Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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LANGDON L. BOOZER. 'I Short Sketch of His Life and Un timely Death. Langdon Luther Boozer, old est child of Luther D. and Emma A. Boozer, was born in the lower part of New berry county, near Prosperity, Sep tember 23, 1883, and was killed at Chester by W. E. Perry March 27, 1905. His earthly life covered the brief span of 21 years, 6 months, and 4 days, but his was a life that left a record of uprightness of character, honesty, and truthfulness that may well be emulated by all, both young and old. He was always in the Sun day School from the time he could re cite a lesson, and united with the Zion Methodist church when ' was thirteen years old. His father m '-ed to a farm in Laurens county, near Kinards. three or four years ago and since that. time the family has been identified with Sharon Methodisct church, at Kinards. Langdon clerked in the Blalock store at Goldville for about a year, but in June, 1904, he went to Wylie Cotton mills at Chester as junior partner and manager of the mill store with Mr. Hardin. the superintendent of the cotton mills. Here, as in all other places he had lived, he won the esteem and confi dence of every one by his integrity of character. He soon found con genial work in one of the Sunday Schools as assistant superintendent and teacher of a class. His young manhood gave promise of much good and usefulness to his fellow-men, and great comfort and helpfulness to his parents-yet, in a moment, the twink ling of an eye, death claimed him by the hand of a reckless man who -had already killed one man and cut an other badly. How heartless and ut terly hardened in sin must be the human being who can shoot another down without provocation, and he an innocent, unarmed boy! This man Perry, according to the testimony of witnesses, accused Langdon of knowing that Mr. Har din had kept four dollars of his mill wages to pay an account which he owed at the store. Langdon told him that -he knew nothing of it and for 'him to wait and see Mr. Hardin for explanations. He persisted in insult ing remarks, and told Langdon to come out of the store and he would settle the affair. He being a stronger man and somewhat under the influ ence of whiskey besides, Langdon told him he did not want any fuss with him or any fight either. At that he took out his pistol, and, when Langdon said that cowards carried pistols, he said, "I will show you whether I am a coward or not," and fired the fatal shots which ended a noble young life and brought heart breaking grief and agony to fond parents, brothers and sisters. Oh, the pity of it! The pity of it! One so young and so full of promise to be cut down in the bloom of life and the flower of young manhood by the cowardly act of that murderer! A bullet does its terrible work no f matter how low and base the man may be who pulls the trigger, or how full of glad expectancy and hopes of a useful life the one who falls a vic tim. May this thought bring consolation to the bereaved ones-their boy was not in anger and not responsible for the horrible occurrence. They know that he .had always tried to do right and was undoubtedly living as a Christian must live in order to re ceive the heavenly reward of life eter nal. His remaine were carried to his home and laid to rest in th'e Sharon church yard at Kinards, WVednesday, March 29, 1905 Besides his parents, he leaves five brothers and three sisters to mourn his untimely deat'h, and to long for the day to come when the ever ready pistol and direful influence of liquor will be banished from our fair land, They have the heart-felt sympathy ol many friends in this sad time of sor row over the loss of a most dearly loved son and brother. S. P. Prosperity, April 3, 1905 All men are liars, more or less mostly more. Distance oft lends enchantment to GEN. MILES' CHARACTER. Further Light Shed Upon it by the Story of "A Girl, A Piano And Gen. Miles." Norfold Landmark. The following ;-uable and stirring war reminiscence was written by a prominent lady of Portsmouth and read at a recent meeting of the Portsmouth chapter of the Dauthers of the Confederacy. It is now pub lished at the request of many ex-Con federates, ladies and gentlemen, who wish the paper preserved in perma nent form. The address follows: Now that Gen. Miles is -so promi nently in the public eye, it may be well for me to recall, and give per manence to, my experience with him just after the war. I must premise, however, by a lit tle personal history which will be necessary to a proper understanding of the matter. In January,. 1862, my mother, dreading the probable occupancy of our home by the Yankees, sent my sis:er and myself to Tuskaloosa, Ala., where our brother-in-law, Mr. S., was principal of a female college. In May, 1862. Norfolk and Portsmouth were evacuatedad ain June my mother, whose three sons were in the army, went by flag of truce to Richmond, where she could be in communica tion with them. The house in which she was living at the time was left in possession of her daughter, Mrs. B., who for some time past had been living with us. In 1864, by order of Gen. Veile, this house, with its furniture, was taken possession of, and soon after wards the whole of my mother's property was seized and turned over to the freedman's bureau. Upon requisition of Gen. B. F. But ler, my piano, with various other ar ticles of furniture, was sent to Fort ress Monroe, Butler being at that time commandant of that depart ment. In September, 1865, after my moth er had succeeded in recovering her house, my sister and I returned from Alabama, too happy to be home again to mind the bareness which -confront ed us on every side. But I soon found myself longing for my piano, and devising means by which it might be returned to me. My brothers, having all fought for the Confederacy to the end, were powerless to help, so in me devolved the burden of making the effort. My mother longed for her com fortable beds, but I, with the feeling "Give me the luxuries and I will do without the necessaries," would ex claim "I will sleep on the floor if I can get my piano." Then began a most active corres pondence with all officials w&% it was thought could aid me, the details of which I will not give, although sev eral of the letters are now in my possession; but the result was an or der from President Johnson that the furniture, wherever found, should, if identified, be returned to us. A sofa, recognized while looking through a window at a ball which was being held at the Macon House, was given us by order of t'he general command ing at Norfolk, Va. I have the writ ten order, signed by the acting adju tant general; but the name is such a scrawl that I cannot decipher it, except the first name, which is John. Knowing that most of the furni ture had been sent to Fortress Mon roe, my mother mare this her first ob jective point, and, accompanied by my eldest sister, began her quest. It gives me pleasure to say that with a few exceptions those to whom we applied for information gave us willing help, and even showed decid ed interest in the recovery of our be longings. This emboldened us to be lieve that we should have no trouble in securing whatever of our property we might find within the fort, but it remained for Gen. Miles to teach us that a southern girl had no rights which he was bound to respect or al low. He had succeedded Gen .Butler in command at Fortress Monroe, and the mantlk at the immortal Ben had descended upon him, and was most worthily worn. The f'rst day's search was without result, and again my mother and sis ter started forth, this time I accom panying them. I recall here a little incident of this my first visit to the fort after some inquiries of a soldier who was on guard, and he, thinking doubtless that we were mere sight-seers pointed somewhere in the distance and said: "There is where old Jefi Davis was in prison." Indignant as we were to hear this beloved name so profanely spoken, we took no no tice of it, but I can see now the crim son flush that rose to my mothe:r'S cheeks as a moment later she turn ed to him, and, with head erect, said: "Where did you say that Presideni Davis was imprisoned?" The mar evidently caught the humor of the situation, for he laughed heartily and again pointed out the spot. The first house we entered aftei arriving at the fort was that of Dr. Craven, whose kindness to Presideni Davis should never be forgotten by any southern heart. Mrs. Craven was entertaining a party of ladies in the parlor, and as we entered we recognized at once our own parlor carpet on the floor. My sister impulsively cried, "Why here is our carpet." Then, begging Mrs. Craven's pardon, she explained the situation to her, and on giving our authority for the search, we were assured that the carpet would be re stored to us. It was there when they took posession of the house, and they knew nothing of its ownership. It was sent to us without delay. While here I chanced to mention that a Capt. McEwan had shown us some favor-I do not recall just whal it was-when one of the ladies ex claimed: "Poor Capt. McEwan!' and I knew from her tone that the vials of Gen. Miles' wrath would be poured on the head of "poor Capt McEwan" for daring to show us ever so slight a courtesy. I fancy that the general's official household ofter found that life was not "all bear and skittles." But still the piano, that ignis fat uus, while seemingly within oui grasp, would vanish away at our ap proach, for every obstacle was placed in the way of our obtaining or ever seeing it. We knew beyond a doub1 that it was in Gen. Miles' possessior but although we went armed with the order from the president, and having the list of missing articles which was furnished us at the quartermaster'. department, on one pretext or anoth er we were turned away empty-hand ed. Once, after what seemed a most convincing identification, we return ed home full of hope that in a fey days we should see the full fruitior of our labors, only to be followed by an official notification from Gen Miles that the piano had been claim ed by another party, and that wher definite (spelt definate.) claims had been established the matter would be attended to. Undismayed, we wrote and asked the name and residence oi the claimant. The name was with held, but Alexandria was given as the place of residence. Our next move was to the quartermaster in Norfolk from whom wve received the informa tion that the piano was seni to Gen. Butler from Ports' :outh, thus entirely disproving the :laim of the party from Alexan' dia, if any really had been made. Surely, now, nothing could be be tween me and my coverted piano. It was a clear, bright December day when we again started on our quest. The trip to Portsmouth tc Old Point was quickly made, and as we passed from house to ho-use with' in the fort, we saw everywvhere hap' py preparations for the Christmas sc near at hand. The crimson berries and glossy. leaves of the holly, the fragrant pine and the spicy cedai were everywhere in evidence, and as I stopped and picked up a bough which had been dropped in my path my sister said: "What have you, A?' "Oh, these are my palms of victory,' I replied. Short-sighted mortal. ] did not then know Gen. Miles. At short walk brought us once more tc his headquarters. At our ring at the bell, an orderly appeared, and witha most cheerful confidence I said, "We have come to see the piano in Ge~n Miles' house." Conceive, if you car the dismay with which I heard thE words, "Gen. Miles has given per' emptory orders that no one shall be allowed to see the piano." Helpless I stood before this roya) decree, and for the first time felt a real sense of bitter discouragement. My resources hal all been exhausted, and now to whom would I turn? "I Miles may command at Fortre: Monroe, but Gen. Terry comman Virginia." So once more my cry f< belR was. sent to him, and speedi I received a reply, which I coT verbatim. (The original is in 1r posession.) "Richmond, Dec. 9, 1865. "Madame: I have the honor tn a knowledge the receipt of your lett< of December ist. "Maj. Gen. Miles has received ft instructions with regard to the ma ter of which you. write, and if y< will apply to him again I think y< will have no difficulty in recoverir whatever part of your property m, be at Old Point. "Very Respt. Yr. Obt. Servt., "Alfred P. Terry, "Major General. "Miss A. V. T., Norfolk, Va." Armed with this letter, again w; the trip to Old Point made, and proved to be the "open sesame," fi the forbidden doors were no long closed to use, Gen. Miles evident having received orders as peremptoi as those he had given. There in h parlor was the piano I had been vai: ly seeking for months, and unmindf of the nen who were congregated the room, I flew to it and the sti ring notes of "Dixie" rang from i ivory keps. I did not play well was too excited for that-but it w; I"Dixie," and that was enough. TI tune was again wedded to the ke: from which it had been so long se arated. An interview with one in commai resulted in the promise that the piai should be immediately shipped, ai that I should be notified of the tin of shipment; so home I came, wai ing, longing, to have the lost trea ure again in possession. Days passe and then I remembered that when was promised that the piano shou be sent at once, one of the soldie said: "Gen Miles is going to have party soon, and I don't think you w get that piano before then." So tried to possess my soul in patien< But when a week went by and i word had come from Old Point n thought was, "Can it be possible tb the doughty Gen. Miles is still kee ing up the warfare he has been wa ing against a defenseless girl?" seemed so, and slowly, but sure hope was dying in my heart, wh the report came that a piano had % left on a wharf at Norfolk, and : one knew to whom it belonge There it had remained exposed to t: wintry weather, unclaimed, uns3h tered, until the rumor of it coming our ears, my brother went over al identified it, and soon it found a w< come in the home which had shelte ed it before "grim-visaged war" h: made that home a desolate, forsak< abode. There it still remains, an although like Tara's harp the soul music seems dead within it, y around it still lingers the memory those days of 1861, when "Dixie "My Maryland," "Bonnie Blue Flag "On to Richmond," etc., rang out its tuneful accompaniment. And now, after many years it h; mutely suggested the story, "A Gi: a Piano, and General Miles." January a4, 1905. A. T. P. Deception. A tramp in a down-town street a costed a business man the other da and, in a most piteous tone whined: "Could you spare a dime for a m: whose two hands are paralyzed ai can't do no work?" "I'm deaf," replied the man, kind] "Write down what you have to saj The tramp looked surprised. "Det eh," he muttered to himself. "We here goes." So he wrote on the bal of a letter furnished by the busine man the following: "I've got a wife and six childr< starvin' at home, and I've been out work a year. I'm in a drefful state destertution ' - He handed the scrip to the busine man, who, after reading it, said: thought yot:. said you were paralyz in both hands and yet you can writ' "Durn it," exclaimed the train 'didnt ye's say ye were deaf?" "Yes, just to find out if you we an imposter, as I suspected," was ti reply of the business man as he tur: ed away. "You ain't no gen'leman for impo ing on a poor devil," yelled the trarr after the man. It's an easy matter to 'get satisfa tion by going to law-if you are Make Your Own r Ice Cream. y There has just been placed in a the gr..p y tores,a new preparation called Je Ice Cream POWDER 'which is meeting with great favor, ase it enha eezpne to make ice cream in their own home wi2k 7eryttltrouble. Everythinginthepackageforma igtoquarts of delicious cecream. If yovrgrocAML can-tup yusend25c.fortwopk9.yma&LVa= ila, Stawberry and1fiavored. Ad&eas The Geneoo , Box 295, Le Roy.. >u Just received 2 car loads of Buggies. I car load of )r Wagons. and a lot of up U to-date and first r class Harness. ts -I All to be had at t REASONABLE PRICES af rs - A T. BROWN. id o Why Rob Yourself of More; d Than 3 Cents per Pound. On Cotton? Do you want to get from 10 ' to 11 cents for cotton next fall Id while other cotton only brings rs 6 1-2 to 7 cts? a Do you want to grow cotton that will bring a difference irr. price sufficient to more thanj e pay for the picking and fertilizer? In fact will almost cover the en at tire expense of making1the crop? p- If so, I can furnish you the, g- seed. Every ten bales . wilE It bring $125 00 to $150.00 more Y, than other varieties. 50 bush ! els will plant 50 to 60 acres, should make 40 to 50 ba.esr-. d. put in your pocket from $500. e 00 to $750.00. One year'sn 1- experience with these seed wili~ o ovic you that this state ment is true. I am planting: r-only Florodora this year. ~d Well bred Berkshire andi n Poland China Pigs for Sale. J. A. BURTON. et of ": Best Mineral As o phalt Rootng. C. H. CAN NON, ~Near C., N. & L. Depot. Dr. R. M. Kennedy, DENTIST. SNewberry, - - S. C OVER NATIONAL BANK. y. (Schedule in Effect January 23, r9o5-) SS Lv. Newberry........ ..2.236 p. m. Ar. Laurens ...... ... ....3.42 p... No. 2. Nb. x6. nDaily. Ex. Suw.. aLv. Laurens...........-- .50 p. m. 6-55-P. W. Ar. Greenwood.......... 2.46 p. m. 8.5 p. m: >f Ar. Augusta...... ...--5.20 p. m. Ar. Anderson . ......7.1o p. ms No. 30. Nb. 4a. SDaily. Daily. Lv. Augusta.............o.30p--.m~ 235 . .m.. Ar. Allendale..........3... 2.27 p. mn. 4 y>g' in. ,JAr. Fairfax ..... .. ......32.39 p. in. 4.41'g. in.. Ar. Charleston ............. 7.0p. m.. - Ar. Beaufort............----.....-. 3 p. m. Ar.* Port Royal............ .. ...... 4 p. m.. Ar. Savannah...........2.250 . in. 4gp. 2... Ar. Waycross ............. 6.05 a. m. 1eoi-' . .. re Ar. Jacksonville.. ........8.40 a. n. .....,. ie 10 o. L- V. Larn.. ............Da7pi. 7.0asm. Ar. Spartanburg..--.-.... 3-30p. m-. 9-45a. in. SDaily. - x -i Lv. Laurens............. 2 ogp.in. 8.cooa. L9 Ar: Greenville .-..--.- . --3.25 p. mn. 10 2aa m. Through Pullman Car Service between Au gusta and Jacksonville, Fla. C. H. GASQUE, Agt., Laurens, S. C. c- GEO. T. BEAN Gen't Agt-., Greenville S. C. NST WILMS GI.P. Agt.,Aug*Az-.