The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, November 07, 1878, Image 2
'Ilt- WEEKLY u JNBR .C.rllsDA NOVEMBER 7,1878
BEN BUTLER'S BIOGRAPHY.
WHERE IrE CAME 1J2--INCI
DINT8 IN 118 CALBBR.
What a Reporter Learned In a Ride
With the Essex Statesman--Ben Tells
His Own Story.
[ Rromi the New York Sun.1
The weary way was enlivened by
General Butler relating many re
miniscences of a varied and . active
life. I picked up, in this way, some
scraps of biography. General But
lor's grandfather and father were
seafaring men. His grandfather
served, however, ai a cavalry officer
in the revolutionary army until he
was rendered unfit for duty by a
broken leg. He then fitted out a
privateer and captured an East
Indian so large that lie hoisted his
little craft on dock and sailed into a
port of Portugal. His grandfather
on his mother's side was also . a
privateorsman.
General Batler was
'DORN IN NEW 1AMPSI11E.
His father died six months before
at St.- Christopher, in' the West
Indies. "The piece of land on
which I was born," General Butler
said, "was so stony that in driving
the cows a mile to pasture I often
jumped from one stou to another
the whole distance." When he was
nine years of age his mother re.
moved to Massachuets, where an
old uncle lived. There were but
few houses at Lowell then.
"I have shot squirrels in the
woods on the hill where my house
stands," General Butler said. "I
have lived in that house twenty
eight years. There all my children,
and Sue and Blanche were born."
With some emotion, after a pause,
he added: "For more than forty
years I have lived among the people
of Middlesex county, coming in and
going out before them. A. man is
known by his neighbors. I do not
-r believe you will find one of mine
who will 1.ot tell you I have been
a gool citizen, a good husband t.nd
a good father-"
General Butler's uncle assisted
him to prepare for college at Dexter
Academy, and to go through Water
ville College. "I was a wild boy,"
General Butler said, "but not a bad
one. I did not lead in all the
A schoolboy pranks, but I was well
up with the foremost. It was an
orthordox Baptist institution, and
the Rev. Mr. Smith, the same, by
the way, who wrote 'My Country,
'tie of Thee,' was our chaplain. We
had to get out of bed at 5 o'cloek
in the morning to attend prayers,
and were obliged to go to church
twice on Sunday and lectures once
a week. It is true," the Generai
said, laughingly, "that I helped put
a horse in the chapel one night, and
I learned then how to make a horse
go when he doesn't want to go, a
.trick that served me more thar.
once in the army. After the boys
- had tried in vain to lead or drive
the old horse, I took him by the
bead and backed him down the
'stairs. I often showed my mer_
how to get horses on a boat during
the war by backing them along a
plank."
"Another of our
PRANKs5 AT coLLEGB
was breaking up an abolition meet'
ing. The English philanthropist
who died the other day, George
.Thompson, was to speak in the
college town. The students shared
the common feeling against th0
good man. Wa thought he was
abusing Amerncans, and our patriot-.
ec pride rebelled at this. We .did
not want to get into a scrape ; 8o,
after debating the matter for sever.
al nights, we hit upon the following
plan: We went into the country
and p aid an old farmer fifty cents
to allow us to catch in his bara all
the swallows we wanted. We got a
- dozen or so, and the night ' of. the
meeting a number of us were pres..
ont, distributed juadiciously about
the room, each boy with a swallow
in his pocket; Thle 'church *as
lighted by old..fashioned chande
liers, holding -each three .or. four,
- whale-oil -lamps. At a given signal,
'when th~e exer'cises were well undsr
way, the swallows were let loose,
and in thet .,'okling of an eye out
went the N1*his. Trhe birds, of
course, went straight for $h~e.lights,
and the rush of aiF oaused by 'thei'
-wings p~t $bmd .emps Oltk .W,
kissed a r oj two, 'and they, of
course, 's ribdc. 41 was hom*io
tion and :~iw
Then th6'Wdu~de
silence ; said that some unaccounta
ble accident had put the lights out,
but the audience must sit quiet and
preserve order, and the lamps
would soon be lighted.
"The sexton hurried away for a
torch-there were no lucifer matches
in those days-and presently back
he came with a lighted candle. As
he came into the church, holding it
in front of his face and shielding it
with one hand, the swallows, of
course, wont for the light, and one
of them struck the candle, knock
ing it out of the old man's hand and
into his face. Ho tumbled back,
gave a yell of fright, and gathering
himself up took to his heels, vowing
there were spirits there, sure. The
crowd, now frightened in earnest,
the students leading, got oit of the
church in a hurry, and the abolition
imeeting was at an end.".
THE WATER WHEEL STORY.
"Is 'the popular story true about
your att- 4hing the great Wheel of
one of the factories in Lowell to
compel the payment of wages to
some of the fethalo operativCs?" I
asked General Butler.
"No," he replied, "that is a fiction,
and one by the repetition of which
I have gained credit among the
ignorant for great shrewdndas as a
lawyer. There are many other
fictions current by which I have
gained credit for something worse,
and none -of then have as much
foundation as this story about my
attaching the great wheel. Not
long after I began to practise - law
at Lowell, the factories made a rule
that if their employees qit service
b.'fore the end of the month they
could not be paid until ti!. first. of
the next month,' the rechlar pay day.
Thore was probably 'some excuse
for this rule, as hell) was a groat
deal more independent then than
now, and by leaving in the middle of
the month or earlier could seriously
embarrass the mill owners, as well
as put them to great inconvenience
to settle a multitude of little bills.
But, of course, all ruleR ouight to
have their exceptions. I was on
friendly relations with some of the
mill owners, and saved them 'many
a noyances by paying the employees
who quit before the end of
the month, and came to me to have
their employers sued. I kept an
account of these payments, and at
the next pay day sent around the
items by my 'office boy and got my
money. Ono or two mill owners,
with whom I had no relations of
this kind, once undertook to treat
me cavalierly, but they soon learned
better. Well, one day an old spin
ster, whose parents or relatives
lived in New Hampshire, came to
my office and told her story. Some
body at home was sick ; her presence
was required; it was absolutely
necessary for her to go, but her
employer would not pay. She
needed money ; she must go home ;
she could not wait till the first of
the month. 'But what can I do for
you, my good woman V I. said. 'I
want you to see them,' she replied.
'But that will not suit your purpose.
You can't wait. You nmust go, and
if I bring suit, it can't be tried in
your absence.' '0 yes, but I know
you can make them pay me right
'away, this yery day.' - 'How so 1'
I asked. 'Why, by attaching the
great wheel ; of course . that will
stop the milL' I rather liked that,
and so I thought I would humor
her. I told her to come back later,
and I would see what could be done.
I sent around a note to the mill and
asked if so and so had quit
work, and how inuch was due
her, and if I should p1ay as
usunal. In a little while the re
ply came. 'All right.' The ac..
count was aJl right, but the rule
could not be broken.
"When my New Hampshise spin
ar returned, I gave her a receipt
to sign and paid'hei' the amount of
her wages. She was tr'iumphant
and said : 'I knew yda would bring
them to terms,.when you attached
the great wheel.' Of course abe
told how I attached the great wheel
all the way from Lowell to her home
in New Hampshire, and thus 'the'
story got started."
FEzAUU, IGNoIANCE i N Ew YORK.
--It is a pretty serions fact that in
this city of New YorN there are to
day 20,582 grown-d~p1sen andi "
men who can' neither re'ad nor write
while a rcentg faoe~ ~ads
and misses are gettintst ng
of the "highi'B EhglshbrAnchesat~
the expense of eh yl o1g)beglygof
taxpayers, thousand&s of ittle ones
beeis tdeor etor nind tIi
SING ULAl S U.PBRSTITXONS.
How 9ome Miners Think They are
FPorewarneu of Death.
There are wonderful things to be
studied in the vast laboratory where
nature has stored her treasures.
The men who toil in fhe caverns of
the ground and treac the endless
windings of thq drifts have their
presentiments of coning calamity,
and at times feel the tguch of death
in the very air. A Virginia (Nev.)
C'ronicle reporter was talking with
an old minor a few days ago who
implicitly believed that no death
over took place in the mines with
out a warning of some kind. "You
see," lie said, "death never comes of
a sudden upon the men in the mines.
You reporters write up accidents
and toll how something gave way or
fell quick and killed somebody,
Now, this ain't so. There's always
some warning. When I see my
lantern begins to buin low down and
blue, I know there is danger ahead.
If it keeps on for a few days and
then begins to waver and ilicker, I'll
watch it close to see where it points.
Now, yon may set me up for a fool,
but tvhat I'm tellin' is the gospel
truth. When the flame leans over
(as if it was being worked by a blow
pipe) and points to a man, death
has marked him. Some years ago
when Bill Hendricks was killed in
the Savage, the flame of my lantern
pointed right to him for over an
hour, and When he moved the flame
would turn, just as if Bill was a load
stone anl to iane was a marier's
needle. I kna,vI lie was gone, and
tol.1 him to be catreful about the
blat. \Vel, no g-.t L!roug' that all
rigot, and got n thie c!kge. As we
went up, the caudilo kept actiug
strangely, and at timies the flame
would stretch out long and
thin towards Bill. At length it gave
a sudden flicker, and Bill reeled
to one side and was caught in the
timbers. I heard his dreadful cry
as he disappeared down the shaft,
and while he was bounding from
side to side, dashing out his brains
and scattering his flesh down to the
bottom, my light went out. I
never lit that lantern. again. It
hangs up in my cabin now, and it
always will. There's more in a
candle flimne than people think. I'd
rather see a cocked revolver point
ed at me than a candle flame; a
revolver sometimes misses, but a
candle flame is sure to kill when it
starts towards a man. I must start
for my shaft now. Don't give my
name to anybody. There are some
who would laugh at me." The man
here picked up his bucket and
walked away. There are plenty of
miners on the Comstock who have
just such superstitions. Some be
lieve that bad and good luck come
in streaks, just as quartz and
property. For three years past
there had been no accidents in the
North Consolidated Virginia until a
few days ago, when Champion had
his thigh crushed. The miners
said at once that a "bad streak" had
been struck, and more accidents
might be expected. Yesterday two
more men were injured by falling
thirty feet into the sump. This was
caused by the breaking of a two
inoh plank that seemed able to bear
a, dozen men.
"Handle it carefully, Marier,~
said an economical citizen, as his
wife was jamming his old shirt into
the rag-bag. "That shirt repre
Bents capital!l It may be tnrned
into a umillion dollars' worth oi
Butler's cheap rag money when the
old man fixes things, ar.d. capital
should be treated with respect. No,
Marie-, don't sell it to the junk man 1
'Lay il carefully away as fiat money 1"
Tazunton Gazette.
The Nevada inventors aspir'e to
rival the wonderful achievemuents of
Edison, and perhaps the greatesi
triumph yet recoaded by them is the
tinvention .. of a combine 4
or chlurin and accordeon. Tl
Ieream is placed in the lower -part ol
the accordeon, and while the playei
is dk-awing "Sweet Spirit, Hear
Prayer" out of the instrument,
woodeu attaehments to the keye are
churning the butter..
There 's so zrn'ch destitratioa,Li
Ndw Yo'1 that men have becown
deshrae,and. don't care what they
doito.ma&ke a living. There were no
less than iv. egndidat6e for mnayor,
ll.of.thelg '$eji,licg beve heretoforE
been regarded as highly resposta.
ble.
I Witla pe.rfo%t,fruthr t has beee
remarked the Ah* avenues leading
to an oly grave lr#ye;19fte6e -tsn
opened cu .r
throat
aue
5R rC+4.BA.
Who rat) to catoh me when I fell T
The sheriff.
In former .times the man atn the
cream, (if the cat didn't antu*vate
him,) but now they Oremate ,the
Man.
This promises to be a very .cold
winter, and all of our young 1eU
are wearing the heaviest. dki of
canes.
Putting a beut pin in a chair is a
very .amusing practical joke. It
never fails to excite a man's rise
ability.
A pretty girl down East is a
"mind-readet." She said to a bash-.
ful beau the. other night : "La I I
believe you are going to kiss me."
She was right.
Professor Edison is .invet1ni q
machine to turn over the feetive
slapjack while the hired girl -sti in
the corner and reads the latest
novel. Move on, great army of
progress'!
Alabama has ain anti--eqVe strian
society, based .on the . belief that
horses were never made to cwry
burdens on their backs, and ! that- it
it is extremely cruel to ride tfeih.
Prince Henry, second son of-the.
Crown Prince of OerMany, - is a
lieutenant in the navy, and set out
recently from Kiel for a twoyears'
voyage on the Prince Adelbert.
"A beam upon the fade 6f our
Democratic watrs-a perfect sky.
ucraper in all our electious"--is
wha a Kontucky paper called its'pet
icandidate for lieutenant-..governor.
Rev. Josiah Henshaw, said to be
the original "Uncle Tom," recently
visited a Detroit theatre and for
the first time witnessed the perfor
mance of "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
"General Sherman says tb stories
about the supposed unhappiness n
his family are lies." But Sheran
is such a liar that nobody can credit
anything he says.
We are fickle as a people in our
love for . popular songsI We first
admire, then run the thing in the
ground. Finally we wind up by
abusing the author.-Nyoun t .
vertiser'.
Henry C. Work deserves a first
class funeral after he is dead. He
wrote "Grandfather's Cloak." He
ought to have about sixty days i
the workhouse now.-.I0oston Post,
The late Mr. Vauderbilt's lawyer.
will swear to the old mas's eli1g 1
him a scoundrel, a fraud, a vulture,
just before he died, thus eatabliqop
ing the old gbntleman's sanity.
Napoleon seems to have had an u
instinctive dread of the li4era8L
Besides his persecu#ok of Madatne
dp Stael and others, he attributed
the whole of the Revolution to
Rousseau, and pronounced him a
very b,.d mar.
It frequently happeus that the
United States troops can't oyertake
the Indians, but, on the oher hand,
if the United States $ aO~ get
fair start the Indians can'U 6tortake
them either,
Gambetta has created a great en
thusiasm in France by hi. upseches,
Some of our eagle orators could
also create a great deal Of enthn
siasm (in this country) by faakigg i
speeches in France.
The firs? Afteen mintes following
a marriage engagement may be1
turned from ecstatic bus l6k bitter
gal y t4 gi4 rrp~a aigt sh
'diamond in a ring with her dys
shut.-1lw Press.
It makest a youn nanfeel very
muc.h assif somc ahns t w4
won ,ll n :vsa
my bosom, eaome 6 a eg
dow,,and then happen to see a sign,
"To Let,' on the doox..-Ci*c(rnaL
Bireakfast-.Table.
If the. lew Yor bani w6fi
give their safe combinatiQne direct
to the burglar. instead of imparting
them tlhroigh. j191 - A. might
saife t$e -thieves agUoo4thaof r
eious timE and nake rb
much esif eouiiilt#$e &
Aout hi tm hee
pleaft e doesn't ktiow hse
of, which hi 'wife 3
*~6~ I Z~5 bofIUfllOhi.
q~*
sId'ftdM adt~
MOnument in Ohio, which will cost
2lovers sat beneath the shado,
And 1 un2 tie other said t
ow 14 8 that you be9
th pi;iupon this suit of minel
.la,,rk . palps 4you-,
W-4 Wa i0 mlody
i7 to be thy loved 1, 2-.
?ay Oy' nymph, wilt marry me 1"
'h Isye IP-sh6 softh, 131y I"
-St. Louis Jourizal.
Two Gepoese rontl (9ught a
1apl ai small boats on il e high, se,
us bidIde of their native port.
ithout witnesses, they fought with
knives till one of hem, the lover of
th other man's wift, was killed,
and !s* tatho. bottom with a
W,'1kht; proynd his npok, tied by the
ro iOun viptor. The latter then
3#he iinto pqrtkAn d gave himself up.
prayer:meeting was in progres
ins church in Mount Vernon, Ind.,
Sn a plitool procession, mistaking
the lightq4 .e4i4oo for the hall in
Nhi6h:tAq Maq 4peting was to. ,be
ield, "'Obed in with. banners -y
ng, to.t e niuio of a full band, and
.ave thrpp epis for its candidate.
ce, 9lergyMaR invited the politi.
ians to stay "for their.souls' sakes,"
ant 'thky dee1ided.
AJfIe lphant in the Phila,
lelphia Garden was
rreatly.0 tlatpn bjy b- o t ale,
rest~~ so cent ga,
1 e * 14 puon o her feet on
,beO as Qf a broken window her
arrar *s. oo4;6 te. she. st on
ier ha UCeOe lolid up her wounded
oot, And ielfqw1a lod and l6tig.
Nben the ke'er eftered her malo
owpatIbi had his - trunk wound
ound her foo, as though trying to
~oofort her.
"VEGTITNE,"
aty a Boston physician, "has go equal as a
Fln,1t wondeorful
ItOTIM oI vt.
4 r"* lia Yaelt (I
18 g6W4 Witt Mtdpom Iroin b rk.,
oot and rl,ach ot %fth is highly oco.
Ivep n ~~y (, r co o 41 It mla." an
Ler a: W re,e!ttoisrntug resuls .MMU
Vegetine
s tU grea4 BloO Fr0ror.
Vegetine
Flu cure the Woist Sam, of serofutita,
Vegetine
0 reo o edby physicians i4od apotbees
vegetine
* Ifftee someSaryenous ures 'in *4ms of
Vegetine
r3a tit i wr . 4 1 %a 19 xP"Its-r.
lgetine,
16*4s witb wazdaWrtcowe in MwrourlAl dis
Vegeine
VillradiQ$4gat Igpum,ni troD4 iJpe systsmD
Vegetine/
teov.ta Ficplog Aqid jfatogs t49l the c
Vegetine
1lures Coasupatlop $gul140s ,$o Bowel.,
Vegetine
a s valusable remedy for Neadache.
Ve etine
Vegeti*ae
rthe entAret thIee,to.a healt,y Ln
Ve etine
etoves the c9 of g~
Ve&etine
54 Pains to tbsiB3A*d -M
a. eg. etsabeWi*.
V/ asaiiie rkiatWda -~
*"114i