Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-01
Cars Driven by Sails.

In 1897 the legislature of South Carolina
authorized the formation of a company
| to construct a railway between Charles
| ton and Hamburg. In May, 1928, the or
ganization was effected. and within that
year one hundred feet Of track was laid
along Wentworth street in Charleston
| The first cars were drawn by mules. A
mile of track was completed in 1880, and
the cars were driven by sails. The
Charleston Courier of March 20, 1890
contains the following paragraph:
"A sail was set on a car on our Toll
road yesterday afternoon in the presence
Of large concourse Of spectators. Fiji
at the rate Of twelve to fifteen miles an
| hour. Thirteen persons and three tons
| of iron were hastily gotten up. and, of
| course. were not Of the best kind. but
owing to this circumstance the expert
| ment afforded high sport.
The wind blew fresh from about north
east. which, as a sailor would say, was
abeam' and would drive the car either
way with equal speed. When going at
| the rate Of about twelve miles an hour
and loaded with fifteen passengers, the
| mast went by the board with the sail
and rigging attached, carrying with them
several Of the crew. The wreck was de-
serted by several friendly shipmasters,
who kindly rendered assistance in rigging
jury mast, and the car was soon again
put under way. During the afternoon
the wind changed so as to bring it nearly
ahead when going in one direction, but
this did not stop the sport"
Steam Locomotive Used.
In 1881 a steam locomotive was obtained
which hauled regular mixed trains back
and forth every day to Orangeburg, as
far as the track was completed The
freight cars carried cargoes of 5000
pounds and the passenger coaches ac-
commodated thirteen persons. In 1888 the
line was completed to Augusta. or rather
to Hamburg on the opposite side of the
river. and branch to Columbia was built
in 1912.
The fare from Charleston to Hamburg
was cents mile-136 miles for $675
with seVenty-five pounds of baggage-and
the trip was made between 6 am. and Z
p. m. In 1889 the time was shortened four
hours and the fare was increased to SO
The 1875 miles of railway cost 1851 14S So
A local newspaper of that date described
the method Of construction as follows:
piles were driven six feet apart in paral-
lei lines. The heads of these piles are
bound together by transverse sleepers
These are surmounted by longitudinal
wooden rails about nine inches square In
various lengths from fifteen to thirty-five
feet, on the top Of which, on the inner
edge, fat iron bars are nailed. The tracks
are five feet apart"
The South Carolina road has had an in
| teresting and in some respects an ex-
citing history. and has suffered many
vicissitudes. For many years it was very
prosperous. but it was oftener in trouble,
| until it became a part of the Southern
system and has since been put in excel
| lent physical condition.
Augusta Center of Traffic.
Augusta in those days was the center
Of traffic for a large territory. Cotton
f~.S.
| radius of hundred miles, to be shipped
to Charleston by the railroad or to Savan-
| nah by the river, which was covered with
f1atboatS.
I was reading in history Of the city
| today that Broad street, now as then
the principal thoroughfare, was often SO
closely packed with cotton wagons in the
fall and winter that one could walk
tn. entire length of several blocks by
stepping from wagon to wagon. They
were enormous wagons. too. and could
carry ten bales, or 5000 pounds, Of cotton
| They were hauled by six mules or horses,
with strings of bells upon their collars
which made the air merry. The drivers
carried long whips. like the stagecoach
men Of the west, and the most accom-
plished Of them were able to clip a fly from
the ear Of the off leader and crack their
whips In the rhythm Of tunes that were
popular in those days. After they had
entered the city limits they always braced
up and gave a volunteer performance with
their whip-crackers, SO that writer of
that time says that on busy days it
seemed as IL volleys Of musketry were
being fred in the principal streets.
Origin Of Cracker"
Some authorities contend that the word
Cracker" commonly applied to describe
the white farmers of Georgia, was de-
rived from this peculiar accomplishment
Other authorities are equally confident
that such is not the case. Anthony
Stokes. chief justice Of the province. and
a notorious tory in revolutionary times
said that THE southern: states are over
| run with a swarm of men distingh shed
| by the name Of crackers. This Is
interpreted to mean that the reports Of
the rifles they used against the soldiers
| Of the king gave them their name
/ like the first explanation best. and
| as this !. a case in which the choice
| does NOT cost anything, the reader can
accept whichever explanation he prefers.
There are now four steamers on the riv-
| er similar to those on the Ohio and Ten
| nessee rivers. and they ply between Au-
gusta and Savannah. Last yearthey car
ried altogether $4,000 tons of freight
coming up. And their rates are just a
| little below those of the railway com
| pany. Usually there is about six feet Of
| water. which is sufficient to float these
| stern-wheel, f1at-bottomed craft, but the
people are clamorins for appropriations
| from Congress to dig deeper channel
| which will, they think. enable them to get
| their cotton to tidewater at a lower rate
and cheaper the transportation rates on