Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1917-06-27
HISTORY OF kECW E E
TRAIL.
(By Sarah Rainsford Collett.)

1RAlL.
(By Sarah Rainsford Collett.)
ga pleasing land of peace and ease
it was,
Of dreams that wave before the half
shut eye;
And of gay castles in the clouds
that pass,
Forever flushing round a summer
sky"
Nesting amid the rising hills and
sunny slopes of the western part of
South Carolina, embosomed in sue
cessive chains of miniature noun
tains and locked in the embrace of
many majestic streams, Old Ninety
Six District is, indeed, endowed by
nature with all that goes to make a
land picturesque, reposeful and in
viting. From the towering Georgia
hills on the west, one views this land
of a thousand charms from over the
Savannah River. The waters of this
bold, majestic stream, bursting from
the bosom of the Blue Ridge, and
roaring with the thunder of Tallulah,
seem instantly soothed to silence by
the soft sandy shores and tranquil
solitude of old Edgefeld District, as
they smoothly flow on to the sea.
Again, one stands on the eastern
heights that brow the opposite bor-
ders, and far across the smiling ia
ble-lands, rich in history and fertile
as the land of Egypt, the eye travels
until its vision is impinged upon the
sharp blur of Bowles Mountain. This
lone sentinel of the Blue Ridge is the
southernmost peak in South Carroll
ma, and as it sends it's shaft of indigo
amid the white clouds of Edgefeld's
skies it seems to say: Beyond the
Alps lies Italy" The beauty of it's
landscapes alone might have tempt
ed the most ambitious and princely
explorer to cast lots within its luxu-
rious retreats, start a colony and
plant q state. Little wonder that
those proud lovers of liberty, that
sturdy strain of Scotch-Irish from
jamestown and the North Carolina
Colonies, later blended with the
naughty blue blood of the Hugue-
nots, found fascination and charm in
a region so restful, so removed from
oppression and strife. Little wonder,
too, that the Cherokee warrior lin
gered in this land of enchantment
long after these pale-faeed invaders
had driven him from his tented home.
Little wonder that he fought savage
ly, desperately for the blossom-deck-
ed brooks, the murmuring streams,
the boundless forests, the %sunbright
hills and the tranquil meadows so
dear to his nature loving soul. Ira
versing alike the surprisingly fertile
lands of the valleys, and the noun
famous ridges with its magnificent
scenery, was the famous old Keowee
Trail leading from the town of Keo-
wee, in upper South Carolina to
Charleston. In early primitive times,
as early as TIT, an Indian foot trail
ran by the most direct route from
their towns to the main, at or near
the mouth of the Ashley. This be-
came much frequented, and in pro-
cess of time the peltry traffic was in
augurated, and soon the C~herokees
had grown so dependent upon the
English for all the necessaries of
life, that their greatly enlarged
commerce required a more direct
thoroughfare. 1t was then that
pack-horse trains began to frequent
Keowee Trail throughout its whole
extent; and it became a great central
highway of communication between
Charleston and the interior, and the
mountain valleys of the Cherokee Ma
ton. Beginning at the town of
Charleston and traversing the terri.
tory embraced in the Districts Of
Charleston, Orangeburg, Edgeield
and Abbeville, this ancient highway
ran northwest from Charleston to
the present site of Dorchester or its
vicinity; thence after crossing -Four
Holes Creek, at the point, where
before the Revolution, the old -Four
Holes Bridge stood, it passed to the
site of Orangeburg Court House, anc
then crossing North Edisto it pur
sued its course along the ridge be
tween the main branches OF thai
stream, where it continued a north
westernly course, through that par
of Edgefeld District which became
Ridge Spring; thence it ran acros
the head waters of Stevens Greek