Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1920-02-04


and McKie mill site safe and
scound crossing.
We, the patrons 5e Stevens
Creek ferry at the nav and Nc
Kie mill site do inpore and beseech
the grand jury Q investigate this
ferry. The conditions of this ferry
are dangerous to both man and
beast, 1t is said that the county is not
for any loss of life or
property when crossing this ferry. Is
the county not responsible for a safe
way to cross this ferry? The cable,
at this writing, is in the bottom of
the creek with raft on it.
Is not the ferryman supposed to
protect this cable? Half of the labor
here has moved away. They say, be-
cause when they want to cross out,
they can't, so moved across. Had it
not been for the ferries on the Sa-
vannah rives last fall we could not
have gone to market for weeks, only
by rail, which is very unsatisfactory,
when you have eggs, butter, milk and
livestock to deliver in Augusta each
week.
Will not the Grand Jury investi-
gate and let the people in Edgefield
county know where the money was
used which was given for damaging
this ferry? Edgefeld county nor the
roads in Edgefeld county nor the
people in Edgefeld county were DAM
aged when the Power Company flood
ed our ferry. The ferry alone was
damaged. We want the Grand Jury
to see that this ferry gets its just
rights, and all that belongs to it.
The supposed ferryman has moved
twenty-five miles away and has left
an old negro rs years old in charge
of the ferry, consequently, everyone
who wants to cross, puts himself or
herself, whichever the case may be,
across. Some of US have to pay man
to cross us. Mrs. Reese went there to
cross with her baby, being unable to
ferry and nurse too, had to go back a
pace and pay man to cross her over.
The ferryman receives $65 month
from the county and he pays this old
man $3.50, so 1 am told, to put
across all who want to cross. The ne
gro is not physically able to handle
this ferry boat, therefore he does not
try.
Sunday, R. C. Scott, wife and little
children, also O. B. Scott, G. W..
Spires and Miss Inez Scott sat on the
creek bank one hour and a quarter.
The old ferryman would not take the
boat over to them or even a bateau,
and bunch of negroes were there
waiting to cross, who said they had
been there for two hours begging the
old man to cross them. However, Mr..
Scott succeeded in getting one of the
men to go out to saw lnill and bring
down a piece of bateau, which he
crossed over in, got the boat, and not
only crossed himself but all those
who had waited so long to cross. He
had to pay the man out of his cash
for getting the beteau besides getting
wet.
There has been more than one ap-
peal to the supervisor or ferry
boat which would be safe, but moth
ing has been done, only plank or
two tackled on the bottom. We think
it would be a disgrace to Edgefeld
county for we people to have to build
a ferry boat and pay an extra ferry
man to have an outlet from our
homes to market. We had to do that
to get a road we could travel over,
had to put up cash to have some ter
,rible places patched up in the Mar
tintown road in order to get to Au-
Igusta, our nearest market.
We have explained to you men
our situation and trust you will put
forth every effort to better our con-
dition, and we know men who act as
grand jurors are sensible and intel
ligent, and we know they will care
and want us to have safe crossing
here.
(Signed)
Patrons of the Ferry,