The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-09-14

not minute before fully thirty five
women and old men were at the door
of the store room They huddled around
in groups. No one had anything to say
and things reminded one very much of
such scene as might be anticipated
with colored female suffrage. One wo-
man after another would walk up in
r turn TO answer the prescribed ques-
lions. Then she would open a bag or
spread cloth to receive her apportion-
ment af grist or meal, fold it up and
walk away. There was no word of
, lhankS, no smile Of appreciation, moth.
ing whatever to in nhicate either pleas
ure or dissa tistaction. Had it been
Dushel instead of quart of grist 1t
would perhaps have been the same
NO one could have told the difference
by any change of countenance. There
were no indications of any surprise,
gratitude or other emotions. There
seemed to be stOlid indifference. Per-
haps they expected food, but the more
probable explanation is that hunger
has not been felt. A month from today
grlSt will be received with far more
thanks, and the one woman who said :,
",Ihank zee boss," would not he alone
The supply of meat and other food
stuff had not reached Dale's store.
There might be a great deal for me
to say about my trip to Dale's Point,
on Ladies' Island and CoosaW Island
There is an awfully sad story to be
told of the destruction and damage
done at these points. AS the Latlns
would say, the foot of Hercules is to be
seen and wherever his footprints are
recognized there has been d fearful de-
Structlon. OF all the places yet visited
CooSaW Island seems to have been the
worse swept The storm seems to
| q I'm hn Ia
exposed island and inundated the en-
tire place, excepting the few high
points. AS the Bessie came up to
DaleS Landing it was found that the
wharf had been blown away, so the
landing had to be made in boats. At
TINS point there was once IA high bluff,
but so fierce were the waves that ithad
been almost completely washed away.
Just about two hundred yards from
the water front are the stores and ware
houses of Dale 4 Co. The gin house
has been undermined and is almost Il
complete ruin. The handsome two
story house of Mr.. ID. +. karcher has
been comp pletely washed away. There
is not sign of it left. Fortunately
, there were no lives lost on the point"
The crops are almost entirely destroyed
from the effects OF the salt water which
, covered them.
Take a little canoe and 90 over to
CooSaW Island, which is adjacent to
, Cow Island, and you will see fearful
picture. If you can't see you can smell
OF the dead. The ruin on these two is
| lands is terrible to realize. 1t is almost
appalling. On Coosaw most of the
, houses have been washed away, indeed
only eight are left standing, and on
| Cow Island the homes OF Jacob John.
son, Glover, Allen, Hayward, Green,
| RrOUn Dol ri,
the dim past. Out of Il population of
not ever 300 Pm told there were 42
drowned. by unanimous consent | got
this list Of the dead on Coosaw Island:
fose Washing Joe Drayton -. Z
tons family. Lena Middleton. )
Mall Flnney..~. l Rose Polite "
Nancy Wilson,. 1 Liza Bonner 49,. 4
lieoecca Brown. l Sclpio Hayward. &
Jane Edwards. . = Mailly Brown. )
There is a curious superstition that
anyone drowned should be buried on
the he !ch. They cannot be put in Il
conSecrated graveyard. This idea must
nave induced the negroes on Cuosaw
Island t" dig trenches along the water
front and there bury their dead. About
two miles from the head of the island
be' Ween two palmetto trees, there are
two mounds OF fresh earth. Under
th"rn are fortv-tWo of the storms dead
one to be one hundred and thirty feet
long and the other ninety The one
nearest the water Is already being
, lcvelled by the effects Of the tide. 1t
VIII not be long before the last trace of
a seaside burial will be Obliterated
The negroes do not seem to know
whence this custom originated, but the
oldest of them said it had been done as
long as he could remember. Possibly
1T Is done to check suicide by down
ing. Has anyone else an explanation L?
AS you land on Coosaw Island there
is little rudely constructed shanty.
mere once stood the store Of Mr.. John
!, rope. The remnants Of it are now
sc ctCltred on the beach on the opposite
Slde OF the river. Mr.. Pope thinks
ChaI ne has had about enough of island
lie. Next comes the island black
smith. There is no spreading chest
NUT, no shop, or anything else left for
hllh' The anvil shows where the place
: was once located. AS you go on the
neach the smell from the dead and un-
buried animals becomes intense and
almost unbearable. Whole settlements
OF SIX and eight families were COM
pleteiy 0Dllterated. In one place where
seven houses once stood we could not
llnd even the palmetto underpinnine.
All was gone The wreckage was com.
plete The SeabroOk place, which is on
Il blum, was unhurt and the crops in
that vicinity are alive and indicate
what there once was on the island.
, Ihe two Baptist churches were de-
Stroyed. Along the main road through
the centre of the island we could de.
tect the former location of houses by
the presence of Il stove or bureau, or
a few posts.
The surviving negroes are crowded
together In the houses that stood the
Sloim, and In the shelters they have
oullt. Some portion of the crop on this
lSiand, perhaps an eighth, has been
saved. Ihe balance OF il is ruined by
cne COMPUTATION of salt water and
n wlhu. wherever the salt water COW
kiIaa nn 'He i COTTON and potato crop it
u hlIleu ~. Ihere seems to have been
some cotton ripe, and this can be picked
Ont. Ihat the WIVES counrnd ,,llnri 81