The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, March 08, 1923, Image 6
LETTERS COME
AS A MYSTERY
Article Appears in Scotland
Paper About Letter
Here
MAY BE T^BIG HOAX
How Copies Were Sold at
Price of Five Cents
Each
Some things we come across in
this world are interesting because
of their evident age 411 d
the mystery surrounding their
coming to light. Consider all
of the fuss about old Tut whose
1 !/ n 1 1
naix ruiien uones nave just
been dug up and exposed in
Egypt. Men may learn something:
even from the consideration
of an old grave.
Now this letter which is the
subject of this article is interesting
to the management of
The Horry Herald because it
came to them with the paper itself
more than twenty years
ago. The letter may have been
a big hoax, which it doubtless
is, but the way that it has defied
the passage of time and is
still kept by those who seem
to have some faith in it, makes
it interesting in view of the fact
that it is being written about,
in papers of the Old World?
Ed.
The Spartangurg Herald in a recent .
issue, clipped out and published from
the People's Journal of Aberdeen, .
Scotland, the following article about ;
a supposed letter writen by Jesus
Christ.
When this article was read by one
of the men connected with The Hor- ry
Herald, it was remembered that 1
the office had a supply of these letters
on hand, and had them ever since
the paper was published by its present
owner, as will bp mnrp fnllv
plained in this article. The article as j
clipped and published in the Spartan- (
burg Herald, now follows: 1
(From People's Journal, Aberdeen,
Scotland.)
A remarkable letter, alleged to have 1
been written by Christ, is being pub- ]
lished in the United States and Canada*
and the story of its seeing the <
light is surrounded by superstition <
worthy of the dark ages.
In the letter was an injunction
that it should be published to the
world by whoever found it, together
with - the statement that misfortune
and bad luck would follow the person
having possession of it in the event
that it was not given publicity. There
was likewise a promise that whoever
might have a copy in his or her posmfcqinn
wniih r>vr\cti*v nnr? /aii/iiu
ed by good fortune.
According to the history of the let*
ter, it was written by Christ just after
His crucifixion, signed by the Angel
Gabriel 09 years after the Savior's
birth and presumably deposited
by him under a stone at the foot of 1
the Cross. ; * f, ? ? 1
On this stone appeared the legend J
"Blessed is he who shall turn me .
over.' No one knew what the in- ^
scnption meant, or seemed to have
sufficient curiosity to investigate, un- .
til the stone vr.r. turned over by a )
little child, nn^i letter which follows
was discovered: ?vv!'; .'V**
"Whosoever works on the Sabbath r
day shall be cursed. I command you j
to go to church and keep holy the j
Lord's day, without any manner of (
work. You shall not idle or misspend $
your time in bedecking yourself in ^
superfluities of costly apparel and
vain dressing, for 1 have ordered it a v
day-of rest. I will have that day
kept holy that your sins may be /|
forgiven you. t
"You will not break my command- ],
ments, but observe and keep them, t
they being written by my hand and B
spoken by my mouth. You shall not
only go to church yourself, but alsc c
your, man servant and maid servant. r
Observe my words and learn my com- ?
mandmen's. }
Finish at Six O'clock.
> ?v ?i n ? ?i.
i uu jsiihii Miiijsn your worn every \
Saturday at six o'clock in the after- 0
noon, at which hour the preparation x
for the Sabbath begins. I advise you
to fast five days in the year, begin- f
ning on Good Friday and continuing ;
the five days following, in remem- ;
"hr&nce of the five bloody wounds I ),
received for you and mankind. c
"You shall love one another, and s
cause them that are not baptized to
come to church and receive the Holy <=
Sacrament, that is to say, baptism, <
and the Supper of the Lord, and be \
made a member thereof, and in so t
doing I will give you long life and g
many blessings.. Your land shall be
replenished and bring forth abundance r
and I will comfort you in the great V
temptation, and surely he that doeth j
to the contrary shall be cursed.
"I will also send hardness of the
heart on them, and especially on hardened
and unrepentant unbelievers.
He that hath given to the poor shall
find it profitable. Remember to keep i
the Sabbath day, for the seventh day I
I have taken as a day of rest to my- t
self. f
"And he that hath a copy of this r
letter written by my own hand and r
spoken by my own mouth and keep- y
? o .)
No Worm* in * Healthy CbIM s
AH children troubled with Worms have in a?> f
Iwtty color, which indicate* poor b'ood. and as a c
nK there It more or 1 fit stomach disturbance I
OBOVE S TASTELESS CHILL TONIC given reg?> 0
laity lor two or three weeks trill enrich the blood,
jaifsemthodipteflrw, and act eg a jeoeral Strength. ?
taimi Topic to the whole system. Nature will Umi
Oievator dispel the worms,asdtheChAdwillba M
4apee***health. Plsasaat totafca. MeperhoMa. i
TH
eth it without publishing it to others,
shall not prosper, but lie that publishers
it to others shall be blessed
by me, and if their sins be as many
as the stars by night, and if they truly
believe they shall be pardoned; and
they that believe not this writing and
my commandments will have my
pleagues upon you, and you will be
consumed with your children, goods
and cattle, and all other worldly enjoyments
that 1 have given you. Do
but one thing of what I have suffered
for you, if yo udo, it will be well
for you in this world and in the world
which is to come.
I Found By a Child
"Whosoever shall have a copy of
this letter and keep it in their house,
nothing shall hurt them, neither pestilence.
thunder nor lightning, and if
any woman be in birth and put her
trust in me she shall be delivered her
child. You shall hear no Scriptures
until the day of judgment- All goodness
and prosperity shall be found.
Finished."
The story goes that the little child
who found it passed it to one who became
a convert to the Christian faith.
He failed to have the letter published.
T-Tn lrr>r>f if li rui'ni'ni' 00 n ? ?
..v ..v^v .v, iiv..u.vi, ?. > ? i^oucu memento
of Christ, and it "has passed
down to different generations of his
family for more than one thousand
years.
During this period the family suffered
repeated misfortunes, migrated
to different countries until finally one
of them came to America, bringing
the letter with them. They settled in
Virginia, then moved further South,
still followed by misfortune, when
finally the last member, a daughter,
approached her death bed and called
a neighbor, giving her the letter, and
related its history for more than one
thousand years. The woman began
the attempt to have it published, and
it first appeared in 1891. It then appeared
in the "Dalton Citizen," and
an Indiana woman clipped it and kept
it in her possession for many years
without an effort to have it published.
She was followed by misfortune,
which she attributed to her neglect in
trying to have the letter published.
Still another woman is said to have
had a copy and failed to make an effort
to have it published for three
years, and was followed by a varied
lot of misfortunes which she attributed
to the fact of her neglect in this
respect.
(The Horry Herald's Part in it.)
When H. H. Woodward purchased
The Horry Herald from John A. McDermott,
in October, 1899, among the
miscellaneous supply of papers, and
cither paraphernalia, was a package of
circulars, printed in the regular news
type of the paper, about five hundred
in all, bearing across the head the
words: "A Copv of a letter by Our
Savior, Jesus Christ.**
One day, in looking over the things
in the office, which was lo^n^od or>
corner where the Central Filling Station
now stands, this package of printed
letters was found and the top/ one
in the bunch was read.
Connected with the paper at t,ha1
time was Jas. W. Kardwick. a hand
compositor who had worked on the paper
ever since he had been a boy. Jim
was asked about these letters as to
why they had been printed and for
ivhom the work had been done. Jim
said that the package had come down
A'ith the old Campbell hand press and
the old types: that the letters had
r>een in the office ever since he had
leen connected with it; that the let:ers
were in stock when he was first 1
^mnloved in the shon. and hp thoiirrhf
hat perhaps they had been reprinted <
i time or two. 1
Not long after this it was found i
hat now and then there was 3 de- i
nand for one or two of the letters,
rim Hardwick said that they had been I
>rinted, he thought, for the purposes <
>f sale to those who wanted to buy, I
ind that he had sold a great many at 1
he price of five cents each. 1
Now and then The Herald office i
vould have a caller. He or she would I
nil for a copy of the lefier of Jesus, j
rim would supply the demand from t
he old drawer where the package of i
3tters was kept. This went on from 1
ime to time until about five years .<
pro it was remembered that all of the <
etters had been sold or mi^nlared exept
.about two dozen that The Herald f
nan found stowed away the other day <
i'hen the article in The Spartanburg
Terald appeared.
Nothing connected with the paner
vas ever thrown away entirely. The
Id hand press w,as sold years aftervards
for the sum of $200.00. while
he old job press lay in the back yard
or about five years and was disposed
f at a good price to a junk man; and
n the meantime the old package of I
etters was kept and whenever a man >
>r woman demanded a copy it was *
upplied. / '
Upon reading the article in The
Spartanburg Herald and comparing <
he letter as it was printed therein 1
vith the one in The Herald office,
hftv were found to be substantially
ilike.
The body of the Alleged letter was
>receded with an explanation as to j
low it was found, just as the article .
Hiblished in Scotland said.
Here is the letter word for word: {
'A COPY OF A LETTER BY OUR '
SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST J
"Found eighteen miles from Iconum,
sixty-five years after our blessed
Savior's crucifixion transmitted from
,he holy city by a converted Jew,
'aithffully translated from the origi- j
lal Hebrew copy now in possession
>f the lady Cubas family at Meso- 4
)otamia. This letter was written by j
esus Christ found under a 'great, j
itone both round and large, at the t
oot of the cross, 18 miles from In- <
onium, near a village called Mesopoamia.
Upon the stone was written i
r engraved: J
'BLESSED IS HE WHO SHALL
'URN ME OVER.' People that saw c
' prayed to God earnestly, and des-1
ired that they might not attempt in *
E HOMEY HERALD, OONWAY,
* *
vain to tuhn it over. In the meantime
there came a little child about
six or seven years old and turned it
over without any help or assistance,
I to the .admiration of the people who
stood by; and under this stone was
found this letter, written by Jesus
Christ, and was carried to the city of
Inconium; and there published by persons
belonging to Cuba, signed by the
Angel "Gabriel, twenty-eight years after
our Savior's birth.
I 44A LETTER OF JESUS CHRIST
"Whosoever worketh on the Sabi
bath day, sliall be cursed. I command
you to go to church, and keep the
Lord's day holy, without doing any
manner of work You shall not
spend your time in bedecking yourself
with superlatives of costly apparel,
and vain dresses, for I have orderdained
a day of rest. I shall have
that dav Tfpnf Vinlv fliofr i""? ?
r- ~ ..v.jr V1I?V JTVJUI Slim
may be forgiven. You shall not break
my commandments, but observe and
keep them, written with my hand,
and spoken with my own mouth. You
shall not only go to church yourself,
but also your men servants and maid
servants, and observe my words to
obey my commandments. You shall
finish your labor in the afternoon by
six o'clock, at which the preparation
Cor the Sabbath begins. I advise you
to fast five Fridays in every year, beginning
with Good Friday, and to
"ontinue the four Fridays immediately
following, in remembrance of the
five bloody wounds which I received
from all mankind. You shall dilligently
and peaceably tobor in your
respective callings in which it hath
pleased God to call you. You shall
love one another with brotherly love,
and them that are not bapti zed to
come to the church and receive the
Sacrament of Baptism, and the Lord's
Supper; and be made members of the
church in so doing:. 1 will eive vou
long life and many blessings. Your
land shall flourish, and cattle shall
abundantly multiply, and I will give
many comforts in the greatest temptation.
and they who do the contrary
shall be unprofitable. I will also send
barrenness of heart upon them, till I
see them; But especially impenitent
unbelievers! He that hath given to
the poor shall not be unprofitable.
Remember and keep holy the Sabbath
for the seventh day I have taken to
rest myself, and he that hath a copy
of this letter, written with my own
hand, and spoken with my own mouth,
and lceepeth it, without publishing it
to others, shall not prosper, but he
that publisheth it to others shall be
blessed of me; and though his sins be
in numbers as stars in the sky and
he believes in this, he shall be pardoned,
if he believes not this writing, and
this commandment I will send my
plagues upon him, and consume both
him and his children, and his cattle,
and whosoever shall have a copy of
this letter, written with my own hand,
and keep it in their houses, nothing
shall hurt them. And if a woman be
with child, and in labor, and a copy of
this letter be about her, and she firmly
puts her trust in me, she shall be
safely delivered of her birth. You
shall have no news of me but by the
Holy Scriptures until the day of Judg-I
motif All J ? ? 91
.> %> v. .hi ^v/uuncsn ttllU prosperity
shall be on the house, where a cop>
of this, my letter shall be found."
o
NOTICE OF DISSOLUTION OF
CORPORATION
To all and singular, all of the stockholders
of Harrelson & Bell Co., Inc.,
a corporation duly organized and
iharterevl under and by the laws of
the State of South Carolina, and formerly
having offices in the County of
Horry, in said State.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that we,
the undersigned directors and officers
>f the said Harrelson & Bell Co., Inc.,
lave called a meeting of the stockholders
of said company to meet at
;he office of A. B. Bell, Bayboro,
-south Carolina, at nine o'clock in the
forenoon on the 10th day of March,
1023, for the purpose of winding up
;he affairs of said Company, liquidatng
the same, and for the purpose of
massing a resolution dissolving the
'aid Company and cancelling the
charter thereof.
Witness the Hand and Seals of the
said Directors and Officers this 15th
mv oi reoruary, 1923.
H. J. JOHNSON,
A. B. BELL (L. S.)
W. M. HARRELSON (L. S.)
Board of Directors of said
Company.
A. B. BELL (L. S.)
President.
W. M. HARRELSON (L. S.)
Secretary.
H. WOODWARD,
\ttorney for Harrel?on
& Bell Co., Inc.
5'15|23-lmo.
SOLDIERDOES
HEROIC THING
One of the bravest thincs recorded!
in this part of the country lately took
place at Florence, S. G.f recently
when a corporal in charge of the recruiting
station in that city saved a
child from death by stopping a runaway
horse that was without bridle.
To Stop * Cough Quick
take HAYES' HEALING HONEY, a
cough medicine which stop* the cough bf
Reeling the inflamed and irritated tissue*.
A box of GROVES O-PEN-TRATE
SALVE for Chest Colds, Head Colds and
>oup is enclosed with every bottle of
rtAYES' HEAUNG HONEY. The salve
ihould be rubbed on the chest and throat
>f children suffering from a Cold or Group.
The healing effect of Hayes' Heeling Hooey in*
tide the throat combined with the heating effect of
irow'i O-Pen-Trete Salve through the porea oI
he akin toon ttope a ooogh.
Both romediea are packed la one cartoo and tie
octof the combined treatment ie 98c
Just ask your diuggist lot HAYES
IEALING HONEY.
S. G, MAE. 8, 1923
The story idtkhe told by The Florence
Times in a recent issue:
Risking his own life to save that of
a child, Corporal Frank D. Staples,
in charge of the local army recruiting
station, Sunday afternoon sprang
upon the back of a runaway horse
pulling a careening buggy behind him
in which was the little six-year, old
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. E. McPhereon,
of Claussen, and by main
strength brought the frightened animal
to a stop just before it had headon
into a moving train on North
Church street. Had the corporal
missed his hold when he sprang, he
would probably have been either seriously
injured or killed and the horse
would have plunged into the moving
train, probably killing the child, and
the horse and demolishing the buggy.
As it was none was injured with the
exception of the little a-irl
ing a slight bruise on the side of her
face when she fell from the buggy as
the corporal swerved the horse to one
side to keep the animal from plunging
into the train.
Corporal Staples was standing on
the sidewalk when he heard people
crying out and saw the maddened animal
come plunging down the street
with the buggy threatening to turn
over on the pavement each moment,
the child clinging to it and crying for
help. For several blocks back persons
had dashed out into the street,
but when they saw that the horse had
no bridle for them to grasp, they had
backed olf and let the animal go by.
their efforts only frightening him
,v?ore and more. The result was that
when the horse arrived opposite the
corporal he was running to the limit
of his speed. The street along which
the vehicle had clashed was lined with
excited people who had rushed out to
see what the noise was about, many
of theni shouting and rushing after
the speeding animal.
An eye witness to the action of the
corporal said that the soldier, /is soon
as he saw the horse running towards
him threw off his overcoat and when
the animal came abreast of him he
lpnnod for hip head, pttempting to
grasp him in the nostrils. He missc?
his hold, was knocked off his feet, and
those near literally held their breath,
as it seemd that each second he would
be trampled beneath the feet of th*
enraged horse. However, as his hand
slid back from the horse's head it
OAllnrllf r\f fV\n harnACc nnnl
VVU^IIV VVIU VTA Vilv IIUI liuno bliv
collar, and in this position, with the
other hand grasping the shaft of the
buggy, he was dragged along for a
number of feet, when he gave another
mighty lunge and landed across the
back of the animal, his head swinging
down on one side and his feet on
the other. Gradually he worked himself
into a position where he was lyinp
on his stomach astride the horse,
which if anything w.as running faster
than before. Grasping the harness in
both hands Corporal Staples slowly I
worked his way forward along the
neck of the horse until he was able
to grasp his ears. With an ear of
the animal in each h/md. he threw his
weight forward, forced the animal's
head to one side, causing him to
swerve off the paved street only a few
yards before it came in contract with
the oncoming train and soon brought
him to stop. The wheels of the buggv
c + vn/?lr tKo !n/r lllt'f ?o
i? wvi\ vuv v.vu imiij; iupv c?r* lie <'i;nrn
stopped and the child was thrown out,
as she fell in soft dirt, she wns uninjured
with the exception of the slight
bruise on her face.
H. H. Harbin, J. J. Morney and H.
P. Cirque, who had followed in an automobile
as close to the horse as thev
dared in order not to frighten him
more, immediately picked up the little
girl ,^nd took her hack to her
mother, who >ras near the flowing
well at Jefford's creek, at which place
;he horse became frightened and began
to run. picked up Mrs. McPherson
and took them to Mr. Harbin's
home. The bruise on the child's face
was bathed, but the little girl was so
frightened that it took her more than
an hour to recover.
Mrs. McPherson, her son and small
daughter had come to Florence to
vitit Mr. McPherson, who is ill in a
local hospital. On their way back to
their home at Claussen, they stopped
to water the horse at the well, Mrs.
McPherson and her son getting out of
the buggy, and when the boy pulled
the bridle off to let the animal drink,
the horse began to trot down the road
towards town, and when Mrs. McPherson
ran forward to stop him, the horse
became frightened and broke into a
run which did not let up until Corporal
Staples stopped him near the
railroad track on North Church street
A large number of people gathere011
the scene immediately after th?
horse had been stopped, and they arr
of the opinion that the little gir
would surely have been killed h/ic
Corporal Staples not stopped hir.
where he did. All are of the opinio^
that the corporal did a very heroi'
deed, filled with great danger to himDnriT
a i wr i
IYCi V11ALILL!
I ' There are thousands who S
I are ailing just a little, who I
II need a tonic to energize and I
revitalize, who should util-1
ize the nourishing benefits of |
Scott's Emulsion
Your body does not tef
quire powerful drugs
or stimulants, but
does need nourishment
vitalized with
health-buildinf vita*
mines, to help re*
store normal resistance.
d ikon > Bcw??, Btoomfltfcd. w. j. tt-Sl I
self, and many of those present tooV
him by the hand and praised him for
his unselfish and danger-fraught r.c
tion. Some of the women, who a
minute before had stood frozen in
their tracks with hoVror, expecting
to see the little girl dashed against
the moving train and mangled, almost
caught him in their arms as they
sobbed out their gratitude for what
he had done. The corporal, however,
could not see where he had done any
more than anyone else would have
donp under the circumstances, and the
first chance he got he slipped away
and returned to town. Those who
saw him going about his regular duties
yesterdny t?n<l today ?
efficient and quiet way, could not tell
uniess twe.v i. w ueen torn ui tne i.croic
action he had performed, th.it he
is a real hero. He has not mentioned
tne subject once, and when anyone attempts
to get him to talk about what
No nasses it off and changes
the subject.
EIGHTALIENS
APR HKf n TTU
A JLJL M'JU JMS A
Eight Italians and one Portuguese
are locked up at the police station,
Florence, suspected of being illegally
landed aliens, according to a telegram
received by Chief of Police Mclver.
from the immigrant inspector at St.
Andrews, Fla. The men were taken
from Atlantic Coast Line train No.
82, bound from Jacksonville to New'
, York by Captain Dorsey, head of the
railroad police department, three of
his officers and Officer Ward of the
city police department.
A telegram was received by the
chief asking him to watch the Florida
northbound trains for eight illegally
: nlin^c nn/1 4-V*?
u.icun, cum nicnc fiitjn were
taken off as suspects, although there
are nine in the crowd taken ofT the
train by the officGYs.
In a conversation over long distrnce
telephone, the inspection officials
at St. Andrews, Fla., stated that
a man was being sent to Florence to
investigate the men and find out if
they are the ones wanted. The police
were asked to hold the men until the
officer arrived.
The men, that is those who couV
.-peak English, stoutly denied they
were illegally landed in this country
saying they have been in the United
States for a number of years. Two.of
them showed passports while some of
the others said they had lost theirs
One of the number, who could speak
English fairly well, said he had lived
in Pennsylvania for a number of !
years, and that he had gone to Flor- j
ida because he had heard that better i
wages were being paid than in the i
north. But he said he found expenses j
so high that he could not stay there i
and was returning to Philadelphia j
jWhen he was removed from the train ?
j
TOURIt
New.
|
| This Is the Ion
which the F<
Car has over m
the many ne<
HI meats, Inchidi
man top, it is a
than ever befoi
III Buy now. Ten
I BUCK MO
I Authorized Ford
%
ere. All of the men had tickets to
destinations in the north.
The Portuguese talked very fluently,
with his hands, but his motions
could not be disciphered by the representative
of the paper who called
on the men at the jail, nothing could
be learned of his past history.
LATER?Although it has not been
officially established that eight of the
men who were captured by police officials
of the city and Atlantic Coast
lyine railroad are the ones whom the
officials were Asked to keep on the
lookout for as being illegally landed
aliens, it is practically sure that they
are the men wanted, according to a
statement mr.de by Kenneth Morton,
Chinese and immigration inspector of
the United States Immigration Service
at Jacksonville, who arrived in
Florence to take charge of the situation.
Inspector Morton stated that on
Feb. 7th, 36 Italians had been smuggled
into the country at Panama City,
Fla., from Cuba. Twenty-eight of
them were caught within a short time,
but eight managed to elude the officials
and make their getaway. Chief
Mclver received a telegram from the
officials to keep a watch for these
men, .and nine men were taken from
an A. C. L. train bound from Florida
4a XTA*?r V/x**!* '? * *
iu iuik who answered in a way
the description of the men wanted.
The ninth man, a Portuguese, will
probably be released, stated the inspector.
Speaking of the immigration problem,
Inspector Morton stated that at
present the quotas for Italy and several
adjoining countries have been
exhausted and no more can come in
before August except by smuggling.
This is the reason so many are trying
to tret in at this time, he said.
At Lips cnciied^k
|V and sore? m
Imentholatum I
V quickly heals J
****************************
iHORRY COUNTY!
It . * *'
|| TRUST CO. j|
W 't
u ,r
j|L. D. Magrath, Manager;;
"Real Estate, Bonds and\\
It ' ,e
II Insurance. X
"iniHwnwMHwwimwimmmiiimiiiij *
not <
JG CAR j
Price
F. O. B.
^ DETROIT
O . II
rest price at
wd Touring
>ld, and with I
w Improve- |
ing the one I
bigger value |l
ns If desirad. 1
TOR CO. I
and F ordson H