Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-03-04
NOTES ON THE WING.
From our Farmer Correspondent on His
Way Through the south.
TmE DE Snrn SnNnnnah On
Feb. II, 1892.


will the readers of The Phoenix kindly ac-
company me on a short excursion Of about
eight miles to the oldest plantation in
South Carolina? In 1873 the title to this
estate was transferred from the crown of
England to a gentleman by the name of
| Bull, who came into the wilds of Carolina
with all the aristOcratc ideas of name and
inheritance He surrounded himself with
all that money could buy, not forgetting i'm
later years to add the fashionable commodity
of the period negro slaves. In time these
last grew to an army of retainers. Forests
were fellcd. and trees and shrubs were
| transplanted in artistically arranged groups
and groves. Gardens were cultivated, eX-
otics of a sub-tropical origin nestled in by
ways and hedges. Large fields Of cotton
were cultivated for profit A mansion,
! rude but majestic, arose in the midst of
| perennial verdure, an educated, kind ge-
/ nial and valuable addition to the infant
/ colony of these early years. Sons and
| daughters adorned the interior of this rus
| tie home, as nature had already the eXte-
| rior
/ At extreme old age its head was gather
ed to his fathers and the right of primo
/ gcniture awarded these broad acres to the
/ oldest son. who cmulatcd his father in
/ good deeds, and especially in going to the
! Established Church and raising negro
| slaves. Two more generations succeeded,
| the second Of which furnished a governor
] f1r rho frr,Ntipo g,InpN of TIuutt.p,t a,,J
/ English extraction. GOV. Bull was known
| far and wide. counties, towns. rivers and
negroes bearing his name. His death oc-
CURED i'm 1871. \ monument Of rude con
struction attcstN to his goodness and virtues
| in grandiloquent terms. Other generations
of Bulls followed. Grander and more
modern buildings took the place of those
previously erected, bricks and other accesso-
rics for construction being brought from
Europe to complete them Wealth had
followed in the track of enforced labor
| slaves increased. cotton was king, and the
/ Bulls were secretaries of the eXchequers
! Thus matters continued until 1865, when
| the retinue of retainers exceeded 1000. and
| the broad acres were four times that num-
| Der. \ cloud of dust appears one day on
! the Southern horizon. There is no time
/ for hesitation. 1t is the advance Of Sher-
mans victorious army, Apply the torch
and run for your lives, all Of you '-- this
was the last BuU issued from this splendid
| home.
For years this scene of enchantment has
rested, quiet as the tomb of its founder.
| Huge live oaks in long rows stand in sol
emn grandeur festooned with flowing tress-
es of moss on trunk and limb. Stately
| groups of magnolias with velvet foliage,
tall palmettoes with plumed tops, sway in
the soft February breeze. Roses on bush
es 1870 years old. now grown to trees, fill
the air with fragrance, and the eye with
beauty. Japonicas, honeysuckles and
| hundred other charms of natural beauty
! surround the beholder. new owner has
come to control this wilderness of luxury,
to trim and train this prohigate waste of
nature in graceful FORMS and stay the eX-
cess of growth, while adding new charms
to the long neglected trellises and bowers.
| The last Bull, sullen, helpless, friendless
and beggar, living in his declining years
on the aims proffered by his former slaves,
! and the kind hand of his successors, at last,
! in 1889, went the way of all the living, moth
! ing remaining of these six generations of
! Bulls but the monument above mentioned,
! the ruins by fire set with his own hands,
and his prefix to county, town and river.
\ new era has dawned on this once
! charming estate. Modern modes of culti-
walton have succeeded the rude. wasteful
methods of olden time. The owner leav-
| ing Windham county, Vermont, a poor
lad, ~ years ago, and now the proprietor
of the best hotel in Charleston, utilizes the
! products of these fertile acres as supplies
for his hotel. Kline and swine in goodly
numbers, and fowl i'm endless variety, sa-
lutte you, each in its proper location.
Acres of growing vegetables in nicely cul-
tivated rows and forward growth tempt the
visitor on all sides. A modern villa, smart
in color and cornice, stands near the
hearth stone of the forgotten Bulls. We
gather flowers from the strange shrubbery
about us, enter the carriage and drive back
to the city with the owner, strangely inn
pressed with what we have heard and seen.
Let the reader behold the picture, read the
lesson, apply the moral, wonder at the re-
suit!
The direct line from Charleston to Sa-
vannah is by the Atlantic Coast railway,
which is built as near tide water as is prac-
ticable, rendering the journey uneventful,
as the lands at this season of the year are
mostly covered with water from the swollen
rivers that are frequently seen pouring their
mighty torrents of turbid waters into the
broad Atlantic. Rice is the principal prod
uct, and the population is sparse and rude
ly cabined. Savannah is truly a CONNER
cial city. Steamers large and small plough
the broad waters of the noble river in all
directions, calling attention to their where
abouts by puff and whistle. Great ships,
trim built barges and schoOners lie anchor
ed at the wharves, or lashed to snortng
tugs, covered with buntings, are moving
rapidly out to sea. Long lines of cars fill
ed with cotton cover the yard to be COM
pressed to one-fourth the size of plantation
package, wharves and piers filled with
thousands of barrels of turpentine and
rosin and a miscellaneous variety of in
coming freights, all tend to impress the