The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-03-14
BILL ARP VISITS CANTON.
HAS KNOWN PLACE LONG TIME.
He Tolls About the Prosperity Of the
People-He Once Made Trip To
Canton on Horseback Which He
Will Never Forget.

q Canton on Horseback Which II
;. Will Never Forget.
= 1t looks like every township a.
, county and section has got sOmethin
, peculiar to itself that is valuable 70
+ human purposes and helps TO sustai
I the people and make them prosperous
L was ruminating about this because
have just visited Canton, u small re
I tired village Of , 600 people. | hav
known Canton for fifty years and hav,
good reason for remembering it
soon after | was married my father-in
law, Judge HutChins, asked me to ride
over there and deliver some importaD
legal papers to the clerk OF the court
| was to ride lis fine saddle horse Leo )
and he told me whore to stay all night
so kissed my pretty young wife good
by and made an early start for the
thirty live mile journey, | was gooC
rider and Lee was q free traveller. Ur
hill and down hill and on the lcye
stretches he never broke his easy pace,
making about seven miles an hour, and
1T was Just twelve o'clock when reach.
ed Canton. While | was feeding the
horse and rubbing him down | began
to think how lonesome it would be to
stay there all night and how lonesome
my young and pretty wife would be al
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,
| 30 about ! O'Clock | rcmOunted and set
! his ears towards Lawrenceville. He
seemed all right for many miles, but
Stacked up when few miles from
home and we got there just rs the fam
lly were sitting down to supper. | saw
my wife's smile Of pleasure and | saw,
too, the judges look OF surprise and
olsp!eaSure. He rose from the table
and went out to look after his favorite
horse. | then began to realize that
seventy miles in day WAS long ride
Tor hursc and that ! had done wrong. j..
Next morning | was up by daybrea to
look alter Lee. He was all right and
as game Is ever. The Judge mover said
anything hard, but he looked grievcd.
lie, too, went out TO look after his
horse and when he came back said: ~
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 niue" That is all
ne said, and 1T was enough. Some time
alter 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 day any more.
never think Of Canton now but what
the memory Of that episode comes
over me. Well, | would ride hun
dred miles IN day now TO reach nv
home and my wife, but it would be on
a railroad.
Canton is tho county seat OF ChGro.
kee-a large county, that was the home
OF the Cherokee lndians until 1896.
The name comes from Chera, which
means lire, and the Cherokees were
~ tl.., tx.sl
phets Of divine fire. There were sew
eral Indian towns in this region and
their chiefs were known as Stop and
Chicken aud Laughing Gal.
The region around Canton is rich in
minerals. Cold and copper and iron
and marble abound in her hills Some
oi these have enriched many men and
the pursuit OF them have ruined many
more. but lately new 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-
duclng the ores and finishing the mar
BILE. Marble work Is especially being
extended AID new quarrics being open
ed. was told only few years AGO
Judge Gober and few associates
bought marble quarry not far away
Tor S3 QUO and were recently oilered
$50, 900 for + and refused it, The Geor-
gia Marble Finishing Company has
planted near the depot very extensive
works that employ over 100 hands, all
white and all GeOrgians, and most all
OF them young men. MIR. Brady, very
courteous Boston gentleman, is the
manager and said he was pleased to
say that these Georgia boys were lust
as ready to learn the art of working
or Hois h ni,,r, III
and skilliul as any he ever controlled.
| watched them at work in the dlifer-
ent departments and was proud to see
their progress. This is large plant
and the marble was seen in all it's
stages from the great blocks Just from
the quarries to the most beautiful OF
finished monuments and columns and
building blocks. There were hundreds
OF them and were all to i'll 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
by steam power and work through
sand and water. Some OF the men are
working with mallet and chisel and
some turning IN -rblc in turning lathes
and some are polishing on the horizon.
tai planes OF immense revolving wheels
that are Hooded with water and sand.
Everything there is up to date and is
q great Improvement on the old me.
thods. "Up to date" is Now an eX-
preston that Is heard everywhere con.
corning machinery. | hearl it at En-
sley at the iron and steel plants and
heard 1T In the cotton mills Of South
Carolina. All machinery now must be
up to date or it will be rejected The
pay roll to the wGrkmen In this one
marble plant is $500 IS week, and most
OF this is spent in Canton. Just so it is
with the gold mines not far away. TIE
gold mining companies are making
money by up to date processes and
Canton gets q good share OF that. 1t is
now certain that II cotton mill is to be
| built right away, for an order has been
/ given for the looms and spiudlcs, 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,
! reckon, the oldest industry in the world
! outside OF agriculture. Moses tells us
] that In the Garden OF Eden there was
! gold, and 1T was good. Gold and silver
! very soon began to be bimetallic cur.
rency. Abraham bought burying
ground with 400 shekels Of silver that
was current money with the merchant
and 1T was remarkable that q silver
shekel was worth so cents and a pold