The tribune. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1875-02-24

ment. One steamship line now makes It
aregular stopping place, and anothe
from Liverpool promised shortly for the
export both of grain and cotton. During
the days stay at this place, the passen.
gers amused themselves exploring. the
sandy avenues, Of the future metrubolis.
This city, Is one Of magniacent dis.
tances, and 1t was q long and disGouura.g,:-
ing walk through the sand shoe. deem
before the numbered cross boards on tn.
streets ceased and We were fairly out of
its limit" Notwithstanding the forbid
ding look Of these squares Of scrub nal
metto, struggling. oaks and pond.holes.
lots are held at fabulous prices and
when an audaciors youth ofa speculative
turn proposed to take few acres IN en-.
change for ten dollar bill, his ardor wa
considerably dashed by the infor nation
that lots 30 by l50 feet commanded somn.
thing like $500.
An episode Of our. stay at Port ROYAL was
an attendance upon the evening Services
of the negro "zion's Baptist Church, :"
The Church itself Is a rude bnru. white
washed inside an6 furnished with wooden
benches. A good.sized cow-beli. huno
in box on the roof, served to call the
people together, and the consequential
darky who rang It put on as mitch an
parent labor into the operation as If he
had been manipulating the great bell at
Moscow. Pasted on the face of the mi.
PIT is print Of the crucihxion In co}ors
brilliant enough to satisfy the worship.
ping eye of the veriest high churchmar,.
The preacher was venerable darky with
a pair of new eyeglasses that afforded
him no end OF care and anxiety in their
unaccustomed use. His educati on had
evidently been sadly neglected, and the
number Of mispronunciations crowded
into his discourse would have crazed tbe
discriminating ear of dictionary maker
Inc crowning provocation to levity
among the white portion of his audience
was his unctuous giving out of the
d"ceor'-ology as the concluding hymn.
Along with companion also took an
excursion to: the ancient town of Beaufort.
ak miles up the river. The way led
through plantations of the famous sea is
land cotton, and the dry stalks and empty
bolls still marked The firrows where it had
grown. 1t was a lovely day, and the blue
birds and mocking birds sang in the bush
es by. the way.side as: if winter had no
meaning for them Beaufort is only a
visable type OF. the state of affairs that
seems to reign all over the South. Utter
stagnation marks it's streets, and every-
thing is favored with decay. Its Bay
street, lined with magnificent live-oaks
hung with their drspery of Spanish moss
to the eeaward, and its row of broad ve-
randaed mansions, built in the hospitable
southern style, is extremely attractive.
But the houses themselves have desert
ed air, and their unkempt appearance indi.
Gates only too sadly the prosperity that
mas Ned from their owners. The merry
tinkfing OF a piano that proceeds from the
closed shutters of one Of them seems alto
gether dissonant with the surroundings.
The most appropriate occupation for the
Inhabitants would seer. 20 ba perpetual
moaning of the lamentations of Jeremiah:
On the streets comparatively few whites
are seen, and these mostly the Office. hold
ing and carpet-bag persuasion, I should
judge, but the negro in all his varieties is
visible in the greatest abundance, ALSO the
customary population of gaunt "yaiief''
dogs and disgusting pigs. The continual
recurrence of, the "licensed to sell gun
powder" over the store entrances, and the
number of men and boys on the street
with guns, leads to the impression that
hunting must be the most serious employ
ment OF the towns inhabitants. The stores
themselves are quite numerous, but they
and their proprietors have q poverty
stricken appearance. Some of them hav.
the most Astounding collection of wares
imaginable and in the most laughablc
conjunction. One window, for inStarc..,
exhibits woman's hat trimmed most
gorgeously, which has doubtless been
pronounced by covetous ebony bellies
just too lovely for anything" while
surrounding it in picturesque confusion
are cans of sardines, bottled pickles and
a nlelange of tin ware and cooking uten.
sils. In the palmy ante war days Byau-
fort was something of sumnir, resort, I
believe, for the aristocracy of the interior.
and 1t has had its regular line of steamers
to New York and coasrwise, but now all
shipping has left its wharves, and utter
decay seems the only fate in: store for
it.