The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-08-07
NACOOCHEE AND ITS SURROUND
INGS.
lrnon AN OCCASIONAL ooRarsros,Esr,1

IFROA AN OCCASIONAL CORAESPONL EVIL
NAcoocHEE VALLEY, Ga. August, 1865. -
Home sgainl Yes, after long years OF desolat.
ing war. find myself once more at my old
home in the mountains Of Georgia, in the sweet
vale of Nacooohee,
where the zephyrs pcrsumed as'trom the spice is-
Noun. up from the valley to welcome the morn.
highlands.
With sweetness that e'en to proud Yonah is borno
'Jis valley OF peace rich 10 every soft feature,
In sunshine or shsae. inits own verdant green,
TIE Gec-Sta's Esrrs7;.. ElaJss;Ovsly by nature
Carved out OF o chaos OF wild mountain sceno.''
The meaning OF the sweet Indian word .sNa-
coochee" is Evening STAR" The name was ap-
piled to beautiful daughter OF Cherokee
chief. In my ramb'es Of twenty thousand
miles, ] have found mo country to me more
lovely than Nacoochee and its surroundings.
Not even the tropical valleys OF the West In
d,es, with their majestic palms, fragrant flow
ers and fruits, nor Italy with it's vine-clad hill
and groves OF olive and orange; nor Switzer-
land with it's siIvery lakes, Fertile valleys,
mountain gcrges and snow capped alps.
Through tho charming valley OF Nacoochee
the picturesque ChattahoOchee winds it's way
Broad fields Of India, corn and towering mes-
years. exile from this mountain home lessens
the throbb,ngs of my heart as I return to it.
and the RETURN to Nacoochee at this time is
made doubfy interesting as brought with me
of years. That white house peeping out OF
the grove {now the residence OF my youngest
sister) is the homestead in which my parents
of preoous memory lived and died. The grand
old oaks which have withstood the storms
OF o century-the trees under which we in
childhood holicked, are still green and annually
send forth their autumn fruit. The littls Lom
grown to be lofty trees. The modest Metho
dist church near by is where Andrew and
Oln thundered forth thoir youthful eloquence.
and where Richardson, Askew, Glenn, and
oftheir manhood And there too is the mound
op which made my first adventure in agri-
culture. It was the custom Of my father, as a
means OF encouraging his sons to habits Of
land. the product OF which they claimed as
their owr. Ny broad acre began at the foot
and ended st the summit OF the Indian mound;
it was too steep ana rugged to be cultivated
by the plough; had to rely entirely upon
the hoe. ,'. Il
Having pitched my crop. the tender plants
sprang forth from the rich soil. MY hopes ran
Alasl for human hopes and expectations, the
scOrchng suns OF July came. but not drop Of
rain. While my fathers well cultivated fields
below in the moist valley were fresh and luxu-
J. itnuVs Aullo Ou tHo AOuul OSkdu u VIII ana
droop. The prospect OF becoming bankrupt
flrmer daily became more manifest. AS
stood gazing on my bliahted prospects, and
thinking what should be done. nv eve fell
upon the beautiful Chattahoocbee. which makes
Dearlv circuit around the mound. At the
sight OF tins mountain rlvulet hope revived
saw that success was now within my grasp
No time was lost in applying to each thirsty
hill of corn the refreshing water which was
brought in o bucket from the Chatk kahoochee by
the light of the noon. This timely application
OF water which failed to fall from the clouds.
saved my crop and made my fortune OF ten
dollars. To this circumstance. though trivial
in itself. as it may seem to Your. readers,oI
attribute much Of my success 10 after life. sf \,
This small capital Of ten dollars was what
had to begin life with. after 9 walk of one hun
dred and fifty miles from Nacoochee to Au-
commerce which have travelled many long
years, have encountered scorchiug droughts,
financial panics, desolating wars. and steep
mounds covered with thorns and thistles. At
times felt that the burdens and diff ,ulties I
had to overcome were greater than could
bear, and often was tempted to 'falter by the
way; but in these trials always remembered
the small farm on the Nacoochee mound, and
the lesson it taught me. which was, first to
have faith and general reliance In Providence
but never failing to use all the means o merci-
ful Providence placed within my reach. have
learned from hard-earned experience that sue
cess means toll. energy, watchfllness, order,
justice. sobriety and economy. -
In this dav men are not fed by ravens but
are commanded to earn their bread by the
sw O. OF tn, brew-a commandment some peo-
pie find very hard to obey. q. WV