The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, January 25, 1912, Page 3, Image 3
m THE ONLY ONE
OUT
W Col. Robert Thompson,
Survivor of Secesi
Sixty-one 1
In an unpretentious law office in 1
Walhalla, S. C., Col. Robert Thomp- j
son, sole survivor of the 163 men
I who signed the secession ordinance
\ in Charleston nity-one years ago, i
daily attends to his still growing J
law practice.
Col. Thompson is 85 years old, but!
one would not think it to look at j
him. He has the appearance of a
soldier scarcely ripe for retirement. I
Had the outcome of the war been;
^ different his name might have been j
B blazoned in the memory of his counP
trymen as gloriously as if he had
signed the Declaration of Independence.
But Col. Thompson is glad
that the outcome was not 'different,
and his eyes fill with tears when he
tells how. glad he is. Yet he did his
duty as he saw it, has never regretted
it, and remembers with love the
* great men of the Confederacy who
fought by his &de and cast their lot
with his.
Walhalla lies snuggled among the
mountains and Col. Thompson has
assimilated somewhat of their ruggedness.
In his idle moments, which
are few, he swings his desk chair so
as to gaze at them through the window,
and he is always looking at them
when he is talking in a reminiscent*
strain.
"The great convention," he said:
not long ago, "of which I had the
honor to be a member, met at the j
1 call of the State legislature, in the
Baptist church in Columbia, Decern- j
ber 17th, 1860. There were no restrictions
barring any citizen acting
as a delegate. There were more
white headed men in that convention j
than in any gathering I have ever i
witnessed. Seriousness pervaded the i
very air. There was no disturbance,!
no violence, no haste. Every man j
/ knew what was certain to take place, j
Secession had practically been agreed
upon before the convention met.
"Every profession was represented.
There were ministers, lawyers, i
members of the legislature, members i
of congress, judges, and chancellors. |
* nf on,1 ifv fnr i
I was cuujuiiDoiuuvi vi -? :
Pickens district at the time, and j
made my home at Walhalla.
. "When the convention was called
there was a rumor about Columbia
that smallpox was rampant, and it
was decided to hold the convention
)in Charleston. We met there on the
second day in St. Andrew's hall.
During the. first day of the conven- j
tion in Columbia we organized by I
electing General D. F. Jamison, of
^ Barnwell, president, and we elected
B. F. Arthur, of Columbia, clerk.
"Upon his election, General Jami- j
v son made a ringing speech urging.
secession. On Thursday, December j
26, 1860, the great ^ordinance was ;
read in the convention. No speeches j
were made pro or con. There was |
no cheer and no debate. Articles I
were revised and amended, but none j
objected to the proposed action. At
7 o'clock in the evening the convenfr
tion met in the Institute hall. The
legislature was present, as was GovPi/>bonc
and his staff. Him
x 1VUVUM ?
dreds 'crowded into the hall and the !
streets for blocks were jammed with |
those who could not gain admission.i
"Silence brooded over all, silence
which meant more than fireworks or j
shouting or processions. I felt as if j
I must scream because of the strain. h
"Amidst an awful silence General j
Pickens rose and merely called the |
names of the different parishes and
districts represented in alphabetical
order. As each district was named,
its representative rose quietly, stepped
to a table in the centre of the
t room, and affixed his signature to
the ordinance, which had been emblazoned
on parchment.
? "When all had done so, silently
General Jamison rose and without
preamble s^id:
" 'The ordinance of secession has j
been signed and ratified, and I proclaim
the State of South Carolinaj
an independent sovereignty.' "
"Applause, stamping and shouting
shook the very building. Hats and j
canes were waved and broken. Out- j
side, fireworks boomed and crackled. !
scores of bonfires were kindled, and '
processions wound through the i
streets. The pent enthusiasm of a !
people had burst the armor of dig-j
nity and reserve which they had pre- j
served until the final step had been
taken, thinkingly, purposely.
"Soon after this history-making;
meeting, St. Andrew's, in which the ;
first ordinance was signed, was de-'
stroyed by a fire that swept a great i
portion of the city."
Col. Thompson's name appears di- j
rectly in the middle of the group ofi
signers appended to the original j
parchment of the ordinance.
"It's just the luck of the middle- j
man to be the last to plunk," he j
I
LEFT
OF THE 163 MEN
of Walhalla, S. C., Sole !
sion Ordinance of
fears Ago.
1
says about it cheerfully. 1
The colonel was born near Pendleton,
S. C., on Twelve Mile River. c
He worked hard on his father's farm 1
during his boyhood, and a peculiar (
circumstance is responsible for his i
abandoning the tilling of the soil. *
He was plowing new ground when *
the plow-share caught in the roots ^
of a heavy stump. The mule was un- *
able to draw the plow through the
tough roots, and the boy could not
drag it back. His is not the nature
to skirt around trouble. He smashes
through, and so he did with the
plow. After sufficient urging the
mule tugged so hard that the roots
snapped, the plow was jerked
through the air, and the sha^e hit
the plowman so hard a rap that he
keeled over on the ground. If he
had been older it is probable that he
would have continued his farm life,
taking the mishap philosophically,
but instead of that he went home and
told his mother that he was done
with farming life.
"Then and there," he says, "my
parents put together for me a few
small belongings, and l went on: to
Pendleton to become a printer's dev- c
il on the Pendleton Messenger." 3
Until 1858 he (Thompson) work- c
ed in different capacities on various
newspapers, and he was then ap- s
pointed commissioner of Gliuity. a
Robert Anderson Thompson back- r
ed up his action of signing the seces- t
sion ordinance by volunteering for v
the Confederate army, and later in s
the reconstruction period, entering t
tbp war as a commissioned officer he c
rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel
for bravery in the held. Of this it
is very difficult to persuade .Col.
Thompson to talk. In fact, he has
very little to say of the many personal
incidents which reflect considerable
credit on his name. d
For many years he has eaten two ^
meals a day, contending that more is *
unnecessary for one of his age." The
distance of a mile and a half from his
home to his little office in Walhalla
he walks almost every day, and there t
are younger men who do not care to
nono Tirifh Kim TTo ffilrO Q ^11T1H
xvccj^f pav^v nivu utui. axv vmh.^ ^
ant pride in Pickens district, and is
c
fond of talking of great southerners
and patriots who have lived there.
"Way back in Revolutionary' times C
Pickens was famous," he says. "We ^
had General Cleveland, General Anderson,
and 'Horseshoe' Robinson*
There have been two governors of
South Carolina named Pickens, both
natives of Pickens district. Governor
F. W. Pickens, the war governor, was 3
a very great gentleman, one of the old t
school. t
"There are very few of us veteran (
Confederates now left; fewer than of a
the Grand Army, and we are no 1
longer 'Confederates.,' We are &
Americans, and I can honestly say t
that we have striven to do and to ^
achieve for our country. The old f
quarrel has been forgotten, and we t
love the new South as well as the
old. It is a part of our country."? s
New York Herald. j
t
Alleged Fugitive Arrested. ^
a
Savannah, Ga., Jan. 21.?On the
request of the police of Philadelphia,
W. Atwood Snowden, alias J. C. Wil- .
son, was arested here to-day by a
patrolman. He is said to be a former ^
assistant cashier of a Philadlphia t
trust company and is alleged to have
absconded with $9,000 of the com- Q
pany's funds. Snowden is said by
the police to have made no statement
to them and it is not known if he
will demand requisition.
Later to-night Snowden admitted
his guilt and said he would not de- t
niand requisition papers.
Information leading to the arrest "
of Snowden is said to have been j.
furnished by his wife, who is in
Philadelphia. It is stated he sent a <
message to her to send him $500 j
which he had given her and she turned
the message over to detectives, revoalinp'
his whereabouts and alias.
Victim of Practical Joke. t
I
Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 20.?With f
both feet and hands frozen, half r
starved and semi-insane from his 1
ph3'sical condition, James Fry, a 17- ?
year-old boy, was found in a freight r
car here to-night.- c
He had been locked in the car last t
Tuesday at Peru, Ind., by practical
jokers. When the patrolman who t
found him tried to- feed him a roll, c
Fry endeavor.ed to swallow it whole, c
and it was only with the combined ef- i
fort of four men that he could be i
held long enough to allow nourishment
to be given to him. 1
He was, taken.to the city hospital
and the physicians hold out little s
| hope for his recovery. I
ASKS HEYBURN TO SPECIFY.
Gompers Hurls Defiance at Senator
who Attacked Him.
Washington, Jan. 21.?Senator
Heyburn, of Idaho, is challenged by
Samuel Gompers, president of the
American Federation of Labor, in an
editorial in the February issue of
the American Federationist, to proluce
in a court of law any evidence <
tvhich he may have on any illegal acts
performed by Mr. Gompers.
The editorial is based on the occurrence
in the senate last Thursday, ;
vhen Senator Heyburn declared no <
communication should be received 1
Tom Mr. Gompers "because of the I
'acts disclosed in the McNamara i
-rial and subsequent thereto." The <
idaho senator also declared that the !
resident of the American Federation 1
)f Labor was not qualified to address \
i communication to congress or the 1
government. <
Referring to his challenge to-De- i
ective Burns and his sponsors, to t
>rove in a court of law any charge <
vhich either or all of them may bring
igainst him, President Gompers, adiressing
Mr. Heyburn, continues:
"I now and here include you, and
defy you and challenge you, to pro- 1
luce in a court of law any such evi- (
lence. -You will observe that I J
ipecifically state 'in a court of law' 1
ather than under the constitutional
>rotection which surrounds your
>rivilege to wag your unbridled
ongue in indirection and insinuaion."
.
After declaring that he has been a
:itizen of the United States since
872, President Gompers says, in
onclusion:
"There is nothing which you can
ay, Senator Heyburn, which will at
ill reflect upon my work, my life and
ny character, and I am willing that
. . 4
he American people shall judge be- 1
veen you and me as to which of us
tands for the dollar and which for
he manhood and the childhood of
?ur country."
Child Burned to Death.
Greenville, S. C., Jan. 20.? News
^as received in the city to-day of a
ieplorable tragedy which occurred
tear Tigerville some time during the
lay, when the 15-months-old son of
,lr. and Mrs. E. L. *Hightower was
mrned to death and their house and
urnishings destroyed by the; flames.
Mr. Hightower is a farmer of the
^igervilll section and at the time of
he fire he and his wife were picking
in o eftmo ^icf-QTl na f rom
uwivu XXX U u^xu kjvmv UAUVMUVV VU4 J
he house. When the flames were dis- j
overed the roof had already begun to (
all in and all efforts to rescue the j
hild were futile. No one was in the
11-fated residence at the time, except
he child. The origin of the fire is
tnknown. <
A Little Girl Saved the Train.
She was only 7 years old, Eileen
Jartin, the section foreman's daugher,
as she stood reaching up to a '
plenhnne at thp little town of Alta.
?al., last Saturday, telling the agent
it the nearest station that a rail was .
>roken. Child-like, she knew the
<
emaphore signals, had come to the j
rack to see the Overland Limited
vhirl by, and had watched the Jong
inger drop, letting the train into
he block.
"I'm pretty little, but I'll try," she
aid, when the station agent asked
ler if she could not stop the train
hat was past him, and started out J
vith her sister of 14, who had .just
ippeared. They /an down the track,
topped the train and saved a wreck.
Pretty much every primary school
n the city ought, within the next
i
ceek, to hear of Eileen's "I'm prety
little, but I'll try." The alert at- J
ention which knew the semaphore
ignal, the quick wit which undertood
what a broken rail meant, the 1
lecision and initiative which alone
ought the telphone, the courage
vith which she and her sister started
ip the track, waving their aprons to
top the big Overland limited as it *
>ore down upon them?these are the ,
[ualities which through life bring ,
elf-hclp, help for others, success and ,
lappiness. (
And she was only 7 years old,
'pretty little," but ready to "try."? ^
Philadelphia Press. i
Gets His Board Free.
"There was never but one guest at 1
his here hotel that stung me while i
was on the job," the landlord con- 1
ided. "Several have beat us, but i
lot while I was awake. But this
lere feller certainly got one on me. (
Jay, he's livin' here yet, an' he ain't
lever paid me a cent. Why don't I i
ollect his bill? How can I? Wait I
ill I tell you. 1
"He'd been stoppin' here for near c
wo months when I approached him 1
>n the subjeck of gettin' something i
>n account. He was cheerful. I was (
jolite. Finally 1 got mad and put
t up to him straight. i
" "Young man,' says 1, "you can't l
eave this hotel till you pay your bill.' i
" "Will you put that in writin'?' t
;ays he. And before I knowed what ]
was doin' I done it!"
SMITH'S COTTON BILL.
Proposed Method of Regulating Future
Contract Trading.
Washington, Jan. 18.?Senator E.
D. Smith, to-day introduced a bill
providing that each individual, corporation
or exchange engaged in InterState
commerce, in making any contract
for the future delivery of
cotton, shall specify the grades contracted
for, the price per pound of
the grades contracted for, and such
grades as are contracted for shall be
according to the United States government
standardization and any contract
not having the specifications
herein enumerated shall he deemed
null and void, and the individual exchange,
or corporation which shall
sell or attempt to sell any such contract
for the future delivery of cotton,
not conforming to the regulations
set forth, shall be deemed, upon
conviction, guilty of a misdemeanor
md sentenced to imprisonment for
three years or to pay a fine of $5,000,
>r both, in the discretion of the court.
Paroled Negro Convict Fined.
Chester, Jan. 20.?Jim Carter, a
paroled negro convict from Chester
county, who was arrested Thursday
ifternoon during a raid in Chester;
was in police court this morning,
found guilty of carrying concealed
weapons and paid a fine of $20. The
court imposed the minimum fine,
barter having been guilty of no
ireach of the peace, and no weapon
laving been found on him when capered
after a three -quarter-mile
chase, but one of the officers testifying
that he saw the butt of a pis
;ol in Carter's pocket, while running.
Mr. Sanders, chief of police, immeliately
notified Gov. Blease of the ar*est,
and in response to a request
!or instructions was advised to confer
with J. Lyles Glenn, of Chester,
vhose efforts had secured the parole,
ind in whose family Carter's father
lad been a slave. The negro was
lonvicted July 8, 1905, of assault
lpon a negro girl. In passing the
ninimum sentence of life imprisonnent,
Judge Gage stated, that in
new of the prisoner's youth and oth?r
circumstances of the case, he considered
the sentence unduly severe,
ind in the event of a good prison
ecord would endorse a petition for
Dardon. gov. iiiease rerusea a parIon,
but on May 27, 1911, paroled
barter during good behavior, the
judge, solicitor and jurymen signng
the ptition. The negro is at work
)n a farm in Chester county and
;here seems no disposition on part
)f the people here to take any fur:her
steps in the matter.
ANOTHER FAMILY MURDERED.
Sixth Wholesale Butchery in Louisiana
Within a Year.
Lake Charles, La., Jan. 21.?Badly
mutilated, the bodies of Felix Broussard,
his wife and three children,
iged 8, 6 and 3, negroes, were found
:o-day in their home here, making
:he second wholesale negro murder
in this State within a we^k and the
sixth within the year. A bloody
ixe, with which the crime apparently
was committed, was found beneath
the bed upon which the bodies lay.
No clue to the murderer has been
found except thi& inscription written
>n the front door of the Broussard
iome: "When He maketh the inquisition
for blood, He forgetteth not
:he cry of the humble human five."
In many respects the crime is identical
with the murder, in Crowley,
La., last Thursday, of a negro woman
md her three children. Two similar
jrimes during the past year were
committed at LaFayette, La.; two at
Urowley, and one at Raye, La. In
?ach instance an entire family was
nurdered.
Tripped.'
A business man, a poulterer, was
n the habit of making claims on all
)ills. Sometimes these claims were
lust, usually they were unjust; at
iny rate by his generous use of them
le got a discount on every purchase
)f 4 t9 5 per cent.
Well, one Thanksgiving season this
:ricky business man received a dozen
carrels of dressed turkeys from a
western dealer. Heretofore he had
nought live turkeys from the dealer,
tfence now, he made the grievous er*or
of writing and claiming for six '
Dirds that had sickened in transit
md had reached the storehouse dead.
The western dealer replied to the
;laim as follows:
"Dear Sir: We regret to say that
,ve find it impossible to allow claim
nit forward in yours of 24th inst.
\Ve have established a rule that all
customers desiring live dressed tur :eys
must notify us of same in advance,
so that we may ship same in
?ars specially steam heated.
"Turkeys without their feathers
tnd insides are liable to contract
pneumonia if shipped in ordinary I
vay in refrigerator cars. The morality
among dressed turkeys was very
pronounced this year. Yours sadly."
?Washington Star.
HONOR SYSTEM IN PRISON.
Convicts Subscribe Reward for Capture
of Fugitive in Texas.
Houston, Tex., Jan. 21.?Because
the honor of the prison system was
aspersed when two convicts escaped
after the governor of the State has
proposed putting all convicts on their
honor not to escape if allowed to
work on roads, convicts at the State
penitentiary have subscribed a sum
of $291 as a reward for the apprehension
of the escaped men.
Recently Gov. Colquitt proposed a
plan wbereby convicts would be placed
upon their honor not to escape
and put to work building roads. No
guards would be provided and the
prisoners virtually would be free, .
with the exception that they would
be compelled to work where direct- |
ed by the State and during their sentence.
The plan was accepted by the
convicts, all eager to Dledge their 1
honor not to escape.
The recent escape of two convicts '
has aroused indignation among the
other convicts and thirty of them
. A A A A 4 .. _ A _ tt A -4
raised $zyi in amounts or irom $1
to $10 and forwarded it to the governor
as a reward for the apprehension
and return of the fugitives who
violated their own honor and aspersed
that of the convict body.
HORSE JUMPS 31 FEET. 1
Overall, Owned by Julian Morris,
Does Remarkable Feat.
Julian Morris, at the Keswick
Hunt Club, Albemarle county, has
developed a wonderful jumper in his
three-year-old hunter, Overall, says
a Richmond dispatch.
The animal was being schooled
at the ciub, and when making a jump
for a five-foot fence the animal rose
seventeen feet from the fence, and <
landed about the same distance be- j
yond. The total broad jump was ]
more than thirty-one feet.- Several j
gentlemen witnessed the jump, and 1
the fence and horse and rider were j
photographed. ]
? ?i? ?+V.
AlllUIlg UlUSfc} WUU WUUCSOCU lUt
jump was Jennings C. Wise,; a son i
of Capt. John S. Wise, of New York, j
NEW
Arrivals
mi ava i i!
m 1 uciuiwucij uiiric
Ribbons, Silks,
Laces, Embroideries,
Trimmings,
Flouncings, Bargains
in Hats and a lot
of Nice Novelties
Remember our I
' .1
T 17 I
Leap lear
BARGAINS
Al i
i
THE
1 Jl IJUittt
Millinery Store >
(C. W. RENTZ, Prop.) J
(Formerly K. I. Shuck & Co-)
11 11
J. Aldrich Wyman E. H. Henderson
Wyman & Henderson
Attorneys-at-Law
BAMBERG, S. C.
General Practice. Loans Negotiated
4
FARMERS} UNION MEETINGS.
The local Bamberg Farmers' Union
meets at the pourt house in Bamberg
on the first and third Friday mornings
in every month. Meeting at
11 o'clock. Applications for membership
received at every meeting.
Let all members be present. /
J. W. STEWART,
J. P. O'QUINN, President.
Secretary.
PB PORTABLE AND STATIONARY
Engines
AND BOILEBS
Saw, Lath and Shingle Mills, Injectors,
Pumps and Fittings, Wood
Saws, Splitters, Shafts, Pulleys,
Belt'ig, Gasoline Engines
LAROESTOCK LOMBARD
Foundry, Machine, Boiler Work*,
Supply Store.
AUGUSTA. GA.
PHIPHFQTFR Q Pll I &
UlUVIItaWI * w RBaW
. THE DIAMOND BRAND. A
htiSLi&'SSZ:Jft&Ay
Pill* ia Red aid Bald metaTJc>V^J
J!?w} boxes, seated with Blue Ribbon. \/
1?1 Take no other. Bay of y<mr " .
['] ~ yg UrwtM. AskfbiOHI>CtfES.TERSi '
I W JP DIAMOND BRAND PILLS, for St!
YD* 0 years known as Best, Safest, Always Reliable
r S010 BY DfiltGOISTS EVERYWHERE
few
HR9BnB^:vli
ONE OF OUR RUNABOUTS
is about as handy a crriage as you can
have. Just the thing to hook up in /
a hurry. Easy to ride in, easy on
the horse. Will stand any kind of y.;,A
roads, any kind of service. Come and
U/vU 4I?am Vnn*11 tttonf am. arhm
lUUJk Hi x vu u nwuv vw nuvu
pou see them. You'll be glad you
filled that want every time you ride ;
in your purchase*
HORSES AND MULES.
6. FRANK BAMBERG,
% Bamberg, S. C. ;s i .
Id. j. delkI
CARRIAGE WORKS ,
When in need of anything in i
my line, don't forget the place, jj '
No. 24 Main street, Bamberg, ,
S. O., in front of the cotton mill.
We run a first-class repair
and wheel wright shop, build i
one and two-horse wagons, sew- *
ine machine and delivery wag- j
ons, log carts, and any special j %
wagon; paint baggies and automobiles
in factory style. .
We are- agent for the Deer- -*
ing harvesting machinery, disc
harrows, compost spreaders, . '
gasoline engines, etc.
We carry a stock of the best /
grain drills on the market.
Call and ^e ui before yon boy.
Anything sent ns will have the
same attention as if you were
to bring it yourself.
D, J. DELK
BAMBERG,. ..... S. C.
w
??
SPECIAL NOTICE.
AH persons wishing to be exempted
from paying the commutation
road tax of $2.00 on account of
physical disability are hereby notified
to meet the county physician at
the Supervisor's office in Bamberg,
S. . C., on Monday, February 4th,
1912. Rv order of the board of
county commisisoners.
J. B. KEARSE,
H. D. FREE," ' Supervisor.
Clerk.
Bamberg, S. C., Jan. 3rd, 1912.
Does Your Baby Suffer
From SunDisease?
'
He would be a heartless father indeed,
who did not allay baby's suffering
as did Mr. E. M. Bogan, of Enternrise.
Miss. He says:
"My
baby was troubled with breaking
out, something like seven-year
itch. We used all ordinary remedies,
bujt nothing seemed to do any good
until I tried HUNT'S CURE and in a
few days all symptoms disappeared
and now baby is enjoying the best of
health." Price 50c per box.
Manufactured and Guaranteed by
A. B. RICHARDS MEDICINE CO.
i
Sherman, Texas.
Sold by:?
PEOPLES DRUG CO.,
Bamberg, S. C.
FRANCIS F. CARROLL
Attorney-at-Law
Office in Hoffman Building.
GENERAL PRACTICE.