The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-02-07


and millions of dollars invested in
land and machinery. THERE'S capital
here from Boston, New York, Balti-
more, Richmond, Pittsburg, Charles
ton, Savannah, Augusta and Atlanta.
But all is not gold that glitters. Of
these thirty companies only sixteen
are in actual operation. Of these six
teen only seven have made any money.
There is phosphate enough, but every
thing depends upon management and
location. I visited one plant six
miles in the country that is being op-
Grated by a receiver. What a busi-
ness this has got to be! The receiv-
er! There ought. to be book upon it
just like the books for lawyers and
doctors and other professions. It
should be made a textbook in the
schools. I think I would name it
'The Lawyers Harvest, the Creditors
Grave and the Stockholders Funeral. "
But this phosphate business is yet in
it's infancy and improved methods Of
mining and washing will soon be in
vented. The Peruvian Islands are
exhausted, and now nature unlocks
another storehouse in Florida that
seems sufficient for centuries to come.
"What is it ?" I asked. ''Is it ami
NAL, vegetable or mineral ?" 1t is a
mixture of all, they say, but chiefly
mineral. found some sharks teeth.
They abound in all Of it-sbarks' teeth
from one-fourth of an inch to four
inches in length. Some of those an
tidiluvian monsters must have been as
large as young whales, but how in the
world did they all congregate on this
peninsular when the great convulsion
came that upheaved it? Verify the
world is full of mysteries, and we know
nothing hardly. Fortunes have been
made here by the few who are shrewd
and bold and who had good judgment
and foresight. George W. Scott has
sold part of his holdings for fabulous
sums. He owned miles of phosphate
lands on Peau River. Mr.. Codling-
ton, the genial, energetic Yankee
Mayor, of Boston, bought largely at
from IS to $40 an acre and sold for ten
times that amount. I was his guest.
'I fit again you" said he, "but have
come down from Michigan to live with
you and I found cordial welcome.
If the railroads would reduce trans
portation to l cent mile thousands
of good, hardy people from the North
would come down, first to see, and
then to stay, and the result in a few
years would be perfect harmony be-
tween the sections"
What every town in the South needs
is leader-a man of nerve and enter
prise. Our people will follow, but
they fear to lead. Mr.. Codlington is a
power in Barlow and will soon have
waterworks and an electric plant and
street cars and another railroad. He
has been a great traveller and lived
years in Peru while Henry
Meiggs was building railroads there
for the Government. He designed
and built gas plant near the apex OF
the Andes mountains for the sole pur-
pose of lighting the tunnel that
Meiggs bored for his wonderful rail-
road-a road that cost $25, 900, 600.
That gas plant is $4,000 feet above the
sea level. Everything for the railroad
and the gas plant was carried up cliff
roads on the backs Of mules-3OO
pounds to the mule. Just think of
it Yankee genius, yankee pluck was
behind it all. They are a wonderful
people.
"When Yankee is good he is very
good, indeed, but when he is bad he is
horrid." And that is what they
think of us, I reckon.
I saw a skunk yesterday as it CROSS
ed the road few miles out Of town.
1t was a beauty. Our dog tackled it
forthwith, and then-but you must
ask the dog for futher particulars.
BILL ARP.
Bitten by Rattler.