Advice to young men : and a sketch of Nacoochee, Georgia and its surroundings / by George Walton Williams

;"

AND A SKETCH OF

NACOOCHEE, GEORGIA, AND ITS SURROUNDINGS,

BY

GEO. W. WILLIAMS,

OF CHARLESTON, S. C.

SUCCESS DESIRED BY ALL.
1 desire to give to the young men of the South, in a series short talks, some of n?y hard-earned business experience. EjjS;;V-i say hard-earned, for I began business in Augusta, Ga., in ff^4;>:lS42, in a financial crisis, and have since that day passed jp? ::f; r|hrough many commercial storms and frightful panics, which SSS; /..jiiot oidy tried mens pockets, but their honesty and integrity
].: :- To the young, just beginning life, there is no question of (greater importance to them than
HOW TO SUCCEED.
Success is an object of almost universal desire, and can only tjj& attained by the exercise of good judgment and well-directed jHiergyy combined with habits of industry, economy, skill, ^Oeuracy and perseverance. Determine to succeed, and let
ig discourage you, but use your best efforts. There is glory like the glory of success. II^.The problem of success" has been to me a life-time study. ISiiiave read the biographies and studied the characters of many PR!, the. most successful men of the Old and New World, and

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have gone to .tlife,,-wisest man of ancient tfme&to receive his

testimony. '"","" *

'"" I'-

It has beeTi-jny custom in life to use my eyefiTj^tu} my ears,

and to obsel^fi "closely liueijOtidueatofctJiose with ijjfateu I have

transactions, and I hav^e \vatetieel. *%vrtb" no small ""degree of

interest, the causes which led to failures of so many, hoping

thereby to avoid the rocks on which they were wrecked. Strive

by a prudent and well regulated life to preserve your health,

for health gives you strength to meet the ills and disappoint

ments of life, and is one of the greatest earthly blessings, and

is essential to success. A correct life is conducive of health.

Life without health is scarcely worth the living. By a wise

attention to the laws of nature there is no reason why you

should not live in the enjoyment of health and activity until

you have reached your three score and ten. But the belles and

beaux, in this fast age, start out on their nightly dissipations

at eleven oclock, and frequently dance in crowded and close

heated rooms all night. Is it any wonder that many young

women are nervous and hysterical at twenty? or that young

men are feeble dyspeptics? This reversing the order of things

ruins many a constitution. But what will not the fair sex

endure to be in the fashion? The men, of course, are but their

slaves. "A sound mind in a sound body" is of inestimable

value in the way to success. Dr. Hall says: Health, wealth

and religion are the three grand duties of life.

Apart from an attack of yellow fever, in 1852, I have not

lost by sickness one day from business since I left my Nacoo-

chee home in 1838.

During that long time of seventy-eight years my life has

been one of activity, work, toil and struggle. My friends insist

that I am killing myself by "overwork." Work seldom kills

people; it is worry and idleness that do the mischief. It is

infinitely better to wear out than rust out Let me say to the

boys by way of encouragement, who desire health, happiness

and independence, that the writer never spent an idle day,

never took a chew of tobacco, never smoked a cigar, never

danced, or played a game of cards or billiards, he joined the

Washington Temperance Society, and the Methodist Church

in his fourteenth year.

When urged to "retire from business," his reply is, that an

"idle brain is the workshop of the devil." I am sure we are

all happier for having a pursuit that will actively employ both

mind and body; many a young man owes his success to his

conflicts withdifficulties. An easy, luxurious life does riot elevate a man morally, mentally, or physically.
No man: will succeed unless he possesses resolution and an earnest desire to excel, whether he be in pursuit of wealth, knowledge or fame. Never rely upon chance to give you wealth or position; rather be the architect of your own fortune.
A writer has compared the way to fortune, to the milky way in the sky, which is a meeting of myriads of small stars, not seen asunder, Imt^gtving Hght together; so are there a number of little and scarcely visible virtues, or traits and habits, which make the successful man. It is common for the world to ascribe good or bad hick to Providence. I admit that the heavens and earth are governed by an overrul ing and all-wise Providence, but the young man who habitually neglects his duty and relies upon Providence to do for him what he should do for himself, will not succeed. life is full of troubles, trials, disappointments and difficulties; you must learn to fight its battles bravely, energetically and manfully from the cradle to the grave.
SUCCESS THE .KESULT OF WOEK AND SAVING.
In speaking of success, I do not wish it to be understood as advancing the idea that the only success in life to be coveted, is to make money and get gain. Many of the most successful lawyers, divines, statesmen, physicians, authors and warriors in ancient and modern times lived and died poor. But I do say, very few men succeed in any pursuit or profession who do not work, toil and struggle for success. You should not be satisfied with being a mere animal, but strive to be a man among men. You are made in the image of God, with brains and.intellect ; if you have but one talent use it to the best of your ability; be not like the slothful servant who dug a hole in the ground and buried Ids talent because he was not blessed with two or more.
While upon the subject of saving and making I wish to say to young men that there is no royal road to success. Succesgis a,tt,a.inp.d thrmio-Vi a. Tmiliifodfi ftf ilKTiinlrlW Those who make a daily saving, however small, can rarely come to want. AH should learn to save when young, that they may have money to spend when they are old. Be a willing worker. If a young man looks upon every service that devolves upon him as a labor to be submitted to rather than a duty to be cheerfully

performed, he will drag in his work and will not be advanced in the estimation of his employer. Let all the interests and duties entrusted to you be as sacredly performed as if they were wholly your own. The father of the richest man in America began life without money or family influence, but by making and saving he accumulated a fortune of fifty mil lions of dollars, besides making liberal gifts to colleges and churches. Let an honorable ambition stimulate you to use the talents God has given you, to the fullest extent. It is true all men are not equally qualified for getting and saving money, but I think if the young men will examine carefully the little sums they spend unnecessarily, they will see wasted in tobacco, cigars arid the like, an amount sufficient to make a respecta ble deposit in a savings bank, or to aid an aged father or sick mother, who may be struggling in poverty, or a sister who is striving for an education.
Saving at first may be irksome, but by practice it becomes a pleasure. An important lesson of life is to learn to save ; begin by small savings, rather than not begin at all ; and begin at once. You will not be likely to make your way from poverty to riches unless you learn to economize in small things. One of the happiest days of my life was when I had saved my first dollar, and when by perseverance, industry and ecomomy, I had accumulated ten dollars I felt I was on the road to success. Let me urge you to keep an account of yoir receipts and expenditures, however small, and at the close of each day, see what you have spent that could have been avoided. Acquire the habit of making and saving, and it will be a wonderful help in the joiirney of life. It is as important for parents of wealth to teach their children habits of economy, as it is for those of moderate means, for if the young do not learn the value and use of money when they get it, either by work or inheritance,it will slip through their fingers like ivater through a sieve. Obey the advice of the great founder of Methodism: "Make all you can, save all you can, and give all you can."
The human family is ever in search of happiness. Idleness is not happiness. Neither is it perfect rest.
Success when accompanied by wealth, brings with it cares and responsibilities that few can realize. It is more difficult to use money wisely than it is to make it. Too frequently it is the custom of men of wealth to hide away their gold, as it were, with the delusive hope of making benevolent uses of it when about to enter the cold stream of Jordan, forgetting that

it is more difficult for a man who trusts in riches" to enter the kingdom of Heaven, "than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle."
Money, however, possesses a magnetic power, and stirs the world from centre to circumference, influencing as it does the destinies of nations as well as that of individuals.
It is-the object which has engrossed the mind and affections of all ages, and has and ever will give an impulse to trade, commerce and manufactures.
You should cultivate habits of attention, and be on the alert for opportunities. Do not fold your hands like Mieawber, and always be waiting for something to turn up. If you have no business, make it. Idleness is the parent of poverty, want and siu. Work is an essential element in happpiness and success. If you accomplish anything, it will be by industry and patient thought. Help thyself and Heaven will help thee is a promise worthy to be cherished and remembered.
Those who work with their hands or brains are far happier than the idle, for sweet is the bread earned by the sweat of the brow. Industry and enterprise are more important to success than brilliant talents.
It is surprising how much one of comparatively moderate talents can accomplish by persistent efforts, and patient, persevering energy. Honest success is salutary not only to individuals, but to the whole country. If you possess energy of character, it will often excite and encourage energy in others.
I have long since learned, that anything worth having is warth working for. Spurgeon says: He that has work to do has less temptation to doubt, that the man that is idle and has nothing else to do but to doubt. Idleness is just as injuri ous to the women as it is to the men.
Work that brings honest accumulation is honorable. We should all work while we live and make a diligent use of life while any power remains. How distressing it is to see in an age of progress, and in a land that yields so readily to the hand of the industrious, so much poverty, distress, and want. Even the ant, which hath no guide, overseer or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. To be a successful merchant, banker or farmer you must be industrious and economical in begin ning life.
A great ineny troubles and wants of life arise from a

careless discharge of your duties, and a wasteful expenditure of money.
It is indeed bad for a man who has a large family to be poor and not understand the value of time and money. A good fellow they call him, but alas he does not know how to provide for his wife and children, poverty is a depressing thing.
"We must begin our work with the morning sun; the day was made for work and the night for rest and sleep. One of the first things that drew my attention to Charleston, as a business place, was the late hours at which the merchants began their days work. I concluded if they could make a living beginning the days work at 9 oclock, I could make more than a living by starting some hours earlier.
As important as a college education may be to young men, and I admit the importance of parents bestowing the best possible education upon their children, yet it may not be a misfortune in the present condition of the country that the counting-house should be the boys college, and the domestic duties of home the girls seminary, for there they are taught the useful, if not the ornamental branches of education. All brain work does not pay; the physical must be cultivated as well as the mental. In the school of toil and industry they learn a knowledge of the world, the value of time, of money and character.
The young man whose salary is one thousand dollars per annum, and saves ona-tenth of that sum, is on the road to wealth, while he who receives double that amount and spends twenty-one hundred dollars, is sure to fail. An important lesson of life is to learn to nave; begin by small savings, rather than not begin at all, put your weekly net earnings in a sav ings bank, where it will draw interest and be ready for a rainy day. Never have an idle hour or an idle dollar. Let the young of both sexes lay up the amount they are in the habit of spending in superfluities, and they will be the happier and more independent for so doing. If you cannot grow rich, there is no reason why you should not make yourself at least comfortable.
CHARACTER THE CORNER-STONE OF SUCCESS.
In a country like ours, where the road to wealth is open to all, it is not strange that the love of money, and money mak ing should be predominating traits. But money, with all of

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its uses, power, and influence, is as naught when compared to Cha/router.
A sure means of building up character is to practice the virtues of honesty, temperance and frugality. Wealth is a blessing or curse as it is used for good or evil. You should combine with uprightness of character a determination to succeed, and a disposition to do right under all circumstances. Character is not an inheritance, it is not an estate to which one is born heir to, but requires almost superhuman efforts to fully establish it, and to keep it. Character forms the groundwork of a happy, useful and successful life.
Let me impress upon you the priceless value of character. It is not of the noblest possessions a man can have. Build upon it, for it carries with it a p*ower and influence that always tells. -No money can measure its value, and no man can ro,b you of it without your own consent. Success, in its general acceptation, is almost valueless without character. I esteem the spotless character bequeathed to me by my honored parents more than if they had left me great wealth: houses and lands may be lost, but character lives after-marble monuments crum ble with time. A good name is one of the heritages of char acter, and is more to be desired than riches. Then strive to make for yourself a name free from reproach; if you value a good name and the respect of the virtuous, avoid bad company. Enter not into the path of the wicked,and go not in the way of evil men." Character tells in all relations of life. A man of bad character lias a debasing influence upon his companions. "That which is born of evil begets evil;" so shun the bad and vicious as you would a serpent.
Young men should see to it that they sew good seed. "Whatsoever a man soweth , that also shall he reap." If you sow tares you will reap tares. If the young would but consider how much their parents and friends are interested in their welfare and happiness, they would be stimulated to live correct lives, and to make for themselves (Jlwracter above reproach.
The humblest person in the land has father, mother, sister, or some one who feels an interest in his or her welfare. Have an ambition to do right, and you will be respected and honored by the good and virtuous.
Remember, young man, that in all of your wanderings, the eye of God is constantly upon you; remember, also, that your actions, whether good or bad. are scrutinized by those from

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whom you seek employment. A youth who is seen with the idle and dissolute of either sex, will not find favor with busi ness men of correct principles. Remember men are known and estimated by the company they keep. A sober youth can not associate with the intemperate and dissolute without becom ing contaminated. I have known some noble boys who were ruined by wicked, intemperate associates. Alas! our cities and towns are filled with such characters; few young men can withstand the temptations of city life. Intemperance lias long been the curse of the land. No man who habitually gets drunk can be trusted with important interests, for in the time of greatest need he will utterly fail; his intentions may be good,and he may strive to do right,but if he drinks to intoxica tion he loses self-control, and is on the broad road to ruin. There is little or no hope of reforming him. The habit of drinking, when formed in youth, is one that is almost incurable. Then look not upon the wine when it is red; at the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. Remember that the hand of- the diligent maketh rich, but the glutton and drunkard shall come to poverty.
We scarcely take up a newspaper without being shocked with accounts of deadly conflicts, often between friends, originating in drinking and gambling saloons.
A writer, in speaking of the effects of intemperance, says: " It shall visit your limbs with palsy; it shall extinguish the pride of man; it shall make the husband hateful to the wife; and the wife loathsome to the husband; it shall annihilate the love of offspring. It shall disgrace the judge upon the bench, the minister in his sacred desk, and the senator in his exalted seat. It shall make your food tasteless, your mouth to burn as with a fever, and your stomach to tremble as if with disease. It shall cause the besotted mother to overlay her new-born, unconscious that it dies beneath the pressure of her weight. The son shall hide his face, that he may not behold his fathers depravity; and the father shall see the object of his fondest hopes turn to a foul and bloated carcass, that hurries to the grave. It shall turn the children of men into raving maniacs; and the broken ties of blood and affection shall find no relief but in the friendly coming of Death.
Of all the evils in the world whiskey drinking is probably the greatest.
We read of men crazed by liquor, who return to their homes, and brutally murder their wives and innocent children. Young

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men do not require stimulants, but it is not difficult for them to imagine that the addition of brandy to water improves its quality. In this way, habits of intemperance are impercepti bly formed, and the youth becomes a confirmed drunkard before he is aware of it. From a bright young man, once . the pride of his family, he becomes a drunken sot, and a nuisance in society. Temptations to dissipation are always increased by idleness; no brain can stand total stagnation; The body and mind must be employed to be healthy and happy. Too frequently the idle resort to tobacco, opium, or whiskey. Thus fearful, pernicious habits are formed. I have long been of the opinion that the use of tobacco, con sidered by many so harmless, is the first step to dissipation. It is said that the dryness of the mouth caused by smoking, excites an artificial thirst which requires frequent draughts of liquid. Water becomes insipid, and brandy is added. In this way dissipation often begins, which ends in ruin both to soul and body. This warning is intended as much for the minister of the Gospel who smokes and chews, as for the yunth just beginning life. I do not consider any man innocent who makes himself a slave to tobacco or whiskey.

ECONOMY".





Economy, which is so important, to the human family, seems a hard lesson for our people to learn.
I do not mean that economy which only looks to a saving of money, but economy which includes a prudent manage ment of all the means by which property is saved or accumu lated, and more especially to a saving of time. Remember that economy is the parent, of honesty, of independence, and of contentment.
In my visits to the Old World, I made careful observations of the manners, customs and habits of the people, both in Great Britain arid on the Continent. I was impressed with the economy, order and system practiced, not only in the commercial and banking houses, but by the people in all pur suits of life.
With our young men the temptation to spend is unfortu nately greater than the inclination to save; this is one of the reasons why we see so much misery and poverty. It requires more force of character to save money than it does to make it.
In the public houses of Europe you order and pay for what

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you want, while at our five dollar hotels you pay more for what you waste than for what you eat. As an evidence of the eeonomy with which business is conducted in Europe, I would state, that our firm kept a large account with a banking house in Liverpool. Ey an oversight a three cent instead of a six cent postage stamp was placed on a letter. The omis sion was called to our attention, and the three cents postage was charged to our account. These same bankers had a mes senger at Queenstowri to look after our baggage, and pass it through the custom house, making no charge for the services rendered. That was civility, while the postage stamp was strictly business, such as is practiced by the best bankers in Europe. On the strength of this experience which, to the prodigal American, looked like a small transaction I had a postage account opened, and we were all surprised to see how soon items of one, two and three cents swelled into dollars by the thousands.
The inhabitants of the Old World do not forget that if you take care of the shillings the pounds will take care of them selves. It is the petty items wasted that often consume the profits of the store, the farm, and the income of the profes sional man. He who wantonly wastes his own fortune, will not be careful of the fortune of others.
The frugal Germans and French will live comfortably on what we prodigal Americans waste.
Avoid extravagance, or living beyond your means for the sake of show. If you do not, your life will be a perpetual struggle, and you will find a short road to disgrace and ruin.
Making money is one thing, but the secret of saving when made is what yon must learn. Perhaps the strangest problem in mv business experience is to see some men exhibit extraor dinary talents in making money, but, somehow, they utterly fail in keeping the fortunes made.
A young mans business habits and chances of success are improved by marrying young, provided he makes a judicious selection of a wife; a good wife and health are a mans true wealth. Very much of your success in life depends upon the kind of a wife you get; a prudent wife considers the comfort of her husband and children. Do 7iot take the responsibility of a family until you have reasonable prospects of making an adequate support. When you do marry, let me beseech you to have the moral courage to inform your family that you can not live in the same style that some of your neighbors do,

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without incurring debt or being dishonest. Far better never marry, than to bring disgrace upon your wife and children by extravagant living, which often leads to spending money that does not belong to you.
I am sure that the majority of our self-sacrificing women i will do their part faithfully in supporting a family. The spirit of industry and economy which we have seen practiced by them since the war, is worthy of the emulation of the most refute men. I have seen, delicate ladies of education and refinement, who in other days were accustomed to ease and luxury, teaching negro schools, and cheerfully performing the most menial duties rather than eat the bread of dependence. There is, indeed, hope of a country that furnishes such women as are to be found all over these Southern lands, God bless them! They will truly be helpmates. I have a ten der spot in my heart for women who are struggling to earn their living. I have been pained to see delicate women try ing to support lazy, vagabond husbands.
PUNCTUALITY.
Young men who are desirous of establishing correct busi ness habits should -be punctual. Xothing begets confidence in a young man sooner than habits of punctuality, sobriety and accuracy. Xo one who is habitually dilatory and inac curate, will be tolerated in a well regulated counting-house. Accuracy is a mark of good training. Let me urge the young to concentrate their efforts, and not waste their time by engaging in a variety of pursuits, making themselves as it were "Jack of all trades and good at none." Find out what you are fitted for, and having chosen a business, however humble it may be, stick to it, and go to work with a will and determination to succeed. Some people are always resolving, but fail to put their resolutions into execution. I will do it to-morrow, never accomplishes much. Decision of character is of the utmost importance; to be constantly changing your plans is evidence of a weak, vascillating mind. Learn to finish well and promptly whatever you undertake.
Punctuality is an important business habit; a punctual man always regards the time of others. Punctuality should be made a point of conscience, as well as duty.
Some good men have their names associated with various boards, but give very little attention to the trusts assumed.

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Diligence is said to be the _ mother of good luck, and is an important business trait; it is the active employment of mind and body, and often brings to the possessor knowledge, wealth and fame.
When a thing is to be done the punctual man does not hesitate, but goes to work and accomplishes it. The Spartan youth that told his mother his sword was too short,was ordered to add a step to it. If we feel that our talents are insuffi cient, we must add to them by industry and diligence. You should not only be punctual, accurate and industrious, but you must also be prudent. "A prudent man looketh well to his going;" he will not involve himself in debt until he has carefully considered the means of discharging the same.
Speaking of punctuality, my friends will pardon me, in this connection, for saying that, in varied business transac tions, amounting to more than two hundred million dollars, our house has never failed to meet, to the hour,, every pecu niary obligation, whether written or verbal, except fora short period during the war, when their remittances were inter cepted, but were paid in full when the war was over.
Do riot be allured from your legitimate work, and engage in business enterprises in which you have had no previous experience. Better let well enough alone. Never leave for to-morrow what should be done to-day; nor for another to do what might be done by yourself.
POLITENESS.
I feel that I cannot too earnestly impress upon the young the importance of cultivating habits of politeness. Good address and courteous manners are high recommendations to the young man seeking employment or starting in business. They are almost as important as the possession of capital. Americans are not distinguished for politeness and reverence.
The young should always be attentive and respectful to the aged.
When some of us old boys were lads, if we were permitted to sit at the table with our seniors, we did not, as many of the youth of the present day, monopolize the conversation.
If we were satisfied in our own minds that we knew much more than our parents, for prudential reasons, we took good care t<~ keep the information to ourselves. I will not deny that this generation is wiser than that which preceded it, but

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we have been taught that modesty is a virtue, and that good manners should be carried to the festive hoard, house of divine worship, and into the domestic circle. The indecent practice that many thoughtless young men have fallen into, of placing themselves in lines and groups on the walks leading to and from churches and public promenades, making jesting remarks, and gazing at the ladies as they pass, cannot be too much condemned. While upon the subject of politeness, I have a word to say to the young girls, who crowd gray-haired men out of their seats, and see them stand for hours, without offering in return the slightest thanks. These same young ladies too frequently conduct themselves in public places in a manner to elicit unfavorable remarks. The young should conduct themselves, at all times arid in all places, whether at home or abroad, with modesty and propriety. Tf the hum blest person does you a favor, it is your duty in some way to acknowledge it. Washington, when questioned about return ing the salute of a colored man, replied that he could afford to be as polite as a servant.
Pleasing manners and good address have laid the founda tion of many a young mans success in life. The art of pleas ing is certainy a gift to be prized. Politeness is said to be benevolence in small things, is sunshine in darkness, and is an embodiment of the golden rule, do unto others as they would be done by. Politeness and civility are essential to success. The toils and struggles of many a youth have been made the lighter by encouraging words and little attentions from his employer. Business men should always manifest an interest in their clerks; and, in return, clerks should study their own interest, not merely doing what they are obliged to do, but they should also be watchful in promoting the interest of their employers. From the day that I began business in Augusta, Ga., in 1842, it has been my pleasure to reward the clerks with the best possible salaries, and to advance them to positions of trust and partnerships whenever opportunity offered. Polite ness has helped scores of young men in my employ to lucra tive positions. In large establishments, numerous clerks are required, all differing as much in character, address and dis position, as in their likeness to each other. I have often been pained to see exhibited, even in well regulated estab lishments, petty jealousies aiul dislikes among the clerks, fre quently without any real cause; also an indisposition to lend a helping hand when it could be done without interfering

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with their own .work.., I know;there. are trying and irritating ciraimstances arising almost daily in all pursuits, and that east winds will blow upon feeble and dyspeptic constitutions, but there is such a thins; as yielding to ill temper, sour looks, and an unaccommodating disposition, until nearly all the sweets are taken out of life, and until we are no comfort to ourselves or others. A polite, kind, accommodating disposi tion, coupled with patient and serene manner and temper, are virtues which go a long way in smoothing the rugged pathway through life. I am sorry to say that the counting house and workshops are not the only places where you do not find perpetiial sunshine. In the domestic circle, around the family fireside, ah! even among brothers and sisters, and, shall I add, between husbands and wives, are sometimes to be found bickerings, jealousies, contentions, ill-temper, misunderstand ing and strife.
Alas! that such things should be. There is, however, a great deal of the Adamic nature left in man even in this advanced period of the Christian era. Remember that kind words and kind acts live after one is dead.
Some men are as polite, smiling and courteous as Chester field in company, but are real porcupines in their own homes.
"Home, Sweet Home," is the place of all places in the world where the courtesies of life should, be practiced.
IIONKKTY.
My advice to the young is to let all of their transactions be fair, just and honorable. If you would succeed in life adhere scrupuously to the truth; cultivate truth and honesty, and always be upright in your dealings. "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord; but they that deal truly are His delight. Dare to do right, for it is said fortune favors the brave. It pays to be honest, truthful and upright.
I am convinced from long and careful observation of the truth of the old maxim, that "honesty is the best policy," even if your aims are no higher than to make money and get gain. Should your accountability not extend beyond the grave, still you should he honest and faithful in all accepted trusts. Defraud not the orphan or the widow. An honest man is truthful and reliahle. A writer has said that of the qualities that combine to form a good character, there is not one of more importance than reliability. The word itself

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embraces both truth and honesty. The reliable man must be truthful and honest; he is a man of good judgment, not friv olous, but is careful, prudent and thoughtful. What he says may be relied on. You feel safe with your property or the administration of your affairs in his hands. "When quitting this world your last hours are made more peaceful at the thought of leaving wife, children and money to the. care of an honest, reliable man. Pope says: "An honest man is the noblest work of God." Tt is not honest to take the advantage of another, or to be careless or negligent in matters of trust. Strive as near as poor human nature will allow to do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Establish a reputation for uprightness, promptness and faildealing, and you are in the road to success. Strive to be true and honest in all the relations of life. Let all of your trans actions be based on integrity, and make your word as good as your bond. "He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much." It is better to be honest than rich.
The young man who leaves his home, and goes out into the world in search of a fortune, encounters many trials, tempta tions and difficulties, liemernber there is much in making a right beginning. One false step often mars the prospects of many a young man for life. Whatsoever duty may be assigned you, if it sweeping the office, let the Avork be wrell done. Your salary is a small part of your compensation. In well conducted houses in Europe, parents often pay for situations furnished their sous. Let your aim be to inspire confidence; confidence is a plant of slow growth; to make it grow it requires toil and sunshine. A single adverse breath may destroy it forever. Many persons do not succeed in life because they lack honesty, pluck and energy.
If yon wish to succeed, you must be honest, and do your duty faitfully to God and man.
ALL MUST WOKK WH1TK AND BLACK.
If we do not succeed in the South it will be our own fault. Of course the disorganization of our entire labor system has, and will for many years, retard our prosperity, but I have felt sure that not only the freedrnan will work, but the whites also. Immediately after the late war, I began to build ware houses for the storage of cotton and merchandise. My friends thought I was doing a very unwise thing. They predicted

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that cotton could not be produced by white labor, and that the negroes would not work. I did not believe any such doctrine. I have found.that a dozen warehouses would not accommodate the cotton receipts of one Charleston firm. Another source of considerable wealth to the South has arisen from the discovery of immense beds of phosphate rock and fossil bone in South Carolina. These remarkable deposits, both on land and in the navigable streams, attracted the attention of geologists more than a century ago, but strange to say, their commercial value was not known until after the close of the war. These immense deposits, which will last for ages, have added greatly to the commerce of South Caro lina. Thousands of cargoes are annually shipped from Charleston and Beaufort to foreign and domestic ports. The manufacture of fertilizers from these rocks and fossils has added much to the wealth and trade of Charleston. The cap ital now employed in mining phosphate rock and manufactur ing fertilizers exceeds the whole banking capital of the State. Land which was considered almost worthless, has been brought to the highest state of productiveness by the use of chemical fertilizers. Is it possible that these rocks and fossil remains which have been found so important to the fertility and fruitfulness of the earth, were deposited on the banks and in the streams of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers many centuries ago by chance ? Let us rather believe that they were placed there by our Heavenly Father, whose love and providential care is ever over His children in their time of greatest need.
CAUSE OF FAILURES AN]) TIIKIE BEMEDIES.
Failures often arise from a want of tact, application, enter prise and business talent. Not one man in a thousand is what you call a "born merchant." Overtrading, endorsing, and running ITI debt are fruitful sources of failures; the practice of endorsing is liable to great abuse, and too frequently leads to ruin. Want of system, neglect of business, and trusting too much to others, often lead to failures. Many do not succed for the want of health, and a want of health is often caused by our own imprudences, and over-indulgence in eating and drinking.
Those who generally succeed make themselves merchants or business men by unceasing application and toil. "Whatso ever their hands find to do, they do it with all their might."

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It is a lamentable fact that not ten per cent, of those who engage in commerce succeed.
The wonder is, when we see so many shipwrecked in mer cantile pursuits, that there are any so bold as to venture in trade. The new methods of business are not improvements upon the old ways; trickery and adulteration is the curse of the land; nearly every article of merchandise is adulterated, and nearly every business is run into colossal trusts.
Most of the beginners are unwilling to follow in the slow road of toil and struggle which leadsto fortune.
By tome fortunate speculation they hope to step from the bottom round to the top of the ladder.
I have a directory of Augusta, Ga., published about the time I began business in that city. In the long list of firms, banks and insurance companies that were in existence in 184-2, I do not believe one survived the war.
"Very few of the merchants retired with fortunes and only a limited number with even as competence.
As distasteful as it is to the majority of our people, it may be necessary, as well as advantageous, for our young men to go back to first principles, and devote themselves, to agricul ture.
When our first parent was driven from the Garden of Eden, he was commanded to till the ground, and earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. Now, when we consider that the fruits of the earth have been, and ever will be, the source of all wealth, then why do not more of our young men cultivate the soil instead of flocking to towns and over-crowded cities to engage in pursuits which scarcely give them an humble subsistence ?
God made the earth to be cultivated, and not to be choked with thistles for want of laborers.
There is no life so independent as that of a farmer; and it is astonishing to see how soon an industrious young man, blessed with a thrifty wife, can, on a small farm, surround himself with the comforts of life; for, after all, our wants are more imaginary than real. Many vainly think that to be happy we must have great wealth; it is true, that money, wisely used, is a good thing and brings with it comforts and independence; but the farmer who has his green pastures, flocks and herds of sheep, cattle and horses, and his barns rilled with the product of the land, such a man is truly one of the lords of the soil. But, should he be lazy, and have an extrava-
9

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gaiit, gad-about wife, the home will soon , be in the hands of the sheriff, and his children in rags.
The Greeks and Romans placed agriculture among the divinities of their religion. I do not ask so much for it, but I do ask that it be considered as one of the respectable occu pations of life, to be a farmer. While I regard the pursuit of agriculture as the safest and surest road to success, yet I consider the merchant, banker, and the artisan, as active colaborers, and almost indispensable to the tillers of the soil; for without the aid of the merchant, much of the surplus products of the farm \vould go to waste in the handling of them.
The feverish excitement of a commercial life makes me enjoy all the more the few months I spend each summer amidst the green pastures and fertile fields of my quiet JSTacoochee home.
ENVY.
If you would succeed and be happy, crush out the spirit of envy. There is scarcely a trait in the human heart more to be detested than that of envy. It is the parent of malice, revenge and hatred. We are told that "a sound heart is the life of the flesh, but envy is the rottenness of the bones." The eye of envy never sleeps, but gazes with demoniacal malignity upon a rival. An envious man has a tongue as poisonous as a serpent; he takes you into his confidence only to sting you like an adder. He is never happy so long as a Mordecai sits at the kings gate. Envy magnifies your failings, depreciates your virtues, and seeks every opportunity of slandering and defaming your good name. Such a character receives, indeed, small dividends for the wrongs he inflicts.
It was through envy that sin and death entered the world, and it was the same satanic spirit that caused Cain to slay his innocent, but more favored brother. An envious man is in pain on occasions which should give him pleasure. He is not only incapable of being happy in anothers success, but exults over his misfortunes. This pernicious passion, if long in dulged in, becomes an incurable disease. Unhappily it has an abiding place in too many hearts, and too many homes.
Then how important it is that parents should carefully guard against this odious and sinful disposition in their children. Youth is the period for cultivating humane and benevolent affections. The young should let a sense of right and justice

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guide them in all their intercourse with men, and never regard with envy the honestly attained success or advance ment of another. If you or I succeed by honest efforts, the whole community will share in our prosperity. It is evidence of a contracted mind that looks with envy tipon the honest suc cess of a neighbor or competitor. The best thing in the world is a tongue that speaks no evil, and the worst thing in the world is a slanderous, tattling, envious tongue. It is full of a deadly poison.
Envy tends to make men hard-hearted, selfish and cruel; to destroy even natural affections, and to awaken the most malignant passions.
HEAR WHAT SAM JOKES SAYS ABOUT A SLANDEBOUS TONGUE:
Many a woman will stand by the side of her husband when he is dead, and with a bleeding heart ask the Lord to forgive every unkind word she had ever spoken to him. I have myself spoken unkindly to my wife, and I am sorry for it. She said it was my dyspepsia, but it was my own down right meanness."
Never say a tiling unless you know it is true. Never say anything unkindly of any one. Never say anything behind any ones back you would not say to their face. If you do, you are a slanderer. The man that steals my money is a gen tleman and a Christian, beside the one who, with a slanderous tongue, smirches the character of some one. Let us watch this tongue business. We talk too much. I wish we could get our tongues like that of Christ. He had a word of com fort for every one. Wrong no man with your tongue. The best way to keep from wronging any one is to keep your mouth . shut. Husband, when you see your wifes dander is rising, jiist keep your mouth shut. Itll nearly kill her, but it is the best thing you can do. The worst gossipers in the city are .not women, by any means. They are men. Say amen, sisters. [A loud and hearty amen shook the tent.] Sisters, never say a word on earth that you cant say in Heaven. There are a dozen ladies in a parlor, and when they go home their cheeks are burning. They have said something they are sorry for. They wish now they had not said it. Sister, lets never do anything that you would not have your children do. Ill toil you the kind of a mother thats a fine example. The mother that goes to the theater;

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and another who loves the yellow back novels better than she loves her husband; and another who is on the street all the time. They are pretty examples for mothers"
I commend to you the sentiments contained in the follow ing beautiful lines:
Nay, spsak no ill; a kindly word Can never leave a sting behind;
And, oh, to breathe each tale weve heard, Is far beneath a noble mind;
For oft a better seed is sown By choosing thus a kinder plan;
For if but little good we know, Lets speak of all the good we can."
Let the above lines be indelibly impressed upon your hearts, and make it a rule of your life to speak of all, the best you can.
TIME.
I feel that I cannot too earnestly impress upon the young the value of time, and the folly of misspending it. Your success in life will very much depend upon a proper use of time. It is one of the first lessons a young man starting in life has to learn. Gather up the fragments of time, so that nothing can be lost. Time, patience and industry will con quer the woild. There is literally not a single moment in life that we can afford to lose. Youth is the period for un wearied application. As fortunes are wasted in numerous small expenses, even so is precious time, by failing to econo mize minutes and hours. The inclination is so great to post pone from day to day, and week to week, waiting for a more convenient season to do what should be done at once. Time must be usefully employed if we hope to succeed, and thereby reap the fruits of our labor. The value we set on time is shown by the use we make of it. It should be employed not only for our own good, but also for the good of others. True happiness consists in doing our duty to God and toman. Life is a struggle with most men, arid fortunate are they who suc ceed in procuring, from year to year, food and raiment for their households. I am convinced from careful observation that the majority of the human family make but a bare support, even if they toil early and late. A portion of each day should be employed in the improvement of the mind with useful knowledge. Read the most useful books, not overlooking the Bible. It is the best book ever published, aside from its

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Divine teachings. Ignorance and idleness are the parents of much of the vice and immorality which abound in the world. Men engaged in commerce, agriculture, or the arts, must not forget that knowledge is power. By devoting an hour each day to careful reading, study and self-culture, you will im prove the mind, and thereby become well informed on most important subjects. Make good use of the minutes, and the days will take care of themselves.
Young men should waste neither time nor money. Hemember that "time and tide wait for no man." Time is your estate; an estate, however, of little value without cultivation and improvement.
Many young men waste valuable time at billiard saloons, clubs, and at the gaining table; time that should be devoted to work, or the improvement of their minds It is as impor tant to learn the lesson of economizing time as it is to save money; for if you lose your money, you may regain it b^ industry, but golden hours lost are gone forever.
Thirty minutes to-day, an hour to-morrow, arid two hours uext week saved, will enable the studious and industrious youth to lay the foundation of a good education.
LABOE.
Labor, either with the hands or the brains, the application of our gifts to some beneficial result, is the basis of improve ment and happiness, and the means of subsistence. " If a man will not work, neither shall he eat," is one of the immutable laws. Labor is both honorable and helpful; the man who by his labor makes two blades of grass grow where only one grew before, is a benefactor. Talents are of little use if we have not the energy and ambition to put them, mto practice. Many persons seem willing enough to work, but are lament ably deficient in method and system. Nothing is done at the proper time, or in the proper way. Perseverance and energy, combined with moderate ability, will show better results than great talents combined with laziness and indifference. Indo lence is often taken for patience. It is better to have a wife that will scold, fret and work, than one who does nothing but hold hei idle hands. If you would gather fame, riches and honor, you must labor, toil and work; for the diligent hand waseth strong and mighty." In youth habits of industry are most easily acquired. Man, if he would be happy, must have

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some^useful object to look forward to, something to aspire after. I have been convinced that there is no resting place this side of eternity, and that it is our duty to be actively employed as long as we are blessed with health and strength to labor. One of the great benefits of employment is that it acts as a check upon the temptations which beset on every side an unoccupied man or woman. Work purifies our fallen nature. If cleanliness is next to godliness, industry is closely allied to religion. Carlyle says: Show me a people energet ically busy, heaving, struggling, all shoulders to the wheel, and I will show you a people to whom all manner of good is certain, if their energy endure."
The venerable Doctor Geddings, my family physician, was called out by a handsome eulogy on his long, and faithful labors in the healing art, and he made a touching reply, the substance of which is here given:
BKMAEKS OF DR. GEDDINGS.
Mr. Chairman : I rise in response to your call, moved with the profoundest emotions. When I compare the success which has crowned the labors of our friend, whose hospitality we are now enjoying, with the fruits of my life, it appears to me as if I had accomplished nothing. Fortune has smiled on his honest toil, and has poured her wealth into his lap. I am poor. If, indeed, indulgent friends point to the healing touch of the physician as the happiest reward of labor, yet I beg here to add my testimony of the truthfulness of those senti ments whiuh were set forth in the address of our honored host " Labor omnia vincit.' Whatever I am, like him, I have attained it by hard work. Xo mistake is so fatal to a young man as the infatuation that lie was born a genius. .Buffon says: Genius is patience. .Vfy long experience fully attests that nothing can be accomplished without patient, plodding, untiring application. This is what we now need. The times call for labor. It is the first great law of life. The history of our friend corresponds with my own, at least in one respect, we began life poor boys. Tie has very happily proven to us to-day by this elegant hospitality, that "nature abhors a vacuum," a law which I learned early in life, and which led me to fill an empty mind with such stories of knowl edge as were open to me. My chances were few, and many an adverse fortune appeared to baffle my hopes, but 1 have

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tried to work bravely OB. Here I am to-day, aii old man, still at work. It appears to myself as though I have achieved but little, but if I have accomplished anything it has been through unremitting toil, prompted by a sense of duty which I have endeavored to observe all through life. My observa tion corroborates yet another statement of our friend, that the severest labor will be unproductive unless guided by a love of truth. It will lead only to vanity and vexation of spirit." Let every young man stick to truth. Let him be true to him self, true to his fellow-men, true to his business, true to his Creator. "Whatever niay be the flattering proposals of for tune or fame, let no young man forget that he must be fully persuaded in his own mind that his pursuit in life corresponds with the highest decisions of rectitude if he would win the just praise of his fellow-men, or reap in old age the fruit of a well-spent life. I have only further to add, in hearty response to the sentiment of the eminent Merchant and Banker, that, if to labor and truth, virtue be added, then will the youth possess the healthful muscle and bone work, and life-blood of a perfect man; then will he be prepared to meet the great issues of life. I have now passed through the allotted span, and the gathering shadows are falling about my feet; let me say to every young man, that the sober expe rience of an old physician is, that labor, truth and virtue are the only sure means of success and happiness in life. I would leave as a motto to every young man the golden maxims of the eminent surgeon who attended the Emperor Napoleon at his death, and who soon followed him to the grave, maxims which he left in his will as a legacy to his son, comprising the noblest fortune of life: Do your duty and respect religion.
Let the advice of this distinguished scholar and eminent physician be indelibly impressed upon the hearts and minds of the young.
LOSSES BY THE LATE WAE.
It does seem as if our people will never fully recover from the effects of the late war, which was a political earthquake, that shook the Southern States from centre to circumference. It is seldom, a people experience such a reverse of fortune as befell the Southern States. The slaves alone of the South represented a money value of three thousand millions of dol lars, and as many millions of dollars in currency, banking

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capital, bonds and the like were swept out of existence at the surrender of Lee. In I860 the batiks all suspended specie payments. Their bills, however, were regarded better than Confederate notes, and were consequently hoarded, but not to much profit. The merchants and others who had their lifetime earnings in gold obligations were compelled to receive in payment Confederate money, or to be regarded as disloyal to the Confederacy. This currency, from year to year, be came from bad to worse, until it was of no more value than cart loads of waste paper.
Let me advise those starting oub in life to put forth their very best efforts. If a young mans talents are good, indus try will improve them. If only moderate, then he must work the harder, and be content with less of this worlds goods. We must all be prepared to meet with difficulties and losses, and disappointments. Never grieve over what can not be helped. It is the common lot of man to fall short of his desires and expectations; but whatever troubles we encoun ter, must be met with unflinching fortitude. My experience is that the school of adversity turns out the most successful men. I have known many clever boys injured by z 30 much indulgence, too much money, and by too many ad intages. Many men are poor all their lives because they do nut begin to save when they are young. Avoid speculation, and do not be impatient to be rich. You are not sure whether you would be a happier or better man if you had the wealth of an Astor. The richest man in the land receives only his clothes and board for the toils, anxieties and worry of mind. You hear of Stewart, Vanderbilt, Astor, and other rich men leaving almost countless millions, but you do not hear of their taking when they die, one dollar with them. Many of them, I fear, do not save their own souls, which is to them of more impor tance than all the money in the world. Then do not com plain because you have riot riches and prosperity. If misfor tunes did not now and then befall us, we would be exposed to evils that we .little dream of. Instead of repining, we should all be thankful for the manifold blessings God has bestowed upon us from childhood to the present hour.
Immediately after the war the South was flooded with adventurers from all sections, known as carpet baggers." Many of these men had but little more character or reputation in their own homes than the "tramps" of the present day. They were mere political adventurers, and took, as partners

in their profession, the most corrupt and ignorant class of the freedmen. These men came into our homes and told our former servants that they would not be "loyal" if they remained with their old masters, even if they were compen sated for so doing. Thus it was that the life-time relation between the white and colored races became hostile and unsat isfactory. These political emissaries taught the freedmen that all those who in any way favored the rebellion, had for feited their homes and their fortunes, and to take from the "rebels" was not stealing; but, as loyal citizens, it was their duty to do so. These Jacobin teachers managed not only to rob the Municipal and State Governments, but also to rob the too credulous colored people. The Freedmens Bank, estab lished apparently under the protection of the United States .Government, was a huge machine for robbing the poor negroes of their hard earned savings. These deluded people should bereimbursed by the. United States Government. I am happy to say that the relation between the whites and their former slaves have greatly improved; the colored people are learn ing that their old masters are their best friends. They are also le , ning to save money, and to provide homes for their familir/j, Several of. the freedmen are making handsome deposits in Savings Hanks, and are solicitous for the education of theSr children. The public schools for colored people in Charleston are regarded the best in the South. We owe the freedmen a debt of gratitude for their humane consideration of tlit wives mid children of our soldiers during the late war, who were left mainly to their mercy. Their subsequent con duct has been equally creditable, especially when you consider their sudden elevation from ignorant slaves to enfranchised citizens For our cotton, rice and sugar estates, there is no labor equal to that of the f reedman. I do not think that we shall get a more quiet and law abiding labor for domestic ser vice than the negro. I am pleased to know that the ill-feel ing which was at one time so bitter between the North and South, no longer exists. Their unbounded liberality to the cities afflicted with the yellow fever scourge and distressing earthquakes can never be forgotten.
Immediately after the war there was such an overturning of society, that I was not sure the South would be a desirable place in which to live. The welfare of my children was, of course, paramount to every other consideration. As you are. aware, I travelled extensively in the Old and New World,

26
making the tour of Europe twice, and extending my travels North, and in the far "West to the Rocky Mountains. After a careful survey of the different portions of the country that I have visited, my convictions are that the section embraced in the "Confederate States" is the most desirable portion of the habitable globe! and that the most abused State in the Union, in spite of bad legislation and disorganized society, is, in many respects, the il f]d.en" of the South; and were my life-time earnings in gold dollars, I would unhesitatingly con vert them into just such securities, real and personal, as we now possess, and cast my lot with her people. I am con vinced that there is more in the man than in the place. If I had a dozen sons, it would be my desire that they shovdd always make the South their home.
The Southern States have a future that is beyond computa tion, embracing as they do an area of nearly one million square miles, or more than six hundred .millions of acres of land, with a population greater than that of the United States when T was a boy. The natural resources of the Smith are equal to those of any other portion of the globe, while the climate is unsurpassed. Just one product of the il, the past year, will yield nearly three hundredmillions <. ( iollars; and the day is not far distant when the production i -\ cotton in the Southern States will amount to ten million bales, worth five hundred million of dollars, and our sons will live to see more of this great staple manufactured into yarns and cloth in the Southern States than is now consumed in IXorth America.
The South possesses all the natural resource*, for her true independence. Alas! our people have much ti> learti and endure before they will break the shackles which bave bound them so long to the JNT orth and West. If we keep our corn cribs in Ohio, our smoke houses in Illinois, our hay stacks i i Maine, and our machine shops in Lowell. we may dream of freedom, but will never realize it.
God has given us rich lands on which we should raise every thing we eat, whether it be of animal or vegetable orign.
The lemon, orange, sugar cane, rice, and the famous sea island cotton, flourish. Our forests are almost exhaustless valuable not only for timber, but also for tar, pitch and tur pentine. We have also a broad extent of territory valuable for upland cotton, grain, grasses and cereals, while our min eral resources, especially in coal and iron ore, startle the imag ination. Then why should we despond? There is life in the old land yet." Indeed there is.

2?
My heart is in the cause of immigration and no one will welcome more heartily than I, a steady influx of the right kind of immigrants either from our own or foreign lands. We want brains as well as muscle capital as well as mechanical skill. We want a cessation of political agitation, peace at home and peace abroad. My closing advice to the young men is to stand by their native South.
EFFECTS OF THE WAR.
The late war left the South in an impoverished condition. Wealth and capital perished in the desolating track of our terrible domestic strife.
The business interests of the entire country have been for many years passing through a transformation; new rules, new laws and customs are forcing themselves upon our people, old channels of trade are broken up by new railroads. Cities are fighting with each other for the monopoly and control of trade. The South, however, has her rich soil left, and inexhaustless mines of iron, coal, and her seven millions of eman cipated slaves are working far better than we had a right to expect. Now that the system of labor is changed in the late slave States, the people should adapt -themselves to the new state of things. The large landed estates should be divided into small farms, as in many parts of Europe, and immigrar tion from all quarters invited. I am convinced that in the strictly cotton, sugar and rice sections of the South, there is no labor equal to that of the descendants of Ham. The negroes habits are simple, economical and cheap; they are adapted to our climate, and should be encouraged to remain with us. It is for their interest and for our interest that they should abandon the idea of emigrating to Liberia or to any other country. Kind treatment, with proper care and over sight, is what they require, and what they should receive at our hands, as well for past as for future services. Theireducation must not be neglected; give them a chance to show what they can do for themselves, morally, mentally and physi cally. I have faith in their future, and of their great value to the South. I cannot believe as many do, that education will hurt the negro, any more than is does the laboring white man but will elevate him and make him more useful to the country, even as laborers. Let them substitute labor for political agitation, and find their better pleasure and profit in making

28
potatoes than Presidents. This done, and we shall once more become a more prosperous nation. Politics as now adminis tered are too degrading, even for the negroes to indulge in. The South has ever been, and ever will be, a power behind the throne; her soil and climate furnish the choicest produc tions known to man. In addition to her rich and cheap lands, she has splendid harbors, not only to receive and export her own products, but also for the agricultural staples of the great West, which must find the shortest outlets to Europe through Southern ports, by means of railroads and steamships. It cannot be disguised that the South has suffered greatly in her commerce, in consequence of railroad discriminations in favor of the North. Water must find its level. If we do our duty, trade will sooner or later be restored to the Southern States and Southern cities. The South must control more railroads.
The war destroyed nearly all of our banks. For a number of years there was a demand for money at 12 and 15 per cent. No business could long stand such high rates as were charged, mainly in consequence of the hazard in loaning and uncer tainty of repayments.
Soon after the war, cotton, which is the great Southern staple, sold at fifty cents per pound. People from all sections saw a golden harvest in its production. Capital and labor which had been otherwise employed, were applied to the culti vation of cotton, resulting in over production. The returns of the farmer are only annual. There must, therefore, be heavy outlays before anything is realized from the crops; and as many of the planters were stripped of their property by the war, they had to begin life without means, and were compelled to contract debts. Poorly cultivated crops, unfavorable sea sons, and low prices, have in too many instances embarrassed both planter and merchant. If our people are ever to suc ceed, they must learn to economize both in farm and house hold expenses. It was told me in London that the distinguished philanthropist, George Peabody, would walk two squares to save a penny. If Peabody had not learned to save and economize to such a degree as to be called by some "mean" and "stingy," he never would have been able to make the munificent donation of two and a half million dollars to the poor of London, or to give for education in the South two million dollars. Would that we had more economical men like George Peabody to help the struggling poor.

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HARD TIMES.
Commercial despondency seems to have taken possession of our people, and the cry of Hard Times has become a stereo typed lament. It is on the lips of nearly every man. woman and child. Let us look into this important subject, in which the welfare of so many is involved, and see if we can ascer tain the causes which have produced the hard times so much complained of.
Our people have been reading perhaps not without cause the Book of Lamentations, and crying wolf ! wolf ! until the hungry animal has appeared, alas ! at too many doors. That there are scores of individuals and families in all the towns and cities who are without employment, cannot be denied, and that the competition for places in commercial, mechanical and professional pursuits is so great as to leave but a scant remu neration even to those who are so fortunate as to find work. Wages must still decline, as few concerns are more than mak ing expenses. Some writers are of the opinion that in conse quence of the great impiovement in machinery, that the pro duction of goods far exceeds the wants of the world, thereby reducing the prices of manufactured commodities, and also the price of labor, hence the suffering and hard times among the working classes. Men and women are worked to the verge of endurance, and far beyond it, so far as health is concerned, in order to keep soul and body together.
The question may reasonably be asked, why then do so many flock to the cities and towns, almost to perish, when there is to be had so much cheap and uncultivated land ?
Perhaps when our people fully understand that all human wants are supplied from the soil, then, and not till then, will they turn their attention to agriculture, the first and best employment of man. Before the late civil war, the planters of the Southern States, as a class, were both prosperous and happy. Alas ! how many homes have been made desolate, and families reduced to poverty by that cruel war. In the footprints of war are scattered the seeds of famine, pestilence and death. AVar in all ages has not only been a source of misery, but also of crime. The very ground seems cursed by war, and "brings forth thorns and thistles." Mairs brief life on earth is at best a sorrowful one; often beset with troubles from the cradle to the grave, and these troubles are

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intensified by war. One way to overcome troubles and "hard times" is to meet them with a resolute will and untiring per severance. I was in Europe in 1866, during the terrible conflict between the Prussians and Austrians, and passed through the lines of the two armies during the armistice, numbering a million and a half of men. In a few months two hundred thousand Austrians and Prussians were killed in battle, or died from disease. As I rode in ambulances through the battle-field of Konigratz, the roadside was strewn with the dead, ard the honses were filled with the sick and the wounded of both armies. Forty thousand brave soldiers fell on the battle-field of Konigratz. Long trenches were dug, into which were thrown, indiscriminately, men and horses. I saw hundreds of women working in the fields, and repairing the railroads which had just been torn up by the contending armies. Thus it is that war not only drives the women into the fields to cultivate the soil, but also into the workshops to fill the places of the men who are engaged as soldiers in the armies. If any one has a doubt of the depravity of fallen nature, let him visit a battle-field, where myriads of his fellowcreatures have been slain by their neighbors and relatives. ~No wonder the Crown Prince of Germany exclaimed, "what an awful sight ! how dreadful war is, after all ! " when he saw the poor wounded soldiers by the thousand crawling to the brook to drink water and die. Five years later I witnessed the disastrous defeat of the French by the Prussians. King William was crowned Emperor of Germany in the great capi tal of the French nation. We had to get permission from the German commander to enter the sacked city of Paris. The Royal Palace and other public buildings were still smoulder ing from the destructive fires kindled by the infuriated com munists. Oh! the torrors of war, who can measure its baneful effects ? It robs nations of their wealth, and parents of their sons. I am convinced that most of the troubles of life, and the hard times we endure, are caused by wars and intemper ance. Then, if we would have success, let us cultivate peace, temperance and unity.
WHERE THEBE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY.
Most of my young friends have seen or heard of Charleston, the "City by the Sea," but few have looked upon Venice, the City in the Sea. Let me tell them of an adventurous

31
friend of mine, who, in his eighteenth year, became restless in his pent-up valley home, and resolved in his own mind to visit Venice, Florence and Home. But how was this long and expensive journey to be performed by a mountain boy, with only ten dollars in his pocket ? The lad firmly believed that "where there is a will, there is a way," and that almost anything can be accomplished by perseverance and well directed energy. He knew that Italy was far, far away, but he did not stop to count the cost, or to grow weary before he had encountered the fatigues of the journey; neither did the lions on the highway frighten him. His rule in life was not to cross a bridge until he came to it; his father possessed horses, buggies, money and a beautiful farm, but as his adven turous son was leaving home in his teens, he concluded not to offer him any facilities, imagining that he would return the sooner to the paternal roof. When he started out on this long arid perilous journey there was only ten miles of railroad in the State of Georgia, and but a few hundred in the whole South. Had there been thousands, they would have been of no avail to him. He, however, adopted the best plan for one with a capital of ten dollars, who has resolved on seeing Italy. He began his journey on his two strong feet, propelled by a resolute will and untiring perseverance. To lessen his expenses, he made a bargain with a kind-hearted man who was going with his wagon one hundred and fifty miles, to Augusta, Ga., on the road to Italy. The boy was to assist the old man in cooking and scotching, for his board. The fare, of course, was rough, and the. lodgings at night on the ground; but this out-door life developed the muscle*, if not the brains of the youth, and was an important training to one who had to cross the Atlantic and climb the Alps before he could look upon fair Italy. One hundred and fifty miles of the journey was performed at an expense of only twenty-five cents ? It will be seen that our friends original capital was nearly whole when he had accomplished that much of his journey. He was now among strangers, and could not pro ceed further until his means were increased; "out Italy he was determined to see. He therefore went to work with Mr. Hand at a salary of fifty dollars per annum. This was indeed a microscopic view of the Italian skies and lakes. But his efforts were in the right direction. Years rolled on, and our friend continued to cherish the desires of his childhood.
After long years of tjil and struggle, he took a portion of

32
his household and resumed his journey, crossing the boisterous Atlantic ocean, and climbing the snow-clad Alps. This time he did not cease to travel until he was safely landed on the banks of the Grand Canal in beautiful Venice. "We saw him as he triumphantly stepped into a gondola. A few moments more and he was sailing up the Grand Canal, amid splendid palaces and towering old churches, and now he is safely landed at the Boyal Hotel Daneili. Here we will let him, after his long and fatiguing journey, rest.
IN VKNICE.
We left our friend at the .Royal Hotel, but he is not yet at the end of his journey, and it is not his habit to tarry long even at first-class hotels. We next see him in the historic halls of the Palace of the Doges, he peeps into the deep, dark dungeons, and then at the .Bridge of Sighs, and now he enters the renowned cathedral of St. Mark, which is one of the rich est churches in the world. As it is his custom to investigate the numerous objects of interest thoroughly, he stops and looks with wonder and admiration upon historic illustrations, the work of many centuries ago. Here we will leave our friend, for we think after so ]ong a journey, and so many years of toil and struggle, he is richly entitled to remain amid these blissful scenes, and realize the dream of his childhood.
I have given this sketch of the mountain boy to encourage the young, and to teach them that where there is a will, there is a 'way, they must learn that to succeed in anything of importance, perseverance and self-denial are necessary. If they are poor, and desire to travel and gain information, they must work hard, and begin early to add a little eacli year to their means. It is not important or oven expected that all should look upon Italy, but there are beautiful scenes in our own sunny laud to be visited, and domestic homes to be made comfortable, which requires both money and personal effort. Life is a journey and pilgrimage. Very few starting out realize the trials and temptations that lie in their pathway. Much of the success of life depends upon onesown exertions. Young man, whatever may be your position, your purposes or pursuit, aim to act well your part, for "therein the honor lies." Make up your mind promptly what should be clone, and what you are fitted for, and then do your part faithfully, to God and man. Vacillating and hesitating men rarely suc ceed.

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RKC-BOSSING- THE ALPS.
Our adventurous youth recrossed the Alps and the Atlantic Ocean, returning to his Charleston home. He is now (1899) in his seventy-ninth year, in perfect health, living in his advanced age an active, happy, useful and contented life, sur rounded by his children and eighteen grand-children.
As he still feels a deep interest in the young, he revises and republishes for the fifth time the address and "Letters to Young Men," hoping that the publication at this time for gratuitous distribution may be helpful both to the young men and young women. During his long life he has always felt an interest in the young, knowing from experience how hard the most of them are compelled to struggle for a living.

MR. WILLIAMS AT HIS OLD HOME,
NAGOOGHEE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.
LETTER ONE.
NACOOCHEE YALLEY, GA., August, 1869. The Old Homestead.
"Ah! here it is, that dear old p1 ace. Unchanged through all these years;
How like some sweet, familiar face, My childhoods home appears!
Tho grand old trees beside the door, Still spread their branches wide,
The river wanders as of yore, With sweetly murmuring tide;
The di staii t hills look green and gray, The flowers are blooming wild,
And everything looks glad to-day, As when I was a child,"
Home again ! Yes, after long years of desolating war. I find myself once more at ray old home in the mountains of Georgia, in the sweet vale of Nacooehee.
In my ramble of twenty thousand miles I have found no country to me more lovely than Nacooehee and its surroundings. Not even the tropical valleys of the West Indies, with their ma jestic palms, fragrant flowers and fruits; nor Italy, with its vine-clad hills and groves of olives and oranges; nor Switzerland, with its silvery lakes, fertile valleys, mountain gorges, and snow-capped Alps, The meaning of the sweet Indian word Nacooehee is Evening Star. : The name was applied to a beautiful daughter of a Cherokee Chief.
Through the charming valley of Nacooehee, the picturesque Chattahoochee winds its way. Broad fields of Indian corn and flowering meadow lands skirt its tanks. Not even a thirty years exile from this mountain home lessens the throb-

35
bing of my heart as I return to it; and the return to ISTacoochee, at this time, is made doubly interesting, as I brought with me two sisters who had been absent nearly a score of years. That white house peeping out of the grove (now the residence of Mrs. Dr. Starr, my youngest sister.) is the home in which my parents, of precious memory, lived and died. The grand old oaks which have withstood the storms of a century the trees under which we in childhood frolicked, are still green, and annually send forth their autumn fruit. The little Loinbardy poplars, planted by our tiny hands, have grown to be lofty trees. The modest Methodist Church near by, is where Andrew and Oliii thundered forth their youthful eloquence, and where Richardson, Askew, Glenn and other sainted ministers, preached in the prime of their manhood.
And there, too, is the mound on which I made my first adventure in agriculture. It was the custom of my father, as a means of encouraging his sons to habits of industry, to give to each a small portion of land, the products of which they claimed as their own. My broad acre began at the foot and ended at the summit of an Indian mound. It was too steep and rugged to be cultivated by the plough. I had to rely entirely upon the hoe.
Having pitched my crop, the tender plants sprang forth from the rich soil, and my hopes ran high at the prospect of a bountiful yield. Alas ! for human hopes and expectations; the scorching sons of July came, but not a drop of rain. While my fathers well cultivated fields of corn in the moist valley below were fresh and luxuriant, mine on the mound began to wilt and droop. The prospect of becoming a bank rupt farmer daily became more threatening. As I stood gaz ing on my blighted prospects, and thinking what should be done, my eye fell upon the beautiful Ohattahooehee, and which makes nearly a circuit around the mound. At thesight of this mountain stream hope revived. I saw that success was now within my grasp. No time was lost in applying to each thirsty hill of corn the refreshing water, which was brought from the Chattahoochee. This patient and unwearied appli cation of water at a time when rain failed to fall from the clouds, saved my crop, and made my fortune of ten dollars !
To this circumstance, though apparently trivial in itself, T attribute much of my success in after life. This small capital of ten dollars was what I had to begin life with, after a walk of one hundred arvd fifty miles from Xacooehee to Augusta,

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Ga. \My father could have sent me to Augusta furnished with money, but he believed that "Self Help" was the best help. In the rough path of commerce over, which I have since traveled, I have encountered scorching droughts, finan cial panics, desolating war and steep mounds, covered with thorns and thistles.
At times I felt that the burdens and difficulties -were greater than I could bear, but in these trials I always remembered the small farm on the Nacoochee mound, and the lesson it taught me which was to have faith in Providence, but never to fail in using all the means a merciful God placed within my reach. I have learned from hard-earned experience that success means toil, energy, watchfulness, order, justice, sobriety and economy. In this day men are not fed by ravens, but are commanded to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow.
G. W. W.
LETTEE TWO.
NACOOCHEE VALLEY, GA., August, 1869.
Seventy years ago my father, Major Ed ward Williams, was a resident of Charleston, S. C. An attack of "strangers fever" led him to seek a home in a more salubrious climate. This he found in the mountains of North Carolina, where he also found a sprightly mountain girl, the daughter of a success ful merchant, whom he married. His home was filled in a few years with half a score of boys and girls. These new responsibilities made it necessary that he should have cheap and productive land. This he found in the mountains of Georgia.
When we moved from North Carolina to Nacoochee, Ga., it was then almost a wilderness country, settled mainly by Indians; scattered here and there were a few whites, in civili zation not much in advance of the savages, only their superior in cunning and knavery; intermarriage was frequent between the whites and Indians. My father was so much pleased with the rich lands, pure air and water, and magnificent moun tain scenery, that he made an extensive purchase, embracing the centre of Nacoochee Valley. A portion of this purchase was to be paid for in corn and wheat. This was easily done,

37
as the farms were rented to industrious tenants, whom he brought with him from North Carolina. As the valley was very productive, three years rent was sufficient to discharge the debt. The laud which at that time sold for one dollar per acre, now commands from twenty to thirty. My father was the first to introduce Herds grass, Timothy, Clover, fine fruit, cheese dairies, and other like improvements. In this way he did much to improve the agricultural interest of upper Georgia. Major "Williams also established schools for the whites and Indians.
At one time Nacoochee was the largest town in the Cherokee Nation, and was strongly defended by fortifications.
Along the lines of these fortifications mounds were raised, on which Indian chiefs securely resided in their wigwams. It is believed that the daring Spaniards visited this country as early as the twelfth century in search of gold and diamonds, and were permitted to erect the fortifications of "Nacoochee Old Town." But when the savage curiosity was satisfied, the Spaniards were exterminated.
What a change ! Not a vestige of Nacoochee Old Town remains; the Indians who possessed this beautiful country have been driven from their cherished hunting grounds to the far West. The once strong walls of Nacoochee are levelled to the ground, and the mounds, which cost so much toil and labor, are sharing the same fate. No proud monument stands to point out the resting place of the old chiefs and their brave warriors. Only here and there are piles of rock under which the old warriors sleep.
The lofty pine which withstood the pelting storms of cen turies, the tree that marks the grave of Nacoochee and bore aloft the Confederate flag during the late bloody war, died with our Lost Cause. It is now a blighted tree fit emblem of the tempest-tossed Confederacy.
The white man as he drives his plough merrily over the bones of his red brother, thinks that he came honestly in the possession of these broad acres. If any wrong was com mitted, has it not been amply atoned for by the introduction among the savages of pure rum and pious missionaries ? The dreadful work of extermination which was commenced by the Pilgrim Fathers centuries ago; an extermination which has been unceasingly kept up in the name of Christianity ! is fast blotting from the earth a great family of populous nations. At the last day, when Gabriel sounds his trumpet to awake

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the slumbering dead, and the great book is opened, nations and governments, as well as individuals, will call upon the mountains to fall upon them, that they and their sins may be hidden from the Judge that sittcth on the Throne.
Tradition has it, that Nacoochee, the "Evening Star," was the only daughter of a noted Cherokee chief. She possessed remarkable beauty and grace of manners. This lovely maid of the valley was wooed by many a gallant youth, but unfor tunately was won by a brave young warrior of the Choctaw Nation, a people at that time bitter enemies of the Cherokees, and frequently engaged in fierce warfare.
One dark night, Nacoochee disappeared from her vine-clad wigwam; she had eloped with Sautee, son of a Choctaw chief. The father of Nacoochee summoned a hundred stout warriors to go in pursuit of his erring daughter. The valleys and mountains echoed the terrific war-whoop, as they were searching every hill arid dale.
Days and nights passed, but Sautee and the bright-eyed Indian girl could nowhere be found.
The enraged father refused to eat or sleep. He believed that the lovers had sought refuge in the cliffs of Yonah Moun tain. Renewed and more diligent search was made. Sautee had selected a bridal chamber for his young princess (which was amply supplied with venison and wild turkey) amid the rocky fastnesses of Mount Yonah. He regarded the rugged cliffs rising in their native grandeur around him as secure from the intrusion of friend or foe. Nacoochees new home must have been a second Eden. Before her stood out a world of mountains, rising one above another until their lofty peaks were lost in the clear, bine sky, while at her feet nestled the lovely valleys of Nacoochee and Sautee, covered with fragrant forest flowering trees, and brilliant rhododendrons and azaleas. From the crevices in her granite palace gushed forth pure, perennial streams, which are joined by a thousand mountain springs that constitute the head waters of the picturesque Chattahooch.ee River, and which, like the rivers that run out of the Garden of Eden, abound in gold
The cries of the wolf and night-hawk disturbed not the slumbers of the youthful lovers. But Nacoochee and Sautee could no more successfully conceal themselves from the revengeful warriors, than could Adam.and Eve hide from the presence of the Father of the great human family, after hav ing listened to the beguiling serpent, and eaten of the forbid-

39
den fruit. A savage shout of victory announced the capture of the foe, who had dared rob the old chief of his daughter. Hasty judgment was pronounced Sautee was to be thrown, in the presence of Nacoochee, from the highest precipice of Mount Yonah. Before the sentence was executed, the war riors engaged in a death song and war dance around the strongly guarded prisoner. This was kept up until the setting sun had dropped behind the western mountains, and the even ing star was looking down upon the tragic scene.
At a signal from the old chief, four strong warriors seized Sautee, and with one terrific yell, hurled him headlong into the deep chasm beneath. Quick as thought, Nacoochce sprang from the strong embrace of her father, and shouting, L Sautee ! Sautee ! " threw herself from the overhanging precipice. Their mangled remains were found side by side iu the valley. The terrific shock well nigh broke the heart of the aged father. He directed that JSTacoochee and Sautee should be buried on the banks of the Chattahoochee in one grave, and a mound raised over them to mark the spot. This has been planted in vines and hlue grass. The cypress, ivy and rhodo dendron cover the grave of JSTacoochee and Sautee.
The valleys of .Nacoochee and Sautee, which unite just be low my Nacoochee home, were named to perpetuate the memories of the Cherokee girl and her Choctaw lover.
G. W. W.
LETTER THREE.
NACOOOHEE VALLEY, GA. , August, 1869.
The discovery of gold here, in 1828, was an epoch in the history of this quiet mountain people.
Those who owned "forty acre lots" dreamed of golden fortunes, very few of which were ever realized. The excitement was greatly increased by the discovery of a lump of goldweighing twenty-eight pounds. It is not an uncommon occur rence to find nuggets weighing from one to three pounds.
People flocked to this new El Dorado from all sections of the country. Even the great Calhoun did not escape the pre vailing epidemic. Your correspondent, then a small boy, knew every by-path through the mountains; and to him was assigned the honor of piloting the Carolina statesman to Yonah,

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the mines, and other places of interest. It was the year the "abominable" Tariff Act was passed, and about the time Mr. Calhoun resigned his position as Vice-Pi esident under the hero of New Orleans.
Mr. Calhoun was at Nacoochee when the news was received that South Carolina had "nullified." I shall never forger, how much he was excited. He would walk the floor for hours in the deepest meditation, frequently passing his long fingers nervously through his hair, which stood almost erect on his head. The great mind of Calhoun penetrated the future; fie saw that political events which were then transpiring IVorth and South, would result either in a dissolution of the Federal "Union, or a desolating civil war. Mr. Calhoun seemed to dread the one as much as the other. While he regarded many acts of Congress odious, unjust and oppressive to the South, yet he was not at that time in favor of a dissolution of the Union; he stood firmly upon the Constitution handed down to ns by our forefathers.
The political fever, however, had not taken so entire pos session of the great Carolina statesman as that he should escape the gold mania; he had studied political economy enough to know that gold was the only true standard of all values, and the great leveller of social distinctions.
It was the custom of miners and speculators who had deposits or " veins for sale, to prepare them for testing. My father warned Mr. Calhaun_against sleight of hand which was practiced by many of these Wall Street adventurers; but the man who was wondrously wise in -politics and books, heeded not the advice, and was a child in the clutches of the rude miners.
To be certain that there was no deception, Mr. Calhoun would select a piece of ground untouched by the spade, stand by and see the small trees removed, then the earth, until the gravel and slate were reached, which was washed before our eyes. If, unluckily, they did not succeed in finding gold, not a few were unscrupulous enough to have it concealed about their person, .which was, by the sleight of hand, transferred into the pan. This was what was called "salting," and there were may victims to this mode of cornering. Mr. Calhoun paid ten thousand dollars for a mine not worth as many hun dred; he, however, purchased a vein of ore which proved to be of immense value. The gold was embedded in a stratum of rocks; .there could be no deception in such mines.

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There is more gold in "Nacoochee and its Surround ings" than there is in the vaults of all the banks in the United States. How much it will cost to remove it from the present snug deposits, remains to be seen. The expense of mining, since the introduction of improved machinery, is greatly reduced; with the use of canals and pipes one man can do the work of a dozen under the old process. The result is that mines are now worked at a profit, which were abandoned years ago.
I have a nugget of gold weighing five-eighths of a pound, which was picked up recently by my brother, Colonel E. P. Williams, in a field near his residence. This gold had been ploughed over for many years, and was brought to light by a washing rain. You can scarcely sink a pit in these hills and valleys without finding particles of gold.
The Nacoochee Hydraulic Mining Company was estab lished just before the late war, mainly by enterprising New Englanders.
The water is carried in a canal twelve miles in length, which cost some forty thousand dollars.
The canal has its source in the Blue Kidge, and is carried on the side of the mountain. With its branches, which spread out on the ridges, thousands of acres of land can be irrigated and washed. .Deposits and veins of gold extend the entire length of the canal and its branches.
The JNTacoochee Company own, and have under lease, eight thousand acres of the best mining ground in Georgia.
It is surprising to see with what force the water passes through the pipes, washing down the hills almost as easily as if they were so many banks of snow.
When and how the rich deposits and gold-bearing rocks were formed, is a mooted question between learned geologists who have given much attention to this interesting branch of science.
When the Yotiah Mountain and Blue Kidge, for nine hundred miles, were elevated by volcanic action, the true veins were formed which made the placers or deposits of the rich mines that have produced millions of dollars in and around Nacoochee, Ga.
A large number of miners were engaged in digging for gold, which they brought to my brothers store in Xacoochee, and exchanged for merchandise, gold or silver coin. At that time in the mountains of Georgia eight ten cent pieces of silvr passed currently for one dollar.

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Although a mere lad, I knew enough of arithmetic to sec that a profit of twenty per cent, could be made by buying the gold dust and sending it to the mint near by, and have it coined and exchanged for new silver dimes. It was in these mountain wilds, that I got some of my first experience in the "exchange business." (The Silverites of 1805 are not satis fied with a profit of 20 per cent.)
Seeing the miners pick up nuggets of gold worth two and three hundred dollars each, it is not surprising that I should get the gold fever" up to one hundred degrees Fahrenheit I prevailed on my father to embark in mining. To my great delight he promised to begin operations the next morning. That night visions of gold dazzled my wakeful eyes. I was impatient for the coming of morning. At the break of day I was with my father in the barn-yard; he told me to put the plow harness upon old Dick, a favorite horse he brought from North Carolina. In a short time Dick was harnessed, and I was directed to hitch him to the plough. I thought this a new mode of digging gold, but as my fathers orders were never questioned, I silently obeyed.
My father selected a broad corn field on which to initiate me in the mysteries of mining. Carrying me to the field, he said: now, George, you see this corn ? plow four furrows carefully between eacli row. This field is a sure gold mine one that has never failed me. We will make corn to sell to those men who spend all their time hunting for gold." I followed "Old Dick," and my fathers orders to the letter. When the hard days work was over. I took for supper rye mush and milk. That night I was too tired and too little fanciful to dream; by morning the gold fever was so effect ually cured, I have never had a return of it.

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NACOOCHKE VALLEY, GA. , 1870.
LETTER FOUR.
*Nacoochee.
"Child of the Chattahoochee! Hid in the hills afar 1
Beautiful Nacoochee, Vale of the Evening Star?
"Hushed in the mountain shadows, With the May dew on her breast;
Her breath is the breath of meadows, And her very name sighs rest!
"The voice of a loved one calling The feet that have wandered far;
Come, for the night is falling! Rest! with the Evening Star!
TICKNOR.
Once more I find myself in the bosom of this "Child of the Ohattahoocb.ee," and after the cares and perplexities of a winters business campaign, my quiet mountain home is indeed to me, REST.
To be comfortable here, one must come with bag and bag gage, carriage and horses, cook and supplies. The travel of two hundred and fifty miles by rail, and seventy miles over rough roads, sharpens the appetite, if it does not improve the temper. But what, will not a man or woman endure for. a change? Human nature is the same now that it, was when. Adam and Ere grew tired of looking at the same perpetual flowers in their Eden. Beautiful, plentiful and peaceful as was their home, they were not satisfied. They were doubtless both happier when driven from Paradise, .even with the heavy penalties placed upon them, than they would have been wan-, dering about for eternal ages, looking upon the same objects, with that tree of "forbidden fruit" ever anon in their.path way; not that the quality was superior to that which grew on all the other trees, but it was "forbidden fruit;" therefore, the more to be desired. Nature, too, is ever changing; spring conies with its buds and flowers, summer with its full verdure,
*Nacoochee signifies, in the expressive language of the Indian, "The Evening Star."

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and autumn with its ripe fruit and sear leaf, and the dreary winter with its chilling frost and ice; but these changes of seasons, fields and forests, are necessary for health and happi ness. This is peculiarly an age of change. Even the child quits its garden of flowers, and luxuriant city home for the rude and almost comfortless mountain cabin, or for the sand banks of Sullivans Island,, with an enthusiasm that is refresh ing to witness; and children of a larger growth, from custom and habit, do the same thing.
It does children good to go into the country, or on the sea coast, and rough it, and learn about pigs, goats and the like; and if they get their dainty fingers soiled and delicate com plexions sunburnt, and now and then come in contact with "country people." it wont injure them. On the contrary, their constitutions will be strengthened, and their wits sharp ened. They can learn as much from the country cracker as the country child can from the city Donne, who does know the difference between a frog and a pig. ,--- "We reached Madison Saturday evening, and spent a quiet Sabbath with the loved ones there. Madison is the old home of Mrs. "W., and, of course, is very dear to her. It is sur rounded by a beautiful and fertile country, and is attracting the attention of the irrepressible Yankee, many of whom have purchased extensive tracts of land, and are making capital farmers and good citizens. To-day we passed through the Red Old Hills of Georgia, and now we stop in Madison. It is one of the prettiest towns in Middle Georgia, and has long been distinguished for its excellent schools and good society.
Many wealthy planters have settled in Madison for educa tional advantages.
We made a short stop in the pleasant and growing town of Athens. I looked upon old Wall Street with more than ordi nary interest, as in 1840 I was a merchant in embryo of Athens. In Wall Street, however," we did not deal in. fancy stocks, but drove an honest trade in exchanging sugar arid molasses for eggs, chickens, butter and the like. What strug gles some of us have undergone since that day, and what a blessing it is that we are permitted to take only a retrospective view of life. If I had been permitted, forty years ago, to know what was necessary to secure even moderate sliecess, or could have had the labors, trial and cares of thoe long years heaped up before me, I am quite sure I should not have ven tured over that rugged commercial mountain, but would ha^e

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returned to my quiet Nacoochee home, and been content with the occupation of an honest farmer.
Life is hut a struggle at best; when we reach our journeys end, whether that journey has been rough or smooth, if we can look back on a life well spent, it matters not whether we count our wealth by the millions or hundreds. We bring but little into this world, and carry less with us when we leave it. After all, the man who is diligent and faithful, whatever his vocation may be, is far happier than he who spends his time in ease and indolence.
When I resided in Athens, the town boasted of only a few retail stores; now they have large blocks of substantialbrick buildings, that would do credit to Charleston or Savannah.
LETTEE FIYE.
NACOOCHEB VALLEY, GA., September, 1870.
When my father first visited Northeast Georgia, this valley was pretty much in its primitive state. The mountains were filled with the choicest game; in the dark, deep covers the panther, bear and wolves were plentiful; the deer and wild cattle roamed amid the native pea-vine and cane-brakes.
The rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias and other flowering trees and shrubs, grew in their native luxuriance. The red man was monarch of all he surveyed.
Numerous mounds, terraces and military works were con structed in what was known as Nacoochee Old Town. The indications are that this region was settled by a race in civili zation far in advance of the Cherokees, as they were unable to give any account of the numerous fortifications and tumuli which were found there.
I am now tunneling the mound near my residence, on which the beautiful Indian girl, "Nacoochee," arid her lover, Sautee, is said to have been buried.
In the grave was found & pipe ofpeace, with stems to ena ble seven chiefs, after they had ended their butcheries, to assemble around the council chamber, and smoke out of the same bowl.
As you approach Nacoochee from Clarksville,you have a splendid landscape view, infinitely varied and almost without

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bound, thought by some, who have seen much of the Old and New World, to be unsurpassed, both for its beauty, softness and sublimity.
Before you nestles in quiet repose Nacoochee, the Child of the Chattahoochee." For nearly five miles over a rich, level plain, bordered by the finest forests in America, yon see broad, luxuriant fields of Indian corn and sweet meadows. Beyond is the long range of the Alleghany Mountains, tower ing one above another until their dizzy peaks are hid in the skies. To the left is proud Yonah, and to the right is Lyn chs Mountain. Those sparkling waters that you see dashing down the sides of the Blue tiidge are the falls of Minne Haha. (Laughing water.) The beautiful falls of Tallulah, Toccoa, Anna Iluby and Amacalola are embraced in Naeoochee and its Surroundings.
The Valleys of Nacoehee and Sautee bear strong evidence of having been for ages one vast lake, shut in by the moun tains and high hills.
Just below the junction of the Sautee with the Chattahoo ehee, the waters broke through the hills, draining this great lake, whose fretful waters had carved out of these mountains the lovely Valleys of Nacochee and Sautee.
Nature has done much, very much, for Northeastern Georgia, but what shall I say of the poor laboring classes in these mountain regions ?
It is to be regretted that they are sadly deficient in energy, enterprise, skill and activity. Many of them live in miserable huts, filled with numerous children, without the means of education.
I am speaking of the poorer classes. Of course there are to be found here men and women of intelligence, of energy and refinement. Much, verv much, can be done for the bone and sinew of the country; they are not afraid to work, if they only knew how to go about it. We already have nearly a hundred men, boys and girls employed; and I say to those who are willing to work, that we will give them employment; but I have not room for a drone in my Nacoochee hive.
A few days since I was engaged in trimming trees by the roadside. My appearance did not indicate that of a city gen tleman of "elegant leisure."
Some stock drovers were passing through the valley. One of them inquired of me if "Mr. George Williams lived in that house on the hill V

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On hearing that I was in Mr. "W. s employ, "lie wanted to know what wages I received. I informed him that I had lived with Mr. Williams from my earliest recollection, and further, that he worked me very hard, and only gave me my food and clothes. The man cast upon me a look of pity, and said, in an indignant manner, "George Williams works you hard, and only gives you your board and clothes ? A stingy old wretch; I wouldnt live with him another day ! " Cracking his whip, he screamed at his cattle louder than ever, leaving me to reflect upon my sad fate in having such a hard master. I came to the conclusion, as my pay was so small, and my term of service was for life, I would not in the future work so hard.
I am glad to say, that among all the laborers I have not seen a man under the influence of liquor. This speaks well for these honest-hearted people. Liquor is not allowed to be sold in Nacoochee Valley and I hope never will be.
Wages are low here; men: get seventy-five cents per day; women, fifty cents; boys and girls, twenty-five cents, and board themselves. They come into Nacoochee from ten to twenty miles around, seeking employment. Miss Johnstone, of Charleston, will be here in a few days, to open the Nacoochee Seminary." Free schools must be established for the poor children. We greatly need railroad facilities and manu factories. There is not a cotton factory from Athens to the Blue Ridge. These, when built, will put new life and energy into the "Rip Van Winkles."
One mail a week wont do for a civilized people. I have no doubt in a few years we shall hear the whistle of the steam engine near my mountain home. The Air Line from Atlanta will soon reach Gaiiiesville, thirty miles distant.*
Since Nacoochee was a little innocent girl, playing in the infant waters of the Chattahoochee, not a Bishop has visited this portion of Georgia. No wonder, then, that this quiet people was startled when it was announced, almost simul taneously, that there was to be in this region a circus and a live Bishop. A few of the oldest inhabitants had seen in Nacoochee a circus, but none had looked upon a Methodist Bishop.
For weeks little else was talked of, or dreamed of, but the Bishop and the circus.
A little girl said to her mother, "Mammy, what is a
They now have a daily mail, and the railroud runs to Clarksville, ten milen distant. The Porter Manufacturing Co., and other wool factories are in successful operation, July, 18H5.

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Bishop?" "A big man, my child, a big man," was the mothers reply. "Mammy, is he as big as a meeting house ?"
Johnny Smith wanted to know of his papa what a circus was. Mr. Smith piously informed his son that it was the "devil on horseback, wolves in petticoats."
Johnny preferred seeing the "big man." Iri 1818 the State of Georgia got possession of Nacoochee and its surroundings by a treaty with the Cherokee Indians, who owned this beautiful country beyond the memory of man. In 1820 it Avas divided into 250 acre lots, and distributed by lottery to all male citi/ens of legal age. The State laws were extended over the entire Cherokee Nation, in order to punish crime arid to bring offenders, who were numerous, to justice. The undivided Cherokeo country became a hiding place for desperadoes from all sections. Many impostors under the guise of missionaries came here, where they were at that time not subject to State laws. The vilest crimes were committed upon the straggling whites and unprotected Indians. It seems in these mountain wilds the old Serpent which had done so much mischief in the Garden of Eden had crossed the broad oceans and found his way even to this far-off Eden land. The daughters of Mother Eve are being beguiled here by the same satanic influences that she was exposed to in the Garden of Paradise. The largest and most destructive of the serpent family found here is the much dreaded rattlesnake, which was at one time very numerous in the mountains of Georgia. The rattlesnake is lazy, and harmless unless pro voked; it then draws itself suddenly into a coil, giving a shrill notice from its rattles. With great force it strikes you with its sharp, poisonous fangs, which results in death to man or beast in a few hours. I saw a dog bitten on the tongue by a rattlesnake, which resulted in death in a few minutes. Whether the serpent is the author of mans shameful fall or not, it is detested by every living creature; the wild deer with their sharp hoofs will pounce upon the largest snake, cutting it to pieces; even the barnyard chickens will destroy every young snake they find. Man is ever ready to bruise the serpents head, but its poisonous influences are not extinguished, its footprints are to be seen in all these valleys, so rich in flowering meadows. The serpents wrongs are not only to be seen in the haunts of the savages, but in the State Legislatures and Halls of Con gress. The corruption of the human heart entailed by our

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first parents seems to be universal. Alas ! that it should be so.
Let in civilization and the Christian religion, these snakes and wild beasts will then disappear. In. 1823 my father moved from North Carolina to Nacoochee Valley; here in a region inhabited principally by half civilized Cherokee Indians, my childhood and early youth was passed. It required great courage to bring a large family of children into such a wilder ness country, but my father was of hardy Welsh descent, and was prepared to hold his hand with the rough people he met with here. He possessed wonderful will power, and great energy of character; he found a helpful worker in his indus trious, economical wife. She was a wife in every way suited to a pioneer settler. My mother did not live unto herself; her family of ten children, her arduous domestic duties, the church and the poor absorbed her sympathies,and appropriated her daily toils. Like her devoted husband, she possessed .unusual industry and energy, which traits she endeavored to transmit to her children. She lived to see them all members of the Methodist Church, which was a great gratification to her.
One of the most stupendous works of Nature in sight of Nacoochee is the lofty Tray Mountain. This mountain is peculiarly interesting to me, as it was in its deep forests that my father, at the advanced age of three score and ten, estab lished a cheese dairy. This mountain and dairy is so cleverly described by Charles Lanman, in one of his Letters from the Alleghanies, that I append it.
G. W. W.
Nacoochee, Ga., September, 1870.
TKAIL MOUNTAIN, GEORGIA, May, 184-8.
I now write from near the summit of the highest mountain in Georgia. I obtained my first view of this peak while in the village of Clarksville, and it presented such a commanding appearance, that I resolved to surmount it, on .my way to the North, although my experience has proven that climbing high mountains is always more laborious than profitable. 1 came here on the back of a mule, and my guide and companion on the occasion was the principal proprietor of Nacoochee Valley,
4

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Major Edward "Williams. While ascending the mountain, which occupied about seven hours, (from his residence) the venerable gentleman expatiated at considerable length on the superb scenery to be witnessed from its summit, and then informed me that he had just established a dairy on the moun tain, which, it was easy to sec, had become his hobby. He described the "ranges"of the mountains as affording an abun dance of the sweetest food for cattle, and said that lie had alrady sent to his dairy somewhere between fifty and eighty cows, and was intending soon to increase the number to one hundred. He told me that his dairyman was an excellent young man from Vermont, named Joseph E. Ilubbard, to whom he was indebted for the original idea of establising the dairy. While journeying through this region, the young man chanced to stop at the Majors house, and though they were perfect strangers, they conversed upon matters connected with farming, and soon became acquainted; and the stranger hav ing made known the fact that he knew how to make butter and cheese, a bargain was struck, which has resulted in the establishment already mentioned. The Williams dairy is said to be the only one in the entire State of Georgia, and it is worthy of remark, in this connection, that Major Williams (as well as his dairyman) is a native of New England. He has been an exile from Yankee land for upwards of fifty years, and, though nearly seventy years of age, it appears that his natural spirit of enterprise remains in full vigor.
Trail Mountain was so named by the Cherokees, from the fact that they had a number of trails leading to the summit, to which point they were in the habit of ascending for the purpose of discovering the camp fires of their enemies during existence of hostilities. It is the king of the Blue Ridge, and reported to be five thousand feet above the waters of the sur rounding country, and perhaps six thousand feet above the level of the ocean. A carpet of green grass and weeds extends to the very top, and, as the trees are small, the lover of exten sive scenery has a fine opportunity of gratifying his taste. I witnessed a sunset from this great watch-tower of the South, and I know not that I was ever before more deeply impressed with the grandeur of a landscape scene. The horizon formed an unbroken circle, but I could distinctly see that in one direction alone, (across the Carol inas and part of Georgia) extended a comparatively level country, while the remaining three-quar ters of the space around me appear to be a wilderness of rnoun-

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tains. The grandest display was towards the north, and hereit seemed to me that I could count at least twenty distinct ranges, fading away to the sky, until the more remote range melted into a monotonous line. No cities, or towns came within the limit of my vision; no, nor even occasional wreath of smoke, to remind me that human hearts were heating in the unnumbered valleys. A crimson hue cohered the sky, but it was without a cloud to cheer the prospect, and the solemn shadow which rested upon the mountains was too deep to partake of a single hue from the departing sun. Grandeur and gloom, like twin spirits, seemed to have subdued the world, causing the pulse of nature to cease its accustomed throb. "Atone stride came the dark," and, as there was no moon, I retreated from the peak with pleasure, and sought the rude cabin, where I was to spend the night. While doing this, the distant howl of a wolf came to my ear, borne upward on the quiet air from one of the deep ravines leading to the base of the mountain.
As I was the guest of my friends, Williams and Hubbard, I whiled away the evening in their society, asking and answer ing a thousand questions. Among the matters touched upon in our conversation, was a certain mysterious "water-spout" of which I had heard a great deal among the people in my journeying, and which was said to have fallen upon Trail Mountain. I again inquired into the particulars, and Major Williams replied as follows:
"This water-spout story has always been a great mystery to me. The circumstance occurred several years ago. A num ber of hunters were spending the night in the very ravine where this shanty now stands, when, about midnight, they heard a tremendous roaring in the air, and a large torrent of water fell upon their camp, and swept it, with all its effects and inmates, about a dozen yards from the spot where they had planted their poles. One of them was severely injured on the head by the water, and all of them completely drenched. They were, of course, much alarmed at the event, and con cluded that a spring farther up the mountain had probably broken away; but when morning came, they could find no evidence of a spring, and everywhere above their camping place the ground was perfectly dry, while 011 the lower eiile it was completely saturated. They were now perplexed to a marvellous degree, and returned to the lower country impressed with the idea that a water-spout had burst over their heads."

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But to return to the dairy, which is unquestionably the chief attraction connected with Trail Mountain. Heretofore a cheese establishment has been associated in my mind with broad meadow lands, spacious and well-furnished out-houses, and a convenient market. But here we have a dairy on the top of a mountain, distant from the first farm house some seven miles, and inaccessible by any conveyance but that of a mule or well-trained horse. The bells of more than half a hundred cows are echoing along the mountain side; and, instead of clover, they are feeding upon the luxuriant grass of the wilderness; instead of cool cellars, we have here a hundred tin pans arranged upon tables in a log cabin, into which a cool spring pours its refreshing treasure; instead of a tidy and matronly housewife to superintend the turning of the curd, we have an enterprising young Yankee, a veritable Green Mountain boy; and instead of pretty milkmaids, the inferiors of this establishment are huge negroes, and all of the masculine gender. And this is the establishment which sup plies the people of Georgia with cheese, and the material out of which the scientific caterer manufactures the palatable Welsh Rarebit.
TALLULAH FALLS.
It was a pleasant morning in September when a party left Nacoochee in search of this natures wonder. A few hours drive through hill and dale, over rough roads and dangerous bridges, and we arrive safely in hearing of this mountain cata ract. We alight and partake heartily of a lunch. Having gone through with this pleasant part of the duties of the day, we procure a guide, and are off to gaze upon Tallulah ! Thirty long years have come and gone since I first looked upon this worlds wonder.
Since that day I have visited the most noted cataracts in Europe, and heard the thundering waters of Niagara !
In wildness and majestic beauty of scenery the Falls of Tallulah and its surroundings surpass anything of the kind that I have seen in the Old or New World.
The volume of wnter at Niagara Falls, of course, is much greater than that of all others. Terrora, the "Terrible," is a small stream which has been for ages cutting its way through the Blue liidge.
Its fretful waters have made a chasm in the mountains miles

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in length, and, in some places, over a thousand feet in depth. Here yon find gigantic cliffs of granite, its huge masses
piled upon each other in the utmost confusion. Along the winding, rugged beds of this deep abyss the swift Terrora rushes and foams as it lashes its waters in its onward and downward course. Ever and anon it dashes over protruding rocks and steep precipices. And now we stop at the Pulpit, a huge cliff, which projects over the chasm. Here you have a magnificent view of several of the falls.
From the Pulpit view, Terrora seems to be gushing from the centre of the mountain. The water leaps into an immense basin at the foot of the precipice, where it circles round and round in a whirlpool.
This place is called Hawthorns Pool, in memory of the lamented Presbyterian minister who lost his life in attempting to bathe in those turbulent waters.
A rugged stairway is cut out of the side of the cliff, which leads down to the edge of the falls. Now you are encircled by towering stone walls on every side.
I do not know which is the most to be admired, the view from this position, or where you stand fifteen hundred feet above and look down into the deep chasm. There are five perpendicular walls of water, from fifty to one hundred feet, and quite a number of smaller cataracts. The flow of waters, with their perpetual roar, and wild scenery, renders Tallulah an enchanting spot. The surroundings are varied and pic turesque now beautiful, now grand Nature is triumphant. These enchanting scenes have always inspired the poet and the artist. I am sorry I have not the space to insert the poem by Georgias distinguished poet, Henry R. Jackson.
"We left Tallulah, feeling that our time was much too short to enjoy, to the fullest extent, the beauties of nature which were so profusely spread around, us.
We could have lingered for days amid those grand scenes, but the sun was fast dropping behind old Yoiiah, and we had several miles to ride over rough roads before we could procure lodgings for the night. It was quite dark when we reached a farm house, some six miles from the Falls. Our hostess, Mrs. A., does not keep a hotel, but accommodates travellers to the best of her ability. Angels could do no more. Travellers often make themselves, and all around them, very uncomfort able by fault-rinding. In many of the up-country towns, it not unfrequently occurs that the hotel register has not a new

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name entered for days. This quiet of country hotel life is occasionally disturbed by the arrival of a dozen or more hungry persons, at, an hour "when the chickens and cook have retired for the night. If the table is not spread in fifteen minutes, with hot biscuits, hot coffee, fried chicken, beef steaks and the like, Mr. Brown will begin a tirade of abuse against country landlords and country hotels. Fortunately, our party was made up of refined people. Among the boys were Masters Bob, Henry and George; and the young Misses were represented by Mary, Hattic and Amelia. All these juveniles were under the watchful eye of their accomplished teacher, Miss Johnstone. of Charleston. Well-bred people are not given to unnecessary fault-finding. Our party, at least, had no occasion for it, as in due course of time a boun tiful supper was provided, and ample justice was done to it. We found our landlady jovial and good natured. Ready to ask questions as she was to answer. Master George thought everybody knew "Pa," and was nonplussed when the old lady told him that "she never heard of George "W. Williams,
of Charleston." This reminded me of a circumstance which happened at a
State Fair, held in Macon, Ga. At that Fair my venerable father was contending for agricultural premiums. He had on exhibition some mammoth ears of corn, which attracted a good deal of attention. My father remarked to me that the people about Macon were "very ignorant " said he, "they asked me where that corn was raised ? " When I told them in Nacoochee Valley, they wanted to know "what State that
Valley was in V " The good man was of the opinion that everybody ought to
know where Nacoochee Valley was located. It is well for all of us to travel occasionally, in order to learn that our homes, and ourselves, are not of as much importance to the outside world &s we had vainly imagined.
One of the most beautiful sights of Nacoochee aTid its Sur roundings is the cascade of Toccoa. This beautifulfall is on a stream of the same name. In perpendicular height it surpasses anything to be found, even at Niagara. Toccoa is within cannon shot of Tallulah. These Falls form beautiful links in the chain of Northeastern Georgia scenery.
Another one of natures wonders is \onah Mountain. This stupendous pile of granite seems to be a huge offshoot of the Blue Ridge. Yonah Mountain is associated with the earliest recollections of my life.

This guardian of the valley became as familiar to me as the face of my much loved mother. By the time I reached my tenth year, I was in the habit of climbing, during the summer months, to its giddy heights, frequently two and three times a week, and often during the winter months, when Yonah was imbedded in snow, I have chased the fox into its deep caverns. The grand views from the summit of this giant bear were as well known to me as the scenes by the pathway to our log cabin school house. This lofty mountain was ever the admiration of each member of our household. My father, in buildmg. selected a location which commanded the finest view of this celebrated mountain. (Yonah in the In dian language means bear.)
Perhaps it may be considered a weakness, but I acknowledge that I never return to my I^acoochee home that my heart does not beat and throb the faster whenever I come in sight of Yonah. Let me wander whereer I may, when I return to the home of my childhood, this old familiar friend, which can be seen at a great distance, is ever there to greet me.
I know at its foot nestles, in quiet repose, the "sweet Vale of Nacoochee;" and in the bosom of this "Tempe of the South," sleep my parents of precious memory.
In July, 1834, the glorious Fourth was celebrated on the summit of Yonah. A liberty pole was raised, and the Stars and Stripes given to the breeze.
Mr. Ingersoll, Gen. Kusk, and other distinguished states men, delivered patriotic speeches on that occasion.
A few years later, some three hundred persons from the valleys below, assembled Christmas day, on the highest pin nacle of Yonah, and united with a Methodist divine in cele brating the birth of Christ. It was probably the first sermon ever preached on this heavenward-towering temple.
A multitude of voices united that bright, joyous December day, in singing:
"GOOD TIDINGS."
"Good tidings 1 Good tidings! Ring out, O Christmas bells!
The old familiar music still Oer hill and lowland swells;
Go twine with ivy leaves and bay The hollys choral gem,
And welcome, Christian hearts, to-day The Babe of Bethlehem."

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At the conclusion of these religious exercises, this large party descended the mountain by various Indian trails, many separated never to meet again, until summoned by the trum pet of God to their last reckoning.
How scattered is that little band! Some are, doubtless, basking in the sunlight of a holier and more blissful world, while others are still here, but have, since that day, passed through great trials and tribulations. Some are laying up treasures above, while others are heaping up gold and silver, not a dollar of which will aid in securing their passage to the Celestial City. What a sad feeling to know that in a few fleeting years, not one of that once happy party will be num bered among the living. All, all will be realizing the joys or miseries of eternity.
The following beautiful lines were written on the summit of Yonah, in 1849, by D. IT. Jaques, Esq., Editor of The Rural Carolinian.
I gaze on forests spreading wide The fulness of their verdant tide, On mountains piled on mountains high, Far up against the glowing sky, Then down, where, cradled in her deeps, Nacoochees Vale of Beauty sleeps! O! Valloy of the Evening Star!
Though I hfwe wandered near and far No lovelier srot has blessed my eyes, Than now before me smiling lies, Broad are thy fields o waving corn, And sweet thy flowers of summer born; While, bordered by oerhanging trees, Through blooming haunts of birds and bees, With dulcet warblings soft and low, Thy Chattahooehees waters flow, And with many a sun-lit wave, Their shores of shining pebbles lave; And bright the golden sunlight shivers, On this pride of Georgia rivers, And skies as lovely oer thee bend As oer Italias plains extend. Encircled by thy guardian hills, Sure thou art free from common ills.

MEMOIR OF MAJOR EDWARD WILLIAMS,
OF XACOOCIIEE VALLFA. GEORGIA.
BY REV. H. A. C. WALKER.
Major Edward Williams was born at Eastori, Mass., June 30th, 1780, and died March 4th, 1856, at his residence, in Nacoochee, Ga. At the age of twenty years, he left his native place for Charleston, South Carolina, where he remained only two years, when he removed to Burke County, Xorth Carolina. Here he married a daughter of Mr. Daniel Brown, a man of ster ling worth, who was extensively engaged in agriculture and merchandise. The rumor of rich lands in Georgia induced Major Williams to visit that State in 1822; and though, at that time, the Cherokec Indians were the principal inhabitants of the upper Counties, he purchased a large portion of iNacoochee Valley, one of the most romantic and beautiful vales in the South. He settled near the centre of this fertile valley, where he and his excellent wife brought up a family of worthy sous and daughters. No parents could be more blest in their children, and this remark is trjie without an exception among them no slight proof of proper training and noble example. Major Williams possessed remarkable energy and perseverance of character, arid these traits were fully exemplified in his long and busy life. He was strictly temperate in times when drinking, not to say intemperance, was regarded by very many with great, though unwarrantable leniency. His house was the abode of hospitality, and over its doors might have been inscribed the Irish salutation to each comer A hundred thousand welcomes! " His chief delight was in the bosom of his family, where he was beloved and honored; while his known love of virtue, justice and truth, and his unswerving integrity of character, commanded the esteem and confidence of all who knew him. For a long time he had been regarded as the model farmer of upper Georgia, and in this capacity did much to promote the agricultural interests of his adopted State. He established also in the Alleghany

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Mountains, a dozen miles from his residence, the first cheese dairy at the South; and conducted it successfully until his advanced years forbade his longer attending to it. He was present at nearly all the annual fairs of the State Agricultural Society, from the time of its formation, and obtained prizes at each among them, for corn, wheat and cheese. He had read extensively, was a close observer or men and things, and seldom erred in his estimate of human character. He never allowed himself to speak evil of men. It is believed that he lived and died without an enemy; while lie made friends wherever he was known. A good name, which he nobly won, and the importance of which he pressed steadily on his children, he prized infinitely above riches. One might have supposed that a man of such sterling worth among his fellows could need 110 other passport even to the abodes on high; not so thought Major Williams. Through the whole course of his life lie was a regular attendant on the services of the house of (rod, and a ready contributor to all the benevolent enter prises of the church, delighting always in the society of the good, so that even those who knew him most intimately, regarded him as deficient in but one point, and that was the neglect of formal union with the church. This step, however, he took very deliberately and solemnly in the latter part of his life, thus perfecting his character as a specimen of the "noblest work of God "an honest man;" and without which step his claim to that character in the highest sense must ever have remained defective. Nor was this union a mere form. His reliance was in the atonement of Jesus Christ alone, and his spirit was happy and resigned, trusting in his Saviour. lie joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, into which all his children had previously entered, and in whose communion his wife had lived and died. But the close of all was drawing on, and the good old man, supposing that he might not see the dawn of the 19th day of February, (a few days before his death) at 11 oclock the preceding night, had his friends gathered into his chamber, and a tried friend, the Rev. Mr. Littlejohn, administered the communion of the Lords Supper to a weeping, yet rejoicing little baud of Chris tians. The venerable and beloved sufferer was in sight of the fair fields beyond the river of death, and his spirit exulted in God, his Saviour, and in anticipation of a peaceful and triumphant departure from earth. He praised God aloud, bade his children and friends join him in heaven, said he had

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no fear of death, but was ready and willing to depart at any moment it might please God to call him; and in this blissful state continued till the call came. The language of his son, Mr. Charles L. Williams, to another of his sons in Charleston, may well be used by each one of the survivors: "O, George, such consolation we have never met with before. Grief and joy both in the same moment grieved to give him up, but rejoiced to believe that he was going to be happy." Thus lived and died this patriarchial man loved through his lengthened and useful life, lamented in his death, thougl those who weep cannot but rejoice in his blissful release, and his joyful state on high. The memory of the just is blessed.
AN EXCURSION THEOUGH NACOOCHEE YALLEY TO THE HEAD WATEES OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE.
It was a bright morning in August, and but for the refresh ing mountain breezes, the sun would have been uncomfortably hot I desired to show some friends the combined beauties of Nature and Art in these Georgia wilds.
We entered the Unicoy turnpike a few hundred yards from my mountain home. That house, which stands so conspicu ously on the high hill to the right as you go up the valley, is the situation selected by General Eusk, who lived there for many years, having married a daughter of Benjamin Cleve land, of Eevolutionary memory, one of the earliest settlers of this region. The valley and mountain views from "Eusk Hill" are thought to be the finest in Nacoochee.
O
For reasons satisfactory to himself General Eusk left his home in the small hours of the night and some years later turned up in Texas.
He was just the man to represent that people in the United States Senate.
The sheet of water to the right is Lake Nantaliala. (Pretty Maid.) A drive of half a mile, and we reach Sautee Creek.
Here we iind a grist mill, saw mill, and blacksmith shop, all in full blast. The old Confederate gun factory has been converted into a work shop.
It was in this building Col. E. P. Williams turned out dur-

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ing the war "pikes" by the thousand for Governor Georgia Militia. I could not learn of these warlike missiles having done much damage, other than giving me a fright when the Federal soldiers took possession of Charleston.
My brother thought the Carolina boys,who were pledged to "die in the ditch," ought to be furnished with Nacooehee pikes.
He made quite a shipment to Charleston. Failing to sell them, they were stored at No. 1 Hayne Street, and were found there by a Federal officer when the city fell. I had to give the best excuse I could for the appearance of such warlike destructibles in a grocery establishment. The officer sent the pikes North as a barbarous relic of the Lost Cause.
The observatory that you see on the pretty mound, is built over the graves of the Indian maid, Nacoochee, and her lover, Sautee.
A drive of half a mile, and we are in full view of the beau tiful Valley of Sautee and Lynchs Mountain. Those neat farm houses that you see are occupied by Mrs. A. G. Wil liams, Lucius Lamar, Trotter, and others. That house on the hill, as you proceed up the valley, is the residence of my brother, Edwin P. Williams; here you have a splendid view of the valleys of Nacoochee and Sautee, and of Yonah and Trail Mountains. Mr. W. owns a large body of valuable grain and meadow lands.
Thiee-fourths of a mile, and we pass the pretty, new home of Mr. Joseph Green, son-in-law of C. L. Williams.
Near by. in a beautiful grove, is the Methodist Church; and there, too, is the Nacoochee Seminary, filled with the little bright-eyed mountain girls and boys, under the careful training of Miss Johtistone, of Charleston.
Almost in sight of the church is the family mansion of my father, the late Major Williams. It is now the home of Dr. E. F. Starr, who married my youngest sister. There are lit tle Starrs enough there to illuminate the valley.
From this point old Yonah presents a grand appearance. And there is the mound on which I made my fortune of ten dollars.
One-fourth of a mile, and we arrive at Nacoochee proper, the home of my eldest brother, Charles L. Williams.
Mr. W. has been merchandising in the valley nearly half a century, having begun trade at the early age of twelve. He was postmaster for fifty-six years.

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Since the discovery of gold here, in 1828, my brother has bought many million dollars worth of that precious metal
Not far from the mound that you see in. the field, are the flour and grist mill, and wool factory of James Glenn.
A drive of less than a mile from 0. L. W.s, and we arrive at Captain James Xichols. It is said to be one of the best farms in the valley. In sight of Captain N. s, we cross the Chattahooch.ee, and now for nearly a mile, the valley is shut in by the mountains, leaving a narrow passage for the river and road. The scene in this mountain gorge is wild and grand. The high hills are covered with magnificent spruce and white pines. The rhodoclendons and kalmias Hue each side of the Chattahoochee. On the small streams emptying into the Chattahoochee are ricli gold mines.
Again the valley widens, and we are in sight of II. II. Conleys. Here lives my honored aunt, who, notwithstand ing she has seen her three score years and ten, yet she is as active and bright as many of the girls of the present day. This splendid avenue of white pines leading to the house is the finest in America.
This portion of the valley is settled by the Conleys, Deans, Pitners, Englands and Capps.
We now follow the windings of the Chattahoochee for six miles, to its source, through the wildest of the wilds of Georgia.
A wagon road has been hewn out of the sides of the moun tain, which drop down almost perpendicularly on each side of the Chattahoochee. We pass through groves of stately forest trees, such as I have not seen in any other country.
The rhododendrons, flaming azaleas and kalmias abound and illuminate the mountain sides. As we ascend the moun tain, the sparkling waters of the Chattahoochee come rushing and foaming over the rocky precipices, forming beautiful cat aracts and cascades.
We are on the summit of the Ulue Ridge, which is the great natural barrier between the eastern and western waters.
The views from these heights are grand and lovely. To the north and west, mountains lie heaped one above another, until their blue summits are lost in the distance. Amid all this world of mountains, old Yonah maintains its isolated grandeur and dignity.
I have visited the White Mountains in New Hampshire, the Black Mountains in North Carolina, and the snow-capped

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Alps of Switzerland; for softness and grandeur of beauty, the views from Yonah surpass them all.
The highest mountains Xorth and in Europe are nearly always obscured by clouds and a hazy atmosphere, while the views from Yonah are generally clear and bright.
On our return to Nacoochee from Yonah we passed in sight of the old home of the late Rev. Jesse Richardson. His honored son, "Rev. John L. Richardson, the proprietor of the celebrated Richardson gold mines, lives to the right, in that white house, on Dukes Creek. Some two hundred thousand dollars worth of gold has been dug from the mines of Captain Richardson.
That small cottage at the foot of Yonah Mountain is the humble school house in which Adeline Moffatt, of New York, taught the Nacoochee juveniles their a b cs. I had the good fortune of being one of her advanced scholars, and was in a fair way of mastering the "single rule of three" and getting a smattering of grammar, when a trading inspiration came over me, and, in my seventeenth year. I abandoned the school house for the counting room. From that day to this, I have never had the time to resume my studies of grammar and mathematics. Persons who are blessed with a classical education cannot appreciate too highly their advantages. Those who have not been so favored, keenly feel the difficul ties under which they labor.
We now rest, and partake of a lunch under the shade of an immense oak, and drink from a cool, sparkling spring, the head waters of the Chattahoochee. A few hundred yards from us is a small rivulet, which flows west, and is one of the tributaries of the great Mississippi,
When I was a lad, my good father Avas extensively engaged in stock raising. In the spring, as soon as the glittering snow disappeared from the highest peaks of the Alleghanies, he would send us boys with large "droves" of horses, mules and cattle to the luxuriant mountain ranges which abound here. Many a sleepless night have I passed in the deep, dark caves of the Blue Ridge, in consequence of the proximity to our camp of the Indian hunters, and often that of a more dan gerous enemy, the fierce panther, or troublesome wolves and bears. The panthers or wolves seldom attack you unless they are very hungry. Their keen sense of smell will detect fresh meat at a great distance.
One of our party had killed a fine buck, a portion of which

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was hung up in our tent; this attracted a couple of ferocious panthers and a number of wolves.
The panthers steadily made their approach by springing upon the trees some distance from us; they would then leap as far as possible in the direction of our camp, coming nearer and nearer, until we could see their fiery eyes.
The distant howl of the wolf gave place to a near and quick, shrill cry; this meant action. Our tierce dogs,which we had relied upon, crouched at our feet, and were, if possi ble, more frightened than their masters. We reserved our rifles as a last resort; our situation was now critical in the extreme, as we could not tell what moment the hungry crea tures would pounce upon us.
In this dilemma, my uncle, (Major Brown,) threw a stick of burning wood at them, which, fortunately, set the dry leaves on fire, and, to our great relief, frightened away the ferocious creatures.
There are at this time but few panthers in the mountains; these are to be found in the dense forest, not much frequented by man. The buffaloes have long since disappeared.
The wolves and bears are numerous, and occasionally, when the mountains are covered with snow, venture into Nacoochee Valley in search of food. The Indians footprints are now seldom seen in their old and cherished hunting grounds. What a sad commentary upon selfish human nature!
The white man has taken from them their homes, desecrated their graves, and driven them to the far West.
I saw ten thousand of these poor creatures who had been hunted down by the United States troops, and confined in pens and prisons, preparatory to their departure for their new homes west of the Mississippi. Gen. Scott was in command of the United States troops.
A party of men and boys took advantage of the excitement to run several bad white men who were exciting the Indians to insurrection, from Nacoochee. Although quite young, I was eager for this adventure. The expedition was to start from a given point in the Yalley.
We took the precaution to inform the family of our inten tions.
Having dressed in the regular Indian costume, we started on a very perilous undertaking. We raised the war-whoop, and succeeded in running a number of families from their homes, but we narrowly escaped being shot by a party who were well armed.

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Returning a little after midnight, we had the curiosity to ascertain how ths negroes would act in the event of an out break among the Indians.
We entered the cabins, and in a short time there was, a general stampede. Several of the negro men ran to my fathers residence, screaming at the top of their voices, that the Indians were murdering them. Tliey rushed into the house, not stopping for bolts or locks.
My sisters believed us to be true, true Indians; one of them leaped from a window, which was a considerable height from the ground, and came near breaking her neck. The negro women ran to the smoke house, and offered us an abun dance of meat and bread.
It required some time to convince the family that we were not Indians.
Some of the negroes made their escape, and spread the news far and wide, that Major Williams and family were mur dered.
What was intended by us as a nights innocent amusement turned out to be a very serious affair.
Five years have come and gone since I selected this Valley as a summer retreat. I have already expended a round sum on "Mountain Home," and have only built a cottage, a few outhouses, improved the grounds, roads, bridges and the like. Our "mansion" is, indeed, a democratic structure; it will, however, soon be replaced by a comfortable dwelling. I was not sure when we first came here, that the good wife and little ones would like their home hid so far away in the mountains. The children romp with delight through the meadows, and by the refreshing springs, plucking ferns and wild flowers. The almost numberless little kids, lambs, pigs, turkeys and chickens afford them a constant source of amusement, and they have healthful out-door exercise.
On Monday the little girls are busy at the spring, over the wash tub. This is a voluntary task, but we encourage them in it, as we have seen during the past few years, children with prospects as fair as theirs brought to the wash tub from necessity.
Mrs. W. thinks there is no lovelier section, or more health ful summer retreat, than ISTacooehee and its Surroundings. She regards it, of all others, the very place for that restless husband of hers; if he could only be quiet for the summer months, and free from the cares of business. It is difficult

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for him to get rid of that fogy notion business first, then pleasure. I agree with Madam, that it is about time for him to learn, to take life a little more quietly, but habits, whether of idleness or industry, are stubborn things, and hard to overcome.
Important changes have taken place in Northeast Georgia sinco the completion of the Air Line Railway. The road passes within fifteen miles of Nacoochee. The shrill whistle of the engine, and the introduction of the telegraph, gives new life and activity to this once secluded people. The Air Line Road is by far the most interesting and shortest route between New Tork and New Orleans.
Embryo cities are springing up on its line as if by magic. Toecoa, Mt. Airy, Lulu and J3elton, which, a little more than a year ago, were in the woods, are now respectable sized vil lages, with numerous mercantile houses, hotels, churches, livery stables, printing offices and the like.
Middle Georgia, through the enterprising Athens mer chants, will sooTi have direct communication by rail with the mountain region.
The day is not far distant when the Atlantic will be united with the West by a railroad running almost within cannon shot of Nacoocheo. Wonders never cease P
Until our people can indulge in a trip to Europe, or to the crowded hotels atid expensive watering places of the North, they will And no section of the United States that affords them a healthier or cheaper summer retreat than the mountain regions of Georgia and the Carolinas.
The living is also good and wholesome; they, however, greatly need in the up-couutry, experienced cooks. The beef, lambs, kids and veal are as fat and nice as one could desire. The country abounds in the choicest fruits and vegetables, honey, butter, eggs and chickens at reasonable prices. Here you iind gushing springs of sweet, free-stone water, and the mountain air ie pure and invigorating. You have not extremes of either heat or cold. They need in all the upper districts hardy, industrious immigrants from the North and Europe; the beautiful streams should be lined with manufactories of cotton, wool and other goods. The forests are filled with the beet timber, such us pine, walnut, chestnut, locust and maple Saw mills are busily employed in preparing lumber for the Atlanta, Augusta and other markets. If Augusta does not connect with Elberton by rail, she will lose a trade she has enjoyed for the past century.
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Shortly after passing the residence of C. L. Williams, is a beautiful little Presbyterian Church, recently built by that liberal-hearted Christian gentleman, Captain James Nichols. Ts"ow we approach the palatial residence and beautiful grounds of that gentleman, who has expended more than a hundred thousand dollars in making this valley as "lovely to the eye and hand of Art, as it comes to Art beautiful from the hands Nature."
This was once the home of my grandfather, Brown; he lived here to the advanced age of eighty-eight. I have thought that if that practical old man could look upon the gushing fountains, beautiful summer houses and flower gar dens, and upon the artificial lakes, extensive parks for deer, and pools for fishes, and last, though not least, upon the splendid mansion, illuminated by gas of home manufacture, he would be as much astonished as was Hip Van Winkle when he awoke from his long slumber.
G. W. W Nacoochee Valley, 1874.

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THE VALE OF NACOOCHEE.
SOME OF THE CHARMS OF GEORGIAS HAPPY VALLEY.
THE SCENE AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF DE SOTO S SUMMER ENCAMP MENT CONVERTING AND COURTING THE HEATHEN.
NACOOCHEE, G-A., August. 1888. Some fifty years ago the Hon. Henry R. Jackson visited Nacoochee with his beautiful bride. It was their first visit to these mountain wilds. On that occasion he wrote the following poem:
THE VALE OFNACOOCHEE.
Where Yonah lifts his bald and reverend head, The humbler Alleghany peaks above
Beneath its shadows, pleasantly is spread Nacoochees Vale sweet as a dream of love.
Cradle of peace! mild, gentle as the dove Whose tender accents from yon woodlands swell,
Must she have been who thus has interwove Her name with thue, and thy soft, holy spell,
And all of peace which on this troubled globe may dwell.
Nacoochee in tradition, thy sweet queen Has vanished with her maidens; not again
Along thy meadows shall their forms be seen; The mountain echoes catch no more the strain
Of their wild Indian lays at evenings wane, No more where rustling branches intertwine,
They pluck the jasmine flowers, or break the cane Beside the marshy stream, or from the vine
Shake down, in purple showers, the luscious muscadine.
Yet round thee hangs the same sweet spirit still! Thou art among these hills a sacred spot,
As if shut out from all the clouds of ill That gloom so darkly oer the human lot
On thy green breast the world I quite forgot Its stern contentions its dark grief and care
And I breathed freer, deeper, and blushed not At old emotions long, long stifled there,
Which sprang once more to life in thy calm, loving air.
*Nauoochee signifies, in the expressive language of the Indian, "The Evening Star."

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I saw the last bright gleam of sunset play On Yonahs lofty head; all quiet grew
Thy bosom which beneath the shadows lay Of the surrounding mountains; deeper blue
Fell on their mighty summits; evening threw Her veil oer all, and on her azure brow
A bright star shone; a trusting form I drew Yet closer to my side; above, below,
Within were peace and hope, life may not often know.
Thou loveliest of earths valleys! fare thee well! Nor is this parting pangless to my soul.
Youth, hope and happiness with thee shall dwell, Unsullied nature hold oer thee control,
And years still leave thee beauteous as they roll. Oh! could I linger with thee! yet this spell
Must break een as upon my heart it stole, And found a weakness there I may not tell
And anxious life, a troubled future claim me! Fare thee well! HENRY R. JACKSON.
Yonah is one of the grand natural curiosities of Georgia, and is made famous by legend and traditional associations. Amid this world of mountains old Yonah maintains its isolated grandeur this stupendous pile of granite, many times larger than Stone Mountain, and equal to the famous "VVinnsl>oro granite for buildings and monuments.
Under the shadows of old Yonah, which is the centre of the gold belt, l)e Soto, the Spanish General, established the headquarters of his army. There he enjoyed the finest climate and most beautiful scenery in the world. The much coveted gold fields being discovered, active preparations for working them on a large scale was begun. In the meantime the strictest discipline was kept up. To impress the natives with the superiority of the white man, a sham battle was fought. The roar of the cannon echoed from mountain to mountain, and the charge of the cavalry, mounted as they were on their spirited Cuban horses, filled the natives with awe and wonder. The news of the arrival of the marvellous people spread far and wide. Thousands and thousands of the natives flocked here to see them. De Soto and Wahoo were on the most friendly terms. The army was bountifully supplied by the Indian Chief with provisions and game.
There were in De Sotos army a number of self-denying Christians, who had volunteered, as missionaries, to labor among the heathen. Prayers and thanksgiving were offered for their deliverance, and great success in finding a land of

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health and plenty. The Sacrament of the Lords Slipper, in accordance with the custom of the Roman Catholic Church, was participated in by the soldiers, and by a number of natives who had received baptism, and become converts to the Christian religion. Echoee being one of the most enthusiastic and devoted of the number, gave much of her time and means to a religion which promised so much. She also had her four children baptized, and they were faithfully instructed by the priests in their Christian duties. "Wahoo, while he did not object to Echoees new religion, and while he had the utmost confidence in her virtue and faithfulness to him, yet he did not approve of the marked attention of the Spanish officers to his wife. It had been whispered to him that these white men were a very unreliable and treacherous people. As polygamy was practiced arnoug the natives, they readily consented to the selection of fifty of their handsomest women whether mar ried or unmarried to be the wives of the Spaniards. The officers highest in rank, having the first choice, presents were given to the husbands or parents for the women thus obtained. The Indian Queen, being of remarkable beauty, of high char acter, and having by hereditary usage the custody of the treasures of the nation, it was not surprising that she should be the particular attraction of Lorenzo, a brave officer, but a man who had deserted a wife in Spain, two in Cuba, and robbed a chief of his wife in Tallahassec. Lorenzo fell desper ately in love with this young Indian Queen, and was not sparing of his presents and of his attentions to Echoee.

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EELICS OF A FOKGOTTEN EACE.
ME. GKOKGE W. WILLIAMS TOUCHES UPON THE TRADITIONS OT THE PA.ST THE MOUND BUILDERS IN NORTIIKKN GEORGIA
WITH A FLOOR OF POLISHED STONES THE ADVENTURES OF DE SOTO AND HIS WIDE DOMI.VION.
As the hotel matters seem to be moving on smoothly and are in such good hands, I will leave them there for the present and talk to you about "JSTacoochee Old Town," and Xacoochee as it is now. In the meantime, if any letters of impor tance come from parties to whom I have written, 1 will com municate with the hotel board of directors.
Nacoochee has a history as thrilling in interest as the tales of the Arabian Nights. This valley, which was walled in by the Blue Eidge, Yonah, Sails and Lynchs Mountain, was doubtless for ages, one vast lake. The fretful waters of the Chattahoochee, Dukes Creek and Sautee finally cut a channel through the rocks at the east end of the valley, arid the great lake was drained, leaving a beautiful and fertile valley some seven miles in length, and in width, including Sautee, three miles; with the Chattahoochee River winding through its .green meadows. The valley is irregular; a portion of it is shut in by precipitous mountains to a few yards in width, giving it great natural .advantages against the invasion of an enemy. The red man, who has been mercilessly treated by the white man (more on this subject another time) was, for many ages, monarch of these ^fertile valleys and lofty moun tains. The Cherokees, one of the most powerful and warlike of the aboriginal tribes, selected this quiet and safe retreat for the capital of a populous nation. IS acoochee Old Town, as it was originally called, became the chief and largest town of the Cherokees, being situated in the best hunting grounds in the New World, and in the richest gold fields in the South.
At one time it must have been the centre of ancient civilzation. Here the Cherokees, or some other warlike race,

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surrounded themselves with long lines of fortifications, extend ing through Nacoochee Valley, from mountain to mountain, with here and there huge mounds thrown up, and the tops of the high hills levelled so as to strengthen their military lines of defence. On the summit of those hills, which afforded much more space than the mounds, the chiefs securely resided, surrounded by as brave knights as ever cast a lance. Many relics have been for the past seventy-five years found in this valley, and there are evidences of hard fought battles, where shot and shell were used. When the writer was a boy, his father, who was one of the original settlers here after the Indians were driven away, and owned a large portion of Nacoochee Valley, taught his sons the science of farming; they ploughed up gunlocks, swords, broken shells, bullets, tomahawks, arrows, human bones and the like.
In 1834, when the miners were digging a canal for the purpose of washing the beds of the streams for gold, a sub terranean village was discovered, containing some forty houses in number. These were buried ten feet in depth. The logs were hewn and notcled as in the present day. This village was covered by a heavy growth of timber, denoting its great antiquity and a powerful flood which submerged it. There was also found near this buried village under a tree fifteen feet in circumference, which must have been five hundred years old, a double mortar, ten inches in diameter, perfectly polished. It was made of quartz, partly transparent. Some of the mounds contain human bones and implements of war. This subterranean village was doubtless built by De Soto in 1539. More recently a discovery was made in Xacoochee Valley that interested me very much. A ploughshare, near an Indian mound, struck a hard substance. On examination it proved to be a portion of a regularly walled sepulchre; the bottom was paved with polished stones; the tomb contained many skeletons, one of immense size, also conch shells, pipes, and many curious pieces of workmanship, also a piece of inwrought copper. As the natives were ignorant of the art of working in copper, and never buried in walled sepulchres the question naturally arises when these huge men lived. A learned historian of Copenhagen says that America was dis covered in the year 935 by Eiaske Horjuefsen. It is also said a colony from Wales settled in this country in the tenth cen tury. It is more than probable that those early European adventurers were exterminated by the vast tribes of Indians.

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Their history comes to us mainly by tradition. The walled sepulchre was probably built by the Welsh colony from "Wales in the tenth century.
Perhaps Nacoochee Old Town" was in its primitive glory when the adventurous Spaniards, Ponce de Leon and De Soto, were planning their adventures to Florida. De Soto was of royal blood, in the prime of manhood, just weddei to the beautiful Donna Isabel, the petted daughter of an earl, whose father made her husband for life Captain General of Cuba, the fairest land on earth. A time for quitting home and native land was fixed, a bright spring day in April, 1538. Amid the sound of trumpets and the roar of cannon, and the shouts of the multitude, De Soto, with his young bride, and a thousand gay knights, with seven ships, set sail for Cuba. Less than a month later they arrived in the Queen of the Antilles. Do Soto spent a year in Cuba organizing the govern ment, and preparing for further and more hazardous adven tures.
But when did the lust for fame, power and gold satisfy man ? Even the possession fails to do so. Being the Governor of Cuba, was almost enough to gratify any mans ambition. But for more glory De Soto was ready to give up iiis lovely Isabel. Making her Queen and Governess of Cuba, the dar ing De Soto bid a last and final farewell to the young bride; with his braves lie sailed for Florida. In May, 1539, he landed at Tampa Bay. It will be remembered that Florida at that time extended west to Mexico, and north to New foundland. It embraced the whole of the present United States. De Soto was now Governor of Cuba and Florida. What vast possessions! There were landed at Tampa Bay 1,200 knights and soldiers, 24r priests and monks, many workers in wood, iron miners and assayers, 400 thoroughbred Cuban horses, 500 hogs, droves of cattle, and a score of blood hounds to hunt the natives. This was the motley crew who were to teach the poor Indians the Christian religion.
As will be seen, De Soto did not find Florida a bed of roses. No sooner had he landed, than he encountered five thousand enraged Indians. He did not find a days peaceful rest until he reached the rich gold fields of "Nacoochee Old Town."

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THE STORY OF NACOOCIIEE.
Dli SOTOS DlSOOVKRY OF THE GARDEN SPOT OF GEORGIA.
MR. GEOBGK W. WILLIAMS TELLS OF THE CHARACTER AN11 CON QUESTS OF DE SOTO THE FATE OF PONCE DE LKON FIGHT ING IN FLORIDA FOUK HUNDRED YEARS AGO THE FIRST "MARCH THROUGH GEORGIA" THE FLAVOR OF A SCANDAL DEVELOPMENTS IN "OUB NEXT."
The excitement that prevailed in Europe upon the discovery of America by Columbus nearly four hundred years ago, can at this day scarcely be realized. New life, energy and enter prise were infused into the life of the Spanish race. Avarice, ambition, religious zeal, and a love of adventure and con quest, took possession of the Spanish nation. So restless was the spirit of adventure, it is said, that it was difficult to restrain the more ignorant from jumping into the sea that they might swim to the New World. The Spanish nation was literally Florida mad. De Soto, a man of great wealth and worth, before appearing at the Court of Charles the Fifth, had attained distinction and success by his conquests in Peru. Two hundred thousand golden crowns was his share of the plundered treasures. Tall, commanding in appearance, hand some, and brave as a lion, he looked as if he were born to command; he was full of missionary zeal.
What a queer compound is poor human nature. There was DC Soto, a favorite at Court, rich iu treasures and oliveplantations, with a lovely bride to preside at his palace at Seville. One would think with all these he should have been content to reign at a Spanish Court. Not so. He had gained glory and renown iu the army of Pizarro. His ambi tion was fired, and a troop of gallant knights, who had fought under his banner in Peru, and shared in the rich spoils of that country, were ready to follow him to success or death. All were animated by the enthusiasm which glowed in the bosom of their brave leader, and ready to fight under the banner of the Cross.
In my last letter I spoke of Ponce de Leon, who preceded

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De Soto to Florida. It was this brave old warrior who gave the name Florida, Land of Flowers to this new country. Ponce de Leon, bowed down with age, covered with scars and wounds received on many a hard fought battlefield, left Cuba in search of the crystal waters which he vainly hoped would give him renewed youth, riches and life eternal. Poor Ponce de Leon was shot by an Indian with a poisoned arrow. The old man. returned to Cuba, after great suffering, and died of his wounds. His career in Florida was short and inglo rious, fully realizing in his checkered life "that a man born of woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery." Strange to say, the finest hotel in America has been built at St. Augustine, and will perpetuate the name of the old Spanish hero.
De Soto, on landing at Tampa Bay, found himself sur rounded by thousands of enraged Indians. The inhuman Narvaez; was, perhaps, the most barbarous of the Spaniards who preceded l)e Soto. After professing great friendship for the natives, he ordered the fierce Cuban bloodhounds to be turned loose upon them, and upon the mother of a chief, and the dogs soon tore her to pieces. He then commanded the nose of the chief to be cut off. No wonder the Indians had learned to associate the Spaniards with cruelty and barba rism. Those of them who were not killed in battle, or in cold blood, were sent to the West Indies and made slaves. De Soto was a different sort of man; noble, generous and high spirited, and from his standpoint, dealt generously with the Indians. The natives having been so frequently deceived by the Spaniards, were suspicious of the whole Spanish race. De Soto, after months of fighting, his men often in water up to their waists, decided to quit the dismal swamps of Florida, which neither furnished him bread, health nor gold. The army spent the winter in Tallahassee, where a number died of fever. Here he was joined by forty Spaniards, of former expeditions, who had wandered into the mountains of the Blue Ridge, and had there intermarried with the natives. These men being well acquainted with the country, were gladly received by De Soto as guides and interpreters. They informed De Soto that twenty days march would bring them to a land of health and plenty, filled with buffaloes, deer and wild game in abundance; where there were also pearls, gold, copper and other precious metals.
The army was now further strengthened by 3,000 friendly
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Indians who joined it, and 4,000 natives, who had been cap tured, and forced to carry the forage and baggage. Weary and worn, they stopped a few days on the banks of the Savannah River, near where Augusta now stands. Ten days they marched through a much improved country, inhabited by trfb^s, of comparatively friendly Indians, for these had not tfeejjk v siaughtered by the Spaniards, and torn to pieces by
)jjjifcfce bloodhounds as were those who lived further South. The army, enfeebled by the inhospitable climate of Florida, hungry and dispirited, now reached the high lands around "Xacoochee Old Town," where a goodly land is found. Here De Soto and his wearied soldiers rested, for they greatly needed it. Shut in on three sides by mountain walls, some of them towering 5,000 feet in the air, in quiet and peaceful repose, lies
NACOOCHEE.
"Child of the Ohattahooohee! Hid in the hills afar 1
Beautiful Nacoochee, Vale of the Evening Star."
"Hushed in the mountain shadows, With the May dew on her breast;
Her breath is the breath of meadows, And her very name sighs rest! "
"The voice of a loved one calling The feet that have wandered far;
Come, for the night is falling! Rest! with the Evening Star."
De Soto now looked with admiration upon the beautiful, plentiful and peaceful Nacooehee. Although the capital of a warlike nation, there were no evidences of ar.ything but peace and quiet. As was the custom of the Cherokees, the gates or entrances to their capital were closed. 2s o stranger, however distinguished, Was permitted to enter without a permit from the ruling chief. De Soto now caused an immense cross to be erected on a hill overlooking the sweet vale of Xacoochee." Morning and night prayers were offered up to the one invisible God, the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. The showy dresses of the priests, the images of Christ and the Virgin, made a deep impression upon the savages, espe cially upon the women. De Soto was particularly desirous of

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making friends and Christians of the Clierokees, as they pos sessed such wealth, power and influence over the neighboring tribes. He enjoined upon his men not only to refrain from acts of hostility, but to win them, if possible, to his cause. Unfortunately, there was in this Garden of Eden an "Eve." Echoee, the beautiful and virtuous wife of Wahoo, King of the Oherokees, became a zealous and an enthusiastic convert to the new religion, as it was taught by the Spaniards. Like Mother Eve, Echoee was sorely tempted. Of this tempta tion and of the Jvacooehee gold mines, in my next.
TROUBLE IX THE VALLEY.
A SPANISH SERPENT IN THE INDIAN EDEN.
DE SOTO FINDS GOLD AND FOUNDS A TOWN THE WICKED LOKKNZO AND IIIS CUNNING AUVISKK A DEEP-LAID ILOT AND A LECTURE ON MARRIAGE WAHOO PUTS ON HIS WAE PAINT.
Echoee, the innocent young ISTaeoochee Princess, was a mere child in the hands of the libertine Lorenzo. J3ut her intuitive powers of right and the religious impressions recently made upon her, restrained her from doing wrong. Of course, she would be pleased with a present, as a child would with a toy. Among the presents most prized by Echoee, was a fine Cuban horse and Spanish ponies for her little daughters, Eola and Nacoochee. The Indian Queen gracefully rode on her spirited steed boy-fashion through the Valley, with Eola and JS"acoochee following on their ponies. It was their habit to make frequent visits to Yonah. They could be seen winding their way to tiie mountain, stopping at the base of an almost per pendicular cliff. Dismounting and following a narrow, dan gerous and almost perpendicular path, Echoee and her daugh ters are soon lost sight of in a dark cavern in the side of Yonah Mountain, and are now in the very bowels of the earth; going for some distance between rocks just wide enough to admit one person at a time, then opening into a

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court sufficiently large to accommodate an army. Turning abruptly to the west a stone is removed under an overhanging rock, and the sunlight and air streams in upon them. Eelow is a perpendicular wall of one thousand feet. From this win dow in the heavens a beautiful scene is spread out before them. Beneath is the peaceful, lovely valley of .Nacoochee, and the picturesque Sautee Valley; there is the populous cap ital of the Cherokee nation, with its myriads of inhabitants; beyond are mountains piled upon mountains, until the loftiest are almost hid in the blue sky. In a hidden recess in this mountain cavern. Echoee cautiously removes another stone, a hasty look, and Echoee is assured that the treasures are all right. Carefully replacing the stone, Echoee and her little daughters retrace their steps, and again mounting their horses, after an hours gallop, they are safely at the guarded palace of Wahoo. Loreuzo again and again makes love, and costly presents to Echoee, but to little purpose. She remains faith ful to her marriage vows.
As rain drops will make an impression upon the hardest granite, the attentions of a handsome Spanish officer will sooner or later gain upon the affections of an untutored Indian Queen, unless sustained by an Omnipotent power. Do Soto, finding the mines in Nacoochee very rich in gold, built houses, and began to lay out a town known as De Soto. Several thousand natives and Spaniards were employed in mining. As his health improved, and now being prosperous, his thoughts very naturally returned to his Queen in Cuba; his love for Isabel was as fresh as the day he sailed for Florida. De Soto, unlike Cortez and other Spanish officers, refused to take an Indian wife; he submitted reluctantly to his officers and men who had wives in Spain marrying the natives. De Soto now began to make arrangements for bringing to this part of the New World his faithful wife and son, born a few months after he sailed from Cuba.
Who to trust with this important matter was a serious ques tion. One-half of his army would gladly have volunteered for this service. One hundred tried soldiers and two thousand friendly Indians were to form the expedition, among them Lorenzo. A man who will rob oven a savage of his wife is not to be trusted. Lorenzo had a boon companion, a subtle, cunning, deceitful man, who had deserted his wife in Spain, and married a native in Xacoochee. lie had lived here many years before the arrival of De Soto, and was well acquainted ;

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with the habits and customs of the natives. He had all the

cunning of the Indians, and knavery of a depraved Spaniard.

This fellow secretly informed Lorenzo that there was hid away

rJ

I/

in the deep caverns of Yonah Mountain vast quantities of

pearls, diamonds, copper, gold, and other precious metals, the

spoils of wars and accumulations for ages of the wealth of the

Cherokees, and that these vast treasures were, in accordance

with hereditary custom, in charge of the wife of the reigning

chief. To possess Eehoee would give Lorenzo this vast wealth.

This companion in crime was to share in the spoils. Eehoee

was to be tvon by fair means if possible, but was to be possessed

at all hazards. Garillo, for that was the assumed name of

Lorenzoe friend, informed Eehoee tlmt her refusal to become

the wife of Lorenzo had greatly distressed him, and had dis

pleased the Great Spirit. lie further told her that Lorenzo

was so much grieved that he had determined to quit Nacoo-

chee never to return. Eehoee now began to realize how much

of her life and happiness depended on having Lorenzo remain

here; she could not bear- the thought of losing one who had

lavished upon her both his affections and gifts. /Garillo, the

serpent in the garden, further told Eehoee that if she would

go with Lorenzo, and take with her all of the treasures, that she

would be made a great queen in a most beautiful country, and

that her daughters, Eola and Nacoochee, would be educated,

and when grown up would marry kings, and be made queens.

Of course, this fine story quite turned the head of Eehoee, but

before eating the forbidden fruit, she had an interview with

her spiritual advisers. Eehoee was told by them of Adam

.and Eve, who were placed in the Garden of Eden, more beau

tiful than her home in iNacoochee Valley; and of Eves temp

tations, just such as she, Eehoee, was exposed to at this time,

and of Eves fall, and of the sin and misery brought upon

her and upon mankind by the disobedience of our first parents;

and of the wickedness of man since that day; and that we are

all tempted and prone to do evil, and that continually, even

when we know that it will prove our destruction, if we do not

repent of our sins. Eehoee innocently asked if Lorenzo was in

the Garden of Eden! She did not comprehend time or dis

tance; her heart was touched with the story of the cross. It

wa^ impressed upon Echoes that marriage is a union for life

between one man and with one woman. This was a new

revelation to the Indian Princess, who had been accustomed

to the idea of a plurality of wives. Eehoee lost no time in

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telling her husband of Adam and Eve; of their disobedience and fall; of Christ, who was born of a Virgin, suffered on the cross, was crucified, and died for our sins. Wahoo listened patient]}7 , answering only with a savage, guttural grunt; but wLten Echoee told him of Garillos proposition, for Loreuzo to take her and their beautifnl children to a beautiful country filled with great cities, whose streets were paved with pure gold, with gates of pearl, and that she, and Eola, alul Nacoochee were to be made .queens, Wahoo immediately put o,n his war cap. summoned one hundred of his brave chiefs, and retired with his cabinet into a deep cavern under Yonah Mountain.

THE TKAGEDY OF NACOOCHEE.

A HEARTRENDING STORY OF SPANISH PERFIDY.

HOW

THE SPANIAKDS ATTEMPTED TO STEAL THE CHEROKKE TREASURES AND THE QUEEN ECHOEE THE FIERCE CLASH BETWEEN THE INDIANS AND THE SPANIARDS.

Wahoos council of war resulted in a powerful alliance with the various tribes of Indians from the seacoast to the Missis sippi River. The harsh and cruel treatment of the natives by the Spaniards, who preceded De Soto, embittered them against the white man. They were glad of an opportunity of uniting with so powerful a nation as the Cherokees, to exterminate the hated Spaniards. They regarded the Spaniards as robbers, murderers and despoilers of their families and homes. When this alliance was consummated, one hundred thousand brave men were ready to fight at the tap of Wahoos war drum. Wahoo was not only the ruling chief of the Cherolcees, but was complete master of numerous tribes of Indians. In his day the Cherokee nation covered a vast and populous territory. Wahoo was a warrior, patriot and hero. He and his wife, Echoee, sprang from a race of kings and queens. When De Soto reached Nacoochee, Wahoo was. in the prime of man-

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hood, tall and commanding in appearance, and looked as if lie was born to rule. lie possessed almost magic power over his people, and was known, respected and feared from the seacoast to the mountains. No other chief possessed such a beautiful capital, or one so fortified by nature, as was "Nacoochee Old Town."
AATUBES GKAND CASTLKS.
There still stands the great Appalachian chain of mountains, rising three to five thousand feet, forming an amphitheatre some twenty miles in circumference, capable of holding an army of half a million of soldiers, with only here and there openings which were easily fortified and defended. In the centre of this chain of mountains is the Valley of Nacoochee, of irregular proportions, from a mile in width to seven in length, with foot hills rising above the valleys from one hun dred to five hundred feet, affording beautiful sites forhomes, being sheltered from the cold, northern winds by the lofty mountains that surround them. It was the custom of the Indians to level many of these hill tops to make secure and pleasant homes for their chiefs, Wahoos soil was productive, and his hunting grounds, almost boundless, teemed with the buffalo, deer, elk, bears, panthers, and with game of nearly every description, with a climate unsurpassed for health and comfort, and cold springs of water gushing from nearly every hill and mountain side. No wonder "Wahoo felt proud of his home, of his unconquered warriors, and of his beautiful Queen. His valleys and plains all beautiful with flowers, fruits and maize, and a territory embracing many of the present States^, rich in mines of gold, copper, iron and coal. All these he and his mighty hosts were ready to defend to the last extremity.
THE INDIAN QUEEN.
Echoee- looked like a Spanish queen. She was tall and well proportioned; her long, waving hair falling to her feet, her complexion was bright, and somewhat of the olive cast, her eyes sparkled, and were of Italian blackness. The homes of the Cherokees were mainly in the Appalachian Mountains, extending from Virginia to the Mississippi River. Their whole country was the most beautiful and romantic in the world, . The..men were brave, tall and robust, and much

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larger than the Indians further south. Their complexion was also brighter, and the women fair and handsome. The Cherokees, in their dispositions and manners, were grave and steady, dignified in their deportment, and tenacious of their liberties. When De Soto reached Nacoochee, with his small army, they were looked upon as objects of curiosity, arid not of fear. In valor, the Cherokees were equal to any people, but they did not know of the fearful and destructive weapons of the Spaniards, and of their great skill in war. The day was fixed for Lorenzo and his comrades to depart for Cuba. Some of the-best men and fleetest horses were selected for the expe dition. Echoce rejected all overtures made by Lorenzo. She was grieved, however, beyond expression, to part with her Spanish lover, but neither bribes, threats nor persuasion could induce Echoce to prove unfaithful to "VVahoo or to her people. Garillo knew her. every movement, and to this serpent in the garden was assigned the duty of gaining her consent, or plan ning her-destruction. He was as familiar with the Cherokee language as with the Spanish.
THE SEKPENT AT WORK.
Garillo, who was skilled in all sorts of mischief, informed Lorenzo that at a certain hour Echoee and her daughters would visit the cavern in Yonah Mountain. This "bear" was the custodian of the vast treasures of the Cherokees. It was a week before the time fixed for the departure of the Cuban expedition. It was agreed, when they accomplished their fiendish work, they would leave immediately, without the consent or knowledge of De Soto, and before they could Le attacked by the natives. It is about as difficult to reach the end of a rainbow as it is to.catch an Indian napping. Wahoo, the chief, was thoroughly aroused, and informed of all the movements of the Spaniards. He had his faithful warriors stationed on every hill top, and at a preconcerted signal they kindled fires on the mountain tops to summon the warriors. In this way they could communicate with the neighboring tribes with almost telegraphic swiftness. Lorenzo, Garillo, and . party in dark deeds, stealthily followed Echoee, Eola and Nacoochee to Yonah Mountain. Just as they were entering the cavern they were stopped by this robber band. Loreuzo made his last appeal to Echoee to accompany him to Spain, and be his wife and queen. He did not only covet her treas-
6

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ures, but he was passionately in love with the beautiful Indian Queen. Echoee indignantly refused to accept his proposition. She was seized by Garillo. In an instant he fell dead at her feet; a sharp dagger, which she drew from her bosom, and which had been presented her by a Spaniard, found its way to the treacherous Gariilos heart. She had been warned of her danger, and was prepared for him. Echoee could have dispatched Lorenzo, but she hesitated. She and her daughters were taken prisoners. Lorenzo told Echoee that ehe was a murderess, and that further resistance was useless; that her only safety was in fleeing with him, that unless she did so, and deliver him the treasures, she would be thrown from a high precipice and killed. Echoees eyes flashed defiance. She preferred death rather than betray lief trust.
PLAYING ON A MOTHERS LOVE.
Lorenzo knew Echoees love for her children. He ordered them to be bound with strong cords; he further directed that, unlesu Echoee instantly yielded to his request, to cast the children down a deep precipice. Echoee would readily have sacrificed her own life, but when she saw that her precious children were to be destroyed, she was overcome by a mothers love, and promised if Eola arid Nacoochee were spared, she would give up the hidden treasures. The libertine Lorenzo was not satisfied with the vast treasures, but forced Echoee, notwithstanding her screams and entreaties, to spend several hours with him in the cavern of Yotiah Mountain.
WAR ON THE TREACHEROUS SPANIARDS.
When the news reached "Wahoo that Echoee and his daugh ters had been captured by the Spaniards, and the treasures stolen, Wahoo was kindled with rage. War was immediately begun. The yells and war cries were heard from valley to valley, the bright fires flashed on a thousand lulls and moun tain tops, signals for the warriors to assemble. A furious attack was made on the Spania :ds at every point. De Soto, with a strong guard, was some miles away, at the new town of De Soto, which .he had built for those working in the mines. He little suspected Lorenzos treacherous schemes. The hideous yells and war songs of the savages were the first intirnaticn De Soto had of the deadly conflict. The Indians,

83
now- by the tens of thousands, poured into Nacoochee with tomahawks, clubs, rude arms and poisoned arrows. War was begun with frightful havoc. It now became a hand to hand fight. Wahoo, the war chief of the Cherokees, at the head of his brave army, fought desperately.
THE OPPOSING WARRIORS
De Soto, the hero of many hard fought battles in Mexico and Peru, concentrated his little army in the centre of "Xacoochee Old Town." His men had great advantage over the natives, as they were provided with helmets, breastplates, shields and coats of steel to repel the arrows of the Indians, while the natives only had furs, bear skins, with shields of hides to protect them. They seized whatever implements they could find for weapons. They even grasped the pots from the fire, emptying their contents on the head of the enemy, besides tables and billets of wood became instruments of war. The Spaniards made death charges of artillery. The roar of the cannon only maddened the natives. They were mowed down by the thousands with grape shot. The mailed cavaliers rode through the streets cutting to pieces men, women and children The Cherokee warriors and their allies from afar, constantly increased in numbers, filling the air with yells of defiance and rage.
THE FATE OF LORENZO.
Lorenzo, after securing the vast treasures, amounting to many millions of dollars in **alue, attempted, with his com rades in crime, to escape to Cuba, with Echoee and her daughters as prisoners. Just before reaching the Chattahoochee River, demoniac yells and war cries fell upon their ears, as the Indians came like an avalanche down the moun tains. They sprang like tigers upon the treacherous Spaniards. Lorenzo was the first victim of their vengeance. He fell, pierced by a thousand swift arrows, and was immediately tomahawked and scalped. The stolen treasure, the accumu lation of ages upon ages, were all regained, and the queen and her daughters set at liberty. Poor Echoee was crazed with .drugs, administered by Lorenzo in the mountain cavern, and although innocent of intentional wrong, she realized that an ignominious death awaited her for surrendering the treasures.

84
Clasping her daughters to her bosom, whom she loved better than life itself, imparting a mothers fond and farewell kiss, in deep shame and desperation, she carried them in the dashing waters of the Chattalioochee. They were instantly washed over the rapids of the swift mountain stream. The warriors ceased their fight to save their queen and her beautiful little daughters from a watery grave. A boy of 1(5, the son of a Choctaw chief, reached Nacoochee as she was sinking. Echoee and Eola were drowned. Thus perished the beautiful Chris tian Indian Queen, Echoee the Morning Star.
The tragic death of Echoee, "Wahoos Xacooehce Queen, was the signal for renewed hostilities). The Indians, almost numberless, rushed down from the mountains upon the Spaniards. The enraged Indians seized the slain Spaniards swords and sharp lances. A terrific havoc ensued. J)e Soto was in the thickest of the fight; the sword which made him illustrious in Peru was now crimsoned with the blood of the Cherokce Indians and their allies.
The Spaniards were finally overpowered by numbers, and made a hasty retreat, followed by the infuriated savages. A horrible carnage ensued. Nacoochee Valley was strewn with the dead and dying. The wounded Spaniards crawled to the banks of the Chattalioochee River to slake their intense thirst; many were thrown into the swift mountain stream and were drowned. Darkness put a stop to the horrible massacre.
When the morning sun_ arose the Spaniards were many miles beyond Yonah Mountain, on the unmarked road to the great Mississippi River. De Sotos army was hounded from day to day by the infuriated Indians. A year was consumed in marching to the Father of Waters. De Soto, the hero of a thousand battles, from the day he landed in the swamps of Florida, met with disasters and disappointments. His home in Nacoochee Valley was tiie only bright spot in his three years march through a wilderness country inhabited by millions of ferocious savages. But for the treachery of his officers, he would have amassed great wealth in Nacoochee and its surroundings. The quantity of gold and other minerals hid away in the valleys and mountains of the Cherokee nation is past computation. Harassed and disappointed, that great mans spirit forsook him, and in 1542 he sickened a,pd died on the banks of the great Mississippi.
Thus ended the life of Hernando DC Soto, one of the. greatest generals of any age. To conceal De Sotos death,

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his body was placed in a rough box, and sunk in the ruddy waters of the Mississippi River. He was the first white man to find a grave in that deep and turbid river.
De Sotos devoted wife, Dona Isabel, spared no pains or expense in searching for her long-absent husband. When the sad intelligence was received in Havana of his death, dis heartened by long anxiety, she died of a broken heart.

Kacoochee, Ga., 1895.

GEORGE W. WILLIAMS.

SUGGESTIVE THOUGHTS FEOM THE VALLEY OF KACOOCHEE.
MISS SHARP AND HER WORK AMONG THE NKGROES AT HOME AND ABROAD HOW THE WORLD HAS WAGGED IN THE LAST HALF CEXTIJRY.
To the Editor of The j^ews and Courier:
I did not propose troubling you with any communication this summer, I came to Nacoochee for relaxation from busi ness, and to enjoy the qniet so much needed.
Two letters received to-day are the occasion of this writing. One of the letters is from Africa, and solves a problem in which I arn interested.
I became acquainted with this foreign correspondent under peculiar circumstances. Shortly after the late war, when we were without law, order or civil government, a delicate lady called at my office in Charleston, and informd me of her plans of establishing a missionary work among the negroes who had congregated in great numbers on the abandoned plantations near the coast. She proposed to share their rude homes and ruder fare. As she was wholly unacquainted with the negro character, and as those freed people were the most ignorant and uncivilized of the African race in the South some of them being native Africans smuggled into the South in the early part of the war, and the negroes on the Sea Islands of South Carolina, at that time, numbered one hundred to one white .person, I regarded it as extremely hazardous for a delicate

86
white woman to work alone in the miasmatic swamps of CaroJina among such a people. But the plucky little woman felt that
"Where there is a will, there is a way."
She regarded it the "best missionary ground in the world." I could not imagine that a young woman, just from her home at the North, reiined and educated, could he induced to make her home among thousands and thousands of colored people who had been fearfully demoralized by the war, and by sud den emancipation. She knew that the Methodist missionary had preached to them in slavery times on the large plantations without being molested. She therefore went ahead bravely and energetically in her benevolent work. She aided mate rially in establishing among those people churches. Sunday Schools, day schools, industrial missions, and the like. These were not only made self-supporting, but the founder of them soon had a respectable fund in the Carolina Savings Bank, which was to be used for carrying the missionary war into the wilds of Africa. This brave woman was Miss Mary A. Sharp, who is now in Africa, and gives us the interesting account of her work among the heathen Africans. Miss Sharp, having done her Christian work faithfully and successfully among the colored people of South Carolina, some twelve years ago, decided to go to Monrovia, Africa. Again I had my doubts about the venture, and these doubts were strengthened when I received a letter from her, stating that after her arrival in Africa, instead of finding some friends who had preceded her, she found their graves! Until to-day I thought that she, too, had "crossed the river."
I am pleased to see that my friend Is alive and prosperous. I doubt if any woman in America has so thoroughly studied the negro character at home and abroad, as has Mary A. Sharp.
The same mail that brought Miss Sharps letter brought one also from my old friend, Mr. Daniel Hand. A.s it may be the last letter he will ever write. I send it to you, for I feel that one who has done so much for the South deserves to have his memory perpetuated.
What recollections this letter stirred within me! A little more than fifty years ago, while in my teens, I resolved on quitting this quiet mountain home to seek my fortune in a broader field of action than these pent-up mountains afforded.

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My good father neither opposed nor approved my leaving, but lie was careful not to offer any facilities to enable me to carry out my purpose. lie was a prosperous farmer, in gcod cir cumstances, and could have furnished me wilh horse, buggy and money, if he had chosen to do so. Doubtless he did not wish me to leave home so young.
The 10th of October, 1838, was the day fixed for my departure. That day I stood under the old persimmon tree which occupies the most prominent position on the lawn in front of my house, and which has been sacredly preserved, not for its beauty, but for its associations. It was under this old tree that I took a long, last view of my childhoods home, two miles distant. Bidding adieu to all that was dear to me in life, going out in the world among strangers, it was human to shed bitter tears. Hurriedly wiping them away, I pushed on, resolved to succeed, or never again to show my face in iN"acoochee Valley. A journey of seven days on foot brought me safely to Augusta, at a cost of less than one dollar. I slept the first night in the wagon yard. I thought it best not to spend money at a hotel, until it was earned. That was a lively night to me, as there were more than one hundred market wagons in the yard. The neighing of the horses, cracking of the whips, barking of the dogs kept me awake. Early the following morning I started out in search of employ ment. The sun was not up, but the merchants in those days began their work at the break of day. In front of a store on Broad Street there stood one of the finest looking men that I had ever seen.
That man was Daniel Hand, who was then in the prime and vigor of manhood, six feet in height, weighing 180 pounds, with broad, intellectual forehead, piercing black eyes, and erect as an Indian. Even to this day he is of a striking personal appearance, possessing a strong mind and strong convictions. I was extremely fortunate in procuring a situa tion with such a man, for he was a merchant of the old school. A friendship was then and there formed which can only be broken by death.
What a history is wrapped up in this half a century of toil and straggle, and what wonderful changes have taken place during these long years.
At that time there were no swift railroads in Georgia to travel upon. South Carolina had the longest railroad in the world, running 137 miles, from Charleston to Hamburg.

88
There were no steamships or telegraphs to give us yesterdays news before breakfast, from all parts of the civilized world. Letters were brought from Europe in sailing vessels, after a voyage of from one to two months. About the time I went to Charleston, in 1852, steamships began to make regular trips across the ocean, one of the first going out from Charleston.
Cotton was brought to market in wagons and fiatboats. There was no jute" bagging to fight. Cotton was packed in heavy, cotton goods and burlaps, weighing about half a pound to the yard. It was generally packed with the feet, into round bales. A commission of fifty cents a bale was charged. It was usually sold on the wagon by the owner, price about six cents per pound. Tobacco in the leaf was rolled to market in hogsheads, by means of a frame at each end, with pivot oil which it turned. Indigo was brought in our grandmothers aprons. Chickens were wagoned 150 miles from the mountains, and sold at ten cents a piece; eggs at six to eight cents per dozen. Good shad were plentiful in the Augusta market at ten cents. Beach Island corn, thirty cents per bushel. State of Georgia 8 per cent, bonds were dull at fifty cents on the dollar, payable in a depreciated currency. Profits were small, and family expenses made to correspond. A man and wife were considered extravagant if they spent a thousand dollars per annum. Fifteen hours were regarded a fair days work. It was orthodox for a good Presbyterian to sell K"cw England rum and Holland gin by the wholesale. My Methodist conscience did not approve of it. When my name was established in the firm, we abandoned the traffic in liquors. . Although we gave up the most profitable branch of the business, I never regretted it. Mr. Hand was very much attached to the South, having gone to Augusta to live at the early age of 10. He was a Presbyterian of the John Knox school He established one of the first Sunday Schools in Augusta, and was Superintendent for thirty years. When we formed a partnership our combined fortunes wersless than five thousand dollars. "One million five hundred thousand dollars for the educa tion of the colored people of the recent slave States of the South," was the crowning act of the life of Mr. Daniel Hand. Now, if I can induce my old friend to give another million of dollars for the education of the poor whites of the South, I shall be happy.

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Fifty years. My! What scenes are crowded into these years of toil and struggle. Would I live them over again ? Yes, gladly! and fifty years more, for it seems that I am only beginning to live. My work is not half done. Fifty years, .and I would see the trees that I have planted more than one hundred feet in height. Who knows that at the end of another half century but that I shall look upon the. scenes of my Nacoochee home, and upon Magnolia Cemeterys beau tiful lakes, spreading oaks, brilliant azaleas and camelias with a clearer vision, than I now behold V We shall see:
GEOKGE W. WILLIAMS.
Nacoochee Yalley, Ga., August 5th, 1889.
FROM MISS SHARP TO MR, WILLIAMS.
MONROVIA, AFRICA, June 22d, 1889.
ME. GEORGE W. WILLIAMS DEAR SIR: I have written you once since I came to Africa; I presume you will be sur prised that I am still living. ]Srot only living, but am in excellent health. I do not know if you keep the run of mis sionary enterprise in Africa. Bishop Taylor is doing a grand work for Africa, not only on the Congo and vicinity, but for the last two years in Liberia, south of Monrovia. I work alone and independent; have a mission home, where I have . boys and girls, of heathen parents, in training for Christian work. Some have already gone out as workers. Then I have school a few hours per day in the large heathen town near by. and a church with regular Sunday services Sunday School in the morning, preaching in the afternoon. I do my own preaching; quite a rnimber have been converted, and the town begins to assume the appearance of civilization. The men as a general thing wear clothes. The women and they are the hardest to reach are gradually getting to wear clothes. One Kroo man has built him a nice frame house, and I notice two or three others who had board floors. Then, whereas they used to be hung with gree-gress, some to give them luck, some to keep away evil spirits, some to keep them from dying, etc., etc., now they have nearly all disappeared. Goat horns, filled with "medicine," as they call it, used to be in great vogue, worn around the neck and around the body;

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but now I seldom see a goat horn. Africa seems to be in a state of expectancy. Over every entrance is written, Behold! I set before you an open door." It is wonderful how some, from every part of the Christian world, are interested in Africa. 'No matter what the motives are annexation, com merce or any other thing still, the way is made ready for the Gospel; for the coming of our King, and darkness is giv ing away before the glorious Gospel of the Son of God. The next decade will witness marvellous changes in Africa. It is a hard field, but a hopeful one. I wish you could go into Kroo town (Kroo tribe) and see the crowds of bright, goodfeatured children. When they see me they will gather around and commence snatches of some of the hymns that I have taught them. You never saw any of the Kroo tribe, as none were ever slaves. They were such a bold, independent tribe, that they were considered entirely inaccessible to Christianity. I was drawn to that tribe, and have been very successful among them. Bishop Taylor saw, too, that they were a superior tribe, and has now quite a number of missions among them. It is a great pleasure now to have them planning for Christian work, and readily entering it. The class of people sent out by the Colonization Society does not improve social or religious life, nor bring in enterprise or skill. Some, rather superior, came on the Monrovia the last of May. Eleven turned face about and went back on the same vessel. A good thing for them. If the same amount of money was spent on the natives, administered by competent persons, the result would be far in advance of what it is. The Liberians do riot hold their own against the climate, poor food, etc.
I see that your friend, -Mr. Hand, did munificently with his money. I saw him down as living in Guilford, Connec ticut, also as in Clinton. Now, the burden of my letter is this. I have some boys, very promising lads, that I want to send two or three years to school in the United States. One, whc has been with me seven years, he is now about 15, or maybe nearly 16. I have had years of experience among colored people, as you know, but this boy is superior in every way to any colored boy I ever knew. I would like to have him in Moodys school, at Northfield, Miss. I want him to imbibe the ideas of labor and Christian manhood, and Chris tian work that is there taught and exemplified. ]Now, if you will write to Mr. Hand, and ask him to take this boy and send him two or three years to that school,- or to any other

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where the industries are taught, he will do the best work of his life, T^he Northfielcl school is not expensive. I can send him on, or take him, as I would like very much to take a trip to the United States next summer. I would like him to see the hoy. I know he would he pleased with him. He is of heathen parents, but he now is a good Christian lad. He did not know English when I took him. He is now a very good English scholar, and speaks three native languages fluently. Of course I do not want him to forget his native languages, as he can reach multitudes through them. I have not written to Mr. Hand, as so many besiege benevolent men. Please confer on me the favor of writing to him, or if you wish the honor of taking the boy yourself to educate, Ill not object ?
This will probably be mailed in New York.
Very truly yours,
MAKY A. SHAEP.
FROM ME. HAND TO ME. WILLIAMS.
GDILFOBD, CONN., July, 1889.
ME. GEORGE W. WILMAMS, . Naeoochee, Ga. Dear Sir: I thank you for your late letter, informing me of your going to your summer home, so dear to you. It would give me pleasure to see it once more, and note the improvements there. I can write you nothing of things that would interest you. Will you pardon me for suggesting many subjects of interest to me that you can speak of without effort to you, for my information and satisfaction ? Has your city enlarged and improved since the war, and are the people more pros perous and happy than before ? Please answer the same for the State and the South. Has the change thus far been beneficial or otherwise ? Do you expect any great or early, change for the better ? Is labor generally more or less pro ductive than before, and are the colored people benefited by the change, and would my bequest have been more beneficial to them if made through an organization in which you are interesteJ, in the same way, to the same end ? Will you reply to this, if to no other ? I am very feeble and infirm, and not in a condition for any business at all. I go out but little,

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but am not sick or suffering, and am generally favored in that respect. I arn gratified that you are so highly favored in your health and vigor. I can never cease to be interested in you and in your family. I need not write more of myself; you know more than I can tell you; but you cannot know as I do that during all those distressing years of the war, not a word of censure, distrust or disrespect was ever addressed to me in all my wanderings through the South during that dread ful period of trial and suffering. I had spent my life in the South. I knew her people, and never distrusted the native Southerners, but respected and honored them, and do so still.
Pardon so much egotism, but we are speaking of ourselves in all this. I was 16 years old when I went to Augusta. My protectors died soon, leaving little. My life has always been wholly Southern, and it bears witness what I have been to it and it to me. I am 88 years old, feeble and very infirm, as you know. What I have remaining I have returned where it was received, and I am content with the past and ready for the future. 1 neither ask or expect you to write often, for I have nothing to return. You already have all there is of value left me. Excuse so much and so poor, but it is all there is. I am sure there will always be a memory with you.
DANIEL HAND.
ARE EIC.HES DESIRABLE?
MK. EDITOR: Some years since I published in pamphlet form for gratuitous distribution, a series of letters to young men, upon the subjects of "Success and Failure; Making and Saving." As the issue of three thousand copies is nearly exhausted, I have concluded, while resting in my Nacoochee home, to revise and re publish, the letters, adding a few chap ters upon "Riches," and upon "Human Life." I am fre quently asked the question, Are Riches Desirable ? Also, "Is Life a Failure ? "
These are questions of momentous import, as they treat on the life that now is, and on life eternal. The desirableness of anything depends not only upon the value it is to this life, but more particularly to the life that is to come. If we a^mit that riches will really prevent a mans seeming eternal life, then wealth is not desirable. - But is a rich mans money a

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greater hindrance to his being a Christian, than poverty ia a hindrance to the poor man ?
These are questions for us to consider seriously. Of course, nearly everything depends upon the use that is made of riches, whether they shall prove a blessing or a curse. The same is true of the use we make of life. In investigating every ques tion affecting our spiritual, as well as our temporal welfare, we must rely upon the Scriptures for our only true guidance, for they touch upon every phase of human character and of the human heart.
We find in the narrative of the man who inquired of Christ how he might obtain eternal life, that everything went, smoothly with him until he was told he must sell his posses sions and distribute the money to the poor, and follow Christ.
The young man flattered himself that, as he had kept all the commandments, he was ready for the Kingdom of Heaven; but when he found to gain eternal life that he must part with his riches, he went away sorrowful," for he had "great possessions." This young man must have been of excellent character, for Christ loved him. When our Saviour saw how loth he was to part with his riches, (Jhrist said to His disciples: "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." He further said: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God." Well might the disciples exclaim: "Who, then, can be saved ?" The answer of Christ was: "With God all things are possible." Do not many of the difficulties of the rich arise from the fact that they make an idol of their money instead of making a proper use of it ? Many persons worship mammon more than they do their God. It is written, ye cannot serve God and mammon. I have long been convinced that an inordinate love of money leads multitudes to ruin. Covetousness is original sin, and is consequently the prevailing form of selfishness in the hearts of the entire hu man family, rich and poor. Nothing but the grace of God can save them from its baneful effects. It is a fact that the poor mans heart is as much filled with covetousness as the rich mans.
If the possessions of even the best men could talk, we would learn of toils, struggles, anxieties, and frequently of guilt in procuring them.
Our prayer should be like that of Agers, asking for "neither poverty nor riches," lest riches might make him deny his God, or poverty make him steal.

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If people would but lessen their desires, their wants would be less. One means of overcoming covetousness and of mak ing money desirable and useful, is a willingness to share our wealth with the poor and needy. This requires an eniice change of heart. It is not enough for a man to strive to keep the commandments if he hoards his money. It is as impor tant for parents to train their children to habits of Christian benevolence, as it is to teach them the art of saving and mak ing money. A great drawback to wealth is the harm that it is liable to do the children of those who possess it. It is a common belief, but not entirely correct, that rich mens sons are permitted to grow up in idleness, luxury, profaneness and intemperance, which makes them worthless. This is too often the fault of the parents and evil associates, and not of riches.
"Wealth, when properly used, is a good thing, and should be diligently sought after. There is no wrong in the posses sion of wealth, but money should not be hoarded or used for self-indulgence, but for the good that can be done with it. We should be frugal, but not parsimonious, generous, but not extravagant. All should work for success, and success means wealth/ Wealth brings with it power, and at the same time cares and responsibilities that few can realize. It is more difficult to use money wisely and humanely, than it is to make it.
Money is important in every relation of life, and cannot be dispensed with.
Without money or riches the world would relapse into bar barism.; our comforts and independence would be gone.
It is the love of money and trusting in riches" that is so wrong, and so much condemned in the Bible. Mans daily wants require him to work for his bread and clothes. If he expects to make money desirable, he must have a higher ambi tion than to merely work for his own food; he must have an ambition to accumulate property for the purpose of doing good with it. Money should be used to produce the greatest happiness to our families and to others. . This can be done in a thousand ways, and it is therefore desirable and honorable to accumulate money for its intrinsic value. Gold and silver, however, in the possession of a miser is worth no more to him than the sand in the ocean, as it fur nishes him no more true happiness than so many bags of dirt. I have known rich men who were so penurious that they be grudged the money for the very clothes they wore and the

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food they eat. They take no pleasure in using money for .their own comfort or for the comfort of others. .They are un happy all the time for fear of poverty. They are always predicting a famine in the land.
I am sorry to say that it is not only the miser who fears a "famine." Some years since I received a severe rebuke for filling my barns with corn that the poor should have had. For two years there was a general drought. Corn, even in the rich N acoochee Valley, was twisted, and sent forth sickly tas sels. It looked as if there would be a total failure of the crops.
I thought I would be provident, and therefore filled my barns with corn, nailed tin over the cracks to keep out the rats, and put strong locks on the doors to keep out the rogues. I felt a relief in having my "barns filled;" I sparingly dealt out the nubbins and shattered corn to those who were obliged to have bread. Just before leaving for Charleston, I discov ered hundreds of bats flying to and fro around the barns. I soon saw that they were feasting on myriads of weevils that were destroying my hoarded treasures. I felt rebuked, and after that experience, I had plenty of weevil-eaten corn to sell. The next thing to covetousness is prodigality. Prodi gality, although quite the opposite in its nature to covetousness, is to be condemned on account of its selfishness. An extravagant, wasteful use of money upon ones self without necessity, is a sin. The self-indulgent man has but little left for benevolence; he has yst to learn that it is more "blessed to give than to receive." It is the custom of the world to rail against the rich man. I cannot see that the poor man is the worse off on account of his neighbors being rich, but the better off if the rich man uses his wealth properly, gets it honestly, and does not abuse its power.
In answering the question, "Are Eiches Desirable ? " it is my deliberate opinion that wealth is desirable, as it contributes vastly to the spreading of the Gospel, the conversion of the heathen, and the comfort and happiness of the human family.
Eiches are consequently desirable, and worth toiling and struggling for. My ad vice to the young is to work, to make, to pave! "Wcsley s advice upon this subject cannot be improved upon, which was: "Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can." If you will do this in the love of Christ and fear of G-od, your riches will riot hurt you, but prove a blessing.
"Is Life a Failure ? " in my next, GEORGE W, WIIJJAMS.
Nacoochee, Ga., August 29th, 1889.

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ARRIVAL OF THE BISHOP.
The Bishop, whose anticipated arrival at Nacoochee Valley created such excitement, was none other than the renowned George F. Pierce, of precious memory. I first heard this eloquent divine preach iri my fourteenth year; he was nine years my senior. His thrilling eloquence made an impression on my young heart that I can never forget. George Pierce was iny friend and pastor in his vigorous manhood; no other preacher ever impressed me so much. When quite young, I was one of his stewards in St. Johns Church, Augusta, Ga.
George Pierce was not only the handsomest man I ever saw, but was the greatest pulpit orator in America. I might truth fully say in the world. In and out of the pulpit he looked like a prince. lie was as lovely in disposition as he was hand some in person; he was as simple in his manners as a child. Jonathan did not love David more than I loved George F. Pierce. The Bishop and his venerable father were my friends and counsellors when I needed their love, advice and friend ship. They were my close friends for half a century.
-1 knew Dr. Pierce in the zenith of his greatness; next to his son, he was the most popular preacher in the South. Like his son, he was an exceedingly handsome man. They were entirely different in their styles of preaching, hut each of them had marvellous power over the people, in and out of the pul pit. Each possessed a melodious voice, strong, deep and full, and ever-flowing as the Falls of Niagara. George Pierce was widely known for his eagle flights of oratory, the father for his thundering eloquence. They were both of them men of wonderful energy and industry.
I arranged with old Dr. Pierce, as we always called him, to make us an annual visit to Charleston, which he kept up as long as he was able to travel; I was very fond of him, and was always glad to have him as a guest, and to have him preach for us at Trinity Church. Dr. Pierce was a very interesting and impressive talker.
I doubt, all things considered, if Lode Pierce had an equal in the Methodist Church. lie was probably the oldest effec tive preacher in the world. He began life without the advan tages of education; he told me that he went to school less than one year, to a very indifferent teacher.
Dr. Pierces parents removed from North Carolina in 1795,

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to Baruwell County; tlioy were poor, hut respectable; at that time there were no newspapers, .and hut few books in that section of the country; the two oldest sons, Ileddick and Lovic, worked in the field to provide bread for their parents large family. The country was new and sparsely settled, society rude and vicious, horse racing and cock fighting the amusements of the day. Corn and potatoes were the staple productions; there was wild game and fish in abundance; cotton was cultivated only for home consumption. The seed from the cotton was picked around the tire-hearth at night, by the fingers of the over-tasked mother and her children; cotton gins were then unknown. The lint was carded, spun and woven at home. Out of the material thus provided, the family were clothed. Cotton was not raised for market at all. The two brothers had no early religious advantages. There were but few ministers in Barnwell County; the preachers at that time wore uneducated. Drinking was common among church members. The "Hard Shell" Baptists of that day were a very different class of people from the educated Bap tists of the present time.
The attempt to introduce Methodism met with the bitterest opposition and persecution. The Ttev. James Jenkius, of Charleston, was the first Methodist minister that penetrated tlie cane brakes of Tinkers Creek, then the home of tho Pierce family, twenty miles below Augusta. Two days preaching in asmaRlogcabin resulted in tho conversion of Iteddick and Lovic Fierce, -at that time uneducated boys. Jteddick Pierce lived to preach the Gospel for more than half a century, with great power; his brother, Lovic Pierce, was a celebrated preacher for more than three quartern of a century. Eternity can only reveal the result of the two days preaching of that humble,, uneducated minister. Father Jonkius presontc! the two young converts each witn a cheap copy of the Bible, the firdt baok either of them ever owned. But few ministers in the wide, wide world studied the Bible from Genesis to Reve lation, as did Lovic Pierce. In his sermons he never used notes or manuscripts; ho literally had the Bible at his fingers ends. The Pierces were born orators. Preaching was their gift and talent. The two brothers, Ttcddickaud Lovic Pierce, delighted the people with their eloquence from the day they entered the ministry. Neither of them had the advantages of society they were gentlemen from instinct. Their early occupation was plowing, hoeing and clearing up new ground.
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Dr. Lovic Pierce was an effective preacher when he was ninety years old. His sermons gave evidence of towering intellect, and of wonderful Biblical research. He was doubt less the oldest effective preacher in the world,, He was active in mind and body at ninety, and constantly working for the interests of the Methodist Church.
During his annual visits to me some years before the war, we plan ned a magnificent Central Methodist Church for whites only. The good old man saw that 300 whites and 1500 negroes could not worship comfortably in the same building. He also knew the prejudices of the people of Charleston against the Methodist Church on account of its early and persistent opposition to slavery. His idea was to turn over Trinity Church to the colored members, and to build a first-class church for the whites, to be tasteful, substantial and commodious. He felt that both the whites and the negroes would be benefited by the change. He did not wish to do anything that would be injurious to the colored members. -Bishop Pierce entered heartily into our plans for the new church. He knew that the negro element had been a heavy weight upon the Metho dist Churches in Charleston, from the days of Asbury, Coke and McKoudree. When I removed to Charleston, 1 was advised by my friends not to unite with the Methodist Church, as it was considered the negro Church ! "
The Methodist Conference of 1780 declared that "slavery is contrary to the laws of God, man and nature, and hurtful to society." Wedey, Coke and nearly all of the English Methodists were opposed to slavery.
The prejudice against the Methodist ministers was so great that they were not permitted for a long time to preach to the negroes on the rice and cotton plantations. During the war Bishop Pierce delivered an address before the Georgia State Legislature, and took strong grounds against the StateStatute, which made it a penal offence to teach the negroes to read.
The Bishop said:
"There is another Statute of Georgia adverse, as I believe, to the will of God and the true interests of humanity. I mean the law which forbids us to teach our negroes to read. This enactment invades the rights of the master and the piivilege of the slave. It is the masters duty to teach his ser vants, as well as his children, the doctrines and morals of our holy religion, and the slave is entitled to the advantages in the use of which he may learn to offer to his Maker a rational and

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acceptable worship. Our Heavenly Father certainly never intended any human mind to be kept in darkness and igno rance. The negro is an immortal being, and it is his right, by the law of creation and the purchase of redemption, to read for himself the epistles of his lledeemers love. If the insti tution of slavery cannot be maintained except at the expense of the black mans immortal interests, in the name of Heaven, I say, let it perish. I know the circumstances out of which our unfortunate legislation sprang. It was partly retaliatory, in rebuke of the incendiary publications of the North, and partly precautionary, on prudential grounds. But the logic of the law is as bad as the law itself. To make the negro suffer for the sins of the Yankee is the grossest injustice, and yet this is the practical effect of our law. A Bible in every cabin will be the best police of the country."
Although Bishop Pierce was the most popular man in the South, and a slave owner, yet his address gave offence to the extreme slaveholders. It was the Bishops habit in life to call a spade a spade; he did not trim his sails for popularity. While Bishop Pierce was not a politician, yet he was very decided in his convictions, and was not to be influenced by Whigs or Democrats. In his younger days his sympathies were with the old Whig party, and was an ardent admirer of Henry Clay. The Bishop was a Union man, opposed to aboli tionists and secessionists. He was too busy with his church and educational work to give much time to politics. If George Pierce had been a politician, with his great popularity and brilliant talents, he could have been President of the United States; he, however, preferred the work of an humble Meth odist minister to the highest office in the gift of the people.
In 1843 we were both intensely interested in the election of Ileury Clay for President. Political excitement at that time ran high. Brother arrayed against brother, and father against sou. George Pierces zeal for Henry Clay created a ripple in old St. Johns Church, in Augusta, Ga. His tried friends and stewards, John H. Mann, Dr. Garvin, and others, were active Democrats. They thought their young pastor ought not to "meddle" in politics, especially as his vote and in fluence was for the other man; more than half of the stewards of St. Johns were for Clay. It was my first deep interest in politics. I had worked myself up to believe that if Clay was not elected, the whole country would go to ruin. To the surprise and disgust of George Pierce and myself, Henry Clay

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was defeated by Polk. I have not words to express my dis appointment. It does seem strange to me now after the lapse of nearly half a century, that an humble citizen, who had no aspirations for office, and was not a partisan in politics, could have been so deeply interested in the election of Honry day. Aa I now remember it, Folks administration was a brilliant one; the great State of Texas was admitted into the Union, and the land prospered from Maine to Texas. I was, how ever, so disappointed and chagrined at the defeat of Henry Clay, that I have not since that day gone crazy in politics. 1 have always endeavored to vote for the best man. I think my old friend, George Fierce, who was as mnch disappointed as I waa, pursued pretty much the same course. But to return to the grand new trinity Church that Dr. Pierce and myself were planning, it will be necessary to bring in some of the reminiacenses of the war to show why it has not been built.
BISHOP PIERCES VISIT TO NACOOCHEE.
When Bishop Pierce made us a visit to our summer home in J^acoocheo, Ga., we were grieved to see him so changed; he was feeble and emaciated, his throat was giving him much trouble, he found difiiculty in swallowing his food. His health was greatly impaired, ho literally killed himeelf by overwork and constant mental strain. The sweet and musical voice which had thrilled so many thousands and tens of thous ands with its matchless oratory, had lost much of its ringing melody. It was painful to see how the ravages of disease had made its deep impress upon him, but the old sweet smile was still there, as enchanting as when he was my early pastor. I doubt if there ever was a man from early manhood to the grave so much beloved by all classes. It was evident that the dear, good Bishops work was soon to end. He 9t3od on the banks of the river, without a cloud between him and Heaven. The Bishop was a cheerful offering of himself-to duty. Allegiance to Christ was the law which governed all his actions his chief desire was to do good, and to labor for others. Tt made no difference whether that labor was in the cabia of the poor, or in the mansion of the rich.
During the Bishops eventful life he was ever kind, court

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eous, gentle, loving and affectionate as a woman; his preach ing was to the last instructive, eloquent and effective. The Bishop dedicated the new Nacoochee Church that had taken the place of the old one in which Steven Olin preached.
Among the first things that my ^father did after his arrival in Nacoochee, was to select a beautiful grove near his home for a church and cemetery, which he deeded to the Methodist Church, and assisted in building a small church.
The great Steven Olin, when quite a young man, was in the mountains of Georgia in search of health. Later he went to Mill edge ville, Ga., to marry Miss Bostwick, a Georgia heiress. She was the owner of a number of slaves, but as Mr. Olin was not a Bishop, he was not put in the Abolition cruci ble, as was his good friend, Bishop Andrew. Mr. Olin was the guest of Major Williams, while in Nacoochee; as he and my father were New Englanders, quite a friendship sprung up between them. There was a protracted meeting in our little Nacoochee church. My father prevailed on Mr. Olin to _preach. Steve Olin was a giant of a man in size, with an immense head, long, dangling arms, and large hands; at that time he was awkward, and not prepossessing in appearance. With difficulty he squeezed himself into the lit;le narrow pulpit; he looked timid, and ill at ease. My father saw Mr. Olins embarrassment, and feared he had made a mistake in asking the young man to preach. Mr. Olin handled the Bible clumsily, took his text there was no effort at oratory but his rapid, ringing voice made the little church shake, and when he began one of his soul-stirring sermons, the people were moved with emotion. The crowded congregation soon became immensely excited. For nearly two hours the people were spellbound, they had never heard such preaching; some shouted, others knelt, and some fell on the floor. The old Baptist brethren, who were not accustomed to be moved by preaching, rubbed their hands, and declared that Saint Paul had risen. Such a sermon was never heard before or since in Nacoochee Valley. Intellectually Steven Olin did not have his equal in the Methodist Church. Time was measured by the year Mr. Olia was in Nacoochee.
For a generation, the ministers of the Georgia and South Carolina Conferences, when travelling for health, or on their official duties, always found a home at my fathers.
When I was a boy, the South Carolina Conference was nearly as laige as a continent, extending from Virginia to the

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Indian Nation, in the West, There was a time when I knew personally nearly every preacher in the South Carolina and Georgia Conference, and all of the Bishops in the Methodist Church.
There were no railroads in those days; the preachers had a rough time of it in going to and from the Conferences. It was a benediction to have the good old preachers come to our house. When my father removed from North Carolina, he brought with him two young Methodist ministers, Jesse E. Eichardson and Eev. Mr. Askew, grandfather of Bishop Ilaygood, and his honored missionary sister, Miss Laura Haygood. I looked upon Father Askew with wonder, because he had preached in the far off cities of Charleston and Savannah, and had seen George Washington arid General LaFayette; and further, in 1810, he had made my father in Xorth Caro lina the happy husband of my mother. Father Askew removed to Mossy Creek, under the shadow of Yonah but made us an annual fisit as long as he was able to travel.
It is a precious memory to think of the old preachers who visited us at Nacoochee. Most all of them have finished their Masters work, crossed the river, and are resting from their labors.
Rev. Jesse E. Eichardson received me into the Methodist Church when I was thirteen years old. The good old man lived in Nacooehee until he was ninety years old.
Old Trinity Church, in which Dr. Lovic Pierce and myself were so much interested, has a hiutoiy of thrilling interest. A little over one hundred years ago, Bishop Asbury gave to Eev. Mr. Ilamrnett, an eloquent young Irish preacher, an appointment that he did not like Hammett decided to build a Methodist Church of his own. Being very popular, with the aid of some friends, he built Trinity Church. After Hammett,H death, the church was sold to Eev. Mr. Frost, rector of St. Philips (Episcopal) Church.
The open back seats were changed, and the church re-dedi cated by the Episcopal Bishop. The Trustees of Trinity were dissatisfied with the sale, and took active legal measures to regain the property.
Old Trinity was burnt in the great fire of 1838. and rebuilt in 1839. The exterior of the church has anything but a pleasing appearance.
The interior, when finished, called forth the admiration of an Episcopalian of taste, who, with some friends, were inspect-

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ing the interior of the new church; he shook his head and sair1 in tones of regret: "Ah, this does not look like old Methodism too fine, too fine! give me the old Cumberland Street Blue Meeting House." Before I came to Charleston, Trinity was called the "silk stocking church." People were easily satisfied in those days.
During the war Trinity Church suffered terribly by shot and shell. It was very much damaged. After the fall of Charleston, a few of us Methodists who we^e left in the city made an offer to render it habitable. A Sunday School was established, and we occasionally had preaching. Very unex pectedly an order came from Secretary Stanton to turn it over to the loyal" negroes. We were compelled to surrender it to the 1500 colored members. The 400 whites were turned into the streets. Application was made to the Federal author ities for its restoration to the Trustees, in October, 1865.
General Bennett issued the following order: "The Trinity Methodist Church on Ha?el Street, is hereby turned over to the officers and members of said Church." The 1500 colored members gave up their membership in Trinity. It was a voluntary act. The old members consulted me in reference to Iniying Dr. Manlys Baptist Church, on iVentworth Street, which cost originally 850,000. Twenty thousand dollars in gold was asked for it. Such a large sum of gold in 1866 looked nearly as large as a "meeting house." 1 did not encourage the purchase. They were without a place of wor ship, and were anxious to secure the church building. To my surprise the purchase was made. I knew personally a large number of the 1500 colored members who left us in a body; many of them were very respectable colored men, quite a number of them had owned slaves; some of the most intelli gent were class leaders in Trinity, and were Sunday School teachers for colored children.
The day was fixed for the payment of the $20,000; they expected the gold to be sent them from New York, but it did not come. It had to be paid by 2 oclock. At 12 oclock a committee came to our banking house in great distress. They would lose the church with a forfeit if the contract was not complied with. Xearly all of the members had been slaves, and had been faithful servants to their masters. They behaved with the greatest propriety during the long war, taking care of the wives and children of the men who were soldiers in the Confederate service. I, therefore, furnished the $20,000 in

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gold. The church was dedicated "Centenary." It has now a membership of two thousand. The church externally and internally is much superior to Trinity. It is carpeted; they have an organ and line music. It has had good preachers first white, now colored. Centenary undoubtedly has the largest and most respectable colored membership of any Meth odist Church in America.
A WORD MORE ABOUT TEE ILL-FATED TRDsITT CHURCH.
When the Federal authorities turned over Trinity Church to the Trustees it was in such ruins many of us thought it would be much better to build a new church rather than attempt to repair the old one. Alas ! most of the congregation had nothing left but Confederate money and broken bank bills. Steps were taken, however, to further repair the church, but for want of sufficient means it was merely patched up, until 1S(!8. The repairs, through great tribulations, were finished in 1870, at a cost of @8,00().
The church that year was re-dedicated by one of its old pastors, Eishop George F. Fierce.
The terrible cyclone of 1885 unroofed Trinity for the fourth time since the war. The heavy rains poured into the church, doing so much damage to the building, the south wall had to be taken down. While the repairs were being carried on, through the kindness of Mayor Courtenay, the congrega tion worshipped in the Market Hall, on Meeting Street. The sum of ^4,000 was raised.
before paying for the cyclone repairs, the dreadful earth quake of 1886 shook Charleston to the verge of ruin. Trinity Church and the parsonage were well-nigh shaken to pieces. Again an earnest effort was made to build a new church, indi vidual subscriptions from one thousand to five thousand dollars were made. Our people were too much demoralized by the earthquake to build. Ten thousand dollars was necessary to repair Trinity and the parsonage.
While the repairs to the church were being made, the con gregation worshipped in the building of the Young Mens Christian Association, in King Street. Trinity was again re-dedicated by Bishojj Dnncan. Poor old Trinity, what nps

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and downs it has Lad. It has cost first and last more than one hundred thousand dollars for building and repairs. It needs now rebuilding from cellar to cupola. Should I live six years longer than dear old Dr. Pierce did, I" will then he one hundred years old. Before that time I shall hope to see a new Trinity Church worthy of those who have labored so zealously for the past hundred, years in building up Meth odism iii Charleston.
REMINISCENCES OF THE LATE WAR.
Only those who have been in a city when it was evacuated by the Confederate authorities, and taken possession of by a Federal army, know the confusion and demoralization that prevails for days and days after the evacuation.
The Confederate authorities decided to evacuate Charleston and Fort Sumter on February 17th, 1865. A small force of mounted men was left to burn the cotton, the New Bridge, and to destroy the gunboats and other Confederate property. That night the city was illuminated with cotton fires, burning of the gunboats and the like.
The burning of the cotton at the Northeastern .Railroad depot the day of the surrender resulted in a terrible calamity; hundreds of persons had collected at the depot to get the supplies stored there. In the depot was a quantity of powder and cartridges. The boys, white and black, amused them selves by throwing cartridges on the burning cotton. In an instant a flash from the burning powder blew up the depot, burying in the ruins several hundred men, women and chil dren. I was issuing rations to the poor and to the soldiers families. So great was the crowd I had to barricade the doors, and to give out the supplies from the windows. The panic caused by the explosion at the depot beggars descrip tion. The city was shaken from centre to circumference. The fires were raging from the Cooper to the Ashley River; fortunately, the Federal soldiers lent a helping hand to extin guish the fires. The houses from Calhoun Street to the Bat tery were shattered by shot and shell.
A terrible fire in the early part of the war had swept through the city, destroying nearly five millions worth of property. During the shelling of the city none of the houses could be occupied below Calhoun Street. The cows luxuriated

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in grass and weeds in the streets, which were growing several feet in height.
As soon as the city was occupied by the Federal soldiers, more than ten thousand negroes nocked to Charleston from Port Royal and the Sea Islands. They took possession of the iinest houses in Charleston, filling them from cellar to garret with ragged negro women and children. It was common for the white and black soldiers to enter the homes of our citizens, and demand white ladies to prepare breakfast and dinner for them. Xegro soldiers would go from house to house and inform the servants that they were free. They came into my yard with guns, shot the dogs, and told our servants to leave as they would not be loyal if they remained. Federal officers rode up and selected my residence for General liennett and staff. Pandemonium reigned.
We covdd not get a letter from the post office until we had taken the oath of allegiance, and could not walk the streets at night without a pass. Mrs. Williams and I had called to see a friend. As we were returning, about 9 oclock, we were halted by a rough, negro soldier. I presented my pass; as he could not read, started with us to the guard house. We were relieved by a white officer, and escaped a nights lodging in the guard house. Fortunately my cousin, General Seth Williams, of the Federal army, arrived, and put a stop to a good deal of the vandalism. Through General Williams influence, I was enabled to aid many of our people in getting possession of their houses, which were occupied by the negroes. Thousands and thousands of the refugees, after years of wan dering and Buffering, returned to their desolate homes. Alas ! what changes in those homes. Loved ones who went forth at their countrys call, will return no more. O, what a terrible thing is war.
REV. A. B. LONGSTREET.
One of the most noted preachers that ever visited Nacoochee Valley was A. B. Longstreet, author of the "Georgia Scenes." Many of the characters in his inimitable book were found in "Xacoochee and its Surroundings."
Mr. Longstreet was attracted here first for his health, and some years later, when the gold fever was at its height, for

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the purpose of purchasing a gold mine. The gold excitement was greatly increased by an old woman finding in a spring branch a lump of gold worth 85,000. People flocked to Nacoochee from all sections to buy 40-acre lots. Captain Longstreet was at that time a prominent young lawyer in Augusta. A gold mine the captain of the Georgia militia was determined to have, and he like his friend, John C. Calhoun, found many sharpers here ready to part with "rich veins and valuable deposits." Captain Longstreet was victimized, but one of his purchases furnished him with bread and meat during the war. Before purchasing the Nacoochee gold mines, Captain Longstreet had found Miss Frances Eliza Parke, an heiress of Greensboro, Georgia. Miss Parke, without a dollar, was worth more to her eccentric husband, who idolized her, than all the gold mines in Georgia. There were few such women born in the Empire State as Fannie Parke. Mrs. Longstreet was his support and guiding star in his checkered life for more than half a century. A better wife never lived. The lion. L. Q. C. Lamar said of her: "Mrs. Longstreet was the mother of my wife, and in love, tenderness and goodness, my 'mother. She was a true type of a true Southern woman. I knew Judge Longstreet intimately for nearly half a century; he was my friend, and pastor when he entered the ministry, in 1839; a kinder or better hearted man I never knew. I boarded with his sister, good old Mrs. Camfield, for a number of years. She was a mother to me. At her home 1 saw a great deal of Mr. and Mrs. Lougstreet. All in all I regarded A. B. Longstreet one of the most remarkable men the South ever produced. What he lacked from beginning to end of his long life, was a concentration of his brilliant talents, his uncontrollable love of fun and frolic gave him a bad beginning in his early education. Mr. Longstreet was good natured, and tender hearted as a woman, and yet brave as a lion. As a boy, his good old father and the school master could not control him. lie was bubbling over with fun all the time. His father sent him to the old liicbmond Academy at Augusta; the teacher was a New England .Puritan, but he had no more love or sympathy for his pupils than a heathen Chinese has for the Christian religion.
Young Longstreet was from the start a very frolicsome boy. Exceedingly clever, but could not be coaxed or whipped into a love of his books; the master treated him as an outlaw and a dunce. "Gus Longstreet" had no love or respect for the

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teacher that he regarded as a cold blooded tyrant. The result was constant irritation between them. Spare the rod and spoil tho child" was not in the rales of the Academy. The most degrading punishment in the school was the brutal "dunce box," which was resorted to in the primitive days of the Richmond Academy. The teacher thought he would break the spirit of the fun-loving and mischief-making young man, by placing him in the middle of the school room on a dunce box, with a burlesque paper crown perched upon his head. Tt was like the boy who attempted to punish the rabbit by turn ing it loose in a brier patch. "Nod Brace" was delighted with the show in which he was to be the chief actor. Young Longstreet dropped down on the dunce box with greater glee than if it had been a velvet cushioned sofa.
The six foot gawky boy enacted a monkey show thaf made the school boys wild. There the "dunce" sat with the side of his face exposed to the masters view, as quiet, placid and respectful as if he had been in a church.
Hy some legerdemain he distorted the other side of his face. The school was thrown into uncontrollable confusion, so ridiculous was his appearance while grinning, winking and blinking at tho boys; in spite of the auger and hickory switch of the master, they laughed, whooped, breaking up in a gen eral stampede. There sat yonng Longstreet on the dunce box, quiet and calm, with only the school master for an audience. The whole scene was ludicrous beyond description. The teacher had not a spark of humor in his composition, or he, too, would have laughed. He wrote a hasty note to old Mr. Lougstrcet requesting him to take his son home, that ho was a dunce or a fool. He mildly recommended that the young man be sent to the lunatic asylum.
In the meantime the boys had spread the news from the Lower Market to TTawks Gully that "Gus Longstreet had gone stark crazy." Win. Longstreet, the good old father, knew his eccentric son better than they did; he said it was only one of "Gus tricks." Tfewas, however, so much mor tified and displeased with the "hateful Yankee teacher," he decided to remove his family to EdgeAuld District, S. C. With the Edgefield boys young Longstreet was in his native element. His ?/w&zZ*wz. preceded him; he was known to the boys of the Game Cock District before his father arrived there. The old and young mothers had great curiosity to sec the boy "who was reported when born to have a full set of teeth, and weighed twenty pounds ! "

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Two years of rollicking and frolicking in old Egdefield were the happiest years of the boys life. The fresh country air developed him physically. He could climb the highest trees, out nm, out shoot, out jump, throw down and whip Edgefields champion bully. Had Gus Longstreet drank whiskey and rum, he would have run his lust race at forty instead of eighty. He was strictly temperate, so far as drink ing was concerned. The Academy in Augusta was so demor alized by recent events, the Trustees decided to get a newteacher, one not so "strict" as the old master. A young Virginian one of the : first families" applied for the posi tion, was elected, and did his work faithfully. The dunce box was banished forever from the Academy. Mr. Longstreet was not satisfied with the progress his son was making at Hickory Gum Academy, in Edgefield. Learning of the change of teachers in the Augusta Academy, lie sent his boy again to the old penitentiary, as Judge Longstreet always called it. Young Longstreet did not relish the change from the delectable fields of old Edgefield to the prison life in Augusta. Tie, however, obeyed his fathers order, but made slow progress in his studies. Fortunately, he and the cele brated George Me Duffle, of South Carolina, boarded at the same hotel in Augusta, and slept in the same bed.
McDuffie discovered that the young man, although an eccentric genius, possessed brilliant talents; his influence for good upon. Mr. Longiitreet was magical. Longstreet realized that for years he had been was ing his time and opportunities; his South Carolina friend selected books and papers for him to read, which he devoured with the greatest relish. At that time Dr. Moses Waddell had a celebrated school in Abbeville, S. C. At the suggestion of George McDuffie. Mr. Longstreet was sent to the Waddell School. Among the young men he met there were Legare, Calboun, Petigru, Crawford, Gilmer, McDuffie, Gobi), and other South Carolina and Georgia boys. There he found companionship, sympathy and mental stimulus.
While at the Waddell School, Mr. Longstreet made won derful progress in his studies; he also became thoroughly inoculated in. South Carolina politics; he was a born politi cian, a Democrat of the old school with State Eights. Seces sion and Nullification added to it, he gloried in being called a fire-eater. His father sent him to Yale College, where he graduated with great distinction. From Yale he went to

no
Judge Goulds Law School at Litchficld, Connecticut. He returned to Georgia and was promptly admitted to the bar; he commenced the practice of law under the most favorable auspices. Nothing suited his impulsive nature better than to come in competition, with such men as Forsjth, Crawford, Troup, Miller, Gumming, Dawson, Berrien, Gobb, and later he had to contend with Toombs, Stevens, Hill, and other like spirits. Although many of them differed widely in poli tics with Mr. Longstrect, yet they had the greatest admiration and love for him. He was indeed one of the most lovable men that ever lived. The brilliant young lawyer was soon raised to the bench, and was ever after known as Judge Longstreet. As a jurist, he gained greater distinction for his learning, industry and honesty. Had Judge Longstreet stuck to his profession, he might have been one of the greatest law yers in America.
At the suggestion of his friend, John C. Calhoun, the degree of LL. D. was bestowed on Judge A. B. Longstreet by Yale College.
Human nature is a queer compound, and A. B. Longstreet was one of the queerest of its ingredients. Just think of a distinguished attorney and Judge in high standing, whose reputation extended over the Unim, and whose income from his professon amounted to fifteen thousand dollars per annum, applying for admission as an itinerant preacher in the Georgia Conference, with the understanding that he would do mis sionary work in the mountains, or preach to the negroes on the sea coast with an uncertain income of five hundred dollars per annum. The Rev. A. B. Longstreet was senL the first year to Augusta, to enable him to wind up his law business. It was almost a miracle that it was not the last year of his useful life. It was the memorable year (1839) of the terrible yellow fever epidemic in Augusta. Although Mrs. Longstreet was a very feeble woman, and the Judge at tliat time was not-strong, yet they turned their home into a yellow fever hospital, which was crowded for four months with the sick and dying yellow fever sufferers. As the patients were gen erally of the poorer class, they had ro be nursed and fed at the expense of Mr. Longstreet. The good man thanked God that he was permitted to nurse the sick and dying, instead of serving clients. The income that year from Mrs. .Longstreets farm was consumed in feeding the dek and poor of the church. What other Methodist minister ever made such sacrifices as

Ill
did A. B Longstreet ? Judge Longstreet possessed wonder ful versatility of character; there was nothing too trying or difficult for him to undertake; he never shrank from duty, lie would risk his life in the humblest homes of the yellow fever patients as readily as those who lived in palaces. The trouble with the Judge was he always attempted to do more than any human being could perform. He was an author almost in his teens, then a lawyer, a military man (captain of the Georgia Militia) editor, jurist, farmer, miner, politician, preacher, educator, musician, he excelled on his noted glass flute, member of the State Legislature, Minister to England, was a candidate for Congress, and would have been elected if he had not withdrawn from the contest. Judge Longstreet was an educator beyond the experience of any man in the South, strange to say he accepted the presidency of nearly every college from Virginia to Louisiana; and last though not least he was elected President of the State University of South Carolina a few years before the late war. Just before the firing on the Star of the West, he delivered a stirring address to the students; he told the boys that Alexander commenced the Conquest of the World witli 85,000 men, and Bonaparte the Conquest of Europe with less than 50,000 men. He felt sure that the Southern Boys were as brave and true as the soldiers of.Alexander or Bonaparte.
President Longstreet said: Let South Carolina put her cause in the hands of God, and take her stand alone ! May earths purest honors and heavens richest blessings attend you. Farewell ! "
His old friend, James L. Petigru, one of his Trustees, remonstrated with Judge Longstreet for the character of his address to the students. The Judge made a patriotic reply It was too late, the war had already begun, the halls of the University were quickly emptied. The gallant boys rushed to the field of battle, many of them to return no more.
I now propose closing the sketch of Judge Longstreet by relating one of the most unaccountable adventures of his life. As I said, at the beginning of the \var, the S. C. University was closed, and its President had returned to his old Georgia home. In the meantime, the Confederate war was raging in Virginia, and terrible battles were being fought on the South Carolina coast from Charleston to Savannah. The Federal guns were daily throwing shot and shell into Fort Sumter, and expected daily to take Charleston. So serious was the situa-

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tion, General Leo was sent to Pocotaligo to take charge of the military affairs. At this critical juncture who should make his appearance in Charleston but the venerable Judge Longstreet. As ho was a life-time friend of ours, we were glad, to see him. Mrs. Williams assigned him the best room in her house, and told him to make himself at home. Soon after hie arrival the Judge requested a private interview with "Bug Porter," a pot name Mrs. Williames colored mamragave her when a child, a name Mr. Longstreet knew her by when she was a schoo] girl. The interview was granted, the good wife was pledged to secrecy. Kor days Judge Longstreet and Mrs. Williams were busily engaged in the garden in rear of the house. Large bundles of cotton thread, twine, chemi cals, lamp black, negro clothing, caps and the like were being stored in a room on the lot. They were busily engaged in making some kind of note with the cotton thread and twine. I bogai to think that the author of the Georgia Scenes" was preparing for missionary work in Africa or the Fiji Islands. JTe was ever ready for new adventures. 1 got a little impa tient, and wanted to know what in the world they were doing. Mre. Williams was bound to secrecy, and was as close as a clam. She finally concluded as Adam and Eve were "one Aosh" she felt at liberty to tell me the secret; she said Judge Ixmgstreet had learned that the negroes on the coast wcie in the habit of supplying the Federal war ships (using small boats and canoes) with vegetables, rice, fish, oysters and the like. The Judge told Mrs. Williams that he felt it his Christian duty to do all he could for the Confederacy. He proposed select ing six of his college boys, black their faces, and dress them in the Sea IsLmd negro costume.
Mr. Longstreet was to be Commander-in-Chief of the little party he could mimic the low-country negro to perfection and felt sure the boys would soon perfect themselves in the negro brogue.
This small army proposed to destroy the Federal war ships, costing millions of dollars, and a thousand lives, in one night ! Of course I was shocked when I heard my old friend contem plated doing such a rash act. When Mr. Longstreet heard me tell Mrs. Williams that it was "all nonsense to attempt such a thing, he twitted mo with a want of ^^/"/(^M;. I told him my old grandfather Brown was a Pennsylvania Quaker and opposed to wars, that I did not want to kill anybody, neither did I wish to be killed he smiled with his

113
wrinkled face and dove eyes, and said if it was not for the brave -women the Confederacy would go to pieces. The sixfoot negro huckster (Longstreet) with knee pants, a red shirt, and a wool cap pulled over his eyes, made a figure as ridicu lous as when he sat 011 the "dunce block" in the .Richmond Academy. This good old Methodist preacher was now in his 73d year, bowed down with age, the cares of the war had made him prematurely old, yet he was willing to risk his life in a forlorn hope in the interests of the Confederacy.
Mrs. Williamss old friend prayed night and morning to love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and despitefnlly use and persecute yon." With these prayers ringing in oiir ears, the good old man proposed sending, by the use of torpedoes, one thousand of his "ene mies" into eternity without a moments warning. They were to go to the war ships in the guise of negro hucksters, fasten to the ships the torpedoes with the fuse attached, which were to blow the war ships out of the water, and the inmates into eternity. The day for starting for Pocotaligo was fixed. It was indeed a sad leave-taking. Mr. Longstreets prayer was that if we should not meet again on earth, he hoped we would meet in Heaven ! A. B. Longstreet felt in his heart of hearts every word he said; he might commit errors, but there was no deception, or hypocrisy in him. His big box of clothing and war combustibles were packed and shipped, to be handled with care. Mrs. "Williams filled her large market basket with a weeks supply of provisions. General Robert E. Lee was at Pocotaligo, near Beaufort and Port Royal, closely watching the enemy, who were trying to get posses sion of the Charleston Railroad. We felt great anxiety to hear from Pocotaligo and Commander Longstreet. The Fed eral guns were still booming all along the line.
There was terrible fighting at Secessionville and other points. Port Royal and Morris Island were already in the possession of the enemy. Mr. Longstreet had a lorg interview, with General Lee, and laid his plans in detail before him. The General thought them impracticable, and further, he didnot wish his distinguished friend to risk his life in such a hazardous adventure.
Judge Longstreet was ^treated with the greatest respect. General Lee told him that a few miles north, of the enemy on the creeks and in the highlands, a quantity of game could be found; partridges, wild turkeys and deer; the creeks were
8

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well filled with fish and oysters. Would be pleased to have him preach to the soldiers when opportunity offered. The General furnished him a guide to point out the least exposed places. The torpedo expedition was finally abandoned. Judge Longstreet was a good deal disappointed, but with his restless disposition he could not be idle.
The Judge established a Sunday School for the white and negro children, read to them Bishop Capers Catechism, prayed and preached to the soldiers. Tie also enjoyed the spare hours in fishing and hunting.
After an absence of two months, Judge Long street returned to Charleston, looking more dejected and careworn than we had ever seen him; his spirits were usually very buoyant.
Although General Lee was very, very kind to him, yet he felt great disappointment in not .being permitted to carry out his forlorn-hope expedition. He was disposed to criticise General Lee; said he lacked "push and energy." Mr. Longstreet thought him deficient in "aggressive qualities." If he would use the "gun more and the spade less" it would be better for the army. The Confederate misfortunes were very depressing, the currency was becoming from bad to worse, and provisions were very scarce. There was a grow ing feeling that the Confederate cause would not succeed. Judge Longstreet had great confidence in his nephew, General James Longstreet, He knew his sterling worth and brilliant military qualification as a Confederate leader. The Judge believed that if we could have James Longstreet in command of the Confederate forces, there would not be left the foot print of a Federal soldier in South Carolina. Judge Longstreet felt a deep interest in the Confederate soldiers. He wrote to his old friend, Governor Joseph E. Brown, of Georgia, regretting that he was now too old to fight for the defence of his native State, but he could cheer the boys by his presence, preach and pray for them in their troubles.
Governor Brown at once made the Rev. A. B. Longstreet, Chaplain of the Georgia Militia. Judge Longstreet now had Christian work, and was ready to leave his Charleston friends. We were indeed sorry to give him up. He had, while in Charleston, conducted the week day prayer meetings at Trinity Church, which met to pray for the success of the Confederate cause. He also occasionally preached in Trinity. We were soon to part, perhaps forever. The old Indian farewell song was remembered.

115 INDIAN FAREWELL HYMN. When shall we all meet again? When shall we all meet again? Oft shall glowing hope expire, Oft shall wearied lore retire, Oft shall death and sorrow reign, Ere we all shall meet again.

When the dreams of life are fled, When its wasted lamps are dead, When in cold, oblivions shade, Beauty, fame and wealth are laid, Where immortal spirits reign, There we may all meet again.

When the war was over, Judge Longstreet returned to his old home in Oxford, Mississippi, at that time the home of Mr. Lucius Laniar.
A few years later his precious wife crossed the Kiver. For more than fifty years she had been to him one of the most faithful, loving wives that ever lived. In his wanderings from place to place, with all the inconveniences of breaking up her home and leaving friends almost as dear to her as life, yet she never complained. Her chief aim was to make her husbands home to him an earthly paradise.
Judge Longstreet lived respected and beloved, until he reached his eightieth year, when he quietly and peacefully joined his sainted wife ia the Better Land.
These brief sketches of my old friends very naturally stir up memories of

"Anld Lang Syne."

One who has lived, seventy-five years can count the compa

nions of his boyhood, who are still alive, on the fingers of one

hand. Among those who are left in my JSTacoochee home is

one brother and two sisters. "We still call each other "boys

and girls." My brother is 82, my eldest sister 78, and my

youngest 73. A few days since we all met at vny childhoods

home. Our old colored rnauma, who had nursed us when

we were children, nursed our father and mother in their last

moments, refused to leave us when freedom come." She

was called in to make up the company of five boys and girls.

Aunt

Nancy /

saty/ s:

"I is 100 years next Christmas."./

Her

colored female companions being all dead, the old soul made

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up her mind to move to a friend near by. I was distressed to find my sisters crying, "Aunt Nancy has moved." That would make a picture for our Northern philanthropists to hang up in their parlor.
Since my visit to Naeoochee in 1895, my brother, E. P. Williams, my eldest sister, Mrs. Sarah L. Dobbins, and "Aunt Nancy" have all "crossed the liiver." My sister, Mrs. E. F. Starr, is all that is left at the old Naeoochee homo in January, 1899.
Naeoochee, Ga.
BISHOP WH. X. WIGHTMAN.
The Pierces and A. B. Longstreet were my oldest and life time friends, but none of them were dearer to me than Bishop Wight:itan; he was doubly dear to me because I married, when quite a young man, his youngest sister, Louisa A. Wightman. She possessed many of the characteristics of Bishop Wightman and of her sainted mother.
Wm. M. Wightman was born in Charleston, S. 0., in 1<SOS. He was greatly blessed in having religious parents. His father, William Wightman, was an artist, and had considera ble poetic talent; he was gentle and retiring in his habits. His mother, whose maiden name was Williams, was a native of Plymouth, England. She was noted for her piety and conversational powers. Itev. H. M. Mood, in his historical address, said of Mrs. Wightman, the mother of the Bishop, "In person she was short and round, with elastic quick step; her walk without the appearance of haste, earned her along with a high glee which was in beautiful harmony with her bright countenance. Her round face, fair connexion, white teeth, black hair, interspersed with silvery white, and her large, bright gray eyes, made up a picture of sweetness and innocence which wae charming to my young eyes. When she spoke, the whole face lighted up with a smile in which no feature seemed especially implicated but her eyes, mouth, chin and cheeks, all united in a glow of delight, which lin gered when the smile was gone. Mrs. Wightman was devoted to old Trinity Church. Her prayer meetings were held there every day in the week, and every week in the year; they

1.17

Were opened at sunrise, winter and summer. They weto

attended by white and colored persons; she usually used no

book, but raised familiar hymns in which all joined heartily;

her voice was soft and sweet, falling as the melody of a

seraphs lute upon the air; to hear her pray, was to be con

vinced at once that no ordinary person was pleading with God.

.None who knew Mrs. Wightman, hut felt at her death, one

of Gods saints had been taken home."

William M. Wightmans parents worshipped at old Trinity

Church, and thither he was carried regularly, having been in

infancy dedicated to God hi holy baptism. Under the shelter

ing wing of a home life such as this, Mr. Wightman passed

his younger years. lie was taught to pray, to read the Bible,

to revere religion, to avoid evil associates, to improve his

mind, and to make duty more important than gratification in

the things of the world. This sort of family training was

infinitely better than to have been brought up in the nursery

and courts of a prince. He was a member of Trinity Church,

a class leader, and teacher of the first Sunday School estab

lished in Charleston, and heard from childhood the most

earnest pieachers contemporary with, and successors to Asbury,

Coke and McKendric; sat under the ministry of Capers,

Pierce, Andrew and Olin when his mind was attaining a

stage of development making it capable of appreciating the

masterly sermons of men like these, who were then in the

prime of their manhood and ministry. The educational in

fluences of that home had much to do in fashioning the char

acter of the illustrious son. The good mother had him, while

he was pursuing his college studies, carry on a course of

theological reading. Thus it was that her pious training pre

pared him for the work that he was destined to accomplish.

The memory of the training of that Christian mother was ever

indelibly impressed upon the hearts and lives of her sons and

daughters, eight in number, and all members of the church.

T have often heard the .Bishop say, his earliest recollections

were of his mother and old Trinity Church. They denied

themselves many of the comforts of life that their children,

might receive a first-class education. At the age of fourteen

he began the study of Latin and Greek. Entering as a stu

dent in the Charleston College, he graduated at the

of

nineteen, taking the first honor of his class. Judge !M itch ell

King advised the brilliant young man to study law. The

good mother, however, had other and more congenial work

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for her first-born, she being one of "Wesleys devoted followers and a disciple of Adam Clark, desired and prayed that he might be a minister of the AVesleyan Methodist Church. Mrs. Wightmari.s time and talents were given to the instruc tion and training of her children.
The parents of Win. M. Wightman had the great satisfac tion of seeing their son, on his twentieth birthday, admitted into the itineracy of the South Carolina Conference. He was ordained by Bishop Soule. We see the humble Sunday School teacher of old Trinity Church rapidly advanced, until he had humbly filled the highest office in the church.
Wm. M. Wightmans work the first year was in the Pee Dee section of the Conference.
The voung preacher, with the blessings of devoted parents and loving brothers and sisters, bid adieu to the home so dear to him. He travelled on horseback in storm and sunshine, often riding thirty miles a day, and preaching three times. Tiie malarial swamps of the Pee Dee did not deter him from a zealous discharge of his duties. He received one hundred dollars for the twelve months toil and hardship, which he pre ferred to a salary in his own city of one thousand dollars, which was offered him as teacher in one of the Charleston schools. It was a great temptation, but that self-sacrificing mother said: " Go, my son, and preach the Gospel." Instead of one thousand dollars, he received one thousand souls that year into the Methodist Church. Prom the day of his entry into the ministry, he gave promise of great success. That devoted mothers prayers were ringing in his ears, night and day.
So great was Mr. Wightmans success as a preacher, that when only twenty-two years old, he was stationed in Charles ton; quite a compliment to the "boy preacher," as he was called. Mr. Wightmans attainments in learning carried him, wheti quite a young man, into liandolph-Macoii College, Vir ginia, as professor of English Literature. On Mr. Wightmans return to South Carolina, he was married to Miss Sarah B. Shackelford, of Abbeville, S. C. The sprightly young girl of nineteen was a typical South Carolina lady, cultivated and refined. She was in every respect worthy to be the wife of the talented young Professor Wightman.
The Shackelfords (Mrs. AVightmans parents) were one of the very best South Carolina Methodist families. Of their four daughters, either of them would have graced the AVhite House at AVashington.

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It was a loss to South Carolina society when Mr. Shackelford removed his family to Georgia, where he had large plant ing interests. In 1839, Mr. Wightman was appointed to the responsible position of Presiding Elder of the Cokesbury Dis trict.
Presiding Elder Wightmans character was admirable in every respect. As a man, he was distinguished among men. His fine form, broad, intellectual forehead, flashing eye, made him a commanding figure. Gifted with the power of impart ing what he knew with easy grace, and with the impress of his own mind upon it, and stamped with his exalted piety, he was an ornament to the institutions with which he was connected, and a benediction to those who sat under his instruction.
Mr. Wightman, in his thirty-first year, was elected a dele gate to the General Conference, and ever after he went as a delegate to every General Conference. He at once became a loader in his Conference. At the General Conference of 184.0, he was elected editor of the Southern. Christian Advo cate, which was then in its infancy, with a small circulation. Bishop Wightman devoted fourteen years of the prime and vigor of his life in making this important church organ one of the best religious newspapers published in the Union. The Advocate was edited with distinguished ability, and Tinder his able management, increased its circulation to thirteen thousand.
.Bishop Wightmans noble defence of the Methodist Church, South, did much in placing it on a sure and solid foundation. His editorial eulogies on Calhoun, Baseorn, Few and Olin. were magnificent productions, and made a profound impres sion upon the public. The Southern Christian Advocate was the first newspaper in the South to introduce the steam print ing press. Brilliant as a pulpit orator, he shone even more as an editor. Bishop Wightman was a clear, exact and for cible writer; he was from bis youth a student, and his natu rally strong mind was made stronger and brighter by long and thorough discipline. He was a man of fine scholarly attainments, of the- highest pulpit ability, of exalted Christian character, and of pre-eminent official bearing and administra tion. The readers of the Advocate had a rare treat in his editorials during the troublesome times which resulted in a division of the Church. I have a scrap book made up mainly of his masterly editorials from 184-3 to the close of his con nection with the Advocate, in 1854. In addition to his

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editorial work, he wrote extensively for the periodical Frees of the Church. A specimen of his writings may be found in the life of Bishop Capers. He was a graceful and pleasant correspondent. Mr. Wightman held by appointment of the General Conference, the Treasureship of the Missionary Society of the Southern Church, which required a vast amount of work. Few of our men tilled such prominent positions in the church as did William M. Wightman. As a preacher, educator, editor arid Bishop, he scarcely had his equal. What ever church work that was assigned him was well done; he was laborious almost beyond human endurance. Tie was, however, a man of splendid physical constitution, and for more than a half a century enjoyed uninterrupted health, one of the secrets of hie great success.
My first intimate acquaintance with Bishop Wightman was in 1843.
I was then a young merchant, in Augusta, Ga. The year previous I purchased Mr. Scrantons interest in the arm of Hand & Scranton. Unfortunately one-half the stock in trade consisted of spirituous liquors, i had given my notes to Mr. Scranton for a large sum of money, with my good fathers endorsement.
I was a member of St. Johns, and a steward in that church. I did not think a church member ought to sell liquors. It hurt my conscience to engage in the liquor traffic. 1 resolved to give up that branch of the business.
Mr. Daniel Hand being senior partner, the matter had to he referred to him. He was at that time Superintendent in a Sunday School, Deacon in the l*resbyterian Church, and a Christian gentleman of high standing. Mr. Hand quietly informed me that if we abandoned the sale of liquors we would yb?Y / He said I very well knew that it was ^ ww^^^aMgjpg/Z <2/"(Mw ^wm^@, (right there the &hoe pinched;) that all of the wholesale grocers sold liquors, many of them mem bers of the church, and highly respected in the community. If we gave up the sale of liquors, they would sell the (fy^ iyyYv<%7%6A that 1 proposed to deal in, at cost. Of course that meant failure to us. Mr. Hand said T should have thought of this matter before J. formed the partnership with him. I had very great respect for my old partner, and knew how decided lie was in business matters. Of course I was anxious to make money first to pay my honest debts, and relieve my father of his endorsement, and have something left to support

my family. I had more than an ordinary love of money foi its intrinsic value, bat there was a passage in the Bible thai worried me: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul ? In this dilemma I consulted my good friend, Win. M. Wightinan. I laid the whole matter before him, with all of its consequences. He wrote me freely upon the subject. He was clearly of the opinion that as a church member I ought not to sell spirituous liquors, but as it might lead to failure or a dissolution of the partnership with Mr. Hand, Mr. Wightinan, who was always a prudent man, and cautious in giving advice, asked me to wait until the Georgia Annual Conference; wo would then have an opportunity of consulting such men as Dr. Lovic Pierce, James O. Andrew, A. J3. Longstreet, George F. Pierce, James E. Evans, W. J. Parks, all preachers high up in the ministry of Christ. The most of the old preachers knew me and my parents when I was a plow boy in Nacoochee, and they all felt a deep interest in my spiritual and temporal wel fare. It tvas indeed a jury of my friends, and they almost unanimously advised me to "trust in God and give up the sale of liquors." They felt that my father would approve of such advice. I told Mr. Hand what my friends advised; that I disliked to separate from one who had always been so kind to me, but my mind, was made up to conduct a business upon temperance principles. Mr. Hand considered the matter carefully, and finally consented for me to do as I liked in the matter. A groat victory was won. It was the first whole sale grocery established upon strictly temperance principles. With a load removed from my heart, I resolved never to buy another barrel of spirituous liquors. To make matters doubly sure, and guard against failure, I rose at daylight, worked fifteen hours a day, dealt in honest merchandise fairly with our customers. The result was our business and profits in creased each year, arid we greatly prospered. I had the satis faction of paying in full all of my debts.
My business relations with Mr. Hand lasted for nearly half a century. In that time I paid over to him in profits and interests more than two million dollars, all honestly made.
Let me say to the young men who may read my early struggles in the cause of temperance, both in Augusta and in Charleston, that is the experience of a man who has lived a life of seventy-eight years, in perfect health, that in all the relations of life it -pays to do right.

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In 1854, when Woftord College was organized, Dr. iViglitman resigned his editorial chair, and removed from Charleston to Spartanburg, to preside over the new Institution. He was, therefore, the first President of Wofford College. He entered on his work with his usual energy and zeal. Dr. Wightman laid the corner stone of Wofford College, and in a large measure shaped its character and destiny. AVoffords uresent able President, Dr. James II. Carlisle, was one of his most active co-laborers in organizing and building up that noble Institution. President AVightmans name appears first on its list of Trustees incorporated by the State Legislature. Desira ble that the noble purpose of Benjamin Wofford might be faithfully executed, he threw all the energies of his heart and mind into the grand enterprise. Bishop AVightrnan was President of the Board of Trustees. I had the honor of being one of his original Trustees, and served with him in that capacity as long ae he lived.
AArhen Dr. AVlghtman was elected Chancellor of the South ern University of Alabama, his So nth Carolina friends were loth to give him up. He had endeared them to himself by innumerable ties. He was surrounded at AVoftord with a host of friends, who were not only deeply attached to him, but also to his highly esteemed wife and interesting family of sons and daughters. After prayerful consideration, he decided to accept the Chancellorship.to which he was unanimously elected, and removed his family to Greensboro, Ala. This well endowed Institution was closed by the civil war. Tbe students were called off to the field of battle, and its endowment funds were nearly all lost.
The removal of his family, and the terrible war which soon followed, was very distressing to Mrs, AVightman.
In 1862, after a painful illness, Mrs. AA7 ightman died a most triumphant, Christian death. The near approach of the enemy scattered the family to the mountains of Georgia and the . Carolinas. As President of AVofford, and Chancellor of the University, Dr. Wightman was (generally beloved by his pupils. The Degree of D. I), was conferred on him by PiandolphMacon College, and the Degree of LL.D. by the Charleston College.
Dr. A\rightman was elected Bishop in 1854, but by a cleri cal error he was ruled out. By mistake the ticket was written Win. M. Bishop, which was intended to be Wm. M. Wightman.

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During the war Dr. Wightman. preached as opportunity offered. The University was closed. His recent afflictions bore heavily upon him; his family was scattered; his daugh ters were with relations and friends in Georgia.
In 1862 Dr. Wightman wrote rne: "I am much iu doubt as to the results of the war. The recent and frequent disasters to our army are- discouraging our people. Some men are engaged in distilling corn into whiskey, when it should be kept for bread for our poor soldiers. The general feeling is that our army must be fed and clothed Our noble women are spinning, weaving and sewing, to provide the soldiers with clothing. I see that dear old Charleston, which is being attacked by land and by sea, still holds out. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and yours. Love to Sister Williams. God bless you."
Dr. Wightman did all in his power for the soldiers. Most of the College boys of Wofford and of the University blindly rushed into the war. Many of them were killed in battle, but more died from the hard life they were exposed to.
In 1864, while refugceing in the mountains of Georgia in "!N"acoochee and its Surroundings,1 under the shadow of old Yonah Mountain, Dr. Wightman was married by the liev. John L. .Richardson, of Nacoochee, Ga. 5 to Miss Maria D. Davies, who was refugeeing with her relatives the Longstreets, near ^Nacoochee Valley. Miss Davies was one of Georgias most gifted daughters; she wa,s to Dr. Wightrnan an affec tionate and devoted wife, a true ruother to his children. She has hut one daughter living, May Wightrnan, a lovely young lady. Mrs. Wightman is devoting her life zealously to the church and missionary work that the Bishop loved so much. In 1860, Dr. Wightmau was elected one of the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. lie was then a resident of Greensboro, Alabama. At the urgent request of his South Carolina friends, Bishop Wightman decided to return, to Charleston, his native city, after an absence of thirteen years, with a view of making it his permanent home. His return to Charleston was hailed with delight by his numerous friends, both in Charleston and throughout the State. His fellowcitizens generally felt a just pride in his elevation to the Epis copate.
They felt that he was in all respects worthy to fill any posi tion in the church.
From the time Bishop Wightman entered upon his high and

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lioly office, lie was, as in every other trust ill life, diligent and faithful in the discharge of its duties. His field of labors extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, and from Mexico to the Rocky Mountains. The Bishops long separa tion each year from his family, and the fatiguing journeys were borne by him with Christian fortitude. Bishop Wightman was a loving husband, tender parent, and sincere friend.
The Bishops long journeys to the cold Northwest were too much for one who had passed his threescore and ten. Me never spared himself when duty had to be performed. He continued to labor at the Annual and District Conference, traveling to the far-off Conferences in the heat and cold, when he should have been resting.
In July, 1881, ho was very feeble; n, change to Sullivans Island, near Charleston, was recommended by his ever kind friend, Dr. J. It. Mood, who, during the Bishops sickness, visited him almost daily. The refreshing sea breezes seemed for a time to greatly benefit him; he even ventured on a fish ing excursion. He enjoyed the change very much. I was with the Bishop much of the time during liis protracted illness.
In December, 18X1, Bishop Wightman and his friends thought he would live only a few days. Be had a severe chill. One morning as I was leaving he requested me to remain, as lie desired to give some directions in reference to his funeru! and other matters. The Bishop was calm and peaceful as if preparing for a journey on his Episcopal work. After delivering his message, he said: "You see I am a dying man, but my trust is in my Redeemer. It is a great disappointment to me that I am no longer able to do my Mas ters work, but I must not complain. 1 have spent a long life in the service of Christ, and have always tried to do my duty. Tlirough the goodness of God I have enjoyed remark able health. For more than half a century previous to my present sickness J did not lose one week from my various duties on account of physical disability. I feel that my time on earth is short. I am so feeble, and have been sick so long, the good wife and kind friends are well-nigh worn out nursing me. A few more days, or weeks, it matters not which. I will be removed to my eternal home. In that direction all is well all it, well I "
The Bishop expressed himself as having an abiding faith in God. It was hard for me to believe that Bishop Wight man would not again be permitted to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.

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No murmur escaped his lips; with him it was Gods will be done." During his long sickness the .Bishop was surrounded by his devoted family and sympathizing friends. Every thing that medical skill could suggest, or friendship could perform, was done to prolong his useful life. Bishop Wightman from his youth was a hard student; he had no time to waste in idle company or in trifling conversation. In conver sation the .Bishop was not fluent, but was always interesting and instructive. In the pulpit he seemed at times to hesitate in selecting words, but the right and most expressive word was sure to come. The Bishops intellect remained unclouded nearly to the last.
At times, when his strength would permit, I would get him to give me some reminiscences of his life and ministry.
I regret now that I did not have the time to record more than I did of the long, instructive and interesting interviews I had, from time to time, with him. It is a pity that Bishop Wight man did not keep an autobiography. His Christian experience was a theme he delighted to dwell upon. How he loved to talk of that model Christian mother who took him to church when he was only a month old ! While the Bishop would talk of his early Christian experiences his eyes would flash and his voice would become strong as in other days. He seemed to forget that he was an invalid. The Bishops devoted and ever-faithful wife would put her finger on her lips, which we understood to mean "if you please, no more preaching to-day." His devotion to the church, and I might say to the great human family, was worthy of all imitation.
Methodism with him was Christianity in earnest. When I removed to Charleston in 1852, Dr. Wightman was in the full vigor and splendor of his manhood and minis try. He was ever kind, courteous, affectionate and gentle. Yet he would not spare in his denunciations the vices of the wicked. He had no patience with the infidel teachings of Voltaire, Hume and Paine. Neither did he condole the modern, atheism of Huxley, Darwin, Tyndall and other scientists who were striving to make nature their (4od. The pulpit was the Bishops stronghold. His sermons were often overwhelmingly grand. As a preacher he was the verybest I ever listened to and I have heard nearly all of the most noted preachers in this country and Europe, both in the Methodist Church and in other denominations. Bascom and Munsey excelled in flights of oratory beyond

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anything I ever heard, but somehow their style of preaching was not satisfactory to me. They electrified the senses with out melting the heart. Munseys sermon in the theatre at the General Conference at Memphis, in 1870, was the most thrill ing discourse I ever heard. The large audience were carried, it seemed, to the third heaven, but when they were suddenly let down to the earth again, the sensation was anything but satisfactory or pleasant. Very few preachers touched the keyto the human heart and understanding as did Bishop Wightman. His preaching was scriptural, instructive, eloquent and effective. After hearing him preach you felt that you wanted to be abettci man, a better Christian. When Bishop Wightman was a young man the sermons he preached at camp meet ings are talked of to this day. They were powerful beyond description. Old .Father James Donnclly was at one of those meetings. The immense congregation were on their knees, and thens was an unusual outpouring of the Spirit. Mr. Donnelly said: "Let us go home now. Billyhas converted all the people, and left nothing more to be done." A gen tleman supposed to be skeptical, said: "There is no use talk ing about it, that man is inspired; no uninspired man could preach as he does. Bishop Wightman was a man of princely character; his personal appearance, in and out of the pulpit, was pleasing, dignified and commanding. He had a splendid brow. His eye kindled and flashed with his subject, and his voice had the ring of the orator. The Bishop stooped a good deal. He was not as erect at 40 as Dr. Pierce was at 80. It was my happiness to know Bishop Wightman intimately for more than the third of a century; to share in his friend ship, confidence and affections. In all these years he was my guide and counsellor: a better man in every respect I never knew; so pure, so humble, so holy in heart, soul and life. His mind was remarkably well balanced, all the attri butes in entire harmony. I loved and admired him not only for his brilliant intellect, but for his beautiful Christian char acter.
On the evening of February 14th, 1882, it was evident to Bishop Wightmans family and friends that he could not live through the night. His mind was clear in the assurance of a Christian hope. To be called upon to give up such a husband, father, friend, was painful to contemplate. There were no death struggles, but life was gradually going out. He was unconscious jnost of the time. A little after midnight the

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Bishop opened his eyes and looked anxiously at the sorrowing friends who were standing or kneeling at his bedside.
The Bishop was too feeble to express his wants. Mrs. Wightman held one hand, while I held the other. The dear, good wife thought it might he soothing to her dying husband to sing:
Jesus, lover of my soul!
A little later .when the pulse almost ceased to beat, Mrs. Wightman sang:
Nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee.
At 3 oclock A. M., Bishop William May WTightman died peacefully and calmly.
With him all was well. All was well.

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APPENDIX.
"The New York Financier," in commenting on Mr. Wil liams character, says: "Mr. Williams having been favorably impressed with Charleston as a place of business, visited that city in 1852, and established the wholesale grocery house of George W. Williams & Co., on strictly temperance principles.
The sales in Augusta and Charleston houses were soon increased to two million dollars per annum, and the profits from fifty thousand dollars per annum to more than one hun dred thousand per annum. Mr. Williams was elected a director in the State Bank of Georgia, at Augusta, at the early age of twenty-three. It was in this well-managed institution that he gained his first knowledge in banking. Just in the prime of vigorous manhood, at the breaking out of the war between the States, we find Mr. Williams at the head of two of the largest commercial houses in the South, an alderman in the city of Charleston, chairman of the committee of ways and means, which position he held during the entire war; director of the Bank of South Carolina; also of two railroad companies; the financial counsellor of a host of friends, ever ready to engage in all public works and enterprises which looked to the prosperity of his adopted city and State.
During the war, through his untiring exertions, thousands of the destitute poor were supplied daily with food. Mr. Williams made an appeal to the Confederate General, when about to evacuate the city, and obtained from him a requisition for all remaining supplies which had already been destined to the flames. They were thus saved through his prompt action. The fires, caused by the burning of cotton, the Northeastern Railroad Depot, the gunboats, and in part by incendiarism, were then raging fiercely, and threatened to lay the city in ashes. In this crisis, Mr. Williams urged the Mayor to sur render the city. Mayor Macbeth appointed Aldermen Gilliland and Williams to be the bearers to Morris Island of the following communication:

123.
Tb- the" General Commanding the Army of the United States at Morris Island:
The military authorities of the Confederate States have evacuated this city. I have remained to enforce law and preserve order, until you take such steps as you may think best.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, CHARLES MAOBETH, Mayor.
Mr. Williams met General A. G. Beimet on Atlantic Wharf, and delivered to him the Mayors letter.
On the landing of the Federal troops, Mr. Williams secured thSir services in extinguishing the fires in various parts of the city. He thus saved from the flames and distributed food enough to feed 20,000 people four months. It was not Mr. Williams intention, at the close of the war. to engage again in the mercantile business, but to establish a bank. .In 1865 he proceeded to Washington for the purpose of procuring a charter for the First National Bank of Charleston, with the intention of being its President* He was solicited by friends and customers to return to his old mercantile busi ness, and his was the first house to resume business in Charles ton, after the war. He at once commenced the erection of large warehouses in the burnt district for the storage of cotton, and his extensive stores on Hayne Street were filled with merchandise. He also opened a banking house, and in a short time was fully immersed in business. His firm received as much as 75,000 bales of cotton in one season, in cash value. about $5,000,000, besides doing a grocery and fertilizer busi ness of many millions, and purchased five million Sterling Exchange per annum.
Some fifty partners have been associated with him in his long business career, many of them, having been brought up from the humblest office grade, and many have retired with fortunes. Mr. Williams has divided, including interest, profits arising from his various firms since he began business in Augusta, G-a. , in 1842, more than twenty-one million of dollars. This will show what ten dollars will do when han dled by one of Mr. Williams push, thrift and energy, and is a valuable lesson for the youth just starting in life. The banking department of George W. Williams & Gos business increased to such an extent, that they found it necessary to
9

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secure larger accommodations for that branch, and in 1875 Mr, Williams purchased the fine brown stone building, 1 Broad Street, which had been erected by the State Bank of South Carolina, at a cost of $100,000. To this eligible loca tion he removed the Carolina Savings Bank and the banking department of George W. Williams & Co. Since then JVJr. Williams has devoted himself ahr. ost exclusively to banking. His object in establishing the Carolina Savings Bank in con junction with the banking business of George W. Williams & Co., was to afford persons of moderate means an opportunity of husbanding their resources. He felt thai a savings bank properly conducted would tend to encourage frugality, indus try and thrift among the laboring classes, and also teach the young the habits of making and saving. It also gave him "an opportunity of training his sons to strictly business habits.
Mr. "Williams is endowed with strong will power, great tenacity of purpose, is quick in perception, fertile in resources, is active and energetic, with a tough, wiry, rather than a robust frame, enjoying uniformly excellent health, not having been sick a day in sixty years, except for two weeks with \ellow fever, in 1852; his life has been one of devoted industry, and eminently practical results. Inured from youth up to close application to some usefiil occupation, Mr. Williams is still as actively engaged as at any former period of his life. In his business transactions he does not waste time or words, but acts, as it were, by intuition, rarely stopping to reason, but reaching his conclusions by his first impulse. "Instinct," he says, "is honest, while reason is subject to a thousand influences, and is often unreliable."

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[FROM THE CHARLESTON NEWS AND COURIER. ]
SKETCH OF
DANIAL HAND,
OLD PARTNER OF
GEO. W. WILLIAMS.
THE MOST REMARKABLE STORY OF FINANCIAL INTEGRITY ON RECORD.
THE GKEAT HAND CHAKITY.
LIFE SKETCH OF ITS DONOR- HIS HABITS AND TRAITS HOW A SOUTHERN BANKERS HONESTY LED TO THE GIFT.
Daniel Hand, the distinguished philanthropist, whose death at Guilford, Connecticut, was recently announced, was the lineal descendant of John Hand, a magistrate of East I lampton, Long Island; who, in 1657, discharged from custody a poor woman accused of witchcraft, and this incident founs a fitting introduction to the sketch of a character in -which the hum an instinct of benevolence formed so bright and prominent a trait.
In 1818 Mr. Hand went to Augusta, Ga., in the care of his maternal uncle, Daniel Meigs, where in the course of lime he succeeded to the mercantile business of his relative, and where, about fifteen years before the late war, he had associ ated with him our present distinguished townsman, Mr, George W. Williams.

Mr. "Williams, in 1852, established the house of George W. Williams & Co., in Charleston, where success crowned his enterprise to such-a degree, as to attract and engross the major part of Mr. Hands investment, that gentleman taking up his residence in New York. In this connection may he recorded an important act of Mr. Williams life. This refers to his steadfast and unflinching friendship for his old partner in the trying and perilous times of the late war. When it was announced at the North that a large sum of money, the accu mulations of a war trust, had been paid to Mr. Daniel Hand by a Southerner, it was flashed over the wires as a "romance of finance." The marvel was that a Southern man could be found who would turn over a million or more of dollars with out being asked to do so.
Telegrams were sent to Charleston inquiring into the par ticulars of the transaction, for it was understood that Mr. George W. Williams "was the Southerner alluded to.
As has already been stated, Mr. Williams went from his home, in Nacoochee, Ga., to Augusta, and, in his 18th year, procured a situation as cterk""with Mr. Daniel Hand. So faithful was the mountain boy, that he was made a fnil partner at the age of 21,- It was then and there that the foundation of Mr. Hands fortune of two or more millions of dollars was laid. At that time Mr. Hand-was not worth $5,000. At the beginning of the war, Mr. Hand was in INew York for the -purpose"-of-making purchases lor the Charleston- honse--of George- -W. Williams T& Co., -being senior partner of that firm. Mr. Williams was the manager in Charleston. Mr. Hand heing opposed to secession, and afraid of the results of the war, withdrew from the firm in 1861. and decided not to come South, but to remain in New York. His life-time earnings, however, were nearly all in Charleston, and had to ta,ke the chances of war.
In the meantime the war between the North and the South. raged, and gold debts due the firm by the millions went into Confederate money. Each section passed the Sequestration Act. As Mr. Hand was no longer a citizen of the South, and was known to he a Union man, the Confederate authorities took measures to sequestrate his interest in the firm of George W. Williams & Co. Mr. Williams, finding that his old friends interest would be confiscated if he remained at the -North, sent a messenger to Louisville, Ky., requesting his immediate return. He also reinstated Mr. Hand as partner

J83

in his firm at a cost of more than a quarter of a million, .dollars

to himself. . Mr. Hand, failing to get through the lines at

Baltimore, took the Western route, via New Orleans. On

arriving in New Orleans he was arrested and imprisoned as

a "Lincoln spy." Mr. Williams telegraphed to Governor

Moore, of Louisiana, vouching for Mr. Hands integrity.



.





CHARLESTON, S. C., November 14th, 1861.

Grov. MOORE, New Orleans, La.

. DEARS Mr. Trenholms dispatch was based on a conversation Mr. Hand had with another party; he has not seen him for years. I feel sure that I can satisfy yoii that Mr, Hand is not a Lincoln spy or black Republican. See that he has-every comfort and protection. I am a native Southerner.
GEO. W. WILLIAMS.

He finally succeeded in getting Mr. Hand out of prison, but he was sent under guard to Richmond, then the seat of the Confederate -Government. While passing through Augusta, Ga., his old home, the mayor found it necessary to send Mr. Hand to jail to protect him from a mob. Mr. Williams went to Augusta at once and shared Mr. Hands quarters in the jail until his release was secured.
After much vexation and expense he was sent to Richmond, .where he was confined in the Libby Prison nearly a month, awaiting his trial as a spy. In the meantime a vigorous suit -was commenced in Charleston to sequestrate Mr. Hands interest in the Charleston firm. Mr. Williams employed the best counsel, and after an exciting contest which lasted for several days, the suit was decided in Mr. Hands favor, and his interest in the firm of George W. Williams & Co., was thus saved from confiscation.
As South Carolina at that time was not a pleasant home for one suspected of Union sentiments, Mr. Williams divided his gold money with his friend, and advised him to go to the mountains of North Carolina to await the issues of the war. Before leaving Charleston, Mr. Hand confided all of his per sonal property to the man who had stood by him under such trying circumstances, to be heli, managed and considered as his own. The real estate was already in Mr. Williamss name, and needed no transfer.
Having been so unpleasantly dealt with by the Confederate

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authorities, he decided to go North at the first opportunity, never to return South; which resolution he carried out to the letter.
During the early part of the war, Northern and Western houses famished the firm of George W. Williams & Co. with large quantities of goods, with the full knowledge that the laws in the Confederacy were against collecting such debts. They relied entirely upon the honor of the firm for their pay. Two cargoes of coffee were also imported from South America after the fall of Fort Su inter. One of these succeeded in running the blockade in October, 1861, chased by the Federal gunboats to the gates of the city. The Confederates were thus supplied with 3,000 bags of coffee. Mr. Williams also furnished the Confederate Government, to purchase clothing for the soldiers, one check on the Bank of Liverpool for fifty thousand dollars in gold, for which he was paid for in Confed erate currency. All these debts of honor Mr. Williams felt it his duty to pay. lie started money North via Atlanta and Louisville, Ky., but it was intercepted by the vigilance com mittee, forbidding money to be paid to the "enemy," threat ening prosecution if it was done. Mr. Williams, being deter mined to provide for the payment of these debts of honor, remitted $400,000 sterling exchange to Liverpool and London. When the war was over, the debts were paid in full, with interest. .,
As the war progressed, Mr. Williams fortune and that of his partner, was fast going into Confederate securities, with a prospect of almost total loss. In this emergency, Mr. Wil liams naturally looked around for other investments, hoping to save something out of the general wreck. He learned that cotton could be bought in Georgia and Alabama at 7 to 10 cents per pound. Prompt measures were taken to secure 15,000 bales, storing the cotton in the most secure places. He also saw that there was a panic at the North, in Southern State and City Securities. They were being forced on the market at thirty-three cents on the dollar. Believing that these securities would be worth nearly par when the war was over, he invested in them $500,000. Confederate money continued to decline in value, while the price of cotton rapidly advanced. Real estate could be bought with Confederate money. Thinking there would be less risk in holding real estate than cotton, he s^ld 10,000 bales of cotton at twenty to thirtv cents per pound, and invested in farm lands in

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Georgia; also about one hundred thousand acres of well tim bered lands, at one dollar per acre. He purchased in Charles ton and in the interior of the State $500,000 worth of real estate.
It was in such investments, including the purchase of ster ling exchange, that a very large volume of Confederate money, which had "been collected for debts duo that firm, was saved from total loss, and it was in that way Mr. Hands fortune of which he recently gave one and a half million dollars for the education of the freed slaves of the South was saved. Mr. Williams kept up a correspondence with his early friend, Mr. Hand, until the final summons.
During his life, and six years ago, Mr. Hand made a gift of more than a million dollars to the American Missionary Association for Southern freedrnen. The nucleus of that sum was. $230,000 left by Mr. Hand at the outbreak of the war, with his old business partner, George "W. Williams, of Charleston, S. C.; who, more than twenty years after the war, repaid the sum, with interest and profits. It was partly the singular and almost idealized honesty of Mr. Williams in the transaction which suggested to Mr. Hand the return of the sum to the South as a gift to the freedmen.
Mr. Hand was an earnest member of the Presbyterian Church, and was Superintendent of the Sabbath School of the First Presbyterian Church in Augusta for thirty years. The gift which will principally illustrate Mr. Hands Philan thropy is known as the "Daniel Hand Educational Fund for Colored People," amounting to more than a million and a half dollars in interest-bearing securities, to be held in trust by the American Missionary Association.
Mr. Hand died in Guilford, Connecticut, in 1891. His old partner, Mr. George W. Williams, is still actively engaged in business in Charleston, S. C. Mr. Hand did not live long enough to see the practical working of his munificent gift, but generation after generation of the. people of the South, both white and black, will rise up and call him blessed.

Carolina Savings Bank.
NEW TEAKS GREETING.
CHARLESTON, S. C.. January 1st, 1899.
Once more the Carolina Savings Bank sends a New Years Greeting to its friends and correspondents at homo and. abroad. We arc sorry to say that the country at large has not recovered from the effects of the general depression and hard limes that have prevailed since 1893. The anxiouijJy looked for revival in business has not come. Low prices of all commodities prevail throughout the civilized world. The unprecedented low price of cotton lias a depressing effect upon the South. The hanks have never been more at a Joss to find safe and profi table investments to employ their capital and deposits. In the financial centres the rates for money continue to rule very low, in consequence of the stagnation in trade and high prices for good securities. It is a long road that has no end. Now that the war with Spain has happily and successfully ended, we may reasonably hope for a revival in business. The introduction of labor-saving machinery has greatly reduced the cost of all manufactured productions and the prices that were formerly paid for wages. This falls heavily upon the poor. Ail incomes and profits are greatly reduced. It is absolutely necessary that our people should practice both economy and industry.
The Carolina Savings Bank is strong, and ready to do its part in giving a helping hand in the restoration of business. Its policy has ever been to do a conservative business, and to keep ample assets in cash and available securities to meet all the wants of its customers and depositors. Its capital and resources amount to nearly two million dollars In consequence of the excessive Government, State and City Taxes, the Direc tors have paid to its stockholders $50,000.00 of its surplus.
10

13S
The difficulty in making satisfactory loans and investments made it neeessart to reduce the rate of interest in the Savings Department to^ per cent. It is our custom to allow the highest rate that prudence will permit. In times like these, safety is the first consideration. None of the New York banks, where we keep a good portion of our reserve, will allow more than two per cent, per annum on our monthly oalances. There has been hut one small hank failure in South Carolina for the past few years, and comparatively few commercial failures.
The tihty years experience of our President .in banking, assisted now by the junior officers, gives to the Carolina Sav ings Bank, with its ample capita], superior advantages. Our Collection Department has greatly increased, but we are still finding difficulty in getting satisfactory returns from some of our interior correspondents.
There is also an increase of cost and risk in handling col lections; \ve have consequently found it necessary to mate rially reduce our par-points.
We will continue to give careful attention to any business entrusted to us.
Offering our best services, we are,
"Very respectfully,
GEORGE "W. WILLIAMS, President. GEORGE W. WILLIAMS, JR., Vice President. W. P. OAHRDTGTON, 2d Vice-President. HENRY P. WILLIAMS. Cashier.