The Culture of Indigo
At one lime it roprpsrnlod I ho l«»ii<lin£
money crop for plantation owners along
the coast. The story of its start, as told by
Mr. Moore, is an interesting one.
IT is not generally known by
present day Carolinians that the
production and cultivation of
Indigo, represented the second
K’atest money returning crop of
lonial Carolina. Furthermore,
it was due to the indefatigable
energy and unswerving determi¬
nation of an intelligent girl, who
refused to recognize or admit fail¬
ure. that the landed gentry were
able to secure financial stability
and accumulate comfortable for¬
tunes.
The interesting analysis of the
introduction of indigo, later to re¬
sult in great revenues, is not only
picturesque but informative.
Especially so when one considers
the fact that the commercial and
financial development of the Caro¬
lina colonies largely was due there¬
to.
Before entering upon the story
which involves the energetic and
determined work of a Carolina
lass, the average reader should be
advised of the exact nature of
indigo. It is a blue coloring sub¬
stance, formerly produced as a re¬
sult of agricultural growth. With
the development of modern in¬
dustrial methods, indigo later on
was manufactured artificially and
chemically, largely from coal-tar
derivatives. With advancement of
mechanical means, production of
indigo in this country was aban¬
doned agriculturally, and thence¬
forth was confined to chemical
methods.
Started in India
Indigo was first employed as a
major dyestuff in India. From
thence it was brought to the
Mediterranean countries by trad¬
ers. Indigo plants formerly were
extensively cultivated in the Far
East and in the West Indies. It is
from the last mentioned area that
the introduction of the glamorous
and valuable product had it’s be¬
ginning in America.
In the case of the French colo¬
nies, indigo had become a source
of valuable commerce with Europe.
It was a short time before the
middle of the Eighteenth century,
that George Lucas, an English-
«•/
LOUIS T. MOOItF
man, became Governor of Antigua,
one of the West Indian islands.
He was the fortunate possessor of
an extensive plantation a short
distance from Charleston. There
was a charming daughter in the
family. Her name was Eliza. The
father had often noticed her fond¬
ness for supervising the production
of flowers and shrubs in the spa¬
cious gardens of his estate. It was
his custom from time to time to
send her various fruits and seeds
of tropical origin, with which to
experiment.
Neither Lucas nor Eliza realized
what future bountiful financial re¬
sults would eventuate when in
1741 he sent her by a mariner, a
few indigo seeds. These were ac¬
companied with special directions
for planting. As soon as the bushes
had gotten well above ground, they
were killed by a heavy frost. Dis¬
heartened but not discouraged, the
determined girl in early April,
planted a second supply of the
seeds. However the nights con¬
tinued cold, and the weather aided
by worms served to destroy the
second installment of shoots.
A Third Attempt
The girl was not to be denied.
Therefore, she decided to plant the
indigo seeds for the third lime,
using the remainder of the limited
quantity which had been sent by
her father.
With the planting of the third
crop near Charleston. Eliza Lucas's
efforts were crowned with success.
When advised by his daughter
that the indigo plants were hardy
and vigorous, Governor Lucas en¬
visioned the latent commercial
possibilities of the plant, lie then
decided to send a large quantity
of seed from Antigua to his plan¬
tation on the South Carolina coast.
At the same time he persuaded a
friend named Cromwell to assume
charge. The latter was experi¬
enced not only in production of
the plants but also was familiar
with the method of preparing the
valuable crops for market.
Cromwell had slaves build vats
on the plantation. He then pro¬
ceeded to raise a bountiful crop of
indigo. However, from a spirit of
fear that the prosperity of Antigua
his island home, might be jeopar¬
dized. Cromwell ruined the yield
by surreptitiously placing lime in
the vats.
Eliza Lucas had carefully fol¬
lowed all the technical procedures
which Cromwell had used. Thus
she had ascertained the intricate
secrets involved in production of
the plants. Parting company with
Cromwell with scant ceremony,
the enterprising girl engaged an¬
other plantation manager in whom
she had full confidence. An imme¬
diate and full measure of success
followed.
Shortly afterward. Eliza was
married to Charles Pinckney, who
owned an extensive plantation
near that of her father. As a token
of recognition of her sagacity and
fruitful vision, Governor Lucas
made his daughter a wedding pres¬
ent of all the indigo on his planta¬
tion. The entire amount was saved
for seed. A portion was reserved
by the young married woman and
other allotments were distributed
to friends up and down the Caro¬
lines coast between Wilmington,
New Bern, and Charleston. From
this beginning it was soon proved
by experiments that there was far
greater production from the im¬
ported cultivated strains than
from a variety which grew wild
along the coastal areas.
Volume Increased Rapidly
Within a period of five years
from the commencement of plant¬
ing of indigo by the enterprising
Carolina girl, whoso ingenuity and
vision had made the new money
crop possible, there was a con¬
stantly increasing volume of indigo
being produced on the coastal
plantations. The product now was
being shipped to England. With
rice and cotton, it immediately be¬
came the third of a trio of crops
( Continued on page 17)
THE STATE. July 14 1945 3
