Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1916-06-07
DELIGHTED WITH OCONEE.
Georgia Newspaper Man Writes of
Recent Rumble Through Country.

Dckalb New Era, OF Decatur. Ga.
was a recent visitor to OcOuce and
Walhalla. Mr.. Hall was directly in
tcrestcd in gathering information
concerning the Hall family in Oconne.
This family is represented in almost
every section OF our county.
Writing to his paper after his visit
here. Mr.. Hall has this to say, under
the heading Of
Random Remarks.
Leaving the Southern railroad at
Seneca, S. c., one day last week /
went adventuring into what was to
me new and enchanting land.
Few regions in the South are richer
in history and romantic legend and
in the beauty OF it's lands cape fea-
lures than that corner Of South Car
olina now known as Oconee county.
The wide, fertile farms Of red soil
with their fields of ripening grain
made most pleasing picture. but
the greatest charm for me was the
wonderful blue mountain wall which
stretched itself across the northern
horizon, and from which rose the lag
ged peaks Of Chimney Top, Table
Mountain and Caesars Head. How
blue and sweet, and how shrouded in
mysterious enchantment these noun
tains lay before me in the dreamy
deeps OF the summer sky, as stood
on a high hill above histo ric Cane
Creek and gazed across the wide
stretches OF Oconee county.
4
Tlis region, long the home OF the
Cherokees. became in succession the
site OF important Indian towns and
villages to which came the first
white traders over the trails from
Charleston and Virginia. In time
white government agents met the as
sembled chiefs and head men Of the
Cherokees at various places in this
region and concluded trea ties with
them. Later came the pioneer SOL
skin cap, and bloody conflicts ragged
up and down the valley. Slowly, but
surely, the Red Man was pus he'd back
into the mountain wilds and the iron
hand OF the white man fixed itself
irrevocably urcn the land.
Every way you tIrn names call up
this early history. Near here to the
eastward was the important Indian
town Of Old Keowee, not far away
on the banks Of the Tugaloo River
was Fort Madison, and little way to
the north was Picket Post (Oconee
Station.)
1t was from point near High
Falls, up in the foothills of the Blue
Ridge. that the Indian maid Ell start
ed on her famous journey to warn her
white soldier sweetheart OF the COM
ing raid from her people; and her
journey, made swiftly on foot along
the Indian trails in the darkness OF
night. gave names to many places
which cling to them still. There is
EighteenIAlile creek and Tw wenty-Six
Mile creek, and Ninety-Six is a well
known spot on the maps OF South
Carolina.
Not far away toward Old Pendle-
ton is the Old Stone church with it's
famous cemetery. 1t was to this
place that the body or Bvnum, the
duelst who was killed by Governor
Perry on an island in the 'Tugaloo
was carried. There were no roads,"
said an old inhabitant in telling me
OF the incident, land they had to
carry the coffin by hand. Rain was
falling when they brought up the
corpse from the river with pine
pole under each end OF the coffin, and
when they buried him in the night
they thrust the two poles in the soft
wet earth, one at the head and one at
the foot OF the grave, and ii is said
they grew aud made two Ia rye pine
trees"
In this story, as we'll rs the one We
have so often read OF the Indian mai
don who measured the distances be-
tween the various streams with hel
feet in her flight to warn her white
lover, will not attempt to say how
much is legend and how much is his.
tory. The reader can decide that f0l
himself.
must go back to the great over
mastering charm Of the Ian dsca pc