The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-08-26
ON A GEORGIA RIVER.
LIFE ALONG THE BANKS OF THE
WORLD FAMOUS SuWANEE.


Northern Traveller How They Regarded
the Yankee Who Sought In Vain For
Their Pride In the Stream.
All the world knows of the Suwanee riv-
er through the song that has immortalized
the stream, but not one in ten can tell you
where the Suwanee river is, where it rises
or whittier IL flows. AS matter of fact
the map shows that it rises in Georgia, |
flows south through Florida and empties |
into the gulf of Mexico.
Along It's banks in Florida the land is |
low and marshy, and there Is not much In |
the scenery to inspire sentiment, tender or |
pathetic In Georgia there are many pretty |
spots along its banks, but the trouble OF
reaching them takes away, in agreat meas
ure, the enjoyment they impart.
| was disappointed in the river ard Its
scenery, but what the river lacked the ma
tives along its shores made up to me. The
Cracker" has often been deliueated and
his characteristics commented on ut length,
but he never strikes you twice alike and Is
therefore always an object for interest and
study. An unconqucrable dislike for labor
and a contentment that strangles ambition
at its birth are the most prominent traits
of his character.
Why should be poking along the river
and padding up and down without any ap
parent motive and taking pictures was
something that they could not guess with
out doing some thinking, SO they let it go
MS n mystery and when man is on mystic
rious business in that part of Georgia they
take it for granted that he is hunting for
stills.
One old fellow who was sitting on log
deluding himself with the idea that he was
fishing became 30 interested in my opera
tions for taking photograph that / could
not resist the temptation to add little by
way of extempore moves to the process. For
time was fearful lest he should dislocate
his neck trying to watch me, as l was be
hind him. Finally he compromised with his
anatomy by straddling the log / knew
that he was just dying with curiosity to
know what was doing, but wanted me to
tell him without his asking
carefully measured off triangle with
leg of the tripod and then set the camera
within the mystic lines. Then / stood at
each corner Of the triangle, where had
driven little stake, and waved my arms
in the air. ! paid no attention to the audi
ence. Then 1 focused the camera and made
the exposure incidentally. Then | laid
little train of magnesium powder from the
camera to a hollow tree near by and fired
the train. There was line of smoke, but
of course no flame showed. Then walked
to the hollow in the tree and apparently
took from the cavity dark, fat bottle-it
was full.
Without word / walked up to the old
man, who had not let u move escape him,
unscrewed the top and handed him the bot
tie. He took it, looked at me, smelled of
it-when he handed it back there was not
drop in it--all In silence. Without say
ing anything l saw who the joke was on,
put the bottle in my pocket, gathered up
the camera and walked away. When got
behind some bushes, l turned and looked
back. Tho old man was trying to pry that
dead tree open with his fishing pole.
One man that | met was not at all i'm
pressed by the fact that fate had domiciled
him near the ripping waters of the cole
brated stream. l opened conversation with
him.
"A great river, thts?" waving my hand
over the river.
Yep"
"Known all over the world. wherever the
English language is spoken"
Guess So"
"And The Suwanee River will be sung
while the language exists"
wv nat thht yer urlVln at!
"Why about this river-the Suwanee riv.
| err
"That amt no river"
"Why, that's the Suwanee river"
| mo, faint; that's ther branch"
"rhat is no branch; that is the main riv
| err"
| 81 tell you, mister, that's the branch
/ There ain's no Swanee river bout here"
ibid you ever hear OF the Suwanee riv
erYn
Nope"
ibid you ever hear the song, the Ole
Folks at IIomef'"
| "Nopen
do you like snging9"
Don't mind II leetle of ID sometimes"
"All right. I'll sing The Old Folks a
Home for you"
Strengthened up and began to sing Be
fore tho first verse had been killed he grew
uneasy and shifted from one foot to thu
other, so did not attempt the second, bu
| asked:
How do you like that2"
"Tolerablep
'Would you like some more?"
mo, you needenter mind"
VERY well, but you want to remember
that this is the Suwanee river. one of tn,
you ought to be glad that you are SO fortu
nate as to live near such a celebrated
stream"
"Glad I'm Twin herei Why, mister I'm
that dinged pore that can't live nowher,
else.n
left him. lie was too prosaic and RAJ
crossgrained to the romance was looking
for. That night when | returned to m!
boarding place they said a man had report
ed crazy Yankee running at large alonl
the branch and cautioned them to look GU
for him as he might be dangerous. The.
asked If had seen him. had not.
1t is not to be wondered at that the poe
expressed the livelest kind of a longing 70
tho old folks at home and took it out il
longing IL he was wise. He may have gam
boiled along the rivepwith his little brothe
in innocent childhood, but when he begal
to hustle for thelnXuries of life talong til
Suwanee river WAS not the place for hin
to hang out
We know, however, that affluence is no
necessary for the existence of happiness
and though the farmers along the Suwane
river do not count their cattle on thou
sand hills or contemplate gamers filled u
bursting, yet they are happy and contente,
the happiness of Ignorance, the content
ment of laziness. But the source of til
fountain is not questioned as long as it
waters satisfy,-Edwin Ralph Collins il
Newark IN. j. News.
New York as an Exception.
j. Z. Baker is in favor of dropping tn