The southern enterprise. [volume] (Greenville, S.C.) 1854-1870, 1869-10-13
From the Southern Waterman.
George williams.

From the Southern Waterman. %"
George williams.
- AN EXAMPLE FOR THE YOUNG.
All our readers know something
of the eminent merchant and bank.
er, George w. Williams. ESQ.,, of
Charleston, who is a native of Ma
coochee Valley, Ga. Some of
them may know something of his
early career, but as this is not
known to all, we copy the follow
ing letter from him, datailing his
success in growing corn on the In
dian mound, which many of our
readers have seen, just below the
ford on the Chattahoochce. near
the residence of Mr.. Chas. Williams,
his brother, that we may say a few
words for the encouragement of
the youth of our country. Here is
the letter d. ... ..-, ..
NAooocHEE VALLEY, Ga, !
August Is, 1869.
Homo again ! Yes, after long
years Of desolating war. I find my.
self once more at my old home in
the mountains of Georgia, in the
sweet vale of Nacoochec,
"Where the zephyrs pcrfumed as from the
spice islnnd, . a. .'r
Mount up from the valley to welcome tho
morn,
Where the gale rohs the zepbyrs to gladden.
the highlands,
With sweetness that cen to proud Yonah Il
borne.
'Tis valley of peace, rich in every soft fea-
In sunshine or shade, In It's own yerdant
green,
'Tis Georgia's Eseria, most lovely by nature,
Carved out of chaos of wild mountain
| sccne."
The meaning of the sweet Indian
word, i" Nacoochee " is " Evening o
Star" The name was applied to
a beautiful daughter of a Chero-
kee chief. In my rambles oftwen.
ty thousand miles, l have found no
country TO me more lovely than
Nacoochee and its surroundings.
Not even the tropical valleys of
the West Indies, with their males.
tic palms, fragrant flowers and
fruits; nor Italy, with its vinc-clad
hills and groves of orange; nor
Switzerland, with its silvery lakes,
fertile valleys, mountain gorces
and snow-capped Alps.
Through the charming valley of
Nacoochec the picturesque Chat
tachoochte g winds it way. Broad
fields of Indian corn and Towering
meadow-la,ds skirt its banks.
Not even a thirty years exile from
this mountain home lessons the
throbbings of my heart as return
to it and the return to Nacoochee
at this time is made doubly inter-
esting, as brought with me two
sisters who had been absent nearly
u score of years. That white house
peering out Of the grove (now the
residence of my youngest sister, is
the homestead in which my pa,
rents Of precious memory lived
and died. The grand old oaks
which have withstood the storms
ola century-the tree under which
We in, childhood frolicked-arc
still green, and send forth annual.
~ their Autumn fruit. The little
Lombardy poplars, planted by tiny
hands, have grown TO be lofty trees.
The modest Methodist church near
by is where Andrew and Olin
thundcred forth their youthful elo.
qnence, and where Richardson,
Askew, Glenn and other sainted
ministers preached in the prime of
their manhood. And there, too,
is the mound on which I made nv
first adventure in agriculture. 1t
was the custom Of my father, as a
means of encouraging his sons to
habits of industry, to give to each
a small portion of land, the pro
duct of which they claimed as
their own. My broad acre began
at the foot and ended at the sum.
init Of the Indian mound; it was
too steep and rugged to be cult.
waited by the plow {; I had to rely
entirely upon the hoe. -
Having pitched my crop, the
tender plants sprang forth from
the rich soil. My hopes ran high
at the prospect of bountiful
yield. Alas for human hopes and
expectations. the scorohing suns of
July came, but not q drop of rain.
While my fathers we'll cultivated
| GolJ. loI 2. A. -. u