The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1890-02-21
THE INVENTOR OF THE COTTON GIN.

III 1ToU, nj the little hamlet of West
borough, Mass, (now town of 5000 in
habitants) the son of poor farmer first
opened his eyes upon the light.
Tho puritan parents soon christened tbes%
babe Eli. The bright little yankee boy soon
adjusted himself to his surroundings, and
became the fond hope of his parents, and
wonder to his companions and school-fellows
on account of his ingenuity in manufactur-
ing toys and play things. lmbued with that
craving thirst for knowledge which always
possesses great minds, he went to Yale Col
legc, Conn and there developed the latent
powers within him. While in College he
used to repair the philosophical apparatus
| with remarkable nicely, to the great ndmi-
ration of professors and students. Having
| in 1892 worked his way through College
without assistance, rs determined and sue
| cessful boys often do, he immediately came
to Georgia as a yankee school teacher. -
Finding situation near Savannah, he began
to teach, but soon becoming sick he was in
| vicd by one of his patrons, Mrs. Nathaniel
| Green. wife Of the famous Gen. Green of the
| Revolution, to reside at her house till he
should recover.
One day in the Fall. of 1892, several
Georgia planters assembled at the house of
Mrs. Green. Some of these planters had
been officers under the command of Gen.
Green, and they had called, naturally enough,
to pay their respects to the widow of their
beloved commander. The conversation
turned upon the depressed condition of the
Southern States since the close of the war.
(EiOw have these events returned to us after
the lapse of 9S years.) The planters were
generally in debt, their lands were mort
gagged, their products afforded little profit,
and many of the younger and more enter
r-;.;-e people were moving AWAY.
These planters agreed that the cause Of
thfs state OF things was the d,Hr"hy of rails
ing cotton with profit, owing to the great
labor required in separating the fibre from
the seed. The fibre of the cotton adhere so
tcnaciously to the seed that TO get one pound
Of clean cotton, without wasting any, re-
quired a mholc days labor. 1t was this
fact that rendered the raising of cotton so
little profitable, and kept the SouthcrE
States from sharing in the prosperity cnh
joyed by the States of tho North after tin
close Of the revolutionary war.
After considerable discussion, one of the
gentlemen remarked that perhaps the work
could be done by n machine.
| Mrs. Green then remarked: "Gentlcmcn
apply to my young friend Mr.. Whitney, he
can do anythug'
During his residence with Mrs. Green he
had made her children many curious toys,
and also fer her n tambour frame on "A new
and much improved principle; hence her
advice, "apply to my young friend, Mr..
Whitney, he can do anything"
Few words have ever been spoken on this
globe that have had such important and
memorable consequences rs this smblc
observation by Mrs. Nathaniel Green.
She now introduced Mr.. Whitney to her
friends, who described to him the difficulties
under which they laborcd.
lie told them he had never seen pod of
cotton in his life. Without making any
promises to them, he resolved to procure
some raw cotton Immediately and see what
he could do with it. Searching around the
neighborhood, he at length found some un
clean cotton, and taking home a buIa11nSSit