The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-08-09
FROM THE MOUNTAINS.
CLAYTON, GA, August l,

CLAYTON, GA, August 1, 1877.
DEAR INTELL1GENcER am no news
paper correspondent, and not aware that
you desire such communication as I
shall offer to you, but it has occurred to
me that you might want something from
the mountains to mix up with your very
numerous and interesting fence law COM
munications; if so, you are at liberty to
publish this stuff.
Well, I shall be brief. Speaking of
fence laws, some intelligent people in
this mountain country, are in favor of the
change. Even here where there are large
ranges for the stock to run on the noun
tain, they think it would be bestto fence
the mountains and stock, and turn out
the valleys and crops. I am not sure
that such an arrangement would work
advantageously here, but am sure that it
would in your County, and hope at the
election which I see advertised in your
valuable paper, to be held on the 18th
inst, that the people-the whole people
will turn out and vote to fence in the
stock and turn out the crops, thus benc-
fitting the great majority of your citizens,
and more especially the laboring class,
whose interest should always be cared
for.
Your correspondent has recently trav-
eled from Anderson G. H., S. c., to
Hiwassee, in Towers County, Georgia, by
way of Franklin and Nantehala river in
North Carolina, and has seen considera-
BILE of the country embracing these sec
tions. The crops through this entire
range are generally quite an average, and
in some sections even better than usual.
One man at Hiwassee, told me that he
had few acres in corn, many stalks of
which were sixteen feet high. This looks
like living. Wheat in Macon County, N.
c., and Towers County, Georgia, can be
bought abundantly at one dollar per
bushel, and there are five mills in these
sections for grinding it into -four. There
are two asbestos mines now being worked
successfully in this county, and several
mica mines are being worked in the ad-
joining county of Macon, N. G.
These mines employ quite number of
hands, and bring good deal of money
into the country.
This county has several good mines in
it, which have heretofore been proftably
worked, even by the most simple machin-
cry. I am not sure that any of them are
now worked, as both capital and labor are
scarce here.
The people in this section very much
need the completion of the Blue Ridge
Railroad to carry to market their numer-
GUS minerals, stock, apples, &c.
The apple, chestnut, and Potato crops
are unusually fine this year, and this I
came near forgetting to mention. Can't
you get your Legislature, Gov. Hampton,
or some other man, to turn loose your
Penitentiary hands, and let them COM
plete the Blue Ridge Railroad, the most
important one, in my judgment, to your
State, as well as this section, of any other
road that might possibly be projected /!
I am interested in your people and State
as we'll as this beautiful mountain coun-
try, and desire the completion of this
Blue Ridge Railroad, three-fourths of
which is already done from Walhalla, S.
c., to the North Carolina line, distance
of about thirty-five miles; so let us go to
work and finish up this road, which will
make us all prosperous and happy.
This has been an unusually hot sum-
mer in the mountains, but you can al
ways be comfortable at night, and gener-
ally find cool place during the day. I
don't know how you people "away down
the country" at Anderson can stand this
hot weather. 1 am sure it is very hard
on my old friend, Maj. W. w. Humphreys,
who is so uery fat and stout. You ought
to send him up here in summer.
People rarely ever die here. One good
old lady, however-Mrs. Jones-lcft us
on the 3Oth of July, aged 81 years. Mrs.
Smith, Mrs. Price and Mrs. Coffee all
liv. 6 in the same neighborhood in
Checharoe District, are aged respectively,
1O5, 93, and SS years, and the two last
named are sisters. Mrs. Alex. Neville,
from Walhalla, and who is aged Is years,
came here on the 30th inst, to see her
mother the Mrs. Jones referred to, buried.
This is certainly remarkable longevity.
The husband of Mrs. Jones died some two
years ago aged about SO years.
could say much more, but must close.
Lam, sincerely, your well-wisher,
PINNACLE MOUNTAIN"