The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1900-05-17
SWINGING ROUND. I'll! Circle.
People and. Places Within 20
Miles Of Bamberg.
FARMERS AND THEIR FARMS.
What q Staff Correspondent OF The
Herald Saw and Heard Along the
County's Highways and Byways.

careful inspection of the causeway and
other approaches to the Cannon Bridge
man rode up and after accosting the
Supervisor by name began to abuse him
for catalogue of sins of omission and
commission III connection with his work
on the bridge SO long that it would take
all my space to even enumerate them
Mr.. Kearse listened to the fellows har-
rangue in patience, and, although his
charges were the. rankest sort of non
sense, and his plans for the Improvement
of the bridge approach as improbable as
the building of an electric railway to the
moon, the Supervisor managed to pre-
serve his good nature. At length when
the mans abuse became rather too per-
sonal, he laughed in suspiciously mirth-
less sort of way and declared:
MY friend, when you come at me like
a circular saw you are pretty sure to
strike knot that will knock out some of
your teeth"
This implied covert threat stopped
the abuse and with a mumbled apol-
ogy the fellow mounted his wagon and
drove off. When he was out of hearing
the Supervisor turned to me and said:
That's fair sample of what a man
has to take from the people he is striv-
ing his best to serve. / know that my
work is not perfect, and that | sometimes
make mistakes, but try to do my duty
to the best of my ability and when man
attacks my integrity as that fellow did
and this is not the first time, for he makes
it a point to abuse me every time we
meet get riled."
Then, falling into reminiscent mood,
he began to tell Ae anecdotes of his eX-
perience as County Supervisor. His ad-
ventures have taken q wide range, and
run all the way from the broad depths of
farce comedy to the narrow and perilous
heighths of possible tragedy. One OF his
stories was highly amusing:
If you will look up the law" he said,
'.you will find that Section 1160 of the
Revised Statutes reads as follows 1T
shall be the duty of the County Super
visors, in their respective counties, to
cause all roads heretofore laid out, or
hereafter to be laid out, leading directly
from any part of this State to Charles
ton, Georgetown, Columbia, Camden,
Hamburg or Cheraw, to he made or clear
ed thirty feet wide, and all other roads
shall be cleared twenty feet wide. Well,
sir, it was because I was only partially
carrying out the first part of the provis-
ions of this section that the trouble arose.
The chain gang was working not far from
where we now are on the old Charleston
and Augusta telegraph road, which the
law specifically declares shall be laid out
thirty feet wide. Once it was much
travelled highway, but the railroads have
caused it to degenerate into mere neigh
borhood thoroughfare in many places.
Farmers had for years planted their crops
down to the very edge of the two gulleys
made by the wagon wheels. l deter
mined to lay the road off twenty feet
and pike it with the road machine. The
men had hardly begun work when the
owner of the land on both sides of the
road, came down upon us in towering
passion:
"'Stop! Get off my land! he COM
manded, white with rage: 1 forbid you
to trespass on my property!
81 attempted to explain to him that
what We were doing was for his benefit,
but he wouldn't listen to me.
"'Yoi've got to stop right where are,
he beloved. Pve been planting that
land for the last twenty-five years, and if
you tear it up with your old machines I'll
have the law on you. I'll appeal to the
Governor of the State, sir, if necessary,
and will see if man can't be protected
in his rights!
"'Look, here, sirr I cried, for I was
beginning to get little vexed. 4 am
ouly doing what the law gives me author
ity to do. In fact, sir, Pm only taking a
portion of the land that the road is enti-
tied to-
"'And when he still clustered, and
fumed, and threatened I pulled out the
law and showed him plainly that could
take fifteen feet on each side from the
centre of the road, instead of ten which
was laying out to take. Then he sim
cred down and apologized. His is not
by any means an isolated case, either.
Men plow and plant right down to the
wagon ruts, and when we attempt to re-
claim and lay off legal highway they
kick about it and threaten all sorts of dire
things. Take that fellow who has just
left us, for instance. If you will remem-
Der, he laid great stress on what he did
to make the approaches to Cannon's
Bridge travelable when he was an over
seer and had charge of the work. Last
summer came down here with the gang
and laid off new approach. l worked
on it until every one of my hands were
down with the fever 1t isn't perfect
road by any manner of means, but it is
the foundation for good road. The
spring freshets have washed away great
deal of the earth that we put on the
causeways, but it won't require so very
much labor to repair the damage, anc
when take up the work again, I intent
to raise the roadbed to a height that viii
preclude all future washes when tht
river is up. In the meantime" and ths
Supervisor laughed drily and pointed tt
the water covered bed of the old road, 81
the new road is little too rough for sen
c;t;ra ,rontlan,an 1jl a nur friand Wonder