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VOL. 4.
A BRAVE TEXAN.
The Story Connected with a Lonely
Grave near Newberry, S. C.
A little mound near the cotton
mills in Newberry, S. C., covers the
remains of one who has left an
eternal monument to the south’s
chivalry. His name is unknown.
Immediately after the close of the
war the negro troops belonging to
Sherman’s army were marched by
different routes to Port Royal and
Charleston, there to be disbanded.
The night of which I speak, a regi
ment of negro troops were encamp
ed in Newberry, near the railroad
depot.
The town had been plundered,
and her citizens subjected to all the
indignities that a drunken negro
mob could offer. A goverment train
was then running from a point
twenty-five miles north of Columbia
to Greenville to carry soldiers and
refugees as near their homes as
possible. This night as the train
slowed up at the depot, it was im
mediately surrounded by a drunken,
howling crowd of negro soldiers. On
board the train were two ladies.
The negroes swarmed through the
cars like a set of demons set free
from the infernal regions, while
white soldiers on board were help
less and at their mercy. What a
place for two helpless women with
' out friends or protectors.
In the coach with the ladies was
a soldier, and from his dress and
demeanor, one would judge him to
be from Texas. He was tall and
stately, piercing black eyes, while
his massive head of hair, well be
came his brawny face. He plainly
showed that he had been a deter
mined follower of the lost cause.
In their wild carouse, one of the
drunken negroes came to where the
ladies sat, and commenced to offer
insults and indignities to the young
er, too revolting in its nature for
rehearsal. In trying to release her
self from his loathsome embrace,
she cried out in despair, “My God,
have Ino friend; will no one pro
tect me? - ’ In a moment a voice
was heard in the rear end of the
coach; “Yes, I will protect you if
I die for it.” The tall form of the
unknown Texan was seen rapidly
approaching along the aisle. His
eyes shone in the dim light like
these of the wild beast ready to
spring upon its prey. The keen
blade of a knife was seen to glitter
above his head and with a mighty
blow was buried to its hilt in the
breastof the black ruffian. With a
wild yell he leaped from the car
and fell dead upon the sidetrack.
The stranger quietly walked out
of the coach at the other end, and
stepped a few paces away, under
cover of the darkness, and waited
developments. He had not long to
wait. All the imps of darkness
turned loose, could not have equall
ed the uproar and tumult this deed
created. Word flew' to camp that
one of their comrades had been
murdered by a confederate soldier.
A wild jush was made for the train,
and for a few moments it looked as
if all on board would be put to
death. Search was made for the
murderer, declaring that if found,
he should be shot at once, The
stranger stood but a few feet away,
quietly listening to his death sen
tence, as the soldiers mad.y rushed
by. At last one declared he had
found the man ; he seized one of the
officials of the railroad, and others
coming up, with equal positiveness
swore to his identity. Violent
hands were lain upon the innocent
man, while the drunken mass that
crowded around him seemed as if
they would crush him to death.
His vain pleadings of innocence
were drowed by the wild yells of the
surging crowd. He was being car
ried away for execution. Where
was the unknown Texan? He had
shown his courage, now would he
waver in the face of immediate
THE CHATTOOGA NEWS.
death? With his hand he had pro
tected the person of defenceless
women, by dyeing it in the blood of
her assailants, would he stand by
and see an innocent man die in his
stead? With 'calm deliberation,
without any emotion whatever, he
made his way to the maddening
crowd, and with a loud voice, said:
“Turn this man loose, he is inno
cent. I am the one who did it—now
do your worst!” This gave new
impetus to the drunken crowd, and
he was hurried away to camp. A
drumhead courtmartial was conven
ed, and he was condemned to be
immediately shot. While be was
being tried, word flew like lightning
over the town that a white man was
to be shot, and every negro that
could possibly go, came rushing into
camp and surrounded the brave
Texan, offering him every insult
and indignity that their wicked
souls could invent. The negro
women outdid the men in rejoicing
over the fate of the prisoner. Even
the bloodthirsty and cruel Queen
Esther could not have rejoiced more
over her captives.
At half-past twelve a spade was
given the condemned and ordered to
dig his grave. Selecting a spot near
the brow of the hill, he commenced
the heartrending task of digging
his own grave. Spadeful after
spadeful was thrown up, till three
feet is reached. Then, standing
erect and stretching out his arms,
he said : “I am ready.” A breath
less stillness for a moment prevail
ed. The command fire was given—
a volley rings out, and the brave
Texan falls dead in his grave, amid
the deafenning shouts of the multi
tude, leaving behind him the grand
est tribute to southern chivalry—
that no other land under the sun
rear men who give their lives to
protect the honor of unknown wom
en.
Politeness in Mexico.
In GuaMalajara when you enter a
street car you are expected, before
taking your seat, to bow, hat in
hand to your fellow passengers,
none of whom you have ever before
seen. Arrived at your destination,
you must rise, smile a friendly fare
well to the car in general, shake
hands with the conductor and, with
a polite inclination of the head, take
leave of the driver. And yet Guad
alajara is the Boston of Mexico.—
Ex.
“Dose: ”
A New York doctor says tha f
the great majority of physicians
prescribe too large doses, and that
the great majority of patients take
at least one-fourth more for a dose
than directed. The better way
would seem to be to make yourself
a tonic of burdock and molasses
and leave it down cellar in a cool
place.
The Longest River.
From its source to its mouth the
Amazon is 3,500 miles in length,
but the name Amazon is not con
tinuous, and it is called by three
different names in that space. From
its Lake Itasca source to the gulf
the Mississippi is 2,616 miles long,
and from its Missouri tributary
source to the gulf, 4,194 miles in
length.
Mr. Bink’s Demijohn
“Cornin’ Through the Rye’ is one
of the prettiest of the old-time
songs,” said Mr. Binks.
“I’ve noticed,” replied bis wife,
“that you have a fondness for com
ing through the rye. The manner
in which you managed to get
I through that demijohn you brought
home was something startling.”—
I Ex.
The Georgia railroad has been in
operation forty years, and yet never
killed a passenger or had a mort
gage on its property. It is needless
l to say that all passengers over this
I line have a lonesome feeling and
i notice a lack of something.
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA, MAY 1, 18 90.
TO BE BUILT.
Construction Company Organized and
Threc-Fift&s of the Stock Taken.
Fort Payne is going to have an
other railroad and it will be a great
trunk line.
A construction Company to
build the road has already been or
ganized and three fifths of the capi
tal stock subscribed.
This line will he known as the
Fort Payne & Eastern road and
will run from some point on the
Tennessee river to the Atlantic sea
board.
It will include the ten miles of
mineral road already built by the
Fort Payne Coal & Iron Co., and
now in successful operation.
The following from the Boston
Herald fully explains the situation :
“Theimmense development which
there is every indication will follow
the investment of Northern capital
in the iron mines of Alabama and
other Southern States has led to
the formation of an enterprise by
Northern capitalists which promi
ses to give the iron-making regions
of the South a short and direct in
dependant line to tidewater upon
the Atlantic coast. In fact, a con
struction company has been formed
and three-fifths of its capital stock
subscribed, with the object in view
of constructing a railroad some 100
miles in length between Fort Payne
the ‘Electric City’ of Alabama, and
Port Royal S. C., well known for its
excellent harbor. Charleston, S.
C., however, has awakened to the
importance of such a connection
with the iron manufacturing re
gions of the interior, as this road
would be, and will very likely offer
inducements that may change the
ocean terminus from Port Royal,
to Charleston. The ten miles of
road which the Fort Payne Coal &
Iron Company has recently con
structed to connect its coal mines
with the furnace and coke ovens in
Fb Payne will be the first section of
the new road to the coast. A branch
will be .constructed between Fort
Payne and Decatur upon the Ten
nesse river, where connections can
be made with railroad systems
reaching a vast territory beyond.
Connections will also be made with
Birmingham and Chattanooga and
other manufacturing cities as they
develop in the future.
“The parties who are embarking
in this enterprise have great confi
dence in the future mineral devel
opment of the South. They take
the position that it has been estab
lished beyond doubt that iron can
be manufactured there cheaper
than in other sections of the coun
try; in fact, cheaper than England
itself can manufacture in the near
future. Then again, uhe railroads
of the South are gradually consoli
dating into one or two huge systems
and in view of the large invest
ment of Northern capital in that
section it is deemed advisable to
have an independent route to the
coast, which will be useful in check
ing the rapacity of the present
combinations,' some of which do
not take that interest in aiding the
development of the South which
common interests would seem to
demand of them.”—Ft. Payne Her
ald.
No Affidavits.
Crofton, naturalist and geologist,
says that there was darkness over
the world for a space of 600 years
during the formation of the earth,
with flashes of lightning and peals
of thunder at intervals of five min
utes. You can believe this or not,
just as you happen to feel about it.
Mr. Crofton has no affidavits to
publish.
Hasty wards often rankle the
wound which injury gives; but soft
words assuage it, forgiving cures it
and forgetting takes away the scar.
—Tupper.
SENATOR STEWART.
Funny Examples of the Neva da
Senator's Remarkable Abse: at-
Mindedness.
It is asserted by friends of Sen
ator Stewart, of Nevada, that if his
absence of mind could be cu t into
strips and pasted together, end to
end, it would reach twice around
illimitable space and tie a double
bow knot. Out on the slope they
useOt'o tell a story of how lie was
hasWning one morning to catch a
train, ’when he suddenly stopped
and said to his companion.:
“There, by thunder, I’ve left my
watch under my pillow.”
“Letjj go back and get it,” said
his friend.
“Hold on,” replied the Senator,
“I don’t believe we’ll have time,”
and he drew’ the watch from his
pocket, looked carefully at the face
of it, counted the moments and
added : “No, we won’t have time,”
and pressed on toward the station,
saying: “Oh, well, I guess I can
get along for a day without a
watch.”
It is also related that Senator
Stewart dressed himself at a hotel
one morning, putting his vest on
wrong side out, and in a few mo
ments presented bimsel at the of
fice, excitedly rubbing the place
wherq the pockets ought to be and
complaining that he had been rob
bed.
It might have been believed that
these tales ivert works of imagina
tion had not the Senator himself
one day this week given testimony
to their truth. The Clerk of the
Senate was monotonously calling
the roll on some question in which
Senator Stewart was not interested.
The Senator sat with his elbows on
his dpsk, his cheeks upondiis hands
ancMiis eyes fixed upo« ¥ vacancy,
whither his mind had gunk
“Mr. Stewart,” the Clerk called.
There was a moment of tsilence.
Senator Stewart continued tq look
at nothing. ' |
“Mr. Stewart,” the clerk called
again, but Mr. Stewart did not hear
him.
A brother Senator sitting near
reached over and touched him. The
light of consciousness was just re
turning to the dreamer’s eyes, when
the clerk shouted once more: “Mr.
Stewart 1”
“I pass,” said the Senator from
Nevada. —Ex.
Willin’ to “Drap the Case.”
A good story is told of an old
negro in Albany, who was brought
up on a charge of stealing, and
tried in superior court during Judge
Wright’s time.
The case was presented to the
court by a prominent young attor
ney, the solicitor, and the old negro
was ordered to stand up.
“Have you a lawyer?” asked the
court.
“Naw sah 1”
“Are you able to employ one?”
“Naw sab !”
“Do you want a lawyer to defend
your case?”
“Not pertickler, sah.”
“Weil, what do you propose to
do about the case?”
“We-11-11,” with a yawn as if
wearied of the thing. “I’m willin
ter drap the case, s’fur os I’m con
sarned.”
This brought down the house,
and it was some time before ord< r
could be restored.
Parsnips for a King.
King Humbert, of Italy, is a veg -,
etarian, and getting hold of some
American parsnips the other day
he liked them so well that he or-;
dered ten barrels. If he only had :
some of our carrots and rutabagas
—yum ! yum !
Enthusiasm is the genius of sin
cerity, and truth accomplishes no
victories without it.—[Bulwer-Lyt
ton.
FAITHFUL.
Sons of Our Sunny Land Who are
Worthy of all Praise.
With each returning Decoration
Day the south sees greater cause to
honor the men who stood by her
when all seemed lost. Old animos
ities grow weaker; the one great
fact remembered is that the defeat
ed did not despair. If the Roman
senate, alter the disastrous battle
of Cannae, was justfied in voting
thanks to the defeated Varro,
“Quod de republica non desprasset,
how much more should the south
honor those who still live and those
who have died since Appomattox,
who “did not despair of the common
wealth.”
Other peoples have fought brave
ly and lost all. Other common
wealths have been as completely
crushed, and other heroes have
shown equal resignation— too of
ten, however, the resignation of
despair. But in no other country
the south can claim this with mo
dest but sure confidence—have the
defeated so resolutely faced the fu
ture, fought against misfortune
and triumphed alike over calumny
and calamity. This claim is not
rashly made. Look through all
the pages of history and you will
note that every unsuccessful revol
ution was followed by voluntary ex
ile of many of the defeated—unlike
Varro and Lee, “they despaired of
the commonwealth.
If ever men were justified in
yielding to despair, certainly the
Confederate soldiers of 18(15 wuold
have been. The ruin was appar
ently complete. An entirely new
industrial and social system was
to be built up, and this under the
fire, one may say. of a triumphant
political power. If a very few
abandoned the task in despair, they
must not be harshly judged. But
without invidous distinction, one
may name some who stood by and
fought it through to their personal
triumph and the good of their peo
ple. The career of Gen. Lee is
known to all men. Eulogy is not
needed; but many others have liv
ed to attain high honors, and still
live to prove that the true man must
conquer respect.
Doubtless the world looked "very
dark to Gen. John Brown Gordon
when the last parole had been giv
en, and, with eight wounds upon
his body, he sought his desolated
home. At the age of 33 he had
won a military fame of which the
oldest generhls might bo proud;
with equal resolution he faced the
duties of civil life, rose step by step
over all obstacles, and as governor,
United States senator and man of
affairs, his success in peace has de
lighted his friends and secured the
respect of his foes. Gen. Joseph E.
Johnston might well have thought
his misfortunes too heavy a weight
for his fifty-eight years. Yet, at
an age when most men think of re
tiring, he took up anew the battle
of life and won a success which
would have honored a vigorous
youth. When far beyond the age
allotted to man by Scripture he
filed the laborious office of com
missioner of railroads for the gen
eral government with marked suc
cess.
When Gen. Randall Lee Gibson
led his devoted brigade in so many
desperate charges against the
“H or n et s’ nest” at Shiloh, what
prophet could have convinced him
that he would one day serve with
distinguished honor the goverment
against which he was fighting, and
that he would receive special men
tion and high encomiums in “Yan
kee land” as “the south’s ablest
champion of good faith and sound
finances?” Could an angel from
heaven—to take a common phrase
—have convinced one man of either
army of such a future? Yet so it
was to be. Such a transformation
is far too-romantic for a novel. It
could onljr be set down in r< al his
i I'f'ry, and it is not easy to believe
that it could have happened in any
other country than this. Financi
ally ruined by the war, be has re
built better than before, and as the
“father of the Mississippi river im
provement policy,” and advocate of
many other forward movements, he
may yet do even better things for
his state and country.
Hon. John 11. Reagan served in
the Confederate cabinet with honor,
and serves the reunited country
with equal honor and devotion.
Gen. I’. G. T. Beauregard, modestly
declining special honors, is as dili
gent in business as he was in war.
The career of Gen. James 11. Long
street, like that of many who took
the same course after the war, has
been tho subject of severe censure;
yet the old hero lives in honored
retirement, respected alike by form
er foes and friends. The same may
be said of hundreds whose honest
views of public duty led them for a
time to part company politically
with old friends. The mention of
a few must not be taken as discrim
ination against other thousands.
In the years immediately follow
ing the civil war the victors fell
into one error from which a little
knowledge of history and human
nature should have saved them.
They ought to have known that the
bravest in war would most faith
fully observe their paroles in peace.
It is those who will neither bravely
light nor honorably surrender from
whom treachery is to be apprehend
ed. It is much to be regretted that
the mon who did the fighting among
tho Federals could not have met at
once in convention with their de
feated opponents and arranged the
terms of peace. Though it happen
ed in many cases that political
pressure aftewarus “brought a »
change, it is at once interesting
and affecting to observe that the
first impulses of the victorious sol
diers were most generous.
Gen. Grant asked no “subjuga
tion” for Lee’s veterans. He did
not cause them “to pass under the
yoke.” And when, a little later,
vengeance was threatened upon
certain Confederates, he spoke in
his quiet but most effective wav:
“It shall not be. These men have
my parole and my pledged word. I
will see to it that the terms are not
violated.” And he did. History
will in time, no doubt, modify the
I resent estimate of his military ca
reer; but with every revolvingyear
the nobility of his action after the
surrender will more and more be
appreciated. He, at least, knew
with whom he was dealing. He hid
known many of them in the “old
army.” and it never entered his
his head to doubt that when such
men as Lee and Longstreet and
Gordi n, Johnston, Gibson, and all
the rest, had passed their word of
honor, it was yea and amen. Had
the whole power of the south been
placed in their hands at once, not a
hostile shot would have been aimed
at the government.
This is the peculiar glory of the
south. On this point at least this
section may claim a just pre-emi
nence over all conquered peoples.
The Confederate veterans are now
but few. A careful estimate by a
skilled statistician has lately led
him to declare that there are not
now over 175,000 “ex-rebels” in a'l
the world, of whom but two-thirds
remain in the south. The rest are in
northern cities, the adjacent states
and the far west. But wherever
they’ are they are men. It is rare
indeed to hear of one in the ranks
of criminals. It was the bone and
sinew, the life, the blood, the spirit
of the south that went into the war.
Such men can be trusted. Long
may the veterans remain with us,
and, we need not add, long may they’
be held in honor; for if anv people
should so degenerate as to refuse
honor to such men, then might we
say that corruption had eaten out
the heart of that people and their
degradation was near at hand,
NO. 13