The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1921-10-11

paragraph of the statute creating
Cooks ferry taken in connection with
its preamble seems to confirm my con-
lecture that it was military measure
giving ingress and egress to and from
Ninety-Six other than Cunningham
ferry at Indian Island ford which was
under Tory supervision. Such an act
would have been most natural, logical
and thoroughly in accord with mil
itary strategy in 1777.
II my conjecture is correct it is
but another evidence of how correctly
the patriots of the old Ninety-SiX DIS
trict grasped the key to the real sit
uation as it related to the British
scheme of the conquest Of upper
South Carolina as l have already
shown.
These Old statutes creating ferries
and toll bridges in upper South Caro-
Ira also throw light on the mode
CT travel and the staple commercial
products of that period of our history.
The sources of revenue at that time
were largely in stock raising, cattle
and sheep, therefore, in all these stat
! utes regulating the toll Of ferries are
mentioned; "Black cattle and horses,
sheep and hogs" We are not to un-
derstand that the cattle was actually
black, but "black cattle" was COM
mercial term used both in England
and in America to designate beef
cattle, which was first called horned
cattle then neat cattle and then
black-cattle. The last term seems to
have arisen from the Importation into
England of a breed Of black cows,
from Scotland, more suitable for beef
than the native English breeds. All
the carriages and four wheeled wag-
ons seemed to have been drawn by
FIVE horses, except the chair and one
horse wagon, for there is no provl-
sion made for the fcrriage of any 9TH
er kind of vehicles. A chair was
drawn by one horse and was crude
reproduction of the French chaise
which means chair. Perhaps the
larger percentage Of travel both by
men and women was on horseback.
Cooks ferry was rechartered IN
|1785 and vested in William Anderson
ESQ. 1t is interesting to note that in
this new charter occur for the first
time rates of toll for rolling hogs
head and horses" doubtless tobacco,
which INDICATES that not much tooac-
co was rolled to Charleston from up
per South Carolina prior to this date.
Another change worthy of note is
that "neat cattle" takes the place of
"black cattle" in the first charter.
Anderson's ferry was again recharter-
ed in 1895 and it is also interesting
to note that within thelperiod 1883 to
1895 pence and shillings are no
longer used for ferriage fare but
cents. for every person four cents;
for every head of horses and mules,
asses or, black cattle two cents"-so
'.black cattle" reappears. Every wa
gon and team and four wheeled car
riage was fifty cents and every two
wheeled carriage and horse fourteen
cents. In connection with the re-
chartering Of Anderson's ferry in
I1795 we have a statute creating new
road,
"And be it further enacted by the
authority aforesaid, That public
road be laid out and opened, to run
the nearest and best way, from David
Davenport's, on Little River, to An
derson's ferry; and from thence, the
nearest and best way, to John Jones ,
at the Long Cane and Augusta Cross
roads; and that Elisha Brooks and
Isaac Mitchell, Jun., to be commits
sioners for laying out ana opening
| the said road, on the north side of
said ferry; and that Thomas Anderson
and Lewis Clarke be commissioners
fo the same purpose the south side
of the ferry" The Thomas Ander-
son mentioned was most probably the
maternal grandfather Of the writer.
Tribute to DR.. Daniel