Year: 1877

OF THE


Early Settlement Of South Carolina.
h.. BY REV. ROBERT LATHAM.


A TRIP TO CHARLESTON IN THE OLD


EN- TIME.


Previous to the Revolutionary war, and
for number of years afterward, the people
of the back-country did most Of their trading
in the city of Charleston. 70 this point
they wagoned their tobacco, indigo, and what
ever else of agricultural products they had to
dispose Of To Charleston they drove any
live stock they might have to sell. From the
more northern sections of the State, trip to
Charleston was no little undertaking. 1t
consumed about month. Generally, sever
al neighbors joined in getting up the team,
wagon and produce Seventy-fve or eighty
wears ago, man who owned wagon and
team was regarded as being rich. 1t was on
lya few neighborhoods that were able to at
ford such man. '"'


Tobacco was generally packed away in
large hopsheads. When the time for trans
porting it to Charleston arrived, the hogshead
itself was converted into wheel. This was
done by surrounding the hogshead with some
thing which resembled the felloe Of modern
wagon wheel. With large wooden Plus, this
hoop, felloe, or whatever it may be called,
was secured to the hogshead; one OF these
hoops being attached to each end so high as
to raise the hogshead itself off the ground.
In each end of the hogshead. wooden
gudgeon was fastened. To these gudgeons
we're attached something that might be called
shafts. The whole, when complete, constltu'
ted q cart of the most primitive kind.


In vehicles of this kind, did the first set
tiers of this country transport their produce
from all sections of the State to Charleston.
A trip to Charleston in those days was attend
ed with as much romance, as is trip to Eu-
rope at the present time. 1t was an onerous
undertaking; still, it was full of excitement.
To 20 to Charleston in the manner above
described, was the highest ambition to which
the boys of the country aspired. A long
lifetime was too short to tell all that they
saw and heard during such trip. Really,
there was crowded into the space Of q month
the time during which one of these trips was
made-a vast amount of human life in all
its different aspects.


Rarely did single individual undertake
trip to Charleston alone Generally, small
caravan was formed before leaving home.
On the way, the number was increased, so
that often, the road, for considerable dis
tsuce, was crammed with primitive carts.
Every company made it point to have sup
ply of "the good creature" At every water
ing place the "little brown jug" was brought
out. and its contents tasted by the whole
crowd. The caravan consisted of wagons of
all shapes and descriptions, together with
number of COWS and calves and mountain
steers. The COWS we're milked night and
morning, Just as at home, and the traders
lived very much as they did when on their
farms.


They were in no great hurry. They took
the world easy, and rarely deserted fellow
trader in distress. If the wagon of one of
the party broke down, the whole company
called halt and went to work to repair the
injury. They shared, to the fullest extent,
each others joys and sorrows. Around the
camp fire at night, they cracked jokes, dis
cussed questions of grave Importance. both in
Church and State, or worked pranks on each
other. Not unfrequently their fun would end
in earnest, and a hearty laugh was often fol-
lowed by hard fight. That was, however,
in the days before big knives and pocket pis-
tolls had been introduced, and fight only re-
suited in black eyes and sore ribs. Neither
did they allow their anger to burn continually.
A fight, generally, was an end to ell strife.


A man who would have gone to court in
those early days of our republic, with an "as-
sault and battery" case, would have been re-
parded, by every one in the community. as
consummate coward and sneaking puppy.
We, in this age of advanced civilization and
refined customs, may be shocked at the bar
barous manner in which the first settlers of
our country adjusted their petty grievances,
but it may be questioned whether the ends of
Justice are better secured now than then. A
fight cost the community nothing, and good
sound thrashing proved more effective in re.
forming the disturbers of the public peace,
than either the county Jail or State peniten-
tiary of the present day do.


We will undertake to defend neither the
fighting mode of adjusting private difficulties,
nor the Trial Justice mode. Both indicate
bad state of morals. In those primitive times,
in the wilds of North America, every man
constituted himself judge, lawyer and jury,
and settled his own difficulties without troub.
ling his neighbors. There may have been
more fighting in those days than now; but
there is more quarreling and lawing now than
then.


On one of those Charleston trips, it was
generally understood that some trick was to
be worked on every one that was met. Some
times, in working these tricks, the moral law
was not observed very strictly. The following
incidents will give the reader some knowledge
of the character of the pranks that these
primitive traders were accustomed to play.
Some time after the close of the Revolu.
tionary war, four individuals, from York coun-
ty. set out for Charleston with drove of cat
tie. Amongst the crowd was one by the name
of Ezekiel Price, They passed down what