My successful boring of this well was quickly followed by the boring
of others. The town of Albany and the Central railroad bored two
at once, showing that they recognized the fact that it would be of
value to them. Soon there were wells in Jacksonville and Sanford,
Florida, and Brunswick and Savannah, Georgia. Other places quickly
followed, getting their entire water supply by this means.
Gradually the excitement occasioned by my well died out. By many
it was looked upon as an accidental discovery and I was put in the
list of cranks. I believe that it even caused my credit to suffer,
for the banks of Albany, looking upon me as a crank, refused to
lend money to a visionary. Nor has the Central of Georgia railroad,
which more than any corporation was benefited by my success, ever
acknowledged it in any way, or ever extended to me any special
courtesy. The boring of my well, which cost eleven hundred dollars,
was never a help to me financially. But it was a great satisfaction
to me, to know that I was instrumental in procuring the blessing of
good water for a great section of my native State, and to know this
has been recognized and praised by many.
During the first ten years my little well was used by a large circle
of the surrounding population who daily hauled barrels of water
from the plantation. No charge for this water was ever made. It was
free to all. It was a great satisfaction to me to see how the health
on the plantation was improved. Malaria decreased, and hemorrhagic
fever, the great curse of the country, almost disappeared. Pure
water is a great preventive of sickness.
Times were hard, but I met all my pecuniary obligations, although
sometimes paying as high as fourteen per cent. for money loaned on
my real estate as security, taking it as valued at one dollar per
acre.
I consider the year 1881 the brightest in my life, as it contained
two momentous happenings; in August the boring of my artesian well,
and in October my marriage to Miss Lulah Hay Ellis of Atlanta, which
event was the most important in my life.
I brought my wife to Macon where we lived three years. I then gave
up entirely my law practice, and left Macon. I took my family,
my wife and two little daughters, to spend the winter months on
Cooleewahee, one of my plantations near Albany. My wife became
devoted to this plantation. We lived a healthful and happy life in
the open. As game was plentiful, Lulah, with her fishing rod, and I,
with my gun, supplied our table.