The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1903-09-05
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
LETTER FROM SOUTH CAROLINA.
Some of the Several Classes in the Pal
metto State--Fox-Hunti a
Favorite Sport with
ManV. etc.
,,,npep,rpo : " Auc,,

ISATESBURG, 3. o., August 3lst, 1908.
lessrs Editors There are many men and
many vacations in life. but the Palmetto State
planter, in my estimation, heads the list. This
individual is divided into four classes of various
types and descriptions. The man who spends
his days driving around; the man who rides
horseback; the Blue Jeans" and the last but
by no means the least, the ''sit-a-rounds." /
will try and give as true description of the
above mentioned as possible, but of course one
will find exceptions.
planter finds it necessary in order to cover his
large territory each day to use the horse as a
means of locomotion, as some plantations cover
many square miles, and to walk would be i'm
practicable as well as almost impossible. The
horse can go nearly everywhere person can, as
and those are for inclosing pastures. At one
time the fields were fairly well fenced. but Sher-
man on his march to the sea had them ito burn"
The horseback planter. This type of man is
what is called "the old school gentleman" and
is found to be a man of culture and manners,
equal to those of Chesterfield. He rigidly adj
heres to the midday dinner breakfast at sun
rise and supper about the time the shadows grow
long. 1t is not to his belief to burn the mid
night OIL On agriculture in the South he is
well posted, and as rule conspicuous at public
meetings pertaining to the welfare of his coun-
f be Nor h IS
Like nearly all his friends, he is Baptist and
but seldom lets prayer meeting or Sunday SER
vice pass without being in his front pew setting
an example to his fellow beings. He is today
the prosperous man of the Sunny South.
The sit-a-rounds''' are by no means in the
the same style. But their mode of life is so
similar it will not be sighting any of them to
tumble them all up together. They all fox hunt,
chew tobacco, smoke, go to church and cuss,
(and some say they once in awhile take drink,)
but as general thing they are good churchmen
and their worst fault is the chasing of Mr. Rey-
nard at the expense of their crops. They do
not go about it in the way it is done in Mary
land. They start by calling themselves and
dogs together by blowing horns about P. NJ.
and after they have gotten punched enough of
both kinds above mentioned they ride to the top
of hill and wait until one of the dogs bark like
it has freed something larger than rabbit, and
they all make of in hot haste to see whats do
Ing" If rabbit, they start over again, and if
a fox, they sit there and wait for developments.
The dogs are queer mixtures, something be-
tween Beagle and stag-hound. They have
already this season. Red foxes are very scarce'
This mode of procedure is generally kept up till
morning and the crowd gets home to late
hands task work and strange to say they accom-
plish good results After being in the saddle all
night it is not natural to suppose they feel like
4 p NJ. they come to life and take notice." 1t
is very amusing to watch this class of man look
ing at the progress his crop is making. You will
find him sitting ON his feet at the end of a corn
or cotton row in state of meditation that would
lead one to believe that he was calculating what
height the crop would attain If 1t grew in pro-
portion to the speed it was making during his
calculation.
The "kid-glove planter" as he is dubbed in
these parts, generally single man, is not the
person who makes the largest yields. He as q
rule has many calls to make in order to keep up
with the times" and the latest styles in dress,
nine form, so by the time this daily routine has
been accomplished there is not much time left
to work his overseer, who works the field hands
and who both in turn invariably S00rk their
boss" He gets back home to a six o'clock din
ner, after taking lunch with some of his friends,
whom he has been endeavoring to beat at check
ers. AS to breakfast, that meal is served to suit
his majesty" and often taken in his boudoir.
1t is not difficult task to pick these planters
out while driving through the country. The
poor condition of the cotton and the numerous
weed bedecked fields substantiate the assertion.
He also considers it his sacred duty to test all
the latest experiments at the sacrifice of the
staple crop. 1t is hardly necessary to say that
the above is not one of our prosperous or intlu-
entail gentlemen.
The "Blue Jean" hustlers are very numerous.
(as they are not large enough to be dignifed by
plantation,) but the larger number are what is
termed renters" The law pertaining to leas-
ing or renting land in this State is very rigid and
gives the owner of the land every safeguard
against fraud. 1t is customary in all cases to
require of the renter a mortgage on his first |
cotton up to the price of the rent, and if the |
gathered the rentor takes possession of the |
whole crop. The merchant takes his security |
by bill of sale on all of his live stock and i'm
by the time he gets out of debt |
he has barely living left. There are number |
of negro renters and it was by their trickery and
lawlessness that these laws were enacted.
Planters pay their wage hands from six to |
eight dollars per month and day hands thirty to |
fifty cents. Cooks get from two to five dollars |
per month. n. ROGERS BAYLY.
Il