The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-09-01
SOUTH CAROLINA.
A Letter Which every Farmer In Ala
bama Should Read.

We clip the following letter from Our
Mountain Home, a paper published at
Talladega, Ala:
To the Editor of the Home: It does me
good to meet an old friend, especially
when away from home, so it was with
real pleasure that ] read a copy of the
Home last week tor the first time in
several months.
Poor old John Sherman took a trip
lately through the South, and on getting
back homo he stated that everywhere
except in ''poor South Carolina the
country was improving. Many believed
him, and I came here plying the State
and thinking it was going down hill. 1t
does me good to see that the old trickster
did not tell the truth when he Slandered
South Carolina.
This county, Anderson, is a rough. billy
one, with the Seneca river running
through it. There are no rich, bottom
lands such as we have, for the banks OF
rivers and creeks are generally high
bluffs, coming down almost ~perpendicu-
larly. The soils generally red and sandy
with q subsoil of clay, similar to the hills
or high lands of Talladega county. But 1
wish our Talladega and Alabama farmers
could visit this portion of South Carolina.
Terracing has wrought a wonderful
change. Every hill, little and big, from
bottom to top is like a garden. Such a
thing as a gully or yawning wash is un-
known. Every hill is terraced and all
fertilizers used are retained on the soil.
And such large barns. Nearly every
farm of 200 or 300 acres has one. They
look like our Chautaukua building cut in
half and made two stories high. l asked
when I first got here what in the name OF
thunder the people built such barns for?
But after they had cut wheat. oats and
pea vines, ETC., and I saw them crammed
with hay I understood the need. The
farm houses are generally neatly painted
and looG: clean and in repair. Nearly
every man has apparently new buggy
with umbrella top, (made in the State,
too), and the mules and horses are sleek
and fat. Such a thing as q poor mule l
have not seen even when owned by a
negro. And now I am about to state
what many will Shink an exaggeration,
viz: That the roads all YER the county
are in perfect order, smooth and good, ~
feet wids with good bitches wherever
needed. They remind me of the race
tracks which in the boom-times are seen
at our county fair grounds. | met Major
W., one of the first to see the benefit OF
terracing and a stock law. This gentle
man stumped the county Is or 20 years
ago in favor of these, and has lived to see
the good he did.
The county seat. Anderson, is a little
gem of 1000 or 5000 people. The trip
will cost but little. Take the Southern
railroad at Talladega to Seneca and there
take a buggy. Will cost 50 IS to Seneca,
and drive t Anderson $500. Hotels
charge from 81 90 to 2 so q day, and l am
sure there are many farmers in the county
who would take pleasure in keeping q
man q day or so free Of charge, and who
would show him around. Talk about
Yankee push and vim, why 1 would
stake one Of these South Carolina farmers
against any Yankee you can bring, and
"Yank." would have to lope to keep up
with him.
BY the way, Brother Williams, tell
Brother Joiner I was at an association
last week, and to cut the matter short it
was "just like a camp meeting 10 the
war" Such eating, ing!
Yours truly, a. S. ii.
anderson, s. c., aug. 1C, '97.