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TIIOMASVILLE,'GEORGIA. SUNDAY MORNING, DEOEMREI!
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$5.00 PER ANNUM
JEFFERSOI DAVIS DEAD.
THE GREAT CHIEFTAIN PASSES
OVER THE RIVER,
And Rests With Jackson Under the
Shade of the Trees. '
The Hearts of a Great and Loving People
Crushed by the Death of Their Great
Leader — The Heto of Haid-
Fought Fields in Mexico--The
Peerless Statesman in
Federal Councils
The Defender of a Nation’s Honor.
JEFFERSON DAVIS IS NO MORE.
At 12:45 o’clock this morning a
great heart ceased to beat—a stain
less life was closed.
Jefferson Davis, first and last presi
dent of the southern confederacy, is
dead. As we write these words a
thousand miles away, the body ol
the puissant chieftan, from which
the breath has scarcely parted, |lit
mute and motionless beneath the
touch of reverential hands—while, 'in
the regions of the blest, the great
soul, weary of the fretting hindrances
ol the flesh, greets Iriends and com
rades gone before.
And now has passed away the last
ol the mighty leaders of the lost cause.
Cobb, Stevens, the kingly Toombs
and the steadfast Hill; Yancey, the
impetuous gentleman; Lee, the paladin
of battle, and Jackson, who ruled its
tornt—gone—-all gone! Gone to the
great tribunal, before whom all things
are judged, and to Him, who search
ed! all hearts and measureth to victor
and beaten in infinite mercy and infi
nite justice. Closed the drama in
which they fought or plead as heroes
--sheathed the sword, furled’the ban
ner, sealed the record and their dear
names and fame, hut a memory and
heritage to the people. With him,
who doeih all things well, they rest at
last.
Jefferson Davis will be mourned in
millions of hearts this day. Govern
ment will not render him the pomp
and circumstance of a great death, but
hts people w II give to him a tribute of
love and tears, surpassing all that
government can do, and honoring his
memory as earthly parade could net
do. He is our dead, and from Mary
land to Texas, wherever in other states
or ether lands his people may have
wandered—wherever dauntless courage
is or stainless honor made friends—
wherever those who have suffered are
and superb fortitude may touch the
heart or dim the eye, there Jefferson
Dayts—God bless Jjis name, as we
write it—will be honored and mourned
to-day. If, amid the winds of the
new morning into which his soul lias
entered, the grief of the world may
come, he will be content to know that
his people love him, and loving,
mourn him. Greater honor than is
his his people have given, and can
give no more.
THE DEATH SCENE.
New Orleans, December 6.—2:30
,. m.—Mr. Jefferson Davis died sud
denly at 12:45 this morning. He had
been steadily improving for the past
few days, and his physicians announc
ed that they were entirely satisfied
with his condition. His appetite had
improved somewhat and he was free
from fever, and those who had access
to the sick room were rejoiced over
the favorable change.He rested quietly
throughout the day, and in the after
noon the bulletin was to the effect that
his condition was favorable.
Shortly before midnight he had a
coughing fit, which seemed to ex
haust hts little remaining strength, and
at 12:45 he passed quietiy away—so
quietly, in fact, that the watchers
scarcely knew when dea^h came.
jepTerson davis’s like.
Jefferson Davis was born in Chris
tian county, Ky., on the 3rd day of
June, 1808. Georgia may claim
kinship with the man, as well as
share of his glory. His father, Sam
uel Davis, was a Georgia planter. In
the revolutionary war he was an officer
in a cavalry regiment in which
he served with much distinction
Later he moved to Kentucky, and
some years afterward to Mississippi
The Georgia branch of the Davises is
now extinct, but it lives in tradition as
a high-spirited and honorable family.
Passing his boyhood on the frontier,
where the whites were frequently en
gaged in conflict with savage foes,
young Jefferson’s earliest thoughts were
centered upon guns, sabres, and all
the panoply of war. By the time
he was sixteen lie had made the
most of his academic and university
advantages, and entered the military
academy at West Point.
For fellow students he had such
comrades as Robert E. Lee, Joseph
E. Johnson, Leonidas Polk, John B
MaGruder, and others well known to
fame. In this circle his lofty charac
ter, bright mind and thorough manli
ness, commanded the highest regard
of all.
BLACK IIAWKS IDEAL SOLDIER,
From boyhood Jefferson Davis had
a strong soldierly bias, amounting
almost to a passion. Drums and bu
gles stirred the fever in his blood, and
caused his pulse to leap into impetu
ous action.
When lie graduated at West Point,
and plunged into the thick of the
Indian warfare on the northwestern
frontier, the old army officers instant
ly recognized him as a born soldier.
He was appointed a staff officer, and
made such a brilliant record that, in
a short time he was promoted to the
rank of first lieutenant and adjutant
of a new cavalry regiment. By this
time the famous Indian chief, Black
Flank, handed several tribes together,
and made the frontier too hot for
the whites. Black Hawk combined
the sagacity of King Philip with the
military genius of Teeumseh. Time
and again ho led his plumed warriors
to victory, scattering the regular
troops before him or baffling them by
his waily strategy.
The cool judgment, quick decision
and unflinchingcottrage of Lieutenant
Davis made him a central figure.
Finally Black Hawk was captured
and held for some time as a hostage.
The proud captive chafed under the
confinement. He felt a contempt
for the whites and bated them. He
was sullen and reserved, and would
neither hear nor answer the captains
and men among the pale faces. Only
one mau lmd any influence with him.
The red chieftain knew a soldier when
he saw one, and Davis attracted his
attention. The young officer had
eyes like an eagle’s. He walked with
the springy step of an Indian brave on
the warpath. To this frank, bold,
magnetic man the prisoner felt irre
sistibly drawn. Davis was not long
in finding out ltis power over his sav
age foemnn, and lie used it in the
interests of peace.
“Black Hawk,” said the young
soldier, when they were about to part,
“You know me. You have called
mo the pale face with the straight
tongue and red man’s heart. I like
you because you are brave and true
to your people. Hear my words and
take them home. Can you couut the
stars or the leaves of the forest, or
the sanus of the had lands? You
know that you cannot. Yet ’ these
countless hosts do not outnumber the
pale faces. Since you were strong
enough to bend a bow, you have
fought us. You have seen your
braves cut down like grass. You
have been driven back year by year.
Can you hope at this late day to over
come the bayonet with ihe tomahawk?
Will the shouts of your warriors
drown our big guns? Black Hawk is
a man with a head. lie secs these
things. When he goes home to his
people, will he not tell them that it
is better to divide this broad land
with the white man, and dwell in
peace with them, than to be driven
into the sea?” These plain words
sunk deep into Black Hawk’s heart.
He seized Davis’s band and gave it a
cordial grip. Then he turned and
marched away without a word.
When he was released, and again sur
rounded by his savage legions, he
told them what he had heard, and
counseled them never again to raise
their hands against the men in blue
with the big guns.
THE FAMCfl’S V MOVEMENT.
When Colonel Davis returned from
the Mexican war, at the head of the
gallant Mississippi Rifles, the whole
nation hailed him as “the hero of
Buena Vista.”
At Monterey, Colonel Davis and
his men fought with heroic valor.
Braving a furious storm of copper-
grape, the Mississippians made a des
perate charge on the enemy’s fortifi
cations. The men literally threw
themselves upon the guns of the Mex
icans, after climbing the breastworks.
It was wild work. The assault was
like an avalanche. The Mexicans
fled and took shelter in a strong build
ing, from which they poured a heavy
fire of musketry. This post was sopn
captured, and the next fight was a
hot engagement in the streets of Mon
terey. The heavy fire front the
housetops was deadly and terrorizing.
Davis and his soldiers penetrated
street after street, dislodging the foe
from building alter building, until
within a square of the grand plaza.
The capitulation of Monterey follow
ed, and the entire country rang with
the.praises of Colonel Davis and his
Mississippi Rifles.
The Buena Yista exploit -classed
the name of Davis among the most
renowned military men of modern
times.
HERE AfJAINKT TERRIBLE ODDS
he saved the army and virtually won
the battle. The Americans were
about to lose the day, when General
Taylor, with Colonel Davis and others
rode up. Several retreating regi
ments were rallied. Davis, with his
own regiment and a handful of Indi
an n volunteers, advanced at double
quick, firing all the time. The Mexi
cans were put to flight, but in a few
moments a brigade of lancers, tw
thousand strong, camn on at a gallop
with sounding bugles and fluttering
peuous. Colonel Davis threw his
men into the form of a V, both flanks
resting on ravines, the Mexicans ad
vancing on the intervening ridge,
thus exposing the enemy to a cross
fire. When within range the rifles
blazed away. The whole head of the
Mexican column fell. Never was a
more deadly fire witnessed on any
battle field. The Mexicans were
completely shattered. They fell ns
fast as the drops 1 of summer rain, and
those who escaped fled precipitately
from the field.—Constitution.
As secretary of war, as a senator in
the Congress of the United States, his
name is familiar to the people. The
ceutral figuie of the greatest revolu
tion of modern times. His name is
indissolubly linked with the struggle.
Although going down in history as
the leader of “A Lost Cause,” no
stain is on his fair name. The south
will hold his memory in reverence as
long 'as her sunshine lasts, or her
flowers bloom; and they will, we
doubt not, erect a monument to his
memory, a shaft of spotless white
marble, emblematic of the purity of
the man, which shall tell futile gene
rations of the man who staked and
lost all for his country.
The Poet’s Tribute.
When the news was flashed into the
Constitution's office, at 2 o'clock on
Friday morning, Montgomery Folsom
turned to the desk and wrote the fol
lowing lines impromptu :
“Davis is dead!” the message read;
The night was waning fast:
On lightning wlngB the sentence sped?
A storm of pont-up tears unshod.
Carao gushing forth at last.
“Davis is (load I" the message read;
We thought of days gone by.
And him whore dauntless courage fed
The altar IIres when hope had lied,
And darkness veiled the sky
“Davis Is dead I" tho message road;
God keep his noblo namo!
Tho deeds of those who fought and bled
For Dixie, nro otornal wed
With hlg undying fame.
“Davis is dead I" tho message read;
Last of a prlncoly train.
Thpugh lowly lies his crownless head,
Ills memory lives, and in his stead
No othor king shall rolgn.
IT IS A WEAK MESSAGE.
Tha Critics Find Little to Commend In it.
The fires in the recent past, leads
the New York Tribune to discuss
those that are to come.” It is an
interesting topic. Here is one thought:
The time may come when water will
be regarded as the least efficient im
plement at the command of fire de
partments, and when universal prac
tice will conform to the idea that the
way to extinguish flame Is to suffocate
and not drown it.” In other words,
it is a question of vapors, chemically
produced and instantaneously applied.
New York, Dec. 4.—Commencing
on the President’s message the Herald
says : “Perident Harrison’s message
is a plain business document, well
itten and making recommendations
strictly in tho lino of the Republican
platform.”
The Times says: “We see no evi
dence that President Harrison was
influenced by conscious self-distrust
in preparing his first annual message.
It appears to be the work of a secret
and contented mind. It is natural
enough that a mind capable of com
posing so dull it message should be
incapable of rightly appreciating its
own work. As a mere reference
ndex to public; business the message
may have some value in Congress and
in newspaper offices, but if it records
the events of the times it throws no
• light upon them, and while it refers
the acknowledged evils it suggests no'
proper remedies. No other motive
than fear could have restrained the
president from making a clear and
specific recommendation of the tariff
revision.” The Tribune says: “Pres
ident Harrison’s first message is a
plain, candid and entirely unpreten
tious review of public affairs. Its
most striking characteristic is an
absence of pretense, exageration or
rhetorical flourishes, and there is no
attempt to enlarge upon especinl top
ics for the sake of catching temporary
popular applause or partisan advan
tage. It has the tone throughout of
conscious strength and sincerity, and
of a profound conviction that the
people will unwaveringly sustain the
national policies to which they gave
approval by their votes one year ago
The Sun says: “For originality,
grasp of public questions and sense of
perspective in the statement of nation
al affairs, General Harrison’s message
compares unfavorably with the first
message sent to Congress by Mr.
Hayes twelve years ago; tho ablest
man that ever occupied the White
House, and who had more to offer to
Congress in way of information and
suggestion, and who offered it with
more vigorous individuality of
thought and expression titan the pres
ent Chief Executive of the United
.States can exhibit or command.
The message is a disclosure, and
what it discloses is, a President with
out ideas and an administration with
out policy.”
The World says: “The leading
characteristics of tho President’s mes
sage are its unhesitating advocacy of
centralization and paternalism in gov
ernment, and its bland unconscious
assumption that the Republican par
ty is the republic. In these respects
the message is in close conformity
with the attitude aud tendency of the
party which made Mr. Harrison Pres
ident.'’
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GENTS.
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