Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-08-17
BEAUFORT PEN PICTURES.
Some Facts About the Lively Little
Town.

Correspondence of tie Morning Meas.
BEAUFORT, Aug. 1S.-AnyOne visiting
Beaufort at intervals of a few months
cannot fail to notice the signs of improve
ment it exhibits from time to time. 1t is
really a miniature city, and is destined to
grow to be a larger one. We have our
cotton mill, closed now, but open again
in winter, our phosphate works, our
dredges, our revenue cutter, always on
the watch but never catching anybody
eve are all so honest and upright, our
bath house, where the Savannah and
Augusta bellies and beauX dispOrt them
selves in the brine, our brass bands, who
make night hideous with practice, our
tugs, our steamers-and as to excursions,
there never was place that had so many.
There is one from Augusta Saturday
night, one to and from Charleston Sum
day morning, besides water excursions
from Savannah and Charleston, mostly
patronlZed by the c0lOred citizens, how
ever, to whom life here seems to be one
long holiday. / don't know how deeply
they follow the old maxim of eating and
drinking, but they certainly are every,
very merryW
About mile down the river, at cold
Works and the Hume Phosphate Works.
Continually there are schooners loading
there, and now and then a mammoth
steamship, with its big black hull, is
dragged up by the never wearying tug
and then drops down stream again. A
little higher up is Cages lumber mill,
where there was an Italian schooner load
ing not long ago, and, finally, along the
bluff and curYing round the point we have
the town itself, which is as pretty a little
place as one sees, and with health that
will compare with any other seaport town.
Down on the business part of Bay street
a big traffic is carried on, and Saturday
afternoon a rich harvest reaped by the
lucky shopkeeper, for on that evening
gentlemen from the phosphate works
come to spend their evenings.
One would hardly credit the amount of
money that changes hands on Bay street.
The narrow stores are giving place to
larger ones, and everything exhibits the
signs of progress and improvement.
Everything, perhaps, except the Beau
fort hacks and hack horses. They never
change! The steeds may die, but, like the
dragons teeth, new crop springs up of
exactly the same style. All, from their
appearance, live on oyster shells. Every
day phantom horses rush madly down to
meet phantom passengers, and not meet
ing them rush wildly back, to repeat the
considered nObler to wear out than to rust
out, and if so, these steeds are a noble
race; they always ''die with their boots
OnI'
To those who have never seen the
dredge at work, it is very interesting to
watch it until one gets accustomed to it.
1t looks like huge black monster
perched out in the river, groaning and
putting, sending out huge snorts of steam,
and seeming to be beating the water with
Intellectual endeavors to get away from it.
At the end of long crane, up in the
air, is a pair of huge iron jaws or claws.
Presently, by the aid of machinery, down
goes the crane, slowly but surely into the
water, opens its greedy jaws, remains a
minute under water, and then comes up
with huge, black, prehistoric lump in
its clutches, which it deposits in the
lighter alongside, and then descends again
into the regions Of the misty deep. 1t is
really almost fascinating to watch the
process.
The United States has at last performed
a tardy act of justice, in returning the
surplus taxes on forfeited lands down
here. But, alas! with the fee of 600
taken out, what will it be among so many?
OOEER-ON IN VIENNA