Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-03-27
M1istellameuns &eadiug.
For the Yorkville Enquirer.
TEXAS OYERESTIMATED.
FORT MILL, S, c., March

For the YorkVlle Enquirer.
TEXAS OyEREsTIMATED.
FORT MILL, S. c., March 8.
Editor of the Enquirer: The Tucker, Tex
as, correspondence of your paper which ap-
having an attack of "Carolina fever" because
preferred to leave that State, to which [
had but recently emigrated and return to
my old home in York county, S. g., requires
an answer at my hands, even though may
appear to have been dilatory in giving to
the public my objections to Texas, which
objections, not drawn from fancy, but found
for the yearning to turn my face from the
wilds of Texas to the fertile hills and val
leys of old York. My attack Of ''Carolina
fever' was produced by an insidious at
tack of fever of another type, known in
South Carolina as "TeXas fever" AS /
have intimated, it is insidious in its fatal
work, and often lures its victim to ruin
before he knows the crisis has been reached.
Luckily for me, anticipated the culmlna-
ting point and averted the catastrophe on
the homeopathic theory-by a vigorous ap-
plication of a similar disease, but of the
Imilder and less insidious type, happily and
by your Tucker correspondent Wittily term
ed "Carolina fever"
I was induced to sell out my possessions
in York and move to Anderson county, Tex
as, and l candidly say that was not at all
pleased with my experience. admit that
the land is naturally fertile; but the fer
tility of the soil is poor recompense Tor
the many disadvantages in the State aS
compared with life in South Carolina. |
was not only deceived in the country, but L
had some relatives in that State who induc-
ed me to move out there, and by their mis-
representations was induced, with my wife
and little children, to fOrsake the comforts OF
a home in South Carolina for all the dis
comforts incident to a life in new, thinly
settled country which characterize as being
the most disagreeable place that nave eV-
er seen.
The Tucker correspondence to which
have referred, and which appeared in the
ENQUIRER of December Goth, 1888, was
written by my brother, who treated rather
fippantly the subject of my return to
nv old home in Fort Mill. 1t is with
some temerity that | attempt anything
so entirely out of my line as TO write
a reply to his structures; he the ''clty drug
gist" of the water station of Tucker, on the
| International and Great Northern Railroad,
in Anderson county, Texas! He treats so
lightly my reasons for returning to South
Carolina, that almost feel it to be my duty
| to come to his assistance in recommending
the country, for his letter indicates that ne
wants to build up that State in order to build
up himself; and may say that so far as his
sales of medicines counted, he lost !good
customer when left. He says the health OF
Texas is good; but say it is not: during
a residence of ten months there and my
family were sick more than half the time:
NV brother says we had a few chills, and
that he, as the "city druggist" prescribed
for u.s. but we would not take the medicine.
WE'LL I don't know that he ''prescribed"
very much, but do know that he was al
ways ready to sell us his drugs, and that L
went to his 'city drug store" pretty often.
The "city druggist" says that we were to
I will not pretend to say. Perhaps bad wa
ter and bad climate contributed nothing to-
wards our sickness, and if there is any
doubt upon the subject, / am willing. to
leave it to the superior intelligence OF his
own medical wisdom, as the city drug
gist," to decide the question. AS to water
! in the city of Tucker Station, l can say
that when 1 reached that delectable spot,
nv brother was using water out OF a mere
mud hole on the side of the railroad TINS
was afterwards improved upon by the water
tank of the railroad when the pump was
put into operation ; but in either case the
water had to be strained to free it from
tadpoles and polywogs before it could be
used.
The "city druggist" who prescribed SO
faithfully for me and my family, not visit
ing us much when we were sick, but always
ready at home to "prescribe" for US and sell
us drugs, also gives as reason why l re-
turned home that wanted to be near my
wife's relations. Well, must confess, and
| take pleasure in making the acknowledge
ment, that my Wife'S relations are very
kind to me. and in case of illness here,
would "prescribe'' for us as readily as he
did, but fortunately, on that score, | am
| now in a locality where there are intelligent
physicians, whose reliable prescriptions,
with medicines, are not altogether so eX-
| pensiye as the scientific compounds and con-
| coctions of the city druggist of Tucker
Station, Anderson county, State OF Texas
Nor are all our physicians confined to the
| cities, as in the case Of the "clty" OF which
my brother is so conspicuous citizen.
Perhaps every reader will not recognize
the name of Tucker Station. TO those who
NAV not recognize the important city by
| that name, I will say that it was formerly
known as Douglas Station, but it was after
wards changed to Tucker, in honor of Will
liam Tucker, a representative in the Leg
islature. Mr.. Tucker is now dead, and the
sole inhabitants of the city are the surviv-
ing members of his family and the family
of my brother, on whom, as he has already
proclaimed, devolve the arduous and re-
sponsible duties Of ''city druggist" But
while the emoluments of the city druggist
may not be so great, especially when the
third and last family in the city refused to
| take his medicines, what must be said OF
the average physician of that State whose
scale of prices is so graded as to go TOR your
pocket-book heavily, no matter what the
disease for which they are summoned:
For "ordinary chills" the fee is from seven
ty-five cents to one dollar per mile to visit
patient. l paid one physician 81 and an
other Sc for visiting my family one time
each, and though they treated US for chills, l
will not deny that these exorbitant charges
had something to do with producing the
"Carolina fever" so lightly spoken Of by
the Getty druggist" of Tucker Station.
But of his sneers at me for leaving that
State l have said enough, and replying to
them in my own way am no more cauStlc
than was he in his petulant account OF my
return home. Of the State of Texas and
the innumerable disadvantages it presents
to the emigrant accustomed to the bareSt
comforts of home life in South Carolina,
I have not the time to write, nor have you
the space in which to print it. He and 9TH
ers may urge that l did not remain in Texas
long enough to become acclimated. But |
claim that remained there too long, and
should certainly have left sooner than did
if circumstances would have permitted. y
maxim with me is if a man moves to bad
country, or if he falls into bad company, 1t
is better for him to get away from the con-
taminating influences Of either at the ear
liest pOssible moment; and when confront
! od NV both at the same time, he should has