The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1878-09-21

the Indian boy, and heard the story,
which we have inst related from his
mothers own lips, and the narrative
above rested is believed to he liter.
ally true in all the main points and
facts stated.
Gen. Hodges father lived within a
mile and "A half of the present site
of Hodges depot, where to them were
born twenty children-ten sons and
ten daughters-,nd they were all
noted foI their activity and longevi-
ty, as out of this large number OF
children not one of them died under
sixty years of age. The General was
the oldest and remembers sitting
down to the table with all his broth
ers and sisters missing An
unbrOken household. His grand
father Anderson, mt the age of los,
had been known to walk from Swan
sey's Ferry to his house, distance
of thirteen miles, before dinner time.
! Having lived all his life within a
mile and half of his birth place, he
witnessed the great changes that had
oCtu CuCStSu iu tiic iiSt tHiec-f udi
tiers of Il century. When be first
went to house keeping there was but
little cleared land in the county and
game was so plenty that it ravaged
the crops Mrs. Hodges once having
shot deer that was feeding in their
turnip patch.
In his early days the people rolled
their tobacco to Charleston in hogs
heads with shaft in the center and
drawn by Il horse. This was before
the days of cotton gins and very
little of the great staple was then
planted-tobacco being the chief
money product of the country. The
General remembered the first car
riage that was ever in this country,
which vehicle was brought here by
Rapley, the EDglishman who owned
all the lands which was afterwards
known as the '.Beltord tract" and
being a portion of 1.-The jews Land"
the original grant of which was from
the English Crown to Salvador, the
Jew. aud hence that vast body of
land east Of Abbeville court house to
Cokesville. including all the lands
about Smithville, Douglass Mill.
Dead Fall, Hodges, the Bedford, aud
other lands. was known as ''the Jews
Land The jew lived in England
before the war, and Rapley was sent
here after the Revolution as mis-
agent and he settled on the Bedford
tract. which is now known as the
"Rapley's Shoals tract" and which
contained some three thousand acres.
He lived on this place until he died,
at an advanced age, and at his death,
which is supposed To have occurred
between 1928 aud 1880, was buried
close to his log cabin, and his grave
WAS walled around with stone, and
afterwards. when Nicholson got pos
session n the land his body was
taken up and carried either to
Charleston or England. Although
he lived in small log house, half a
mile east of Rapley's Shoals, he was
perhaps the most aristOcratic man of
his day in the upper part of South
Carolina. and prided himself upon
being the owner. and the first intro
Queer, of the fine English blooded
stock to this country. He tried to
initiate and live like the mobiles of
England, and had his stables of
bloOded stock, his race course, to
which the best horses of England
were brought, a large number of dogs
! and an immense park enclosed for
deer. To carry out his arist0cratic
notions he imported from England
the first carriage that was ever
brought to tile upper part of South
Carolina, and was considered the
greatest curiosity of the age 1t was
"a greater curiosity than the railroad
cars were in le50. People went for
miles to see it. 1t was costly We
hicle, having been made in Liver
pool. 1t was sold at Rapley's sale
and bought by Mr.. Frank Common,
the father of Col. +. A. Conner, of
Cokesbury. and after his death, at
the sale, it was bought by the Rev.
Mr.. Porter, and remained in the
community until comparatively
late date. Ii is not known what
finally became of it, The house in
which Rapley kept this carriage was
a frame building. carefully built of
hewed timber, and finer and more
costly house than his dwelling. In
1874 DR.. j. W. w. Marshall removed
it to his residence near Smithville,
and again in 1858, lie removed it to
his present residence, on Magazine
Hill, at Abbeville, where it now
stands vita the original frame and
weatherboards. His dwelling was
small hewed log house, at once a
home and fort, and in this house he
was fond of entertaining persons of
distinction who might visit this por-
ton of the country. 1t was his GUS
tom during the sitting Of the court
at AbbeviIle. to send his carriage ON
Saturday to bring the Judge and
other distinguished guests to spend
1 - 4 n.