The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, July 13, 1886, Image 1
w
GfiS - ? \ ' - ,
lj T ' * j
fe ^bkwlb lfltss?iger4
^ . *?
"ye- 2- ABBEVILLE, S. C., TUESDAY, JULY 13, 1886. NO. 45.
Murdered by a Woman
.pecial dispatch to*The News an
Courier.]
/ Midway, July 4?At Hunter's chap
/ church this morning, while Sunda
school was in session, Miss Emma Coi
nelly killed John A. Steedly. St
walked into the church with her arn
folded and a pistol in one hand cocke*
She passed into the seat in rear of St<
edly, and when just behind him sh<
him. He arose, looked around, tried 1
get out his pistol, and at the same tino
made for the door. Miss Connelly snaj
ped her pistol at him again, but it faile
to go off. If it had eone off the chancc
are that some one else would hate bee
hurt, as the church %as crowded.
Steedly fell at the door of the churc
just outside and died in about thre
minutes. There was great excitmen
among the ladies and children at th
time. Steedly had been putting ou
damaging reports about Miss Connelly
for srhich her brothers and a Mr. Ot
had horsewhinped him some time ago
an account.of which appeared in you
paper. Some ten days since, Steedb
published a letter in your paper givinj
his version of the whipping andreiterat
ing tho reports. This letter seems t<
have been the immedate cause of th<
shooting.
As far as can be ascertained the feel
ing of the public seems to favor Mis*
Connelly, who is under arrest.
In the JVe?P? and Cottrier on Jun<
7th, the following letter was publishec
from our Bamberg correspondent.
Some excitement prevails in th?
neighborhood of Hunter's chapel ovei
the cowhiding of Mr. John Steedly bj
Messrs. W. S. Connolly and A. L. Ott
It seems that Steedly had beon circulating
false and damaging reports concern*
ing Connelly's sister. In order to obtain
full satisfaction for the offence
Me?gr?. ^Connelly and Ott purchased
a $2.60 whalebone whip?';wiited upon
Mr. Steedly and .administered about
thirty laahes, wearing the whip comple:
tely out. It is said that Steedly had
bcoam# reconciled to his fate since calling
upon a trial justice and being
advised that in case a lawsuit was
entered against Messrs. Connelly and
Ott other punishment would probably
lie inflicted for circulating reports equally
false and damaging concerning other
person.
On June 23d, a letter from John A.
'Steedly was published in which he
i said.
"In your issue of the 7th inst., I see
a card from your Bamberg correspondent
stating that I was cowhided by W.
T. Connelly and A. L. Ott. Your correapondent
did me great injustice in that
report. 1 was attacked by Messrs.
Connolly and Ott, and before I had
any warning Connelly presented a cocked
pistol at me and Ott placed his hand
on his, and I was told by both of these
men that if I moved they would kill me.
Connelly did strike me several blows
with a whip, the cost of which i do not
know or care. Your correspondent says
that I had been circulating false and
damaging reports concerning Connelly's
staffer. That is untrue. All that I said
was in a verv confidential w?r t
. *
had no desire or expectation of doing
Miffs Connelly any damage by speaking
of her to my friend, but unfortunately
for me and him he divulged tho secret.
"And now, since the lady and her
friends have taken tho steps they have,
in justice to myself I must say that her
mother knows the whole truth and
knows that I have not lied. Kveryone
can see that your correspondent was not
disposed to do me justice in that report.
"I hope in the future, when using my
name through the papers, he will be
careful to say nothing but .the truth.
Timo will tell whether I am reconciled
to my fate or not; and as to his
statement sbout my calling on a trial
justice, it is. as other Rtatom?n#?:
- ???t
either wilfully or negligently untrue.
Now, Mr. Editor, I hope in justice to
me you will publish this :
On June 25 the Bamberg correspondent
of The News and Courier wrote
u follows:
"In justice to your correspondent and
Mr. Bteedly it is necessary to state that
the report made concerning the cowhiding
of Mr. John Steedly was founded
ntirely uponji to formation "given your correspondent
by a gentleman whom he
believes to be reliable. His statements
have been confirmed by. other parties,
and your correspondent has neither
seen nor heard a denial of the facts as
reported until Mr. Steedly's card ap
l(j peared in the News awd Courier yesterday.
It was far from the intention of
ej your correspondent to do Mr. Steedly
y an injustice, and it is hoped that he may
t by able to clear up the matter satisfactoie
is The Augusta Chronicle gives the foli.
lowing additional details:
3- "Quite a number were at the depot as
)t the morning train stopped at Midway to
:o see the fair slayer leave for Barnwell,
te where she has gone to give herself up to
>- the County authorities to await a trial,
d Miss Connelly was accompanied by her
is attorney, Mr. Williams, of the firm of
n Skinner & Williams, her father, her
brother and several friends (Mr. Connelh
ly, her brother, is in charge of the Cene
tral Hotel bar here), and the reporter^
t not wishing to be too bold, obtained an
e interview with Miss Connelly through
t her brother.
r, "Miss Connelly is a well-formed
t young lady of medium height, with
i, brown eyes deep set, high cheek bones
r and sweet, interesting face, and one to
j see her seated by her father would not
I believe that it had been but twelve hours
. since sne naa taken the life or the man
} whom she thought had injured her.
j "The reporter, on taking his seat by
Miss Connelly, said : I do not wish to
. be impertinent, but do you object to
s talking on the subject of yesterday's
tragedy.'
; "I do not,' she quietly replied. 'I
I have nothing to regret about it.' She
had simply punished an injury that a
i cowardly man had placed on her. She
r spoke well of Ms. Steedly, with whom
> she said had been on the best of terms.
, The two families are on intimate terms.
. Miss Connelly said : I killed him be.
cause I felt it my duty, and I did not
want to put my father or brother in the
( position I ain now in. My name, and
that's all a woman has, has been villifi
ctf, and I have wiped out the RUrin J
the blood of my *traducer.'
"She said that Mrs Steedly, who is s
brunette, weighing about 200 pounds
and rather good looking, bore a good ,
character in the neighborhood. She (
said she would not care if th<* trial
to come off immediately ; she^was ready.
"Miss Conuelly did not display the
least emotion. The Chronicle reporter's
pleasant interview was cut short by
the arrival of the train at Ranrwell.
"Miss Conpelly and Mr. Steedly are
second cousins. Robert. Aldrich has
also been retained to defend Miss Con.
nely. The Chronicle bade farewell to
Miss Connelly, promising to be present
at the trial."
The Political Problem.
"It makes us tired" to hear men forever
preterding that Airmers are imposed
upon in the administration of laws.
We hear men continually talking about
those who *re opposed to farmers. We
do not believe there is an intelligent
man jin Laurens county {who really
;r
n?u>u, it uc Hsu mo power, do aught to f
injure this class of our citizens. Is it ?
the lawyer, doctor, merchant, teacher, (
carpenter,^blacksmith ? Who is it ?
No; you may look in vain for those ^
who seek to injure farmers. Men dif- t
fer as to what political measures are for
the good of the| country, but the real
question after all is to place men in ofr e
ttce who have good sense and sound j
judgment to decide those questions in- a
telligently. We are opposed to any t
class of citizens making political noini- ii
nations. The Democratic party has *
adopted the primary election system of *
making these nominations, and any con* a
ention "suggestees" in tho field will tl
necessarily defeat the spirit of the pri- u
mary. The Democratic party as fcn or* li
ganization, allows farmers and overv w
- ^ tl
other class a voice, and we believe this u
organization is amply sufficient to meet *
the demands of the times. This being *i
tho case, we do most heartily oppose si
any political organization that seeks to di
supplant democracy, whether it be far- tl
mera or republicans. If the Democratic h1
party has failed to redeem pledges ; if it r<
caunnt make nominations by the mode n
adopted, then we might join some other gi
political organization. When farmers' U
clubs assemble they should discuss agriculture,
and when they discuss poli- w
tics, it should be done in a Democratic w
club. Farmers can discuss politics, and ai
should do so ; not as farmers, but as cifc- n
isens?-\s Democrats.? Lauren* Adver- hi
| si**r. ri
J\<S \ i fe'; l; ' v
Paul H. Hayne
In his home upon the Georgia hilltop,
where the J uly wind dirges through the
pine forest, dear to the heart of the poet,
Paul H. Hayne, the laurelled singer ol
the South, slept the sleep that knows
no waking in this lower world. He had
valiantly, laboriously, faithfully. devoutly
finished his course. In honorable
poverty, after early affluence, he
struggled on, always keeping the torch
of literary genius resplenden abovet his
head. Beyond his immediate family
and the Alll-Father, few can understand
how tremenuous a struggle this gifted
man w?geu unceasingly witn lHe "an*
spiritual god?Circumstance." Ui$V
ted for the ruder conflicts of the mateiifcl
universe, and shrinking from the rough
contact of the werk-day world, ho devoted
his existence to his art, and neter
recognized another intellectual rival )n
that orbit. What prodigies, for wfeat
scant reward, that busy .brain and ttfdlc8s
hand wrought! What beautiful
poems, from year to year or month to
month, shaped themselves in his pare
imagination or flashed from this land to
that other clime, which he pined to *ee,
but never was permitted to behold ! lie
was a master too of nervous, picturesque,
suggestive prose, in nearly every chord
of passionate pathos or delicate irony, to
sny nothing of the spiritual insight that
illumined and enchanted everything
serious that came from his pen. How
fonrlnrlv onrl olnnnon 11 anil niAnal*? \\*%
...M V<V^UVII**f <?IIU |IIWU<JIJ fiv,
gathered the immortal flowers that fell
from Tiinrod's hand and made the world
weep at one of the saddest stories of
neglected genius since the days of Chatterton,
"the marvellous boy who perished
in his pride." Timrod, unlike Chattorton,
awiitcd the summons of his Maker
and passed away reverently when
"Love was stronger than Life." Happy
was he in having had a friend like Bayne
to lead his gentle apparition "down the
aAreuios&.of time.''
In this connection, too, it is ft grmciooa.
memory that his last prose contribution
was in sympathetic aid of the venerable
Charles Gayarre, who, in his old age,
has not had the consideration hiB wonderful
talents and services deserve. It was
in impulse of love that made Ilnyne the
literary executor of Timrod. It was the
chivalric call of fraternal duty that roused
him, in his last days, to rebuke the
South for its churlishness toward such
\ man as Gayarre. This was one of
Paul liayne's noblest virtues. He had
10 jealousy of his professional brethren,
but was swift and eager to do them any
tindness and to espouse their cause in
iny practicable fashion.
Hayne was nn ardent lover of nature
ind, like Wordsworth, had laid his ear
to the bosom of the- mighty mother,
learkening to secrets which she never
ails to reveal to children who nestle in
ter rfrms and confide in her inspiration.
L'hc winds bad music for him, in storm
>r zephyr. The sky, in serenity or fury
icld messages for his Muse. Flower,
horn, herbage, the multitudinous mira:les
of creation were creatures of his
ancy and gold mines of his thought.
VII were instinct to him with the Pow
sr that permitted them, and he saw the
najesty of God in the loveliest violet as
veil as in the plunge of the cyclone
hrough the shrieking woodland.
Luckily for Paul Hajne, he had some
nestimable compensation. No man was
ver blessed with a wife who so thorough
7 understood and appreciated him; i
nd the same, in a relative degree, was
rue of the remarkable son who has
inherited the gentleness' of one parent
nd the talent of the other. Ah ! that
nift a happy family, despito the trials
nd thwarting of life ! Harmony was
here and love and trust and - heavenly
nion. The master-singer has departed!
[e has laid down his cross and taken
is crown, in God's great mercy. An
nspeakable void is in the hillside home '
nd the two faithful hearts that admired 1
nd adored him beyond human expres- ;
on. Hut praise be to Christ the Re
eemer and Healer the do not mourn as >
le hopoless! A little while and they 1
tall rejoin him. His splendid work <
>mains to make them and the peoDlo <
joice that he lived. His memory is >
aidless. The good ho did was ipcalcu- ^
ible. i
There will be wet eyes in many lands *
hen tidings of his death are known. Be 1
ill remain in the heart of wife and son i
id grateful countrymen. We would1 *
ot in speaking thus still the grief of j
is kindred, but simply assuage it by ,
tverent comfort. ?
fj .y* ' .* '* ' ' </' :K'- v .. ' <
Not long ago, as if prescient of his approaching
end, Paul Hayne, though
t grateful to Georgia for cordial hospi,
tality and ample recognition of his merit
, cried out to his South Carolina mother,
f never forgotten in another State
i to receive him when, to quote the lore^
ly thought of Tennyson, uGod's finger
u:- ' 1 -
?m;uuu mm anu ne |siept." Georgia
would be proud to have him in death as
in life, but how can she resist the poet's
last pathetic cry for the embrace of
South Carolina ? Surely that imperial
mother will claim her glorious
. son and consecrate his last abode.
And when he shall sleep beside the
twin rivers and within sound of the
historic sea, while men of all natiuns
shall seek his grave as pilgrims visit
sacred shrines, no tears will fall upon
the sod more affectionately than those
shedbj* Georgians, who surrender him
only at his own bidding And in response
to a summons that even Love cannot de:
ny.?Augusta (Chronicle.
What Is Cheat.
Mkhhbb. Editor : I noticed an
article is your last issue, headed above,
and your request "to hear from some of
our farmers on the question". I am not
a farmer now, but was one for the spaoe
of forty-five years, and will freely give
your readers my views long entertained
on the above subject. Cheat or
chess is the offspring of imperfect wheat
i j - - ~
ur u?u aim oiner small grain, 1 think,
not possessing vitality sufficient to
produce its own species?caused either
by the grain being imperfect when sown
or becoming so by the soil remaining
wet for a long time after sown, as seen
more plentifuly in wet spots in the field
or the stalk may be so injured sometime
after sowing, by freezes, as was
the case in the fall sowing last winter,
sapping its rigor to tho extent that it
i failed to produce its own species. We
[ail fenftW that the fall ?ofring of oats has
changed to cheat the present year which,
is proof sufficient of my views of it. I
learn there is no cheat in the spring
sowing. My attention was called to a
field of wheat in 1845 in Newberry
County, by a friend who was a practical
planter for many years, which had much
cheat in it. He asked me if I knew the
igin of cheat. 1 gave my views as
above stated, and he corroborated them
by saying that he and his brother sowed
wheat in adjoining fields, of the same
variety and same soil, his brother sowing
two weeks beforo he did; much
rain fell on his brother's wheat im- ,
mediately after sowing, but none on his
until after it had made its appearanco
above ground. The result waa that his
brother's wheat was much infested
with cheat whereas his was exempt '
from it. He then asked if I had not
noticed more cheat in fields in low and
wet spots then elsewhere. I answered
in the affirmative.
As there are several varieties of chess .
or cheat two of which I noticed yester- j
day, one that bunches, not unlike oats. (
the other having its grains adhering to ^
the stalk which is found in wheat the
. ' i
other in oats. 1 became more convinced (
of the theory I have advanced as to (
their ortflrin. Anw <? ' ?1
0 j ^ i MI it ui ovcu UlllCSH
a water plant belongs to it will lose much
of * its vitality in wet ground while
germinating. This is scon in most plants
when just above ground, or before a wet
spell of weather. No doubt all farmers
and gandeners have noticed the weakness
or want of vitality in plants, and
want of green color, that appear above
ground after much wet or cold weather.
I doubt not that some varietios of chess
or cheat take their origin from the same
species. Be this as it may, but that ?
does not prevent wheat or oats under
the circumstances changing to cheat.
If I am in error I should be pleased
to be corrected in your next issue by
some one whose experience has led
them to a difiercnt conclusion.? W. E.
in Winnaboro News and Herald.
P. 8.?In corroboration of my theory
ks to the origin of cheat it is a will
known fact that all our fruits and
esculents have undergone a radical
:hange tinea they were first know. I
recollect when there was but one
rariety of Irish potato, and only two of
-1
iweet, md they the poorest esculents I j,
jver eat. So also with garden regoU- i
ties. When a boy I never wu but three \t
rarieties of beans or cabbage and one of n
urnip. What changes in variety and n
laTor hate si nee occurred no one bnt
he aged knows. The same theory will
ilso apply to most or all of the animsl
is well as vegetable kingdom. W. E. n
* .' ' * /* / " :
; / : ... v;, > # . v ' , u
j&! ' yy
A. Plea for Candidates.
M ebhkh. Editors :?As the candi
dates are being announced, I an
prompted, with your permission, t<
bring to the attention of your inanj
readers, two subjects. In one of theai
the candidates are particularly interest
ed, and in the other all of us are 01
should be deeply concerned. For sev
eral years the candidates have been sub
jected to an annoyance, to uav tho
of it. which in our humble (opinion
should be stopped, cither by the candidates
themselves, or the people at large
or both combined. I allude to calling
upon the candidates to assist in all conceivable
enterprises, and in what is considered
by any one a charitable object.
Now generally, the most of those offering
for the Legisldture, are men possessing
at least a moderate share of this
j world's goods, and it may not be heavy
upon them to contribute of their ?mcanfl
to an occasional call, but for those who
arq. running for any of the minor offices,
it is not short of oppression. Could it
bo known positive'y, prior to the primary,
who were to be the favored ones,
there would be some sort of propriety
in those being approached and asKed for
aid. but these petitions, these subscription
lists, are presented when all is uncertain,
and all must alike be called upon
and expected to shell out. The
whole thinp: is a crying evil?a nuisance
trl??pV? eKnnlil 1 ' ^ "
n.iuuiu uu aumuu. une oi I tie
candidates, several years ago, told this
writer that he was almost afraid to go
anywhere, for fear of being asked to
giro some of his hard earned moneyt
which he could ill afford to do. to build
or repair churches, school-houses &cM
in other sections of the county, when
there were more of just such calls.in
his own, than he could in justice to
himself and family respond to. Aa a
failure to respond, might lose him a
good many votes, I for one, ain in favor
of all the candidates uniting and positively
refusing to ?ire one cent, at
least till aftor the primary. After that
election* those who feel able to do so,
might, if disposed, give according to
their means, and the others give according
as their future prospects warrant
them in doing.
The next subject in which wo desire
our would-be Legislators to take a lively
interest, is in regard to the Township
School Trustees. It is a hard matto
r I n OAmn Af
, ... OU.UC VI iiic lUWIISIIipS, 10 get
any one to serve. In this Township
two years ago, quite a number were
called upon, and urged to act before the
board was full. It may seem to the
uninitiated but a small matter, but to
those who have tried it it assumes
much greater proportions. Several
pears since, the school trusteed were
exempt from road and jury duty and
the payment of a poll tax, which was
some sort of compensation. Now all
of these are denied, "and the trustees
nuust neglect their business and thereby
In many instances, incur considerable
loss. The office pf school trustee is
:he only one in the county, except that
>f road supervisor, in which the pay is
ill honor and no nrnflt Tho
. , ? a ?*v nuuviUI
trustee has to spend at least one day
nore than the number of months that
:he school fund lasts in attending to
lis duties. It has been urged fcy some
hat to excuse the trustees from serving
is jurors too many good men are exempt
from that very important dnty.
There are sixteen townships in this
:ounty, and three trustees to each town*
(flip aggregate forty-eight men. In a
roting population of several thousand,
food men must be alarmingly few in
lumber, if taking therefrom forty-eight
vould seriously impair the jury system.
Fhe trustees have the disbursing of
ixteen or seventeen thouun^ hm
lave the burden upon them of properly
listributing that sum, and "doing the
peatest good to the greatest number."
f good and true men are not needed in
uch a place, I know not whore they
re. Even the advantages enumerated
bore, are far from being an adequate
emuneration to the trustees for- tiine
sst and labor done. Philanthropy and
atriotism are well enough in their Way
-are very commendable at times, tut
tiese hard times it is not very encourging
to hare to work for nothig
and board and clothe yourself,
'here is but one more step to be taken
i a downward direction, and that is; to
i it.i?*
i?|u?ru wo trustees to pay an annual
am for the pleasure and honor of aerrig
in that capacity. The public school
fstem has many defects, some of
'hich cannot well be remedied, but
this evil can be easily removed/ and it
. is to be ho'ped that our next Legislature
^ will see to it that it is done,
j Troupb.
[ Secessity or Urate7.
There is no good reason why every
_ finnpr kKahU
r ?..? ?i?v raise grass enough for
nis own use. We cannot excuse ourselves
for neglecting the grasses because
, we cannot raise blue grass, for there
arc grasses adapted to the soil and climate
of South Carolina just as valuable
? as blue grass.
The misfortune is that we look upon
our grasses as nuisances. Bermuda, one
of the most valuable grasses we have,
* is by most of us considered good enough
to hold the levees of the Mississippi
in nlnro *>n?- ?"* 3
? , ..%uvi gooa enough for our
(I fields and pastures. Its great tenacity
I of life which should recommend it is
, made a serious objection. It is perennial,
nutritive, relished by all kinds of
stock, and everything feeding upon it
fattens rapidly. It makes good pasture
in the extreme South every month in
the year. When cut and dried it luakes
a most excellent hay and is more profitable
than a crop of cotton. But a? the
Hoods cannot kill it, nor the hdf* dry
summers of the South, nor tramping,
nor in all cases plowing, we are warned
to keep it at a distance. Its merits are
considered faults. For the same reason
we could find fault with blue grass. In
many instances it has been turned over
in the spring, the land cultivated in corn
without killing it.
But I must confess that talking does
not always effect revolutions, however
wisely it nuv h?
J -one.
Example is sometimes, if not always
better than preccpt, When a problem
is demonstrated before one's eyes there is
no disputing it. Every man wants to
do the best he can and when he is
shown a .new way, that is decidedly an
improvement over the old one, or what
he has been used to, ht will adopt it.
Then let some one taiie the lead and
adopt new ways, make use of the grass*
es, and stop the leak that is raining our
land.
John Raskin on Fiona Beggars.
John Ruskin being asked the othtfr
day for aid in paying off a church debt
replied by letter thus : "I am sorrowfully
amused by your appeal to me. of
all people in the world, the precisely
least likely to give you a farthing. My
first word to all men and boys who care
/> Vi ? ?- - - - ,v
Ucai uiu is, uont go in debt. Starve
and go to heaven ; but don't borrow.
Try first begging. I don't mind if it*?
really needful, stealing. But don't buy
things you can't pay for.' And of all
manner of debtors, pious people building
churches they can't pay for arc tbo
most detestable nonsense to we. Can't
you preach and pray behind the hedges
or in a sandpit, or in a coal-hole first?
And of all manner of churches thus idiotically
built, iron churchoft are thedamnahlcst
to inc. Aud of all the sects
and believers in any ruling spirit, Hindoos,
Turks, Feather Idolaters, and
Mumbo Juiubo Log, and Fire Worshippers.
who want churche?. your modern
u t;.-t n
fiu^uim ftvangoiical sect in the most absurd
and ertirely objectionable and unendurable
to me. All of wbioh you
j might very easily have found out from o
my books. Any other sect would, before
bothering me to write it to them."
The Salary of Teachers.
[Greenwood Tribune.]
Surely the common school system is
sufficiently farcical as it is. but what
must it become when placed under the ^
instruction of teachers worth the whole
of |10.00 per month ? When one un- .]
dertakes to ride a hobby he is very apt
to ride it to death and it is not unfrequently
an appropriate thing top a man
to pray that Qod would deliver him
from his friends. : &
A Fbiewd op Education.
"I
..
When the liver and kidneys are disordered
the bowels beeome luetiT* retain the bidlr
digested food from the stomach, and absorb
deleterious matter, which thus poisoning the
bolod gives rise to otherserious derangments.
Use I)r. J. H. MeLean,s Liver and Kidney
Btlo.
Buklei^s AnlM 8?lr?. ;|
The best salve in the world for Cnta, Bruises,
8orss, Ulcers, Salt Rheum. Fever SoreS, |
Tettefj Uhsp^ed Hands, Chilbains, Corns*
.rn?aa, auu MltlTflJ OVTII. >
Piles, of no p*y required, ft Is goutttMd , *
to gire perfect aatUTactloo, or boomj refund- , ^
ep. Prfee Si Nnti pti box. For Ml* pj 1 3
T. C. Parritt *
Slokoeu ootnat u?ia?ited, bat If it iftdtaa v, <
with hafcHhf and aotiro Hrer ind kidMjs, ('M
with pur* Mood wa in la^rtrnM* to it* -wi
attack. The baat inrLporaat I* Dr. J. S, >jj
MeLuu'i Ut?r u4Kmhj Balm,. j