The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1905-05-31
The Lexington Dispatch.
Wednesday, May 81, 1905.
GEORGETOWN Letter.
To the Editor of the Dispatch:

short sketch OF Georgetown and
Rosemary, and would have taken
you trip out into the logging woods
camps before now but for the con-
tinued illness of my ''better half. "
Am glad to say that she is now on
the home run for health once more.
Thanks and congratulations. Now,
Mr.. Editor and friend of your paper,
We will take little trip into the
woods.
OFF from the main line of the
GEORGETOWN and Western railroad
leads numerous switches, spurs and
lines of railroad anywhere from ten
to thirty miles long. These lines
takes us to the several different
camps and through the finest spruce
pine and cypress trees that ever q
saw butted up against. All trees are
sawed down and not chopped down.
There are eight of these camps placed
around in the different bays and
most convenient to the best timber.
These bays have curious names, such
as Ri lsark, Gapwsy, Boeta and Oak
Ridge bays. There are about one
hundred and fifty men at each camp
and are we'll organize with a foreman,
commisssry clerk, stableman, camp
cleaner, cook, log scaler, saving crew,
loading crew, one engine and crew
and about one hundred log cars.
There is also skidder machine with
each camp and is used to pull logs
out of msrshy places where mules
cannot work. A skidder is first cousin
to derrick and draws logs at dis
tance of four or five hundred yards.
There are about forty mules. A Vete.
rinary doctor is employed to look af-
ter the stock. I visit each camp
once week and ease the pain and
fight the attacks of malaria, etc, etc.
Ali accident cases are brought imme-
diately to Rosemary on engine or
moter car where We have q fairly
good hospital. This is a good field
for surgery both in major and minor
surgery. I have done many ampu-
tations with only negro man to
hold and another to give the anes-
thetic. I shuddered at the inconve-
niences at first but now it is just as
easy. The number of one armed
and one legged men chasing around
here is proof of successful amputa-
tions. The medicinal treatment is
not as satisfactory as the surgical for
these negroes down here have taken
so many pills that their joints have
all become s'ball bearing" and they
are crying out for ssdrinking" medi-
cine. Liquid medicine is too easy
spilled to carry much of it around in
a medicine case. Nearly every medi-
cine can be and is made into a pill
or tablet nowadays and why carry
liquid; but you can't make them be-.
lieve otherwise but that all pills are
cathartics. All employees pay one
dollar per month medical fees and
they want their moneys worth.
There is camp at Rosemary and
some evening they are lined at tie
Office forty feet deep. I have only
to look up and out comes tongue,
and that tongue shows he has been
eating hominy and chunk meat.
Hominy and butt meat for the ne
groes and beef and eggs for the white.
I always pull my hat to any old cow
in the road and I can't look a hen
straight in the face.
Everything is quiet and am antici-
pating nice time on Pswley Island
this summer. Come down, Mr.. E Ii
tor. Good luck to all.
E. P. Derrick.