The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-03-13

county and section has got something Pc
culiar to itself that is valuable for hui
man purposes and helps 10 sustain the
people and make them prosperous. L
was Eliminating about this because / have
just visited Canton, n small retired VII
lage Of 1000 people, / have knownC Cam
ton for fifty years and have a good rea-
son for remembering it. Soon after l
was married my father-in-law. Judge
HutchinS. asked me to ride over there
and deliver some important legal papers
10 the clerk of the court. l was to ride
his saddle horse Lee" and he told me
where TO stay all night. So | kissed my
pretty young wife goodby and made an
early start for the thirty-ive mile jour-
ney. l was a good rider and Lee was
a free traveller. Up hill and down
and on the level stretches he never broke
his easy pace, making about seven miles
an hour, and it was just twelve O'Clock
which l reached Canton. While l was
feeding the horse and rubbing him down
l began TO think how lonesome it would
be to stay there all night and how lone
some my young and pretty wife would be
all solitary and alone by herself and no
body with her to cOmfOrt her. / looked
at Lee and he looked like he, too, would
rather go back to where he came from.
SO about l O'Clock I remounted and set
his ears toward L~awrenceville. He
seemed all right for many miles, but
Stacked up when a few miles from home
and we got there just as the family Were
sitting down to supper. L saw my Wlfe's
smile OF pleasure and l saw, too, the
judges look of surprise and displeasure.
He rose from the table and went out
to look after his favorite horse. / then
began to realize that seventy miles in a
day was a long ride for a horse and that
I had done wrong. Next morning was
UP by daybreak to ook after Lee. He
was all right and as game as ever. The
judge never said anything hard, but he
looked grieved. He, too, went out to
look after his horse and, when he came
back said: 81 reckon [ had better give
You that horse or never let you ride him
again, for if you are TO kill him l 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 he was the gamest, proudest and
best horse l ever owned. But / never
rode him seventy miles in a day amy |
more. l never think Of Canton now but !
the memory of that episode comes !
over me. Well, I would ride a hundred
miles In a day now to reach my home
and my wife, but it would be on a rail- !
road. !
Canton is the county seat of Cherokee
a large county, that was the home OF the
Cherokee Indians until 1886. The name
came from Chera, which means fire, and |
the Cherokees were known among the
tribes as the prophets of divine fire. |
There were several Indian towns in this !
region, and their chiefs were known as
Stops 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 has ruined many more, !
but lately new processes OF mining have
made the results more certain and now |
Northern and English capital has given |
fresh vigor to the work of digging, crush
ing, quarrying and reducing the ores and
finishing the marble. Marble work is
especially being extended and new |
qnarries being opened. I was told that |
only a few years ago Judge Goler and a
few associates bought Il marble quarry |
not far away for $4,000 and were recent
~ offered $4,000 for it and refused it.
The Georgia Marble Finishing Company
have planted near the depot very extern
tive works that employ over 100 hands. |
all white and adj Georgians, and most all
OF them young men. Mr.. Brady. a very
courteous Boston gentleman, is the man
ager, and said he 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 as
any he ever controlled. | watched them |
at work in the different departments and
was proud to see their progress. This is
a large plant, and the marble was seen
IN all it's stages from the great blocks
Just from the Quarries to the most beau
tlful of finished m~onunnents and columns
and building blocks. There were hum
dreds of them and were all to fill orders,
principally from the North and East. 1t
takes forty-eight hours to run the gang
saws through one OF those huge blocks.
he saws are of the hardest steel. but |
have no teeth. They are moved rapidly
by steam power and work through sand
and water. Some of the men are work
ing with mallet and chisel and some turn
ing marble in turning lathes and some are
polishing ON the horizontal planes of inn
menSe revolving wheels that are flooded
with water and sand. Everything theret
IS up to date and is a great improvement
on the old methods. Cup to date" is now
an expression that is heard everywhere
concerning machinery. / heard it at
Ensley at the iron and steel plants. and
l heard 1t III the cotton mills of South
Cdioaind. All machinery now must be
up to date or it will be rejected. The
pay roll to the workmen in this one mar
BILE plant is $500 a week. and most of this
spent in Canton. Just so it is with the
mines not far away. The gold min
ing companies are making money by up /;
to date processes and Canton gets a good :
snare OF that. It is now certain that a :
cotton mill is to be built right away, for 6
an order has been given for the looms 3
and spindles. all up to date, and as soon !
as the spring opens the work of building :
the mill will begin. {
Mining for gold and silver is, I reckon,
he oldest industry in the world outside =.
If agriculture. Moses tells US that in the |
Garden Of Eden there was gold. and it p,
vas good. Gold N silver very o be- 3
Fan to be a binetanic currency. Abra- :
lam bought a burying ground with 400 s
'hekeis Of silver that was current money .
With the merchants. and it is remarkable 4
-h1f a silver cha1o1 ur,, r-o~4L "a -.-At =