Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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McCORMICK.MESSENGER. McCORMICK. S. C.. THURSDAY. AUGUST 10 1939 Showing the Latest | Button-Front Styles • 1^0 WONDER button - front dresses are so popular for ; midsummer! They go on without : mussing your hair or getting mussed themselves. They look so smart, crisp and tailored, and they are easiest of all to press! No. 1787 is an unusually pretty version, so easy to make that even beginners can do it. Inside pleats make your waistline small. Gathers give a nice round bustline. Make this of gingham, linen, pique or shark skin, and trim it with lace or braid. Buttons to the Waistline. A new and delightfully different version of the button-front is No. 1790. It has buttons to the waist line only. The Ifcirt is cut with a wide lap-over, and a pretty, circu lar swing. For this, choose ging ham, percale, linen or pique, with snowy frills to make it the more cool-looking and becoming. The Patterns. No. 1787 is designed for sizes 14, 16, 18, 20, 40 and 42. Size 16 re quires 4% yards of 35-inch mate rial with short sleeves; 1% yards of lace or braid. No. 1790 is designed for sizes 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46 and 48. Size 36 requires 4% yards of 39-inch material without nap; 2*4 yards of trimming. Send your order to The Sewing Circle Pattern Dept., Room 1324, 211 W. Wacker Dr., Chicago, 111. Price of patterns, 15 cents (in coins) each. (Bell Syndicate—WNU Service.) How Women in Their 40’s Can Attract Men Here's good advice for a woman during her change (usually from 38 to 62), who fears ■he’ll lose her appeal to men, who worries about hot flashes, loss of pep, dizzy spells, upset nerves and moody spells. Get more fresh air, 8 hrs. sleep and if you need a good general system tonic take Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, made especially for women. It helps Nature build up physical resistance, thus helps give more vivacity to enjoy life and assist calming jittery nerves and disturbing symptoms that often accompany change of life. WELL WORTH TRYING! Always Hero-Worship Hero-worship exists, has exist ed, and will forever exist, uni versally among all mankind.— Carlyle. Relieve the discomfort with rcimnlpXthis accurate aspirin, [Neuralgia^ )St.JosepH GENUINE PURE ASPIRIN Motto of Quarrels Weakness on both sides, as we all know, is the motto of all quar rels.—Voltaire. Malaria‘Chills’Fever Take rtlUbl* Oiidine. Stops chills and favor, claans blood of malaria. Famous for 50 yaars. Monay-back guarantaa. OXIDINE BUREAU OF STANDARDS • A BUSINESS organization which wants to get the most for the money sets up standards by which to judge what is offered to it, just as in Washington the govern ment maintains a Bureau of Standards. •You can have your own Bureau of Standards, too. Just consult the advertis ing columns of your news paper. They safeguard your purchasing power every day of every year. Eighty Years Ago England and United States Were on the Verge of Another War—and It All Was the Result of the Killing of a Pig! By ELMO SCOTT WATSON (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) I N VIEW of the recent visit of the King and Queen of England, with all the British-American good will which it is supposed to have engendered, it is inter esting to recall that just 80 years ago the two countries, who had been opponents in two wars, were on the verge of another. And it all started with a pig! Of course, this animal, which was the property of a Briton, was only a minor actor in the international drama. But its death at the hands of an American proved to be the first incident in a chain of events which, for a time, seemed to be leading inevitably to hostilities. The crisis came about in this manner: During the 10 years which fol lowed the close of the Mexican war, the rapid settlement of Cali fornia and the Oregon country by the Americans resulted in consid erable friction between them and the English residents of the Pa cific Northwest. So it came about that San Juan island, which lies off the coast of the present state of Washington and over which the Hudson’s Bay company asserted a proprietary right, became a reason for dis pute when some American farm ers and small merchants, some 25 in number, settled there, firm in the belief that it belonged to the United States. Disagreements over the most trifling things arose almost immediately. It is impos sible to say who was most to blame for the bad feeling that sprang up between the arrogant Hudson’s Bay men and the trucu lent Americans. But affairs grad ually drifted from bad to worse. Finally one spring morning in 1859 a certain L. E. Cutter, an American, found a pig belonging to the Hudson’s Bay company rooting in his cornfield. In the first flush of his anger he shot the beast, then decided he had acted too hastily. So he went to the local H. B. C. agent and of fered to pay him the value of the pig. His offer was refused and when the matter was reported to Superintendent Dallas at Victoria on Vancouver island, Dallas im mediately hastened to San Juan island and threatened to arrest Cutter and take him back to Vic toria for trial under British law. No Arrest for Him. Of course, such a threat was a Veritable red rag to the Ameri can. He seized his rifle and told Dallas that if he tried to make an arrest he would suffer the same fate as the “ British pig.” Dallas was sufficiently im pressed by Cutter’s determined air so that he hastily returned to Victoria. Meanwhile the other Americans on the island sent a message to the military commander of the department of the Columbia at Fort Vancouver, Wash., telling of the indignities they had suf fered at the hands of the H. B. C. agents, including Dallas’ threat to arrest Cutter, and demanding that their government give them protection. The department com mander was Brig. Gen. William S. Harney, a successful Indian fighter and typical hard-boiled of ficer of the ‘‘old army.” Also he was a man accustomed to acting promptly, if not always wisely. So without waiting to consult his superiors in the war depart ment, Harney ordered a company of infantry to San Juan island to protect the inhabitants from the depredations of the northern In dians who had been troubling them; “to afford adequate protec tion to the American citizens in their rights as such. Also, to resist all attempts at interference by means of force or intimidation in the controversies of the above- mentioned parties by the British authorities residing on Vancouver island.” Accordingly on July 27, 1859, Company D of the Ninth United States infantry, commanded by Capt. George E. Pickett, landed on San Juan island welcomed by the huzzas of the Americans on the disputed terrain. Immediate ly afterwards, Captain Pickett, showing a fine disregard for dip lomatic amenities, issued a proc lamation placing the island un der the jurisdiction of the United States. Then he selected a good defensive position for his camp “with a view to the establishment of a force of five or six compa nies for a long stay.” Of course, the news of his ac tion was carried to the British at Victoria immediately and it caused a great stir there. Every one, from Sir James Dough^, governor of the crown colony of British Columbia, down to the lowliest citizen declared that Capt. Pickett’s action was not only a violation of the treaties be tween the United States and Great Britain in regard to settle ment of disputes over title to the northwestern country, but, all in all, it was a most unheard-of pro ceeding. Sir James Douglas had at his disposal enough troops to sweep the insignificant little American force into the sea and if the Yan kees were foolish enough to re sist, they would jolly well deserve the treatment that they got, etc., etc., etc. All of which was duly reported to Captain Pickett who calmly went ahead putting his camp in order. British Warship Appears. On July 30 his orderly told him that a ship was in sight and at the same time handed him a let ter. When Pickett stepped out of his tent he saw a British warship bearing down upon the island. It was the Tribune, a 31-gun frig ate from the naval station at Es quimau near Victoria. This looked as though the Brit ish really meant to make good their threats. But Pickett was undaunted by this show of force. Ordering his men to run their only piece of artillery, a little six-pounder, to a place where it could sweep the island’s only wharf he instructed his force of 66 men to stand to arms, ready for instant action. But suddenly the sails of the Tribune were furled and she dropped anchor, broadside on, a short distance off shore. There she lay grim and foreboding while Pickett, seeing that no im mediate trouble was likely, tore open the envelope the orderly had handed him. In it was a letter from the agent of the Hudson’s Bay company informing him that San Juan island belonged to the company and ordering him to leave immediately. If he did not, the letter said, the company would appeal to the civil authori ties at Victoria to force him to go. The captain wrote a letter in reply in which he denied the right of the Hudson’s Bay company to dictate his course of action, point ed out that he was there upon orders from his government and affirmed his intention of staying until he was recalled by the same authority. Then he wrote a re port of what had happened to Harney and ended it with a re quest for a supply of window sashes and doors which he said were needed to make his men comfortable during the autumn and winter! On August 3 two more British warships dropped anchor along side the Tribune. They were the Satellite, 21 guns, and the Plump er, 10 guns. Pickett’s only re sponse to this bigger threat was to bring up two mountain howitz ers, place them beside his six- pounder and train them on the ships. Thereupon Captain Hornby, the senior British naval officer, in vited the American captain to come aboard the Tribune for a conference on this matter of who owned San Juan island. Pickett declined the invitation but asked the three naval captains to a con ference in his camp. His invita tion was accepted and the British officers demanded that the Unit ed States troops be withdrawn. When Pickett declined to do that they next proposed that troops of both nations occupy the island jointly. Pickett refused to accept any such arrangement and added that until he could com municate with his government and receive its instructions on the matter, he would oppose with force any attempt of the British to land troops on the island. Seeing that they could neither bluff nor persuade the American captain, the Britons returned to their ships. The parting was am icable enough, with many expres sions of respect and esteem on both sides. Meanwhile the H. B. C. had been busy and prevailed upon the civil authorities of Brit ish Columbia to summon him to appear before a Victoria magis trate. Pickett’s reply to that move is not recorded in the offi cial correspondence of this whole affair—it was probably a bit too warm to be entrusted to paper. A week passed with the Brit ish on Vancouver island in a tur moil over the situation. Pickett calmly sat tight as though un aware of all the fuss that his Brit ish neighbors were making. It was all rather ludicrous but it is doubtful if Pickett’s men saw the humor of the situation. There was no telling when the British might launch an attack. A Critical Situation. Of course, if they did, the first shot fired would be a declaration of war and would brand them as the aggressors. But that would be small comfort to the 66 in fantrymen if a blast from the British cannon snuffed out their lives. They probably thought of that when two more British ships joined the three already at anchor off the island. Now there was a fotce of five ships, carrying 167 guns and 2,140 men, 600 of them marines and engineer troops, try ing to intimidate them and force them to evacuate the island. But the British evidently didn’t realize the caliber of this man Pickett. He just wouldn’t be bluffed! Neither would General Harney who, from distant Fort Vancouver, sent dispatches by the Shubrick, a small vessel com manded by Captain Alden of the United States navy, approving of Pickett’s action and taking the responsibility if an armed clash should result. He also engaged in a fierce but dignified corre spondence with Governor Doug las in which he steadfastly main tained his right to keep his troops on the island. On August 10 the tension less ened somewhat for Pickett when reinforcements, consisting of four companies of infantry, command ed by Lieut. Col. Silas Casey of the Ninth infantry and a battery of eight 32-pounders arrived at San Juan. Because of a dense fog they could not get up to the wharf near which lay the Brit ish men-of-war. So they landed on the beach a short distance away and the first intimation that the British had of the arrival of help for the Americans was when they saw their tents pitched beside those of Pickett’s 66 men. With the arrival of the lieutenant- colonel, the young lieutenant’s re sponsibility ended, for Casey im mediately assumed command of the whole force on the island. Four days later three more com panies of infantry arrived. With the opposing forces more nearly equal, the danger of a conflict was lessened. Eventually the diplomats ar ranged for a joint occupation of the island by both nations, each keeping one company of soldiers there. But when the final settle ment was made San Juan island became a part of Oregon terri tory. Today it is a part of the state of Washington. The Tan Juan island pig, whose death nearly precipitated a war between the United States and Great Britain, wasn’t the first to be the central figure in an “inter national incident.” Just 100 years ago there was a similar case down in Texas. At that time Texas was a re public to which the United States, England and France sent official representatives. The French charge d’ affairs was Count Du- boise de Saligny who, upon his arrival in Austin in 1839, lodged at the leading hostelry kept by James Bullock. After a time the French diplomat called for his bill. When it was presented he declared indignantly that it was too high and refused to pay it. So arbitrators were appointed and they reduced the bill to a sum which Bullock refused to ac cept because he said it was much too low. Meanwhile De Saligny had moved from the hotel to a wooden structure which became the official French embassy building. Being a fastidious gen tleman, the count furnished it beautifully and had his servants cultivate an attractive garden around it. Not only did Mr. Bullock run the principal hotel but he also owned a number of hogs which he permitted to roam at large. One morning Count de Saligny glanced out his window and was horrified to see some of the Bul lock hogs rooting in his garden. He hastily sent his servants to scare them away. But no soon er had they returned to the house than the hogs returned to the gar den. Again they were chased out and the count, thoroughly exas perated by this time, gave his servants orders to shoot every pig that ventured into his garden thereafter. A short time later Bullock missed some of his hogs and, blaming the French diplomat for the loss, complained to the gov- GEN. W. S. HARNEY ernment of Texas. James S. Mayfield, secretary of state, ad dressed a formal inquiry to the count. In reply the Frenchman wrote bitterly of his sufferings “from the many hogs with which this town is infested” and partic ularly those of Mr. Bullock. He declared that his servants had used no less than 140 pounds of nails in repairing the palings of his fence “which these animals have thrown down for the pur pose of eating the corn of my horses and destroying my gar den.” But he didn’t deny respon sibility for the disappearance of Bullock’s hogs. Thereupon the keeper of the hostelry flew into a rage and when he encountered Eugene Pluyette, one of the count’s serv ants, on the street he gave the man a thrashing. The result was a formal demand by De Saligny upon the secretary of state for protection due a foreign minis ter and his retinue. Although Bul lock was indicted for the assault it was evident that the Texas of ficials were sympathetic to him and had little intention of punish ing him. Irritated by their stalling tac tics, De Saligny complained to the French government. But he soon had an even more serious matter to report. The choleric Mr. Bullock proceeded next to thrash the French emissary him self. When the officials of Texas refused to take official cognizance of this attack, the indignant count rushed off another complaint to Paris, pointing out how the honor of dignity of France itself had been injured by this ruffian of a hotelkeeper. More than that he announced to his friends in Austin that the French government was sending a fleet of warships to the Texas coast to see that proper apolo gies were made for the humiliat ing assault upon the honor of France. Next he demanded his passports and went to New Or leans to await developments. It so happened that about this time the government of the Unit ed States sent a squadron of its warships to the Gulf of Mexico. Whether this was done as a warn ing to France, which may or may not have intended to make good De Saligny’s threat, is un known. But the fact remains that no French warships appeared off the coast of Texas although it is a matter of record that, because of the indignities which her am bassador had suffered, France declined to make a loan of $5,000,- 000 which Texas was trying to float in that country at that time. tincle That Gets the Crowds A steam shovel always seems to do its work so amply. It was Ed Howe who said that “every man should be arrested about two times in his life for what he thinks.” Real love seldom makes beauti ful speeches. More often it is dumb. Then They Sober Up People always laugh at the fool things you try to do until they dis cover that you are making money at it. There would be but few myster ies in this world if people looked into everything as closely as a woman looks into a mirror. We Average Humans We sadly contemplate our bad habits, and then reconcile our selves to them. Tradition should be treated with respect. It is often worth follow ing. Life First Life comes before literature, as the material always comes before the work. The hills are full of marble before the world blooms with statues.—Phillips Brooks. 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