The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-11-16
Over the Route of the Black Diamnnd

Over the Route of the Black Diamnnd.
Col. Sam w. Stairs, editor Of the
Dover (Ky.) Ne,rs, who recently visited
Anderson in company with the Black
Diamond Railroad party, contributes
the following interesting account of
his trip to the columns of his paper:
At every point OH the line, OF the
Black Diamond system reached Dy
the inspecting party. inquiries were
made for Col. Boone. who was eX-
pected on the trip, and who is recoS-
nized as the power behind the build
ing of the great grand trunk hlSnway
of commerce, connecting the taxes
of the North with the tidewater OF the
South Atlantic at Port koyal py II
double track railway with q maxi
mum grade of G6 feet to the mile
heretofore considered ut
terly impossible. The surveys snow
it can be done. We congratulate
Dover. saying nothing of the efforts OF
the Nems, that this magnificent line
masses through her borders, anu that
the Ohio River will be spanned within
the corporation by mllllon-dollar
steel bridge.
The Black Diamond Railroad has
a champion and friend III Mr.. ). L..
Tribble, of Anderson, :, Z. 1T IS
through his untiring work, assisted
by the energetic young business men
of Anderson, that the city voted Il
Subsidy of $4,000 with but one dis
senting vote, and that the City. Coun-
eli appropriated $500 toward defray-
ing expenses of inspection. To him
is due the unbounded enthusiasm OF
the people all along the line in South
Carolina and the whole South: He IS
an earnest worker, Il good tall1er and
an able writer, and best OF all he has
concentrated his energies in the direc-
ton of tuilding up the Southland by
connecting it with the great Northwest
by double-tr track Railroad.
Col. Boone's double-tra PROPOSE
ton with maximum grade OF 66 feet
to the mile, 80 much ridiculed at first
and branded as visionary, will prove
the very agency that will build the
road. All estimates and all calcula-
tions are being made on q double
track road, because Il single track
could not carry the tonnage.
The location of the line of the Black
Diamond in South Carolina is not
settled permanently as it is north OF
that State and the final location OF the
route to Port Royal, south OF Ander-
son, depends upon where the people
want it to go. Several lines are prac-
tical. and the towns that want it most
will get it; aud if they don't want 1T,
then it will be run just where the COM
pany wants it to run, regardless OF any
town or community.
Anderson, S. c., is the busiest town
we visited south of the Blue Ridge
mountains. The town is full of hust-
ling young business men, and they,
make things move. Eight hundred
bales of cotton were sold on the streets
one day OF our stay there, which was
counted a dull day. We visited their
electric plant a few miles from town,
which is run by water power. One OF
the big cotton mills is run by cleo
tricity generated by this plant. In the
two mills there are employed 100
hands. Eleven hundred and twenty
looms are constantly banging away,
weaving q superior grade OF cotton
cloth. Most Of the cotton manufac-
tured is raised in the immediate neigh
borhood of the mill. We visited the
1900 acre farm Of Mr.. w. Q. Ham
mond, near town. 1t is model cot
ton plantation, cultivated by convicts
employed from the State. Mr. Ham
mond has his lands terraced to prevent
washing, and it shows careful manage
ment in every detail. And withal MI.
Hammond is clever gentleman.
We are in receipt of copies of a neat
little pamphlet, ''Issaqucna, a legend
of upper North Carolina, from the
author, Mr.. Charles S. Reid. The
book is of especial interest to us be-
cause while in West Union, S. g.,
which is, an endless extension of Wal
halla, we were the guests of Mr.. Dick
Strother, the father -in-law of the au-
thor, and had the pleasure OF meeting
the gifted young writer. We also
visited the Issaquena Falls, i'll the
Blue Ridge mountains, near the big
tunnel on the Black Diamond cut
through Stump House mountain, one
mile through solid granite; 1T is a
beautiful romantic spot, and one cal
culated to make one believe there is
truth in the legend so beautifully por.
trayed by the author of '.Jssaquena."
By the way, Dick Strother, whose hos
pitality we enjoyed, is q type OF the
natural born Southern gentleman, and
his jolly good nature made us feel that
the whole country was ours, the same
as it seems to be "Dick" Strothers'.
We are glad to see by local papers that
Dick has been granted the water
works privileges of Walhalla, and
that ne will pipe the sparkling waters
from Issaquena Falls to the thirsty
denizens of the burg to slake their
parched thirst, and we hope some day
to tip glasses with him. Dicks all
right.
While we are offering congratula-
tions on the almost absolute certainty
of the eady tinanciering of the Black
Diamond Railway System, VIC should
NOT foroot tho wonderful energy and