Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-01-03

|
tory of the state. Aulhor, editor, lin
guist. naturalist. booster for South
Carolina, educator, historian, gentle
man, he has spent his life working for
the state, that people not only of South
Carolina but of AMERICA and the world
may know of ii.
Brick House Plantation.
Living at Brici; House Plantation, an
estate that was known far and wide as
one of the greatest and most popular
before the war between the states, he
has come back to resurrcct ii to its
former prestige and influence in again
restoring the great coastal country Of
South Carolina 10 its own. Like the
pioneers Of carly days this man and his
sons, Messrs. James Henry Rice, 3rd,
and Z. Carew Rice--the sons, men Of
hardy bui'd and stalwart frame, have
come into this once prosperous coun-
try i'm the days of.the old rice planters,
to raise il again to the old prospcrons
section it once was, through cultivation
! of various kinds of truck
Five years ago he carne there into a
reritable wilderness. Wild weeds
grew there and IT was indeed coun-
try forlorn Yet with that bravery and
! determination that characterized his
| forbears he set TO work TO build a
home, not because he had to, but be-
cause he believed he would be doing a
great service to his state by showing
the way and by proving that the coast
country with its rich loan lands was
worth while. ~
/ There have been all kinds of trials
and hardships since then II took days
and days and months and months to
erect the handsome mansion that he
and his sons have there fronting on
Chec-ha river the deepest river, by the
way on the South Carolina coast But
his efforts have met with success Just
the other day he showed me an offer
he had from rich ulanfwho wanted to
jbuy his place at handsome figure. He
is not going to sell, however.
1t Is q wonderful piace--one that the
average South Carollnian would not
sell for love CT money If he owned it,
because everything is there.
Imagine place where ono may go
out u mile and half and Kill n big
deer. one may go IN The SAME dircc-
tion, not more than onc-fourth that
distance and kill half dozen duck, or
a dozen partridges OF couple of rab-
bits.
The woodcock abound and the rae
coon and the o'possum and the squirrel
and many other liinisor game. 4
They ,tcld of -. trs:.s y named 1'roc-
tor, from Nincty.Six. up IN Greenwood
county, who spent the winter of 1870
here. He occupied himself mostly with
getting the skins of raccoons. Heapent
the winter here and fed and clothed
himself. Yet when he left in tic early
Spring for the up-countryrhe had more
than $500 in the bank to his credit.
Soil and. Topography.
Naturally tho average up-country-
man would like TO know something Of
the nature OF the soil and topography
of this wonderful coastal plain section
of South Carolina: and in order that
the description might he presented by
an authority got Mr.. James Henry
Rice, ,Ir., to describe it for me.
Said he i'll discussing the subject:
There is n great diversity OF soil on
the South Carolina coast. Large areas
consist of clays; others Of sandy loam
resting on clay subsoil, few inches
beneath the surface; the remainder Is
made up Of loose sandy soil, beneath
which clay Is found often at n distance
of several feet. These latter make up
the so-callcd berry lands and are
peculiarly adapted TO the >culturc oi
strawberries. blackbcrrics, raspberrics,
peaches and all carly vegetables, parti-
cularIy asparagus. cabbage and beans.
"Ccnerally speaking, the soil Of the
coastal plain is gently rolling: very
little Of it. is even Approximately fiat,
All of it rolls enough to afford easy
drainage. There are several million
acres Of land available for cultivation,
which may he utilized by any rmcr
industrious en- ugh TO cut bitches. For
a time beyond human memory, the
coastal plain has been exploited, for
natural resources of timber and other
forest products. for fish and game, and
the shore line for fish and shcllfish.
These natural resources fed large
popu alton. and still do 50, although
modern mills with increased capacity
huvc made short work Of timber and
are rapidly cxhauStng it, SO much
timber has been bought up that the
! turpcutinc operator has had to aban-
don business and move further south
and west.
! There has been Il constant move
mcnt Of population through the great
| pine bet for century at least. Out
! Of this moving mass have been deposit
! cd thousands Of people who have
settled here and there. and who make
| a scanty living cultivating small plots