half caste arc quite fair
to look upon, but their ideas of virtue are, if
anything, more distant than tho full blood
n tivcs.
The principal prolu ,tions are sugar cane,
t'rrah, sweet pntatoes, melons, corn, and all
kinds of tropical fruits, which grow mostly.
spontaneously. Apples es-wth the exception
ofa wntcry fruit which grows in the mountain
Businesses, called applc-arc not grown at all
on any of the Islands. Peaches do not do
well-the climate and suil do not secm to suit
them. Wild strawberries grow very fine, and
are very plenty at certain seasons cf the year;
their flavor is far superior to the Caltornia
strawberry. Watcrme|ons grow large and
have an excellent flavor
As sugar producing country the Sand.
wich Islands cannot cemprto with the South
ern States and the West Indies, for the reason
that it takes too long time for the cane to
mature, which is trom two to three ycars be-
fore it is fully grown and further, that it
VIII not produce, on an average, over half as
| much to the acre as the sugar land of I4ouis-
ana From the time tho cane is planted until
1t IS manufactured into sugar in the Southern
States, Is from seven to nino months conse-
quentIy, any one of the least disccrnmcnt.;can
very readily perceive the great disadvantages
u"dcr which the Sandwich Island planters
labor; to say nothing of the uncertainty and
inferior kind of labor with which they are
compelled to put up with, to wit Kanakas
aud Cooies--thc lowest scrapings of creation.
On account of the dryness of the soil the cane
ON many plantations is grown by irrigation /;
and whcrc,a plantation has not water facilities
for irrigating purposes, and drought should
occur, the crop would prove almost an entire
f''ilure, in which event the planter woul be
placed in an awkward dilemma, provided he
had not plenty of means to meet lis liabilities.
Coffee is grown to a limited extent, and is
not considered to be very profitable crop
the greatest danger is blight, which too frc.
quently occurs, and has been known to ruin
tile entire crop of plantation, and the trees
to decay and bccone worthless. Aftor the
trees are planted it requires lapse of five