Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-11-20
SOUTH eARNma Nl
YaE REpOh VFt0a
How the Spirit of Liberty Was Kept Alive BY an
UncOnQuerable People.
BY REV. ROBERT LATHAM. ID. ID

From the Yorkville Enquirer Of 1876.
INSTALLMENT LIV.
A Trip to Charleston In the oldsn
Time.
Previous to the Revolutionary war
and for a number of years afterward,
the people Of the back country did
most of their trading in the city OF
Charleston. To this point they wagon
ed their tobacco, indigo and whatever
else Of agricultural products they had
to dispose of. To Charleston they
drove any live stock they might have
to sell. From most northern sections
Of the state a trip to Charleston was
no little undertaking. 1t consumed
about a month. Generally, several
neighbors joined in getting up the
team, wagon and produce. Seventy or
eighty years ago, a man who owned
q wagon and team was regarded as be-
ing rich. 1t was only few neighbor-
hoods that were able to afford such
man.
Tobacco was generally packed away
In large hogsheads When the time for
transporting 1t to Charleston arrived,
the hogshead itself was converted into
a wheel This was done by surround
ing the hogshead with something which
resembled the felloe Of a modern waS-
on wheel. With large wooden pins
this hoop felloe, or whatever it may be
called, was secured to the hogshead;
one of these hoops being attached to
each end so high as to raise the hogs
head itself of the ground. In each end
of the hogshead wooden gudgeon
was fastened. To these gudgeons were
attached something that might be
called shafts. The whole when COM
plete constituted cart Of the most
primitive kind.
In vehicles of this kind did the first
settlers Of this country transport their
produce from all sections Of the state
to Charleston. A trip to Charleston In
those days was attended with as much
romance as is trip to Europe at the
present time. 1t was an onerous un-
dertaRing: still 1t was fun Of excite
ment. To go to Charleston in the
manner above described was the high
est ambition to which the boys Of the
country aspired. A long life time was
too short to tell all that they saw and
heard during such trip. Really there
was crowded into the space Of a
month-the time during which one OF
these trips was made-a vast amount
Of human life in all its different as
poets.
Rarely did single individual-an-s
dertake a trip to Charleston alone.
Generally a small caravan was formed
before leaving home. On the way the
number was increased so that often
the road for a considerable distance
was crammed with primitive carts.
Every company made 1t point to have
a supply of ''the good creature" At
every watering place the little brown
jug" was brought out and its contents
tasted by the whole crowd. The car
avan consisted Of wagons Of all shapes
and descriptions, together with num-
ber Of cows and calves and mountain
steers. The cows were milked night
and morning, just as If at home and
the traders lived very much as they
did when on their farms. They were
in no great hurry. They took the
world easy and rarely deserted fel-
low trader in distress. If the wagon
Of one Of the party broke down. the
whole company called halt and went
to work to repair the injury. They
shared to the fullest extent each 9TH
ers' JOY and sorrows. Around the
camp fire at night, they cracked jokes,
discussed questions of grave import
ance, both in church and state or
worked pranks on each other Not un-
frequently their fun would end in ear
est and hearty laugh was often fol-
lowed by a hard fight. That was
however, in the days before big knives
and pocket pistols had been introduc-
ed, and fight only resulted in black
eyes and sore ribs. Neither did they
allow their anger to burn continually.
A fight generally was an end to all
strife.
A man who would have gone to court
in those early days Of our republic
with an assault and battery case would
have been regarded by every one in
the community as consummate
coward and a sneaking puppy We In
this age Of advanced civilization and
refined customs. may be shocked at
the barbarous manner in which the
first settlers of our country adjusted
their petty grievances, but 1t may be
questioned whether the ends Of justice
are better secured now than then. A
fight cost the community nothing and
a good sound thrashing proved more
effective in reforming the disturbers OF
the public peace than either the coun-
ty Jail or state penitentiary Of the
present day do.
We will undertake to defend neither
the fighting mode Of adjusting private
difficulties nor the trial justice mode
Both indicate a bad state Of morals
In those primitive times in the wilds
Of North America. every man consti-
tuted himself judge, lawyer and jury
and settled his own difficulties with
out troubling his neighbors. There
may have been more fighting in those
days than now, but there Is more quar-
reling and lawing now than then.
On one of those Charleston trips, II
was generally understood that some
trick was to be worked on every one
that was met Sometimes in working
these tricks the moral law was moi
observed very strictly. The following
incidents will give the reader some
knowledge of the character OF the
pranks that these primitive traders
were accustomed to play.
Sometime after the close OF the Rev
olutionary war, four individuals from
York county set out for Charleston
with a drove Of cattle. Amongst the
crowd was one by the name of Ezekie
Price. They passed down what was
then called the "Bratton road" in the