The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-03-26
Ditch the Greeks.

This we regard our all-lmportant
work. On either side Of us, sweeping
around our town ut a distance Of one and
two miles, are Wilson's and Cambridge
creeks. These streams stragglc all
through their low grounds, directed into
new channels every year by falling trees.
The decaying timisers and rotting vegeta-
ton, combined with the ponds left Mt Ger,
tain points after high water are fruitful
causes Of sickness. For years together
We have no fever, but let the conditions
of sickness be given and we suffer. tlea-
w rains, followed by scorching suns,
soon spread the disease. Now, outside
Of disease and death, the money paid to
doctors would ditch these streams. But
when We add to this suffering and death,
it seems to us the money ought to beforth-
coming ut once to do this important work.
The town authorities have thoroughly
opened Kate Fowler branch, and we Il"
not doubt it will greatly benefit the town.
But we must widen !: thc creeks must he
worked on. 1t "ill pay AK y matter "1
dollars and .cnts. Let us put our money
int snovels and picks instead OF calollel
and quinine. Let us go to work ut once.
The streams should be inspected by prac-
tical men. We should know what a he
done, and then prepare the ways and
means, SO that by the fall We could com
mencc operations. What do the dwcllcrs
on Cambridge and Wilson's creeks say,
and even "those in the regions beyond
and what does Ninety-Six?"
The above paragraph we take from the
Nine1y-Sir Gunrdiax of last week. We
heartily endorse the end to be accomplish
cd but whether it is better by ditchlng
u,:aJ .~.o --l 1~S,l 10 nnnn q nov
route for the creek or to secure the sa.ne
end by removing the distractions III tho
old channel is a practical question to be
decided by practical men. An intelligent
gentleman from that section recent
ly said tous that if the tops
! were removed from tho curren
proper of the streams that the
creeks would drain themselves. This is
a more practical plan and can be carried
out at a one hundrcdth part Of the cost
of ditching. To remove the brush and
old logs, however will be no child's play.
| There are perhaps not quite a million O
logs in these streams but there arc ten
times more than any man at Ninety-SiH
would suppose. We had experience once
in clearing RATS from a creek for the dis
lance OF about one mile. The hands in
search of timbers waded the stream from
the lower TO the upper part of the creek
desired to be cleared. At first, in March
or April, the work was commenced and
an innumerable number of instructions
were taken out and to all appearances the
stream was clear, and it seemed only
necessary to have a big rain or two to re-
move the sand when the bed Of the creek
would be greatly lowered. In the sum
mer q corps of hands returned and as be-
fore waded the creek in search of timbcrs
when they readily missed from the chan
mel the greatest quantities Of sand, the
disappearance of which had however un-
covered what seemed to be twice as many
logs rs were there at first. The water be-
ing low Mt this time every vestige OF tim
Der was removed. The rains of tho fol-
lowing winter swept the sand out so much
that the water in the channel was greatly
lowered, and had exposed other timhcrs
that had been lying completely bcdded
beneath the sand for years. Notably so
was an immense poplar log that had ap-
parently been cut to take to a saw-mill.
1t was so large and long that it was neces-
sary to cut in several piecss and split it.
Several large trees were found lying
across the stream, v hich had been entire
" beneath the sand.