The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-05-07

State fs reached, where as previously stated, tow.
erin0 mountains, $500 feet above the level Of the
sea- reached with their inter%ediase ieFsse aes
valleys-all picturesque and oeaut1ul-"a s"ee'
interchange between hill anu dale"
The constituents Of the primitive geolegcai re-
gions consists, essentially OF grane shT
metamorphlc stratiaed rocks peculiar TO sucn Ior
nations as hornbiend rock, mica sase, cray sase'
some isolated beds OF limestone anu seIpeassne, sl,
quartz rocks &C. &C. ra1eseS 10 SV to
| conoiderable extent, ranging across tne Ssste
from the Interior OF Virginia, through Soutn Caro.
lima and Georgia far INTO nna ,be ppbxscai
features of the country and the SOIL as TO suggess
particular, but by no means descriptive names
such as the sFattcoods Of Ab6evie," tne Iso nsedo
do,o tooodS OF Union" and "the otocS3ac@ ef'0''
of Chester" &c.
III.-HYpRoaRArHY-Rf Rivers and S',eaUe, Streams,
I,,lets Est,ldraeS, Lakes ana Ponds Sl1Jace d1to
sssbsofl water, Natural and Mineral Springs,
Wells, CiSterns, DC.
It. can be readily inferred that from the forego.
lag observations upon the physical aspect ana
geological characters OF the State that It's hydro-
graphv must constitute an important element IN
any attempt to estimate It's climatic peculiarties
in relation to its hygienic condition; the proper.
ties and productiveness Of ts soil; Its Agricultural
resources, AMI its industrial and commerelal ad-
| yantages. Considered under all these relations,
| South Carolina, although OF comparatively nmlteo
areo can compare favorably with most OF tne
| States OF the Union, while In many respects sne
| represents advantages prominently greater than
While on the whole extent Of its southeastern
| border the State Is bounr ed by long seacoast
-lIne exceedingly irregular, and diVerslned by
7! islands inlets, eStuaries OF rivers, winch mere
find their exit into the ocean, and numerous capes
and headlands, the whole interior Is tra7ersed oy
| numerous rivers which wind their devious course
through its entire length and breadth, Wnlie IN
numerable smaller streams intersect 1t at various
points, everywhere contributing their ceaseless
currents to the larger torrents, which colleetiVey
! fuii, ep to empty themselves into the mighty
| ocean. , .,. ,r;,o,no1
rivers win be sufficient to indicate notable dn.
| ference between them, depending not only III
their Scigin and course, but also upon tne paU
| nertIes Of their waters Considered under tnese
| ppoints OF view. they may be divided into three
classes: /. Those taking their origin 10 mountain
regions, and receiving constant accesslons IN
their course traverse or skre neardy tae eusite
Those deriving their source from the mlddie so7.o
hin region Of the State; and 3. Those OF lar M
feror length, but In some instances OF greaI,eI
magnitude than the preceding, which consist
mainly OF mere prolongations or tnlets from the
sea bit which are nevertheless furnished at their
heads by the abundant surface water anu DRAM
ACE OF the immense and innumeraole sWamps,
bonds, and bayous, making up large portion
of the lower division OF the State. To these be-
long innumerable inlets, spreading their tortuous
course along the entire extent OF tne sea,
49,
infnity Of islands disseminated along the coast:
! TO the frat class belong the Savannah, arising
/ nv numerous tributaries In the mountains OF
North and South Carolina anu aeorg,a, ahe ,he
TWO last; the Enoree, Tiger, Pacolet and Salu-
da, all arising In the mountain regioo, and the
first forming min Sy aeT pGna %s s the s
gives rise to the Congaree. The CaLaWpa, ailsing
in the upper part OF North Carolina, and aug
mented By the accession OF numerous tributary
| streams forms the Wateree, which emptying into
the Congaree,- gives rise to the Santee. To these
| must be added the greater and lesser Peedee,
which, deriving their respective sources IN Nortn
Carolina, now through the southeastern part OF tne
State and empty into Winyah Bay. The numer-
ous smaller streams, deriving their origin from
the upper division OF the State, now into one or
the other OF these rivers, 30 that the savannah,
the santee and the Peedee may be regarded as
the great torrents by which the waters, de-
rived from the whole or the upper part OF Souln
Carolina and part OF North Carolina and Geor'
gia roll their mighty tide onward 10 tne ocean; 20
zion run for at least onehalf their extent preci
pjtious course over their rocky beds OF gnelss'
granite, &C., which crop out ut various points,
Il and form numerous ledges across the streams,
thus producing succession OF falls and cascades
Of great beauty and grandeur, some OF them
miles In extent, thus furnishing an amount o.
amply uSent aS TO Supply all s9f o
At the upper limit Of the tertiary series, the
character OF these rivers undergoes notable ,Ie
change. The Savannah, River, at Augusta; the
Congaree, at and below Columbia, and the
Wateree near Camden, present, for the last time,
any conspicuous rapid or 1all, ana from these
placid course, until they become lost In the ocean.
At the several points alluded to, the granite and
rocks crop OUT Se 5las STATE o. ees
ducing In the several streams q natural barrier
between the tertiary and granitc regions, over
| which the water tumbes In series OF cascaues,
L {fcolf IN OelOT.
Under the second class Of rivers may be inclu.
ded the EdIsto or Pom Pom; the Salkahatchle ana
the Combahee, Black River, the Fonr,nolss, &c &C.,
Inns, and presenting characters IN palpaole con-
trast with the preceding. Many OF these sour
ces fed by pure perennial springs ana otners oe,
rived by percoaon satSagn ,ns Pare cnnrse WtS
but little chance Of contamination, espeoialy near
their origin 80 that their waters exhibit charac.
ter OF great purity, until tnis ensraSser oecVes n;s
course to the ocean, by the drainage from the eX'
tensive swamps and lagoons which skirt their
borders In the lower part OF the state. Near tne
origin OF these streams their water 10 80 lmplo
that the most minute objects are visible at the
depth OF several feet, ts and whSe
some containing but little foreign admixture,
with the exception Of q small quantity OF vegesaOe m
moving as they do through leye! country, axe
sluggish In their course and after they leave tne
nd-hills they are sktrted by extensive swamps.
WHICH OfcEuOW outAA6 " ,.e 80
low places on such occasions, become the seat OF
large accumulatlons OF putrescent stagnsnt wa.
u ter which, when neglected, becomes fruitful
sonrce OF Inaarious diseases But here, as In most
OF the affairs OF life, good and evil go hand IN
hand These very swamps, oftentlmes miles IN
extent exhibit the most fertile soil In the world
and is is only necessary to apply judicious sys
tenn OF levees and drainage to render them neal
H thy and OF inexhaustible productiveness.
10 the third class OF rivers belong the Cooper,
the Ashley, Wando WRccamaw, Sampit, Sto-
no, Ashepoo, Pocatallgo, Coosaw, Broad, New,
May, &C.; and to these must be added the
numerous tnets and bays skirtlng and IN
dentng the Atlantic coast. These consist, ior
| the most part Of prolongations or arms OF the
sea, which, however, present. something OF mex.
| ed character; inasmuch as, while they belong
chiefly to the domain Of the ocean, they are fed OF
their heads by fresh water, derived from lnnu-
| merable extensive swamps and the drainage from
the adjacent country. They are generally large
| In PROPORTION to their length, and many OF them
are Influenced by the tide almost to their source.
But In this respect, great variety is observed &C.
y cordlng to the character or the seasons. Thus
when the latter are dry, and the head waters are
deficient, these streams are salt or pracHlsn lor
some miles from the coast, as far even as the In
uence OF the tides extends; but IN times OF lresh.
cts, they are often fresh almost to the entrance
into the ocean, owing. to the greatly increased In.
nux OF fresh water from the surface and sWamps
of the Interior which efectually resist the innux
OF the tides. The influence OF these relations has
an important bearing upon the hygienic and otn'
er characters OF the State which Will receive at'
tention In another portion Of this report .,,,,
A collateral condition associated with tnese
| rotate OF The