THE DANBURY REPORTER.
VOLUME XXXIII.
Vote Cast 8 or County Officers in Stokes /November 4,1902
CLERK. R. D. SHERIFF. TREASURER. COM MISSION" ERS
PRECINCTS. ' Hylton. Chilton. Brown. Gordon. Tillotson. j Joyce. Mitchell. Reynolds. Neal. Frans flinn. Cntui. Flippin. Martin.
j _
Danbury 64 124 (10 126 47 187 64 123 60 65 65 121 i;>;■> ]2l
Wilson's Store ....... .■ - -- I'jO 147 85 141 78 1;>1 77 • ISS 150 138 71 7 i 31
Uermantou - . ®1
King—:. - - . ... 80 112 01 100 88 110 01 111 01 01 91 110 lii . U0
Boyles' Store . -'4 Oil 03 02 07 j 88 05 02 05 05 o'i> 02 id 02
Pinnacle . 82 00 Bi 81 87 87 82 00 81 82 82 00 99 »«»
Covington's School House ............ 73 207 57 218 75 , 100 74 202 75 7(> 73 203 * 205 203
Francisco... ' - 95 123 99 110 01 128 9i 120 00 137 73 83 143 317
Lawsonville 1.. 117 210 115 211 112 210 113 213 107 113 00 212 213 231
Sandy Ridee -- 91 187 y ' 171 i°s 181 08 180 181 175 103 08 100
Mitchell's® *> 44 70 52 00 00 100 32 07 80 81 (54 50 52
Pine Hall. ...... . .... 47 10 4l> li *45 18 43 18 4ft 40 ' lit 15 JO 14
Walnut Cove ... - . ... 117 107 112 110 03 122 110 110 12" 113 100 108 108 100
Freeman's *'... *. - - 88 21 3? 21 32 22 32 22 82 32 31 21 21 21
Totals .. - . 1300 1431 1264 1442 1207 1 1471 j 1202 1425 ; 1818 1331 1220, 1411 1402 1394
|'•li I ! • i
How John Smith Was Arrested
HOW SHERIFF RUFE DALTON KEPT HIS
PROMISE TO THE PEOPLE OF STOKES
COUNTY.
Tho following tale is taken from
the Charlotte Daily Observer of
August 6 :
"My boyhood days were spent
in Surry and Stokes counties Baid,
a fat-faced young traveling man as
he leanod back to get a comfort
able position, "and T reoall some
lively citizens of those mountain
ous regions. One day last week,
as I drove through a portion of
Stokes, I was glad to hear the
name of John Smith come from
the lips of the nogro driver.
"What, the John Smith who
killed Sheriff Baker, is he still in
Stokes?' 1 asked.
" 'Yes, sir, an' dat's des whar
he's gwine ter stay till he die' too'
bossman', declared the old darkey.
" 'Well, uncle, is he behaving
himself?' I asked.
" 'Yes, sir, but he's des as mean
as ever, sir. Doy ain't no differ
ence, cepin he's gittin' ole. He'll
kill er man des as quick as he
uster.'
"Those few jerky romarks
brought back old times to my
mind. Well do I remember John
Smith, in his better days, when he
made blockade liquor and fought
his fellowmen at every turn of the
road. Blockading was a business
with John, and fighting a pastime.
"Jo)in Smith had two brothers,
Drew and Jim, who were just
about as dangerous as he was, but
they lacked the principle that
John had. Drew was killed. John
is a small, swarthy innn, with a
big, fierce moustache. Sober, ho
was always a welll>ehaved, illicit
distiller, but drunk, he was a des
perado. On one occasion a preach
er from our neighborhood was
holding a meeting in a church not
far from the Smith place. John
was on a mean spree. Seeing the
crowd ii the little house o£ wor
ship he dismounted from his
horse, went in, and after looking
the crowd over, announced that he
would give the congregation five
minutes to disappear the
hill. The minister did a wise
thiug by dismissing his audienoe.
Within less time than it takes to
tell it every man, woman and child,
who had assembled there to hear
the preaching of the Gospel, was
on his or her way home, and John
Smith hftd the house all to him
self. He would not have done
such a thing had he been sober.
"That was the sort of a man we
had in John Smith. I have heard
but little of him for a decade or
more. About 15 or 20 yearn ago
he killed Sheriff Baker. At that
time he was a terror. At the crack
of his gun his onemies fell. He
roamed about the mountains of
North Carolina and Virginia and
out and shot at will. Uncle
Sam's revenue officers could not
break up bis whiskey mill and no
one would arrest him for his
crimes against the laws of the
State. I recall this.
"But there oame a man who
said he would arrest John Smith
if the people would elect him
sheriff of Stokes county. I refer
to ex-Sheriff Rufe Dalton, now
engaged in grocery business at
Winston-Salem. He made his
campaign on the promise that he
would bring John Smith to court.
| Although he was running on the
! Democratic ticket many Republi
cans voted for him and he was
elected.
"Several months after the elec
tion Sheriff Dalton oounseled with
himself and decided to go after
John Smith, without saying any
thing to his friends of his purpose.
Old man Rufe Dalton is a quiet
man; he is a man of action, not of
words. Silently and alone he
journeyed to Sandy Ridge, where
John Smith lived. Ho slippod up
to SmHfr> " home and peepnd
thrillgh a crack and saw his man
sitti ;g before the firo with his
han 'a palm to palm, between his
knees, nud his hepd bowed low.
Smith was absorbed in deep
thought and by himself. His guns
lay across the bed near him. Rufe
Dalton made hiff way through the
door.
"John Smith knew the sheriff.
He had seen him many times be
fore. Therefore, when Dalton
said: 'John L have oomo for you,'
the outlaw-looked him in the eye
and asked 'Who is with you ?'
" 'I am by myself.'
" 'Well, I will go with you,' said
j Smith. «
"Ho went, was tried, eonvioted
and sentenced to the penitentiary
for ten years. That was tho first
I time the law had ever overtaken
; John Smith.
"John was hired out to railroad
builders, who were at work on the
Cape Fear road, between Greens
boro and,Mt. Airy. I saw the
officers out hiß hair and weigh
him. I recall that he asked why
they did that and one fellow told
! him that they wanted to see what
he weighed now and what he
would weigh ten years hence, when
! he was turned loose.
" 'Why, hell, you don't think
that I will stay here ten years do
you?' asked John, in a sort of
soornful tone.
"About one year from that time
John Smith escaped. His shack
les broke one morning about 9
o'clock and he ran across an open
field, with the officers firing at
him. One man shot his hat off,
DANBURY, N. C., AUG. 16, 1906
but he escaped unharmed. After
he turned in Stokes he sent
Sheriff Dalka word that he was
at the old stand subject to his
orders. Sheriff Dalton had kept
j his promise and if John Smith
ever went back to prison I never
heard of it. He is today living at
I his little mountain home. After
the penitentiary episode he went
into Virginia, where, it was said,
that he out the throat of a man.
"One day during his service on
the road Smith fell out with a
negro and struck him in the head
with his piok. The officers start
ed to whip him, but he backed
himself up in the cut and told
them that he would brain the first
man that came close. The men
with their lashes kept their dis
tance; they did not whip Smith.
"I should like to see the old
man in his calmer days. He wan
always interesting. There have
been but few dull days in his life.
I should like to hear him talk.
His kind are rapidly passing away.
The mountain outlaw is almost
unheard of today."
UGLY'S BRANCH.
Ugly's Branch, Aug. 9. —The
hum of the threshing machine
is over for this season around here.
Miss Grao.ie Dunlap, of Gideon,
is visiting at Mr. W. P. Ray's this
week.
Mr. Gid Dunlap and Mr. Sam
Woods were visiting at Mrs. M.
F. Dunlap's Sunday.
Mr. Herbert Ray, of Danbury
Route 1, is visiting friends in
Greensboro this week.
Misses Gracie Dunlap and Ju
dea Ray visited Miss Berchie
Dunlap Monday evening.
Miß3 Berchie Dunlap and Mr,
Speedy Mabe visited Mr. Daniel
Duggins Sunday.
Mr. Bruce Gatewood visited
Danbury last Thursday on partic
ular business, we hear.
Mr. Jesse Flinn, of Lam burg,
was down in these parts visiting
i Sunday.
How did you girls like to wade
;in the cool, clear water of Snow
l Creek Sunday evening, near
: Davis' Mill?
, Mrs. Bettie Martin and daugh
: ter, Miss Annie, are visiting in
Danbury this week.
Mr. Lite Isom visited his fath
er near Walnut Cove Friday.
The infant of Mr. Bud Allen,
of Winston, was buried near Hart
man's store Monday.
TWO LONELY IDLERS.
A MYSTERY SOLVED.
"How to keep off periodic at
tacks of biliousness and habitual
oonstipation va> a mystery that
Dr. King's New Life Pills solved
for me," writes John N. Pleasant,
of Magnolia, Ind. The only pills
that are guaranteed to give perfect
satisfaction to every body or money
Only 2oc at uJJ drug
stores.
PLOWING WET LAND. ALL RIGHT
Mr. I. G. Ross Replies to -'Mc.''!
Locust Hill Farm, Aug 13
Mr. Editor :
I want to ask "Mo." whore ho
has been to. I had not heard any
thing from him in ao long and did
not see him at the Farmers Insti
tute. I was at a loss to kuow what
had become of him. So I decided i
that he had migrated to the moon j
where lie could practioe on COWRI
for the hollow horn and talk back j
and no one there would think that j
muoh talking and much brain,
were not always found together;
his clods that form and neveri
dissolve until they freeze leaves
the man that lives where the land i
never freezes with clods to knock j
all of his days. I will tell the,
farmers that fear clods bow to 1
prevent them from forming. Plow
in the morning and in the evening 1
run a harrow over what you plow-
ed breaking that iittle crust that |
has begun to form and you will
nover have clods to knock. Thatj
was the only theory that "Mc."i
produced for plowing wet land;!
if that is the only hurt, T can eas •
ily prevent that. As I understood |
the question and no I answered it, i
would it hurt the productiveness,'
of the land to plow it wet. I said i
that I could see no mechnnioil j
reason why it should. I guess Mo |
knows of Bom 9 that has boen hurt,
by plowing wet nnd can never be i
restored until it passes through j
the cycle of rotation from rock to
soil and back to rock again and
then to soil ns it has been doing
for many million years.
I. G POSS !
j
DALTON RCITC 1.
Dalton Route 1, Aug. •'»— Mrs.
M. E. Culler and two children are
the guests of Mrs. 8. K. Edwards,
Mr. Ernest Wall visited Miss
Virginia Edwards early Sunday \
morning.
Misses Virginia Edwards and
Lula Shultz visited Mrs. J. H,.
Keiger Sunday. Thoy must have
found them a lover or at least it j
looked so when Miss Virginia ar
rived Monday morning with a
Roanoke beau.
Mr. Doctor Boyles and Miss;
Grace Wall visited Miss Margaret
Edwards Sunday.
Mr. Squire Edwards is right
blue today because he said he
said he would have felt bettor if'
he had called on his best girl Suq.
day.
Mr. Colonel Boyles and Miss
Grace Hamm were out driving
Sunday, and I think Mr. Boyles
needed more Grace.
JOHNNY JUMP-UP.
Are you interested in getiingj
Fire, Life, Health, Accident ori
Liability insurance? If so write
us
BA NK OP STOKES COUNTY.
At Pulaski Alum Springs, Virginia
PLEASANT VISIT OF MR. J. G. H. MITCHELL
OVER THE MOUNTAINS WITH FRIENDS
OF OTHER DAYS.
Gideon, July 30.
Mr. Editof :
I If you will allow me space, I
will endeavor to give your readers!
;a brief account of my recent trip]
| to South West Virginia.
] left home, accompanied by !
W. M. Fiynt July 16, went by j
! Madison imd spent the night with I
my friend and kinsman, W S Wil
son and family, who vied with each I
other in kindness and hospitality. J
Met many of my old Stokes friends j
and others.
| We boarded the train next
morning for Roanoke and Pulaski
, City und spent several hours pleas
antly at the former plaoe meeting
j with Messrs. A J Wall and Elisha
Ward, who now lives there and
I after traversing some beautiful
and fertile country arrived at j
; Pulaski aud spent the night with
Mr. Bartoe and until 12 o'clock
nex day looking over the beauti
ful city and its grand mountain
scenery, Then we took a hack,
for Pulaski Alum Springs which j
is a delightful place between two :
1 lofty mountains. Here we were
met by a conveyance sent by Dr.
J. C. Blackburn, a former citizen
: of Stokes, now a resident of Giles
county, V;*., who with his good
| lady gave us a hearty welcome,
which we enjoyed very much a'ffor
i our long long and tiresome jour
ney. The doctor is quite an invalid,
but knows how to entertain royally, j
After spending seveial days hero
wo procured a conveyance from
doctor Blaokburn and went up to
Mechanicsburg to visit Mr. .1. O.
Reid, another native of Stokes and
j visited his people here some two
years ago and has many relatives
' here, who will be glad to hear that
he is doing wall and is highly re
spected as ( Christian gontleman,
and by the way « subscriber to the
j Reporter.
Aloug those fertile valleys we
found excellent crops of corn and
! hay, and the oountry in a prosper -
i ous conditions, as it is in nearly
every section where tobacco is not
made.
It wau a true prediction that old
man Wesley Ilammons made
'several years ago that "pride and
laziness, fertilizer and tobaooo
would ruin any country."
This is a digression, but I re
turn to my subject. After our re
j turn to Dr. Blackburn' 9 I received
a letter from home saying that my
sister was sick and we made pre
parations to return homo and bade
an etfectionate farewell to doctor
j and his good lady; we started early
' Wednesday morning by White
Gate along a .beautiful turnpike
road surrounded with the most
beautiful mountain Bcenery I evor
saw. Across Floyd mountain -by
a coal iield on the mountain and
by a battle ground near Dublin
where there was a monument to
the memory of a Capt. Clayborn,
who fell there, also many graves of
Confederates and Federals that
fell there and after crossing the
oreek which was very much swollen
we arrived at Dnblin and took the
train for home, stopping several
hours at Roanoke, We arrived
at Pine Hall after 9 o'olook P. M.
and spont the uight at tho resi
dence of our old lriend and Chris
tian gentleman and starling Demo
crat, Mr. J. C. riinu, who was off
I attending District Conference at
I Advance. We certainly farad
i sumptuously all the time and re
turned home on the 2*>th inst.
inmch broken down, but will al
_ ways chorish the memories of this
trip and the kind treatment of
friends espeoiaiiy our old time
friend, Dr, Blackburn.
Very respeotfully,
J. G. H. MITCHELL.
Challenge For Debate Accepted. *
v/
Dnnbnry Route 1, Aug. 14,
Mr. Editor:
Please announce that the Buck
Island Literary Debating Society
\ gladly accept tho challenge f.cnt
us by the Muff Po'v-.ting Society
lon tho evening c i the 18th inot.
at ! o'clock, p. ni , at the Rnck
I Island School House.
The query for c iscussiou lining
"W ich Hid 1 -to J:oro Hnrm
to t:ie Civilizei Wori\ Jnto.\ica
tin r Spirits oi the Sword,' we de
sire to announce to our opponents
that we take the sword as doing
more harm than spirits.
AH are cordially invited out to
hear the discussion.
O. N. BENNETT. I res,
; Anginon Nelson. Sec.
j —■
I
Democratic. Convention.
j A convention of the Democratic
i party of tokes county is
i hereby called to meet in tho town
of Danbury on
aturday, August IS, I ( .K>>,
for the purpose of nominating a
candidate for the House Repres
entatives, heriff, Clerk of the
uperior Court, Register of Deeds,
Treasurer, urveyor, Coroner,
County Commissioners and for
the purpose of selecting a Chair
| man and Exeoutive Committee for
j the next two years and transacting
! such other business as may pro-
J perly oome before it.
I The convention will convene at
Jll o'clock A. M.
! This .Inly 12,19CKJ..
J. D. HUMPHREYS,
j Chm'n I )em Ex. Com. Stokes Co.
NO. 28