The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-12-19
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Squire Fewell'S Letter.

EDITORS INTELL1aENoER I have
been on a sort of quandary about kill
ing my Christmas hog. I wanted to
save it until just a few days before
Christmas, so that we could have back
bone and spare-ribs and sausage, for
our Christmas breakfast, and turkey
for dinner, but the moon will not be
right, according to what Joe Moore
says. I killed one two weeks ago and
Joe said was killing it exactly on the
wrong time of the moon. If [ turn in
and kill it now-that is on the right
time of the moon-the chances are
that we will have all the ribs and sau-
sage eat up against Christmas, and it
I wait until Christmas to kill, the
moon wont be right, so am at loss
to know what to do about it. "They'
say if 1 kill meat on the increase Of
the moon that it will hold its size in
cooking better than if killed on the
decreasing or waning period, but it
killed between the full and change
that we will get more grease out Of it
than if killed after the change-that
is on the new Of the moon, but for all
that, I can't see but what the hog we
killed two weeks ago is doing very
we'll. 1t tastes very we'll and "turns
out grease we'll enough.
I have heard some folks say that if
We cut board tree on the new of the
moon the boards will 'scurl' up in
half moon or crescent shape. So they
say it is best to cut your board timber
on the full Of the moon. Old aunt
Ester CAN'T, an old colored woman,
who use to belong to Mr.. Hugh CAN'T,
near Honea Path, always made her
soap on the new of the moon. She
said it made better soap and was easier
made than at any other time. She
also "set up" her blue pot on the new
of the moon. She said that she never
could dye as pretty blue on the full OF
the moon as she could when it was
new moon. Said she: II want to put
me up pot of Indigo next week, for
it will be new moon Chuseday, and I
want to get the WARRIOR Mars Hughey's
winter clothes dyed, and the wool for
the filling dyed deep blue, and getit
wove before cold weather. Aunt
Ester was the old mans boss house
keeper, and looked after the making
Of his clothing with as much interest
and pride as if she had been white
woman and his wife.
Some folks wont plant corn on the
new of the moon. They say it will
grow too tall, and does not ear near
as heavy as if planted on the full of
the moon, but I planted field last
spring on the full Of the moon and
neighbor Jones planted field adjoin-
ing mine two weeks after, which was
on the new Of the moon, and both
fields of corn grew very tall and both
was we'll .eared. So that experience
has unsettled my mind somewhat about
which would be the best time to plant.
Notwithstanding all that, Jay Murphy
still clings to the idea that on the full
moon is the proper time to plant to
get large ears of corn. They all say I
am hitting it exactly right in getting
our wheat sowed now. Some folks is
allowing that as how Governor Evans
was inaugurated on the waning Of the
moon, that the power Of the 'Tillman
movement will begin to wane, too,
and that in few years it will all be
dead, but I don't know about that
there is too much strife, too much
animosity engendered in the minds Of
the Tillman followers, and too much
greed after Office, for it to cease very
soon.
I have heard it said that if we see
the new moon the first time after the
change clear and over the right shoul-
der we will have good luck, and will
prosper in all our undertakings for the
next four weeks to come, but it we
should be so unfortunate as to see it
over the left shoulder, or through the
limbs of tree, or through skirts of
clouds, we will be doomed to disap-
pointment and failures for the next
month to come.
I never knew till last Saturday that
it was hard luck to take up ashes on
Saturday. It so happened that ours
needed taking up and somebody SAID
that an old lady in Pickens said that
it was bad luck to take ashes out Of
the house on Saturday, 'for," says
she, ri knew a woman who had been
in the habit of taking up her ashes on
Saturday all her life, and had taken
them out on a Saturday morning and
went to the Pendleton factory that
day, or in a few days, and got her
clothing caught in the machinery and
was killed, and,' says she, II have
always knew ever since that it was bad
luck.
When I was boy, several Of us
boys of the ncighborhood would get
together on some day in the week,