Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-09-04
SA-oD I.cA II
Sept. 2d, 1874.
4; ayeiGcviiic-'Che TNkay Vine. ;issi-
Chatham County.
TICTsBoEo, Chatham County.
August 3Ist. 1874

FI-TsBoEo, Chatham County
August 3lst. 1874
Dear J0UTnu{:
Some slight sketch of my "exper;-
eEces" during the last few days may
not prove unlnterestij 6 to portion,
at least, of yc1lr many readers.
| left Wilmington on Wednesday
last, on the good steamer ID. Murchi-
son, commanded by that efficient off
Ger and perfec gentleman. Capt. Alon-
20 GARRISON. Having left Jour city an
hour behind time, and having III tow a
fat containing the boiler of the burnt
steamer r. Z. Lee, destined for the
Wave, which is now being remOdeled
at Fayetteville, [ did not reach that
good old town until about II o'clock
CT Thursday morning, and hence was
compelled to wait there until Friday
morning, as I was too late to catch the
train. l found the merchants of
Fayetteville complaining very much of
the dull times; business, they said, was
perfectly awful and had heen through
out the entire summer. Yet l found
many evidences of 81 substantial pros
perity, and many new buildings, some
Of them very handsome residences,
had been been built up since 7 was
last there, in the spring of '73.
About half past one o'clock, just os
I was about to sit down to dinner, the
alarm of fire was raised. It was caused
by the burning of fine, large, two
story frame dwelling house, on the
corner of Russell and Gillespie streets,
owned and occupied by DIR. Daniel
Mcdonald. The fire caught on the
roof, probably from defect in the
the chimney and burned very slowly
as there was no wind to fan the flames.
The entire fire department were
promptly on hand but could not save
the building owing to deficiency of
water. They all, white and black,
worked most manfully, but unavailing-
ly. The furniture was all removed,
but the house was entirely consumed.
The dwelling house only was burned.
The loss was estimated at s., COO,
about $4,000 of which was covered by
insurance.
lY. Captain GARRISON called for me.
about 3 o'clock. and drove me out to
the far-famed Tokay Vineyard, stu
ated about 81 miles above Fayetteville.
on the river. This vineyard is certain
ly well worth seeing, as it is one of the
largest in. the State It is the
property of Messrs. H. r. Horne
& Co., who form the Tokay Wine
Company and covers IS acres of
land. There are some 5000 vines on
the place, 5000 OF which are bearing ::
comprising five varieties of the Soup
pernong grape and six of bunch grapes.
The yield this year will be something
In < E1Ic hnl 1f IL
ordinary yield is from Is, 600 to 20, 900
gallons per crop, and in a few years
it is expected to increase the product
to $4,000 gallons per annum. The
wine (of which we tasted five varieties)
finds ready market. Some of it is
shipped to New York but the bulk of
IL is consumed in the Southern States.
The vineyard is about Is years old,
but dropped back very much during
the war. At its close work there was
resumed and now we understand that
the enterprise is paying handsomely.
The works are under the charge of
Prof. dHenreuse, French gentlemen
of much ability and experience in the
business. Mr.. Buie, the Superinten-
dent, to whom our party are Indebted
for kind attention, is evidently an en-
oiSOSiC, CtpiDIS SeutteElau, ana one IN
whose hands the vineyard is bound to
prosper.
1 find here, in Chatham county, that
the farmers have much to complain of
in the partial failure of their wheat
crops, and latter, the almost total loss
of fruit caused by the late frosts.
Still, they have almost forgotten these
little material drawbacks in the hearty
JOY they all feel over the recent glori-
Gus victory, which blessed the Demo-
cratic arms. Chatham has not only
redeemed herself, but she stands to-
day full head and shoulders above
many of her sisters. The full political
status of this county seems not to be
well understood. The county is posi-
lively democratic, yet the majorities
have widely varied during the last
three elections. In 1870 Ships ma