The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-08-02
Thirty.Six Years Ago.

thought it would be very interesting
to your readers to talk a little of olden
times.
Those old enough will remember
that 1857 was bad crop year, and if
they can think of the cause they will
no doubt recollect that frost and cold
weather was the trouble. Itfrosted in
1857 ten months of that year in middle
Georgia.
The farmers planted crop after
crop to have them blasted by cold and
frost.
Not only the crops suffered, but
every living thing In May the bark
on young, tender persimmon and 9TH
er young trees were frozen and many
Of them killed. In places the corn
was killed down to the ground after
being plowed. The replanted cotton
made poor yield and things looked
gloomy.
June was visited with white frost
and the weather was cold. Men cut
wheat with jeans coats on and had fire
to warm their hands.
Fortunately fewer cranks and prog
nosaicators lived in that time, hence
there was less said about nature 8
strange freaks and few complaints.
The farmer bit his lips and bore his
losses and did not cry out against
the laws, nor did he plead for free
money.
Money was scarce, but the cribs and
smok ehouses were well filled from the
bountiful supply Of 1856.
The people considered economy and
studied it, but did not practice it's
teaching to any extent. They did get
to counting the ears Of corn to the
horses and measuring the baskets for
the mules instead of recklessly over
feeding.
No planter thought of using western
corr or meat. I never saw western
sack of corn or -four nor piece OF
store meat until after the war. Ev-
erybody had credit, but the idea Of
buying corn or meat never occurred to
planter in my neighborhood. Corn
| was so scarce that the hogs we're turn
ed cut on the pea fields to fatten and
the cattle food (peas and corn shucks)
was fed to the mules, and wheat was
used. for feeding the negroes at the
quarter instead of corn. The wheat
bread was not snowflake biscuits nor
hot coils exactly, but ground into meal
just as corn, the'sifter doing the bolt
ing. While this bread was not very
white nor light it was healthy and
good.
I never saw any kind of provisions
bought except sugar, rice, syrup,
cheese, tea and coffee. Everybody
had plenty and to spare. Cotton was
a surplus crop to be used in buying
more lands and negroes. But for put
ting that surplus in that direction
many planters, whose negroes cost as
much then to feed, clothe, doctors
bills, tax, interest on money and rails
ing negro children as it would to hire
thena now, would have had large bank
| accounts which, if invested in facto-
ries or otherwise, would have made
our southern country the richest in
the world. and the only reason now
why our country is not the richest is
that our people, in. city and country,
| are racing with the foreign buyers to
buy more western produce than is ex-
ported.
TIE towns and cities in olden times
got their lard and hams from the
farmer. Hotels had arrangements,
| not with stores nor commission hou-
| ses, but with farmers, for butter, eggs,
hams, beef, mutton, chickens, ETC., at
| prices lower than now and goods bet
| ter. Lard was hot fat, butter was
made Of cream, beef and mutton was
delivered on the day it was killed.
The Gowns swapped dry goods, coffee,
sugar, ETC., for all the produce needed.
Old hams, fresh from salt, hickory
ashes and black pepper, whose saving
power and aromatic influences were
| transmitted to the meat and which
gave abundance of red gravy, were
| common on every breakfast table,
| with corn meal batter cakes, when sau-
sage, with it's sage extract, was not In
season with hot wafles. Such an
immense amount Of produce can be
raised again. Corn and wheat and
peas will grow as well as ever, and
where there are plenty of these you
find hogs, cattle, sheep and poultry
in abundance. Land is as rich to-day
as ever, and it is all here yet, and the
only thing our country needs is to keep
our money at home.-A. j. Walker, IN
| atlanta Constitution.