The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-03-15
BILL ARP VISITS CANTON.
HAS KNOWN PLACE LONG TIME.
he Tells About tho Prosperity Of the
Pcople-IIc Once Made a Trip to
Canton on Horseback Which He
Will Never Forget.

Canton on Horseback Which He
Will Never Forget.
1t looks like every township and
county and section has got something
peculiar to itself that ise valuable for
human purposes and helps to sustain
the people and make them prosperous.
! L WAS ruminating about this because |
nave just visited Canton, u small re-
tired village OF 1000 people. | have
! known Canton for fifty years and have
! good reason for remcmOerinv it,
soon after | was married my father-in.
law, Judge Hutchins, asked me to ride
/ over there and deliver sOmo important
! legal papers to the clerk OF tho court
| WAS TO ride his fine saddle horse "Lec,'
and he told mo where to stay all night.
! 80 kissed my pretty young wife good
! by and made an early start for the
thirty five mile journey. | WAS IL good
! rider and Leo WAS u free traveller. Up
hill and down hill and on the level
stretches he never broke his easy pace,
! making about seven miles an hour aud
| it was just twelve O'clock when reach.
ed Canton. While | WAS feeding the
hoNe and rubbing him down | began
to think how lonesome it would be to
stay there all night aud how lonesome
my young and pretty wife would be all
solitary and uionc by herself and no-
body with her to comfort her. | looked
at Lee and he looked like he, too, would
rather 60 bnck to whero he came from.
So about | O'Clock | rcmOuntcd and set
his ears towards Lawrenccville. He
seemed all right for many miles, but
Stacked up when few miles from
home and we got there just rs the fam
lily were sitting down to supper. | saw
my wifes smile OF pleasure and | saw,
too, the judges look Of surprise and
| Jisp!casure. He rose from the table
and went out to look after his favOrite
horse. then began to realize that
! seventy miles in q day was u long ride
| for Il horse and that had done wrong.
Next morning was up by daybrcak to
! look after Lee. He was all right and
| as game rs ever. The Judge mover said
| anything hard, but he looked gricvcd.
He, TOO, went out to look after his
horse and when he came back said: II
reckon had better give you that horse
! or never let you ride him again, for If
you are to kill him would rather he
| would be yours than mine" That is all
he said, and it was enough. Some time
after that he did give him to me and
ne WAS the gamest, prOudcst and best
horse ] ever owned. But | never rode
him seventy miles in Is day any more
never think Of Canton now but what
the memory OF that episode comes
over me. We'll, would ride u hun
| dred miles in day now to reach my
home and my wife, but it would be on
Il rai!road.
| Canton is the county scat OF ChLro-
! kee~-a largo county, that was the no n Q
| OF the Cherokee Indians until 1886.
| The name comes from Chcra, which
means fire, and the Chcr0kees were
! known among the tribes as the pro-
! phets OF divine fire. There were sew
eral Indian towns in this region and
their chiefs were known as Stop and
Chicken and Laughing Gal.
The region around Canton is rich in
minerals. Gold and copper and iron
and marble abound in her hills. Some
OF these have enriched many men and
the pursuit OF them have ruined many
more. but lately now processes Of min.
ing have made the results more certain
and now Northern and English capital
has given fresh vigor to the work of
| digging, crushing, quarrying and re-
| ducing the ores and finishing the mar
: BILE. Marble work is especially being
! extended and new quarries hoing open
ed. was told only few years ago
Judge .Gobcr and a few associates
bought Il marble quarry not far away
Tor S3 900 and were recently offered
$2o, 900 for it and refused it. The Gcor-
gia Marble Finishing Company has
planted near the depot very extensive
works that employ over 100 hands, all
white and oil Georgians, and most oil
Of them young men. Mr.. Brady, very
courteous Boston gentleman, is the
! manager and said be was pleased to
say that these Georgia boys were Just
| as ready to learn the art OF working
and finishing marble and just as quick
and skillful rs any he ever controlled.
| watched them at work in the dltfe~
cnt departments and was proud to see
! their progress. This is large plant
! and the marble WAS seen in all It's
| stages from he great blocks lust from
the Quarrics to the most beautiful of
! finished monuments and columns and
| building blocks. There were hundreds
OF them and were all 10 iii orders prin-
! cipally from the North and East. 1t
| takes forty eight hours. to run the gang
SAWS through one Of those huge blocks
The SAWS are Of the hardest steel, but
have no teeth. They are moved rapidly
Dy steam power and work through
sand and water. Some OF the men are
working with mallet and chiscl and
some turning marble in turning lathes
and some are polishing on the horizon.
tal planes OF immense revolving wheels
| that are hooded with water and sand.
! Everything there Is up to date and is
a great improvement on the old me.
thods. up to date" is new an cx-
preston that is heard cverywhe hero con.
cerning machinery. hear it az En-
sicy at the iron and steel plants and
| heard it in the cotton mills OF South
Carolina. All machinery now must be
u2 to date or it will be rejected. The
pay roll to the wSrkmen In this one
marble plant 10 $500 week, and most
Of this is spent in Canton. Just so it f.
with the gold mines not far away. The
gold mining companies are making
money by up to date processes and
Canton gets good share of that. 1t il
now certain that q cotton mill is to be
built right away, for an order has been
given for the looms and spindlcs, al
up to date, and as soon as the spring
opens the work Of building the mill
will begin.
Mining for gold and silver is, |
reckon, the oldest industry in the world
outside OF agriculture. Moses tells Us
that In the Garden Of f. len there WAS
gold, and it was good. Cold and silver