Newspaper Page Text
JLbe Gffton (3a3ette
Published Weekly
Entered at the Postoffice at Tifton, Georgia,
m Second Claae Hatter, Act of March 3, 1879
fno. L. Herring Editor and Manager
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
- Twelve Month. $1.50
j Si* Month* •' .75 Cent.
OuUide Third Cl*.. Parcel Post Zone, $2
a Year Payable in Advance.
Official Organ City of Tifton
and Tift County, Georgia.
SATURDAY NIGHT.
Why Sam Spiller. Didn’t Like Cattle.
Sam Spiller* and Joe Drink water were "set-
tin' up” with old*man Tod Lawson.
In those days, when Doctors were almost as
scarce as hens’ teeth, if one* got sick enough'
for the neighborhood to come in to sit through
the night, it was usually only a matter of short
time before the end.
The women and young folks had gone te
bed. and Sam and Joe were entertaining them-
selves, occasionally going over to give the old
man a drink of water or out to take a look at
the stars and see if it was time to give him his
medicine; clocks were luxuries. They had left
their women at home on purpose, and cams
prepared Tor a siege. Joe lived back on the
creek, and he didn’t live up to his name. He
had brought along a duck-shaped yellow and
■white jug which was hid out behind the smoke
house. and to this they made trips as the spirit
mbved. said trips growing more frequent as
the night waned. Occasionally, the patient
turned and groaned, and such rough relief
patched it up and made one to fit Ben and
didn't heed a saddle, but rode bareback.
"At old man Perkins' was a great hangout
for us boys, for Perkins had three good-look
ing gals, apd nearly every Saturday evening or
Sunday I w*a over there. I had bragged about
Ben to the gals, and how gentle he was, until
I decided to ride him over the next time I went
'So Sunday morning, rigged out in a new,
clean, and white long shirt (they hadn’t let me
begin to wear britches then) I bridled Ben,
mounted, and rode over to Perkins’-
‘‘The gals and two neighborhood boys were
setting out on the front piazza, as I saw some
time before I got to the house. The house set
way back in the field, as some folks have them,
with a little, low rail fence around it. The
fence was right close to the piazza, and I
opened the field gate, led Ben in, mounted and
rode up to the house sorter like that man Wal
ter Raleigh 1 read about in a btrek about that
time. The yard fence was right cfose to the
piazza, and as I rode up to the gate, the gals
begun to grin and giggle* I felt like a con
queror and tried to do like I had read of about
kaleigh. jerked off my hnt, swung it with ■
downward sweep, and bowed to Ben’s neck, as
I said.
“Good morning; ladies."
“That’sSill 1 said for some time That hat
swinging down before his eyes give Ben
scare, and with- a ’whoof’ snort, he ducked his
head, and jumped back.
"I was totally unprepared, and went over
Ben’s head. His horns were about three inches
long, standing straight up, and as I went over,
one of them caught my, shirt. And it was the
only solitary rag I had on!
"Me hanging before his face scared Ben
worse, and he began whirlin’ around, trying to
shake me off. while I swung by my shirt, first
( my fingers and then my • toes touching the
they had they gave, the balance of the time j ground in passing, but we were moving too fast
they sat before the lightwood-knot fire for me to catch hold of anything,
and smoked .and talked. | '“The gals screamed and hid their faces be-
A good store of firewood had been provided, hind the : r open fingers and the boys laughed
• and Sam had reciprocated for the jug by bring- j at first, but seeing that I couldn’t get loose,
lng along a deerskin sack of tobacco—home- (CO me down the steps to help. They give Ben
raised and loft-dried, then mixed with dry fresh fright. and with a bellow he fetched
deer-tongue and other herbs, the whole crum- a big jerk that tore out the hold of the shirt.
t>led»by grinding between the palms of the . (it was honest, homemade cloth and held
-"hands Their straight chairs were of hickory. | well) the width of the garment coming wkb'ii.
with cow-hide bottoms, but they were used to That left me ia hut little better fix than fad art
them and got such comfort as they could while , when he first saw the snake. Ben wenTgai^-
they smoked their stick-and-dirt pipes and loping down the read towards home,
chatted. Crops were discussed, then neigh-J “f scrambled to my all-fours, then to
borhood gossip, but after several trips to the feet. Then I beat Ben to the big gate, jumpeij
bidden jug, Sam and Joe waxed into anecdote the fence and left him 1 don’t know how Ke
and then into romance. ever got home, and don't care
"Me and Brother Johp uster have some great ( “Since then. 1 just norciously * hate cow
ox-races.” said Joe. growing reminiscent. "We ( beasts of any kind. Do you blame me?"
broke ub an ox apiece, and Dad let us have j There was no reply. With his head hanging
pair of wheels from the old waggin. We over the top slat of the back of his chair, hie
jjot Blacksmith Jim to help us and fixed us up | chin dropped and his mouth open, Joe wad
a cart apiece. These had plank bodies, and fast asleep.
we done lots of hauling around the place, for j
ox-carts always come in handy- We had- train- THE GOOD OLD SCOUT,
ed our oxen to trot, and on Sunday mornings That wag Uke bj hearled JeM Mercer,
would g.t ’em out on the long slope on the w . hen he received his copv of "Saturday Night
Sketches” to go out and sell six copies to his
friends. We hope the book will lighten for a
moment the burden of life for some of our
hard*worked Congressmen and Senators. If
one hundred of our friends would follow Mer-
<•( r's example, the path of one would-be author
ould traverse pleasant plates. We confess
a great deal at stake on the suc-
THE BOYS OVER THERE RESENT IT.
With the best intentions in the world, some
of our prohibition friends a few weeks since
let their zeal run away with their judgment in
a desire to have the sale of intoxicant* in all
forms denied to American troops on foreign
soil. Some of the statements made were (almost
as drastic as those of the German press which
seeks to create the impression that Uncle Sam’s
soldiers abroad are on a prolonged spree and
are proving a great affliction to the French
people where they are quartered. The evil ef
fects of such statements can be easily seen.
Something of what has been said has reached
the eyes and ears of the boys across the water,
and they strongly resent it. The Gaa^tte quotes
from a letter from a Tift count/'bby “Over
I here,” written to folks at home:
What do those people think they are try
ing to do? Don’t they think that General Per
shing has got sense enough to run this army
and that the American soldiers can take care
of themselves while over here? If we. can’t
then we are in a pretty bad fix. this far from
home, and no one to take care of us- I read
article the other day that would make you
think, if you did not know any better, that we
are about two-thirds drunkards and the other
third hoboes and bums- How do you think
it makes us feel to read anything like that and
see the impression we have made at home and
realize that the people have ho confidence
whatever in us? The prohibitionists are losing
_ lot qf their friends over here. We have
sacrificed everything we had to live for back
there, and I think that is enough, without hav
ing to be misrepresented to our home people.”
As a matter of fact, the -American army in
France is the cleanest body of men. morally
and physically, ever sent to a fighting line. The
camps and the . men are surrounded by every
precautionary restriction consistent with com
mon sense and the welfare of the service.
Thejr parents and friends at home can rest as
sured that they are associating with gentlemen
rv sense of the word, and thnt the temp
tations to indulge are much less than those
formerly surrounding them at home.
Perhaps a German propaganda had some
thing to do with the recent outbreak
pnrt of thfc ultra prohibitionists—it w
much like some of the stuff being published in
tho German newspapers—but we hope that it
\t-as only an error of judgment, and will go
farther.
TALES OF OLDEN TIMES.
lb You should
jpoondf against grippe b
CCOTT
OSuisRSu
which is die cream of cod fiver o4>
refined, purified and so skilfuUg
prepared that it enriches the blood
streams, creates reserve strength
and fortifies the kings and throat.
Don’t delay—It may mean much.
Use SCOTT'S
Refuse Substitutes
Of his copy of "Saturda>\Night Sketches", a
Savannah business man who' was bom and
raised in Worth county writes: “I am sure that
I shall enjoy it, for upon its pages I find the re
flection of pictures that are never to return
again and between the lines 1 hear the re-echo
ing sound of laughter emanating from lips that
are long since" clay. I hope that Old Wirq-
grass Georgia may provide herself with th
history of a vanishing race and that each may
cherish them as I. do.”
big road close to the house and race ’em to
finish.
"The neighbor boys heard about it, and
they’d come over and see the fun. The oxen
were so evenly matched that there was no tell
ing which would win; sometimes me and some
times John. It got so we would lie awake wiiui
nights planning to beat each other, until finally . wp b)
I “ t “*" id “- , Ib TT P “'i bi ^'v”^ r i *■’-'* ° f **• b «» k - Snanciol and alharwiac.
and bored a hole in the foregate of my cart-,
nt! as
drops glistening in th*
grass and as refreshing a
ing water in the "old spring.'
body. You know the only way to hitch an ox
is by a yoke, and that when he works single
the shafts of the cart go through rings'in either
end of the yoke. Well. I hitched mine as
usual, then backed him close to the cart, pulled
bis tail through the augur-hole in the dash
board and tied a knot in it. When the word
was given to go, «ml he stnrfed to p»H, he ptrll--j
ed on his tail instead of the yoke That scared
bim and he quickened pace; John larruped up
bis ox, and when he come alongside I reached
down, gave Buck's tail a twist. - and we forged
ahead. There was a crowd of boys over that
morning and they gave a whoop as I left John
-iifce he -bird been tied to a stomp. .T felt like
I had made a clean-up while John was cussin’ -
low to hissclf.
“We made good time down the slope, but
when we struck the bottom and started to rise
the hill on the other side trouble came, and my
short glory was over. As long as we were
going down hill and the cart sorter pulled it
self. tail-hold answered very well. But when
the rise threw the weight of the cart on the
wrong part of the ox, it distressed him. He
bellowed and lurched back; then ahead again,
while to encourage him I Five his tail a twist
That made him mad, and he surged against
the cart and pulled his tail off. In the mean
time. with no weight ortxthe yoke, one of the
keys had worked out and'the bow dropped
off- So when his tail broke, there wasn’t a
thing to hold Buck to the cart—the shafts
drdppCd, I tumbled out, heels over head, while
Jnfin and his ox came trotting by. and won.
"That broke me up from scheming.”
"I ain’t got no use for cattle,” Sam aaid,
sifter both dry throats had been irrigated. “I
"" n’t own none; I don’t allow any around my
bl&ce. and I don’t eat beef, drink milk nor use
batter. I got enough of cattle when I was a
3boy to last me the balance of my life, if I live
to be as old as Methuselah.
•When I was a shaver, just big enough for
Mm g*ls to look good to me. Pa give me a bull
rling that I named Ben. I broke him-Ao
' ; and then to ride; finally got him to
e I could ride him fine. I got an old bridle.
Some of the Eastern colleges are dispens-,
ing with commencement functions as a war
economy. When we-remember that this is the
only opportunity of the kind in the lives of the
members of a graduating class, we can ap
preciate the spirit of sacrifice.
Of "Saturday Night Sketches” a railroad
man writes: "I am enjoying reading the book
very much. I can appreciate it better possibly
on account-of-my intimate knowledge of many
vents narrated bySoii as I was one of the boys
oming up along with you and know that all
you ga^y i^.typq,, pod .that much .more.oouhl* be
said without exaggeration. Those were great
days for us and it is certainly wonderful the
■hanges that have come in so short a time—
it does really seem.a short time since you and 1
wejje boys, and the country school, the all day
sing, the log meeting house, cane-grinding', and
such things, were just as you narrate."
A FRIEND WHO HELPS.
\yashington. D. C.. Feb. 20. 1918.
My Dear Herring: I received "Saturday
Night Sketches” Thursday and read a. few
pages to see how it read in a book, though I had
read some of the chapters in the Gazette, and
was so impressed and pleased that I took the
book with me to Capitol Hill the next morning'
and showed it to ohe Senator and five Con
gressmen with the result thnt every one of
them want a copy and asked me to write you
-Legend them one. Send me one copy for each
Hon. Hoke Smith. U. S. Senate.
Hon. J. Randall Walker. House Representa
tives,
Hon. W. W. Larsen. House Representatives.
Tlop. W. & Wright. House Representative
Hen. J. W. Wise. House Representatives, and
Hon. Gordon Lee. Care Mrs. Lee. The New
Cochran.
I might have sold every congressmani-from
the state and to most of them from the South
if I had seen them or were a “reg’lar” book
ngpnt. I have done each of them as great
n favor as T wanted to do for you. and they
will nnnreclate It when they have read a few
navps of the book.
Good Health *and prosperity, dear John.
Sincerely.
J E. Mercer
A Gripped
From the Moultrie Observer. | _ Every winter Health,
The Tifton Gazette has for many months wam against this
been running a series of articles—one appear- disease which often
ing each Saturday afternoon—under the head-' those who are least
ing “Saturday Night.” ' -----
The articles are tales of the long ago, and
have been written by Editor John L. Herring of
the Gazette- They are human interest sketches
dealing with country life in South Georgia forty
years ago. Quite a difference in country life of
this section now and that of forty years ago.
Editor Herring was “brought up” back in the
seventies and eighties. He was native to an in
teresting time and an interesting country. The
place of his boyhood experiences was the broad
expanse of sparsely settled and heavily timber
ed lands lying between Moultrie, Sylvester,
Camilla and Tifton; though there was precious
li**!e Moultrie, just a dot of a Camilla and little
or no Sylvester, in those days to mark the cor
ners or boundaries of this vast field of youthful
operations- As for Tifton, that wasjv-matter of
prophesy altogether. Maybe if'one had at-
tef. pted to locate Herring’s botse of operations
in his youthful days he would have pointed it
out as the “interior” southeast of Albany. Al
bany was the North Star that marked the way
for most of the mariners of that territory north
of Moultrie forty and fifty years ago.
The childhood experiences of Editor Herring
—and take it from us. they were many and var
ied and lively—form the basis of the sketches, or
Saturday Night stories. The stories have at
tracted, much attention, and have been widely
copied. In response to a general demand, they
have been (the best of them) published in book
form. The Observer is in.receipt of a copy of
the new book “Saturday Night Sketches” ju-,*
off the Gorham Press, Bos'.on.
The stories that make up the book are so sup
ply and attractively told, as to lead the reader
on from pAge to page with'an interest tha t it
rarely experienced in reading a new book The'
author as a boy must have l>een a.close observer.
His memory is perfect.-and he relates in an eas*
and artful strain that is very pleasing His
tales are really pen-pictures of country life of
the long ago. and those who have personal
knowledge of Jhe times and country where the
scenes were enacted .find something within them
bearing witness to the fact that they a*e true
pictures. ^—».
Saturday Night Sketches will be read with es
pecial interest b.u-JiujKlreds' of people, in Col-
nuitt county who are more of less familiar with
he times, the scenes and many of the people
dealt with in the sketches.
.CHARLIE BEATTY.
Moultrie, Feb. 21.—Charlie Beat
ty, for several years postmaster 4t
Moultrie, died Inst night. He haa
-been ill for several weeks. The fun
eral occured from the First Baptist
Church this afternoon.. Mr. Beatty
wns 47 years aid and had been a re
sident of Moultrie for twenty-five
years. Prior to his appointment as
postmaster He was in the mci)0*Jitil*
ku&inest. His widow and two chlid-
tn survive Mm. /■
“SATURDAY N’CHT SyF.TCHF.S."
’As r
p-
kling
:• 1 ■
< the dew-
the wire-
clear and spark)*
'Saturday Night
Sketches.” by Mr. J. L. Herring, editor of tin
Tifton Gazette.’ has just been issued from th*
Gorham Press. Boston.
‘Saturday Night Sketches" is a compilation
of splendid articles written by Mr. Herring
that have appeared in the Gazette from time
to time during the past several years. They
tell 6f events of other days and other times—
and times that few of the present genera
tion have the slighest conception — of the
pioneer days in the wiregrass region jf south
‘Mr. Herring fells The reader whv the book
was published. He says: “To tell posterity
something of a people who havo, passed. To
put in' form more permanent than tradition
something of those' hArdv pioneers who initia
ted the development of a wilderness into a land
of fertility and 'plenty. Something of how they
lived loved and died: of the manners,-and,
customs'oF a people primitive, industrious and
God-fearing Only a few are left who knew
them. . Soon they, toft, will be gone- It was
not with an object so comprehensive that the
sketches began. The first were written, as so
many things are written, without objective—
with only the feeling of a story to Tell, thnt
newspaper men so well know—but as they
grew in number and scope, the idea of pub
lishing them in book fqrm was first suggested
by others who likewise knew of the genera-
iton of whom they told, and these suggestions
grew until a sense of duty to those who are
gone as well as to the literature of a people
culminated -In the volume, which is submitted
with termeritv. because no , one can realize
more keenly than the aothor its shortcom-
ings” . -
This is the reason why Mr. Herring has pub
lished the book, and the reason why he has
. ailed it by the title he has—"Saturday Ni«riit
Sketches"—is stated as follows: “Saturday
night in the Southland is a semi-colon; a
breaching space between the work of the week
and-the devotions of the morrow. A time for
the young of me> rymaking and social inter
course; for the old of retrospection. There
fore. in this halting between the going and the
coming week, the mind of the man past life’s
meridian flits back to the days that are gone
—to those who peopled them; and in memory,
the dead live again.”
No better reason either for the publication
orrihe title of the hook could be (riven. And
it is all that its author claims for it in these
brief outlines. In this volume, covering more
*han three hundred pairs, are contained morp
♦ban fiftv of these sketches of events and peo-
n’r of other days and times, and they are a
'rtithful portrayal of them
EDITOR HERRING’S "SATURDAY NIGHTS.’
Forgot What Ha Nead.d.
From the Republican, ML Giliad.
Qbi* Fh* editor had an ^interesting
•xpe: nca none timo ago. when a
young gentlpXian come to thU office
aRJ »«lcaci for a copy of the Morrow
County Republican. He scrutinized it
a-efully when n copy was handed
Jin, and then aaid: "Now I know!"
■What is it you are looking for.” wo
inquired. “My wife sent me after
bottle of Chamberlain's Cough
Remedy, and I forgot the name,
went to several stores and the clerk*
named over-everything in the line on
the shelf except “Chamberlain’s.'' HI
try agni'n. and I’ll never go home
without Chamberlain's Cough Reme
dy." The Republican would suggest
to tho, proprietors of stores, that they
post tlpeir clerks, and never let them
tute. Customers lose faith in
. 'where substituting is per-
say nothing of the injus-
From the Macon News.
Iff is not any mere perfunctory courtef.
born of-the free-masonry of the proas. which i
impels us to say that Editor John L. Herring, tice to ranker* of gyod goods and the
of The Tifton Gazette, has trade a distinct con- disappointment of customers.- ad.
trilution to American literature in his collec-
tion of "Saturday Night Sketches” which 1 as dave KING, FITZGERALD,
i .ist been issued in attractive book form. | M? David King, a brother of Mea*-
The sketches which originally appeared in ,«• w A nnd Tom King, of thl*
the Saturday issues of The Tifton Gazette at-.county died at Fitzgerald Tueaday.
tracted wide atteriflon and the public demand The body was brought to Tifton
for their preservation in book form induced th*> * ml ' uken t0 Zion ,Io P e cemetery,
author to bring them out- jwh^re interment took place Wcdnea-
It Is a commonplace to say th- -literature-morning.
1 Air King v
s the manners and |
customs of a people, and more particularly
when those phases of life are vanishing, is the
literature which is best worth while. The life
»f the pioneers of the wiregriss region of Geor
gia offered such a field, and no man could have
l- en better qualified to write of it than Editor
Herring, who could sav. "All this I saw, and
of much 1 was a part." Ile-has not revamped
the bookish descriptions of others, but has-
drawn his inspiration from life as he found it.
The author is not pretentious either in style
in substance, and therein lies the chief charm
of this book. He writes of homely wavs in
homely words that have the savor of the soil.
With a gift which no mere study of methods
could-impart, he picks, out the salient and vi
tal features in the old days which have passed
vay, and paints n picture in a phrase.
The very first sketch in the volume con
jures up^for us a typical Saturday night in the
remote rural districts, be'fore the railway and
automobile canu;. and when .the traveler
ivb« h ad-been to Trim-on or Atlanta was a globc-
Trofier. Tfii* farm boy who "washed up" with
hbme-made soap, after the week's hard toil,
and went to s.ee the girl of his choice, dressed
in -» clean, homo-laundered shir!, his brogan
■shoes of serviceable cowhide pSfiaKeH with a
bat of suet and soot, belonged to a\ype which
has Ml but passed away. And the supper with
v.-hich she regaled him. consisting of collard
riven-. flanked with home-raised bacon, of
biscuits and buttermilk and sweet potatoes;
the long table with benches on either side,
while the father and mother sat at the head and
foot of the table—it is a vision which many of
us can remember.
But it would be unfair to the author to at
tempt a description of the delicious flavor of
the story- The very titles of these sketches
arc sufficient to let the reader know what h>
nas to expect. "The Song of the Redeemed.'
“When the Debaters -Mob" "Cane Grinding
Time.” “When We Put Jim A ♦ay." "Foddef-
Pullirig Time.” “Grandma's Spinning Wheel
‘‘The Cape Jessamine," “Corn Liquor and Tutts
Pills.” "The County Site Removal Election.”
'Cutting a Bee Tree,” “The Old China’Grove,"
‘A Log-Rollin’-and-Quiltfn’ Frolic.” and “The
Revival’s Close ” These are but a few of the
subjects, which sureJy must pique the appetite
oLany man who has a taste for true literature.
We have no hesitation in saying thal Ihev
are the equal of Longstroet's “Georgia Scene's."
Major Jones’ Courtship.” and. surpass the
best of Bill Arp.
It is gratifying to know that the books are
to be placed on s^le at local bookstores, but
they will also be distributed by the author him
self who will feel satisfied if he can “break
even” on the enterprise in addition to having
rendered what he feels and what all his
friends feel, is a service s to the history of
splendid a people as ever lived, and whose
fashion of life has for the most part become
a memory
x nl.out 5-1 year* old.
and wns born nnd r
tion. Ho was twice married,
Icaviu^a- large family, several o
older children, who were girl*, b
Installing a Model 14 linotype, we offer our
Model K machine, in use three yeartror sale.
Write £he Gazette for price and terms.
For
Weak
Women
I n use for ov er 40 yeani
Thousands ol voluntary
letters trom women, tell
ing of the good Cardul
has done them. ThU U
the best proof ol the value
oi Cardui. It proves lhat
Cardui is a good medicine
for women.
There are no harmful or
habit,-forming drugs in
Cardui. ft-is composed -
only oi mtld, medicinal
ingredients, with no bad
alter-eft ects.
TAKE
CARDUI
The Woman’s Tonic
You can rely on CarduL
Surely it will do for you
what it has done lor so
many thousands of other
womenl It should help.
"I was tadh tick,
teemed to be . . .
write* Mrs. Mary E.Ve*1e,
of Madison Heights, Va.
“1 got down so weak,
could hardly walk . . .
just staggered around.
. I read of Cardui,
attef taking one bol-
or before taking quite
all, I telt much better. I
took 3 or 4 bottles at
that time, and was able to
do my work. I take It In
the apring when run
down. I had no appeille,
and I commenced eating.
II in the best tonic 1 ever
eaw.” ' Try CarduL
and af
tie: or
All Druggists
\ 23S2S^S i