The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-02-28

four to ten pounds eacn. Daflng tne
fish season. the most Of the colored peo-
pie, not only boys, but many men also,
engage in this business as their only oc-
cnpation. There being so many anglers,
fish is necessarily very cheap. In the
cool of the evening, particularly moon
light nights, the young men and ladies
have q delightful time gliding over the
smooth surface Of the lakes in row and
sail boats. Young people, above all
others, know. how to appreciate this kind
Of Amusement. The city is growing now
perhaps more rapidly than at any ;other
time in her history. A grand Agricul-
tural College is now being built. The
brick aud lumber are upon the ground,
and the corner stone will be laid at an
early day by the Masonic fraternity.
The city and county together bought the
land 600 acres, and are to build the
{ College structure, and the State, I think.
appropriates $40, 900 annually to meet all
expenses. Since it was known positively
that the College would be located there,
property at once began to increase in
value. Not only is town property ad.-
yancing, bat lands all over the county
are becoming more valuable too. The
railroad facilities are becoming better
also. One road now runs through the
centrs, or near the centre, from East to
West. Another road is running through
the Southwest portion of the county !;
and another still has been surveyed, and
work will commence about the 1st of
March. This road will run North and
South to intersecs the Florida Central at
Lake City. Il will run through the best
portion of the county, both as regards
agriculture and fine timber. This road
will start at Gainesville, some thirty
miles South Of us, and run to Macon,
Ga, via Lake City. Georgia has given
charter from Macon to the Florida
hue, This last mentioned road is sure
to be built, for some sixteen miles of it
are already graded and ready for the
iron. So we will be we'll supplied with
railroad facilities. From my house I can
now onsa calm day hear the whistle of
the locomotives of two different roads,.
the survey of the third runs in hun
dred yards of my dwelling.
The country for three or four miles
3 around Lake City is very poor; the sands
are deep and SO white as almost to injure
the eyesight, but soon the land improves
and continues to improve until the end
of this and the middle of the county
South of us is reached. Though this
county was1first settled near forty years
ago. yet there was no rapid increase of
population till within the last fifteen
yeais. Since then the increase has been
Iapid. Before that period the bulk of
travel and immigration were centred in
those counties that were more accessible.
South Florida was their objective point,
because the st. John River could trans,
port them 80 easily. But railroads now
traverse, or soon will traverse, this coun:
tyin every direction, and people will see
that one Of the best counties of the State
has been most entirely overlooked
The people who: have filled up this
country are almost to a man Southern,
intensely Southern in their sympathies
!, and politics. They welcome all good
citizens among them; they truly give
them the right hand of fellowship. I
find that everybody l meet with is from
Georgis or South Carolina. Those from
Abbeville are familiar names, such as
Hawthorne, Hogan, Wilson, Lites and
q host of Others who are good men and
true. From Spartanburg we have the
Whetstone, Means, (seversl families Of
the Means). and from Anderson there is
but small representation-Rev. d. W.
Humphreys and myself are the only rep
resentatives that can now r"cell. From
Edge6eld there are great ma'sy, and as
for Georgia there is no end to them I;
their name is simply legion. And it is
wonderful that among all these people
/ see none but who are getting along
we'll. They are good citizens and we'll
to-do farmers. They came here with
very limited means. but with energy and
economy they have succeeded in making
their condition independent. Indeed,
some of them have grown rich. Aud
had they have had the forethougat and
planted out orange groves when they
first came here they might have been the
wealthiest people in the State. 1t has
been only within the last few years that
they have turned their attention to
orange culture, and almost everybody
now has thrifty young grove, and many
of them deriving handsome profits from
them.
Game is not plentiful in this county.
The wild animals, like the wild Indians,
have gradually retreated before the
march of civilization. While few deer
and turkeys are occasionally seen, yet it
would pay no man to hunt. But I am
told by men who are familiar with the
grounds that there are places net very
far off where game is abundant. Some