The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1921-10-26

to keep up" is the usual lowland ex-
PLANTATION. So it is evident that not
much sympathy or interest is cx-
pended on the poor whites by their
neighbors, either as they were or as
they are.
Origin a Question
Not so much is known of the orr
gin of the mountaineer or how he
got left behind in the wilderness, but
his future, because of his sturdincss,
is matter of optimistic speculation
There is not just little scattering
of these people, either, sufficient to
lend picturesque color, but there are
some 100000 Of them all told, and
until the railroads reached them they
were scarcely better off than the
animals of the forests and hardly
less wild. The little children would
scamper into the woods at the ap--
proach of ''furriners," as they cali
anyone not living in the mountains,
and real foreigners, by the way, they
call the "outandish," which is literal
after all.
There were two classes Of early
settlers. Most of them were the fne
old pioneer stock, seeking the free
dom and independence and the great
opportunities the rich, new country
offered, but there came also many
undcsirablcs, criminals, who were
dumped on our shores.
Information regarding the origin
of the feudist element, is mcager IN
deed, but in all probability they de-
scendcd form the early undcsirablcs
as wei las the degenerate fringe OF
| society known as the "pOof whites.
Backed into an eddy, with no tradi-
tions or ideals to guide them, it is
small wonder the mountain whites
! are just what they are today.
Until the 18th amendment made
moonshining heinous crime, the
moonshinef and his moonshine were
accepted as part of the scenery of
the South, and local authorities were
not greatly agitated over his small
traffic. In the old days it was gener-
ally accepted that the mountainecr
to carry juice in bottles than to tote
corn to market in bags on his shoul-
ders through the steep hills, and,
anyway, it was his business.
Big Profits in Moonshine
Moonshine whiskey, made in the
old way, was pure whiskey, though
too new to appeal to the connoisseur;
but since prohibition it is an entirely
different matter. He measures his
corn crop by the gallon, and that
while the market price of corn is
about a couple of dollars, with no de-
mand, he transforms his corn into a
commodity from which he derives a
profit of 500 per cent-maybe 1000
per cent.
l wanted to take back the pleasant
picture of at least one honey cabin,
but l did not find it. There was
neither the pictureSQueneSS of the
negro cabins nor the delcctable
smells of cooking that usually issue
thcrcfrom-nothing of romance or
beauty, although in the midst of Won
drous beauty. Only sordid poverty,
detection and hopelcssncss, apparent
| ly; no evidence Of any effort to ere
| ate an atmosphere Of home. Some of
the poorer classes in the mountains
| live in cabins Of shacks with not
even a winodw. They have never had
windows and they are not necessary
to them. Their China" is tin; boxes
or blocks serve as chairs, while their
| beds are bags of straw. Life is one
long struggle to keep soul and body
| together, and they do not know how
to better their condition.
| TO the stranger they are frank and
friendly, and always hospitable. No
apology for their poverty, but "Wcl-
come, stranger, to what we got" is
the almost invariable greeting.
There are many schools, colleges
/ and hospitals working ceaselessly
for the bctterment Of the mountain