Connecticut western news., 1876-03-03
Friday Morning, Mar. 3, 1876.
The Sunny South.

Only about forty. seven (47) hours out from New York, and we are already in summer weather. We are now otf the northern coast of South Carolina, and have spent nearly the entire day in the warm sun on the upper deck of the good steamer s.City of Austin" Our journey thus far has been one of great pleasure little rough the first night out, and several were sea sick, but the worst we had was not enough to bring his Honor, the Judge, to a realizing sense of that feature in ''a life on the ocean wave," so necessary to full un- derstanding of the case. The fact is, he wouldn't get sick worth cent, and we have the pleasure we alluded to in our ''Good Bye" item, of seeing him really and beau tifully sea sick, to anticipate for the return voyage. We left New York Thursday af- ternoon, (Feb. 17th) at quarter to five o'clock, nearly two hours behind time, and have made most excellent speed thus far, and the captain says be expects to get us in Port Royal tomorrow (Sunday) fore noon, in time to attend the Zion church of "Brudder'' Jenkins, (colored who has the honor of being the only settled minister of the Gospel at that place. We are fortunate in having an exceedingly cheerful and in telllgent company of cabin passengers, and the time goes very pleasantly by.-When only twenty-four hours out from New York, the change in the climate was very apparent, and now, a day later, we are in May weather. We passed the dreaded Cape Hatteras at about 10 1-2 o'clock Friday night, and the sea was almost as smooth as one of the twin lakes in Salisbury. Sun day afternoon we sighted the light ship off Cape Fear, and the captain says are making much better time than usual.
 PORT ROYAL, s. c.
 We arrived here at Port Royal yesterday forenoon, Sunday, Feb. 2oth,) at about g o'clock, and immediately disembarked in company with the Judge and number of the passengers to look about the place. The village is laid out in streets, which are known by being numbered, and but two or three of which have any buildings erected upon them. There is hotel in the place, and which is very presentable structure, aside from which, there is not another house that a Northerner would regard as otherwise than very plainly and cheaply constructed. The great number of them are of class that none but the most I'm : prevalent at the North would consent to occupy, and the we'll cared for stock on the farm of the Judge would murmur if invited by his Honor to accept of them for their quarters. Everything here bears the stamp of the most abject poverty. We had gone but few steps when. what we were in formed was fair sample of the canine race, emerged from the rear of house. y stood, as it were, t1ansixed with horror. gazing at the thing, for it had scarcely life enough in it to admit of being called an animal. It was tall, cadaverous, hound like concern, with long scraggy hair which pointed directly toward his ears; and he was so thin in flesh, he could hardly walk. One says he could read long primer type through his ribs, and he was not far from right. He was indeed almost transparent and looked as if stomach pump had been applied to him and sucked lemon would be plump in comparison to him in appear ance, but enough about tbe dog. We have given considerable space to this thing, and have done so because itappeared to be such an admirable type of everything else here.
 We alluded to our anticipations of attend ing service at Brother Jenkins church, but we are very sorry to say the reverend gen. tleman was absent in Charleston. His is built at hls own expense. We talk at the North about our clergy building church ed ifices, but we very much doubt if one in the whole country can boast of having built church edifice under as dlscouraging circumstances as the colored minister of Port Royal, the Rev. Mr. Jenkins. As we said above, he built his church at his own expense and pertornsed a1 tue 1a6or of cts construction himase!f. It IS built of rough boards seats, pulpit and all. The audito- rum will measure about 24x14 feet, and at one end of the roof is perched upon stick the Sabbath bell which is used to convene the worshippers, and which will weigh about ten pounds, the size being about that of large dinner bell. It is in this church structure where all the religion known here in this,-we were going to say, God-forsa- ken place,-is found. The white people sheer at the efforts of ''Brudder Jenkins" |" as they call him, and endeaYor to make sport at the expense of him as preacher and at his church, but when the damsel who came to the ooor of his humble residence as we approached Port Royals only house of worship, and said in response to some ques- uons, that he, referring to the construction
 of the church, 'd5d 0s eoeH as he couzG," she spoke grand and noble truth, and years hence when the marble slab is erect ed to the memory of those who now laugh at the result of the Rev. Jenkins labors with the extremely limited means at his command, oh that an epitaph could be truthfully inscribed upon It that would tell the visitor to the cemetery, "He did as well
 as he could.'
 The Rev. MT. Walker of Edgefeld, who
 visits this place semi-occasionally, and
 breaches whenever he can get anybody tc
 listen to him, ,,held meeting Sunday in the
 passenger car of the Port Royal railroad,
 which chanced to be standing upon side
 track here. Nearly all of the passengers
 went. and the day was properly recognized
 by divine service but an exact delineatior
 of the facts in the case, demands that this
 Southern preacher of the Gospel should be
 in common with everything else found