The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1902-10-10

descrloe one. They are usual,
about ten feet high AMI two TO sis
inches in diameter, have a very
'ou h bark, long tiorns and at a dis
tancc resemble a will W tree of that
SIZE with not more tlan half as MANY
leaves as willow o. Caroliua would
have. Those Texas people say they
make nice shade. Well they do
make some shade an as they are
the ony Lind Of trees they have in
many parts cf Texas 1 guess thew
ire very nice. The shade is lust
'tout as dence as the shad. would
De from a fly net or wire screen.
Well, rext wo came to the great
oil tauk, built ofsheet iron, owned BY
the Houston and Texas Central
Hallway. 1t is much larger than
IN ordinary house and is US ID to
store the crude Beaumont oil for use
OF the passenger engines on said
roai.
Then we cross Whit Texas people
call a creek. We would cal it q
gully. | never saw any water in it
while there though it is said to be
lmpas:ible for hours at time but
sill they have Nd bridge ovec it.
Then we came to the famous hog
ranch, or in other words it is Ex.
Governor lIogg's ostrich farm. The
tarm consists Of about fly acres all
IN the light Of the road, also the
stables and nc5r, houses are on the
same side Of the road but the resi-,
dence of the G ,vernor is on the right
of the road nc''led righ. in among
some live oaks and built in the si.le
of the great bluff which seems to
guard the C)loral, river all along
its course though at this point as we'll
as many others the river is near four
miles distant. Thi, f,mou. ostrich
ranch was once we'll stocked with
ostrich, deer and many rare varieties
OF animals as we'll az With shrubs and
trees, b1s thee i. only ono ostrich
now living ard the johnson grass
has injured the farm very much and
the pace has deteriorated nat ,rially.
Before VIC reach tn, Governor
place and for two or three miles
farther east, all on the right, is a
vast fertile bottom for miles and
miles while on tho left is a very high
rocky bluff, in fact the road is made
away up in the side of the bluff so as
to save the level land for farming.
This bluff is covered with white look.
ing rocks resembling the old Niger
head rocks of old Bogansville town.
ship in every way except in color.
Then there is lot of mosquito brush
also live oak and mirads OF cac,i or
what VIC would callrricklypeart though
the leaves are two or three times as
large as the prickly pears we have in
South Carolina.
Then we come to an old German
place built if possible sill closer to
the bluff than the Governors house.
Here the live oaks are much larger
also more numerous than any other
place that / saw.
Some of these oaks were more than
two feet in diameter. The buildings
were all painted and looked fine, but
the hill was so steep that the rear Of
the house was down in the ground,
while the front was ten feet off the
ground, These live oaks were cov-
cred with the Southern moss, though
it was very short, only a few feet
long at best, and much of it in small
bunches. giving the trees the appear
ancc of black sheep in the spring
when they begin to shed, Lu. the
most attractive feature of the old
Germans Home was real spring
running out of the bluff higher up
than where the house was built.
The old man had built himself hog
pen just below the spring and all the
water ran into the pen and into a
hog wallow, and very seldom any ran
out as the hogs drank it as fast as it
camo in. Thr spring was only fifty
yards above the road but the water
never reached the latter. Then we
climbed long and steep hill got up
among the brush on both sides and
entirely out of sight Of the river or
bottom land, and for miles there are
only little patches of farms with
plenty Of houses, for many of the
people who own or rent the bottom
land live upon top Of the hill as they
are much safe from d;ssos, q. ~,