Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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PERSONAL MENTION. People Visiting in This City and at Other Points. ?Mr. G. E. Bamberg spent Sunday in Williston. ?Mr. LeVerne Thomas spent several days this week in Atlanta on a business trip. ?Miss Franke Folk and Mrs. E. H. Henderson have returned from a visit to Florence. ?Mr. J. G. Black returned Tuesday from Beaufort, where he spent a few days with relatives. ?Drs. J. R. McCormick and L. A. Hartzog, of Olar, were in the city Tuesday.?Barnwell People. ?Mrs. G. E. Bamberg and chilqt\o cnandinor cnm? timp in Wil U1 UU WVAMV w- ? - - liston with relatives and friends. ?Mrs. Aaron Rice and little son, of Bamberg, spent several days here this week with friends.?Dorchester Eagle. ?'Mr. J. D. Copeland, Jr., went to . Atlanta Saturday night to meet Mrs. Copeland, who has been spending some time in Mississippi with her mother. ?Dr. H. N. Snyder, president of Wofford college, was in the city this week to attend the second anniversary exercises of the Business Men's Bible class. ?Mr. C. W. Rentz, Jr., left Monday for Blackville, where he has ac-j ceptea the position of cashier of the j Commercial Bank, which was recent-1 ly organized. v ?Mr. Robert Hartzog, of Atlanta, spent several days last week in the city at the bedside of his father, Mr. V. J. Hartzog, who has been quite ill, but who is now rapidly recuperating. ?Mrs. H. N. Folk and little son, accompanied by Miss Faith Schuette, f who teachers in Bamberg, spent the week-end with Mrs. J. N. McMichael on Whitman street.?Orangeburg ^ Times and Democrat. Auntie Was Old. In the days of Barnum an old "auntie" lived in East Tennessee who was reputed to be of great age, says the Philadelphia Ledger. Like all of the kind, she was extremely proud of the distinction, and never underestimated her age in the least. She had outgrown that weakness decades past. * Barnum heard of her, and concluding that if she was as old as rumor made her she would be a valuable acquisition to his show, he sent -an agent down to make an investigation. She caught the direction of the wind very promptly, and was prepared for any test question that might be asked. Gradually the agent led up to the crucial interrogatory, and at last said: "Aunty, "do you remember George Washing* ton?" "Does I remember George Washington? Why, laws-a-massey, mistah,' I reckon I does. I orter ortent I? For I done nussed him. We ^ played together evy day when he was f a'li'l chile." * "Well, do you remember anything about the revolutionary war?" "G'way, chile! Yes, indeed, 1 does honey. I stood dar lots er times an' seen de bullets flyin' aroun' thicker'n rain drops." "Yes?well, how about the fall of the Roman empire? Do you recollect anything about that?" The old woman took a good long breath. In fact, it amounted to a sigh. She reflected for a few moments, and said: "De fact is, honey, I was purty young den an' I don't have a very exict recommenbrance 'bout dat; but I does 'member, now dat you speaks of hit, dat I did heah de white folks tell about hearin' some'pn drap." Nothing Like Latin. Andrew Jackson was once making a stump speech out west, in a small village. Just as he was concluding, Amos Kendall, who sat behind him, whispered: "Tip 'em a little'Latin, general. They won't be satisfied without it." The man of iron will, instantly y thought of a few phrases he knew and in a voice of thunder wound up . his speech by exclaiming: "E pluribus unum!?sine quo non!?ne plus ultra!?multum in parvo!" ?* ^ - x j J ine enect was iremenuous, <mu the shouts could b? heard for miles. ?Denver News. A Dangerous Experiment. Parson Squire?"I understand, deacon, that the church carpet is being ruined by the water from dripping umbrellas." Deacon Goode?"It is so. parson, and something has got to be done." "Why not have a rack in the vestibule and leave the umbrel?as there instead of carrying them to the seats?" "I am afraid it would destroy the solemnity of the benediction." "You think so?" "Yes; everybody would want to be first out so as to get the best one."? L DUELLING IX SOUTH CAROLINA. Last of Any Note Fought Near Camden. Most persons believe that duelling became a lost art when the Civil war ended; and the tale? and legends of our ante-bellum days were stored away in their cedar chest of remembrance. Stored away with tender, lingering touches, sweet scented with the myrrh and lavender of reverent) love, wet by the sacred tears of our mothers, and stained by the life's blood and the gallant men who gave their lives freely in a cause that they at least thought right. The impulsive, brave, hot-headed men, who prizing honor above all else did not hesitate to pit their ideals against the roar and flame of the cannon; or to refute an imputation against their honor, by facing at thirty paces the pistol held by practiced hand. So keen was their high sense of honor, so clean and clear cut their ideals of right and wrong, that it became to be the accepted custom to wipe out an insult by the blood of the offender else to lay down one's i life in the defense of name and home. In this colder commercial era that we have drifted, or rather evoluted into from the force of circumstances and the stress of social and political conditions, it is hard to judge correctly the standard of right and wrong established by our forefathers. Then a man's name was his fortune?his word his bond; his home was his castle. Any aspersions against any one of these and his hot Southern blood boiled and he was eagerly anxious to lay his life upon the altar of his high ideals, rather than to live under what he considered insult. Some of the most spectacular events, some of the most gripping stories of other days, are woven around duels that were almost his torical in their bearing upon tne nistorical, political as well as social life of that period. After the titanic upheaval of our unfortunate war, not only were our politics reconstructed, but the customs and lives of the people were almost ;entirely transformed. Things took on a different perspective, not only ideals, but the accepted belief in old standards were altered. Along in the '70s a strong tide of sentiment set against duelling?still in the minds of the,older people, the habits and beliefs of their ancestors were sacred. They firmly clung to old customs, old ideas, faithfully -protesting"*- that their fathers could do no wrong; upholding by their I daily lives and actions, their belief | in the fact that "What was good for I father should suit me." In spite of this,- however, the cooler headed younger men, who gradually took the reins of government'into their hands, in the historic Palmetto State, talked strongly of legislating against duelling. Though the older generation protested that a man had the divine right of self-protection, in any way that seemed best to him; that it was absolute anarchy to deprive a man of the privilege of using the sword or pistol in defense of hi? honor. They were sincere and honest in their belief, feeling that duelling was absolutely justifiable; and could by no means be considered a disgrace or be punishable by any law. Rather they considered that a man was eternally tabooed from all social intercourse with his fellows, if he permitted an insult to pass unpunished?if he did not at least try by challenging his enemy to a combat on the "Field of Honor." Of course if for any reason whatever the challenge was declined, the giver of it was held to have avenged his word squarely in the face, without cringing at the thought that the dread name of "coward" was set against his name in the minds of his fellow man. For nothing was more abhorrent to the real "Gentleman of the Old South" than an imputation of cowardice. Therefore the talk of the younger, more progressive, conservative men ? ? x V? ^ Of r> rn'o A f Ill Cliarge UI lllC Oldie o auaxiQ) u*. making duelling a punishable crime, aroused strenuous opposition from the older generation, and the question was discussed pro and con, across many a Southern table. Before the law became a fact, however, in '79 or '80, perhaps, two of South Carolina's most respected sons, who had served their four long years' in the war, respectfully as colonel and major, became involved in a political quarrel. Aspersions were made against the honor of each, the lie was passed, this being the very crowning of all insults to both men. And these two representatives of an honored family, these brave, gallant sons of the Old South. Colonel Cash and Major Shannon, of Camden, agreed to wipe out the stain of insult by duel; each feeling that it was right and just to fight as they thought best, believing that no man had a right to interfere in his personal affairs, or that any law could be made elastic enough to cover the "Field of Honor." The argument of their more con ^ f ] I Co 1 CHRIS . | | PEOPL servative friends availed naught? j the tears and prayers 01 tneir iann- \ lies were futile. Grimly determined I to follow the course that they i thought and believed tt^be right, and j planting their feet in "the footsteps on the sands of time," these two! hot-headed, high-principled, honored men, met at sunset. Out in an old field, bordered by the sentinel pines, with the soft wind murmuring a requiem through their plumed heads?under the royal purple and crimson painted by a Masterhand on the western sky, with the very air, breathing peace, good will to men, while in the eastern sky gleaming many colored like Jacob's coat, was the arch of God's promised protection to man. Everything was at rest but the turmoil seething in the breasts of the men, and under the brooding peace of Mother Nature's wing, the 30 paces were stepped off: the seconds reluctantly took pistols! from the cases, and handed them primed and cocked to their principals. With gray heads held high, these two old warriors grimly turned back to back, and with cool determination walked to their allotted places. Then at the word "Ready," whirled and each leveled the pistol at his onetime friend, but now become a deadly enemy. # These two brave men who had on many a battle field, faced together the belching flame of cannon, the fretful whine of the minnie balls, stood as though carved from marble. Lips sternly set, eyes level, hands steady, deadly determination in their hearts?while the soft fingers of the evening breeze, gently ruffled their gray hair. At the word "Fire," both pistols! spat their deadly missies?Major Shannon dropped his pistol, stood for a moment with face upturned to the quiet star, just peeping through the curtain of eventide; then reeled and pitched forward to the earth, his life blood slowly turning to crimson the white sand that pillowed his conquered head. Ah! The pity of it all, the useless sacrifice of a useful life. The heartache, the needless pain caused to two families by their mistaken idea of avenging their honor. But was the sacrifice useless? For from this duel sprang in full strength the law, forever abolishing just such things as this regretable occurrence. Colonel Cash gave himself up, but stayed out on bail. Public sentiment had become too strong against auei-N ing for this event to pass unnoticed by the law; from centre to circumference the State was shaken by a wide diversity of opinion?many for the newer ideas of right, others again holding that their fathers' code of hbnor could not be wrong. Colonel Cash, however, preferred a trial, and engaged for his counsel, his life long friend, Maj. Albertus Spain, the State's most noted lawyer, who never took a case against a mur-| derer, a gallant Confederate officer, ! signer of the act of secession, and who passed up the chance to sit on j i the supreme bench, rather than to bej disloyal to his Lost Cause, and take1 the oath of reconstruction. The case came to trial, and against! i a brilliant State attorney and other notable counsel engaged for the case, Major Spain, in spite of physical dis If You Want Mone >me In Now TMAS Bj jjjjjjfejjSK ^Clab. ?S BAI ability, which necessitated bis oeing carried to the court room, fought for and cleared his friend, Colonel Cash i ?because of the principles that he j had held to be his right. Amid the cheers of Col. Cash's j friends, Major SpaUr was taken fainting from his great effort, to the home from which he ^was soon afterwards carried to his last resting place, near j the scene of his greatest legal tri-1 umph. The next session of the legislature j put a ban upon duelling and made it i punishable by law, as was any other murder case. This was the last big; duel in South Carolina, perhaps in j the entire South.?Charlotte Observ-! er. Last Notable Duel. The following from the Hon. W. F. Stevenson to the editor of the Charlotte Observer will possibly be read with interest by many: Noting your article by your staff correspondent, "The Last Duel in South Carolina," as it is an instance of more to correct the writer historically, at least in the latter part, j He speaks of Colonel Cash being defended and cleared by his life-long friend, Maj. Albertus Spain. The statement that he was the State s i most noted lawyer, I do not question. His reputation abides even to this i day, but the record shows that he! was defended by Major Spain and by! his life-long friend and neighbor and : special counsel, Gen. W. L. T. Prince, I of Cheraw, and at the trial at which : Major Spain appeared he was not! cleared, but there was a mistrial. The; efforts in the case were such that! Major Spain, before the case wras tried again, was dead. The defense | was then conducted by Gen. W. L. T. I I Prince, assisted by Mr. R. C. Watts,! then a young lawyer, and the son-inlaw of Colonel Cash, and he was acquitted at the second trial. Mr. Watts is today an associate; justice of the supreme court of South' Carolina, having served for many j years on the circuit bench, and hav-j ing been promoted five years ago to the supreme bench. The other error is the statement of j the source out of which the unfor-; tiinnta rind! arnsp The statement, is made that Colonel Cash and Major Shannon became involved in a po-j litical quarrel. This is an entire mistake. Major Shannon, with others, \ was representing a client in a law j suit, who in the course of his pleadings charged that a judgment belong- j ing to Mrs. Cash against her brother, | Mr. Robert G. Ellerbe, was fraudu-J lent. Colonel Cash became infuriat-! ed at the charge of fraud made against his wife and the duel grew out of his resentment of that charge in the pleadings in the case of j Weinges vs. Cash, found in 15 S. C. j Sup. Ct. Rep. page 44. In justice to all parties I will say j that Major Shannon was merely rep-! resenting a client and was not lead- i ing counsel when the charge of fraud was made, but the heat engendered brought about the duel. The circuit: judge. Gen. Joseph Brevard Kershaw, j who lived in the same town with Ma-| jor Shannon, tried the case after-; wards and held that there was 110 ground for the charge of fraud, and on appeal, the supreme court of South Carolina, Mr. Chief 'Justice! A^A A^4 A^A T^TT T^rT VT T^T T^T :y Next Christmas And Join Ou \NKING ' You Can Jo lc 2c - ! 50c - $1.00 \ Or Any Amoun IT COSTS NOTHI }. It is the Easy Way to Have We Pay 4 Per C ^K, Bamt rT^T *]|T T^T T^T T^T T^T T^T 1 THE RETREAT FROM MONS. An Army That Walked in Its Sleen. In an article, "Sleep for the Sleepless," in the current World's Work, the author quotes an eminent surr geon, who made a study of sleep in the French army as follows: "In the retreat from Mons to the Marne we have an extraordinary human experiment, in which several hundred thousand men secured little sleep during nine days, and in addition made forced marches and fought one of the greatest battles in history.' "How, then, did these men survive; nine days apparently without oppor-; tunity for sleep? They did an extra-! ordinary thing?they slept while they [ marched! Sheer fatigue slowed down j their pace to a rate that would per-j mit them to sleep while walking.! When they halted they fell' asleep.: They slept in water, and on rough; ground, when suffering the pangs of | hunger and thirst, and even when > severely wounded. They cared not; for capture, not even for death, if: only they could sleep. "The unvaried testimony of the | soldiers was that every one at times; slept on the march. They passed! through villages asleep. When sleep! deepened and they began to reel,'they j were wakened by comrades. Theyj slept in water, on stones, in brush, or in the middle of the road as if they had suddenly fallen in death. Withj the even on-coming lines of the ene-, my no man was safe who dropped out \ of the ranks, for no matter on what: pretext he fell out, sleep conquered him. Asleep many were captured. That the artillerymen slept on horseback was evidenced by the fact that every man lost his cap." Self Preservation. A young widow was asked why she' was going to get married so soon af-l ter the death of her first husband, j "Oh, la!" she said, "I do it to pre-, vent fretting myself to death on account of dear Tom."?Washington Star. The Tasmanian government has dammed a large lake and built a hy- j droelectric plant for light and power j that will be distributed throughout; the State. Mclver, living in the same communi-j ty with Major Cash, wrote the opin-! ion affirming that judgment, and the two opinions effectually dispelled j any question of Mrs. Cash's honor, j In the meantime, however, the trage dy had occurred on the field of honor > and it was one disastrous to the feel- j ings of two of the most chivalrous j families of people in the State. I write this merely to keep the his-! tnrv r>f this last notable duel in South 1 Carolina straight, not to in any wise take anything from the great prestige of Major Spain, who was con- J cededlv the leading lawyer in the J State for many years. NOTICE. ______ i All persons who have claims against the estate of Scipio Moore j will present them duly proven with- i in thirty days from date to the un- J dersigned. J. H. KINARD, Agent. Ehrhardt, S. C., Jan. 4, 1917. 4t. j x t r Y CLUB | - f t in With * 5c - 10c I $5.00 | it You Wish $ T Y NG TO JOIN | T - T Y A Money Next Christmas M Y 'ent. Interest A f Y. erg, S. C. I T ~ ASSKSHAUfiM' WyflUE. The Auditor, or his deputy will be at the following places on the days and dates named below for the purpose of taking returns of personal property, transfers of real estate, and * income tax returns: At the court house until Monday, January 15, 1917. Farrell's store, Tuesday, January 16, 1917. Denmark, Thursday and Friday, January 17 and 18, 1917. Lees, Monday, January 22, 1917. Govan, Tuesday, January 23, 1917. Olar, Wednesday and Thursday, January.24 and 25, 1917. St. John's, Friday, January 26, 1917, from 9 a. m. to 12 m. Kearse's, Friday, January 26, 1917, from 1 p. m. to 3 p. m. Ehrhardt, Monday and Tuesday, January 2$, and 30, 1917. At the court house until February 20, 1917,. after which date the 50 per cent, penalty will be added. - Every taxpayer is requested to learn the name and number of his school district before coming to make his return. Taxpayers are also urged to come prepared, to make separate returns for town property, giving number .of acres ar.d buildings, and lots in tovta. Persons living in town will please state the fact to the Auditor so that they will not be charged with commutation road tax. All real and personal property must be returned in the school district in which it is located. R. W. D. ROWELL, Auoiior joamperg county. NOTICE. State of South Carolina?County of Bamberg. To all whom it may concern, please take notice: That the undersigned has lost a certificate of the capital stock of the Ehrhardt Eankiug Company, of Ehrhardt, S. C., said certificate being No. 5, and application will be made to said Bank on February 19th, 1917, for a duplicate certificate of same. 2-15 JNO F. FOLK. jcOMING! 39 The all Stupendous Photoplay 1 Annette Kellerman 9 NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER , ' M 1,000 People in Cast 1,000 I Wednesday, February 28 9 Matinee and Xight ? Admission 15c and 25c | HELEN THEATRE IRIZERS STABLES I M OLAR, S. C. H 119 ...on the... M || 2nd and 4th Monday's 12 3 DR. J. M. LOVE I $2 Veterinary Surgeon Ira k*l BAMBERG, S. C. 8