The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-09-03

her to whose father the beast belong
ed, and proudly seated upon her back
I set out in the lead. I suppose the
distance to the summit was not over
three miles and a-half, and the laugh
ing pedestrians made sport Of me for
being weak or lazy or too constitution
ally tired to walk in their happy COM
:pany. / piously submitted to their
raiNery, and clung to my ambling
steed. For two miles, the road was
good enough, and jeers were multi
piled upon me. By and by, we had in
:structions to pass through gate, and
there we were to find the domicile Of
man named Robertson. To pass
through the gate was an easy matter,
but we found that it let us into a
dense forest of chestnuts and oaks,
and The road, covered with stones as
big as your head, had an upward grade
of about six inches to the foot, and to
journey onward at all, we had to jour
ney upward with astrong leaning TO-
ward the genuinely perpendicular. We
had not gone more than half mile
over the rolling rocks, before the two
women, SO proud and boastful hither-
to, fell by the wayside, and declared
their Journey over. The mountain
top was set far away. therefore
faced an issue. One of the suffering
sisters mounted the nag, while I walk
ed alongside, and made scattering re-
marks. When she came to a down
grade, the ,gentleman's saddle failed
to sustain her, and she descended
with great abruptness. Some other
ruse was necessary; SO I remounted,
and the two women clung to the
Kretur's tail, and away we went up
the growing height. Even then one
of the females became entanglsd in
some brush that lay in the path, and
was ditched before she would loose
her grip upon the horse's tail.
Near the summit of the mountain,
having passed through an orchard of
heavily laden apple and peach trees,
we came to the humble home of Mr..
Robertson. The lord of the manor
was out in the woods, "a snakin
bark down the mountain, the prin-
cess told us. Being wearied thus with
our journey, we asked that dinner be
prepared for us. This was quickly
done, and we sat down to the oldest
meal of the century, as far as know.
It consisted of cat meal, snap BEANS,
biscuits, picked beats, stewed corn,
sorghum, milk, and Eve slices of
white bacon fried until crisp. The
dessert was peach butter, soft peaches
mashed up, and mixed with cream.
This dinner for seven cost one dollar.
One of our clergymen, who had par
taken freely of peaches before the
meal, declared that he was not hun.
CRY, and could not eat with us. His.
appetite deceived him, however, and
the princess of the home remarked,
after he had left the table, I'd ruther
feed two men that says they's hungry.
than to feed one man that says he
aint.'' This piece of female philos-
ophy contains great and important
truth, and should pass into history for
the benefit Of posterity. The descent
of the mountain was next to be con-
sidered. The air was full of vague
rumors to the effect that going down
was more arduous than coming ZIP.
The women were groaning audibly.
and seemed repentant that they had
ever rallied at me for bringing the nag
aforenamed. Our host said he would
bring the tourists down in wagon for
a small sum. This statement brought
reviying hope. Boards were placed
across the body of a ponderous wagon,
and the descent began; but before the
first heavy grade had been mastered,
ali the occupants were seated fat upon
the wagon floor" squat like toad"
as Milton describes Satan at Eden's
gate. Then came the numbering and
rolling and beating from side to side,
and when at last our castle walls rose
upon their cross-eyed vision, the
mountain tourists we're full Of joy,
and those poor souls at home who had
refused to accompany them they told
of the splendid time they had had. l
am rapidly coming to believe that the
excursionist in the mountains is close
akin to the fisherman, and tells the
truth with some degree of difficulty.
"A goodly part Of our guests have re-
turned to their homes. About a dozen
still lingering in the skyland Home 1t
this place. I hope to come back ss
soon as cablegrsm brings news OF the
l.a4L "a lho C7r$o, rooconifn and