SECTION TWO-
REVIEWING THE LATEST BOOKS I
BY WILBORNE HARRELL
V————— ————
DON’T TREAD ON ME. By Walter Karig, with Horace V.
Bird. A novel of the historic exploits, military and gallant, of
Commodore John Paid Jones, founder of the United States Navy.
Rinehart Si Company, Inc., New York. Published June 28, 1954.
442 pages. $4.00.
A reviewer should attempt some-;
thins more than a condensed synopsis j
of the story —the reader can set that
for himself by scannins through
the pages. When one lays down a
wholly absorbing novel (such as Don’t
Tread On Me), there lingers an aura
or afterglow, as though the mind re
luctantly relinquishes the brief asso
ciation with the fictional characters'
and resents.: the rude transition to tho
present and now when the last page is.
read. To capture a bit of this after-,
glow, or impression, is what this re
viewer will attempt. He leaves the
belabored and hackneyed technique to
the professional reviewer—simply be
cause he does not know how to write
a professional review and needs must
be himself and write what he feels.
The story is told in the first per- j
son—from the viewpoint of Manesseh
Fisher, who early in the narrative at
taches himself to John Paul Jones by
stowing away on Jones ship and
henceforth linking his destiny with
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Page Eight
! that of the redoubtable Commodore, j
I This reviewer is somewhat prejudiced
'against first-person stories, but since!
this one is told, not illogically, by John
Paul Jones’ secretary and friend, and;
eye-witness to what he writes, the i
whole tale is strengthened and gains,
in force by being thus narrated.
Fisher, a former bound-boy to a sail-,
maker and ships’ chandler of Martha’s
Vineyard, eventually finds himself, as-!
Iter a grueling apprenticeship aboard
ship accepted as Jones’ secretary and
! scrivener, and as time passes, valued
i friend and companion.
I, If ever a story can be summed up in '
1 one word, Don’t Tread On Me can be |
summed up in the word, destiny. John
Paul Jones was a firm believer in des- j
I tiny—his and his country’s—and no
1 man ever followed his destiny to a j
more gloriously fitting end. A man. j
“named, but nameless”, who barely,
missed being a pirate, a bit of a poet,
but above all an unparalleled seaman,
'John Paul .Tones towers through the
, pages of Don’t Tread On Me, undaunt- 1
ed, unconquered, unconquerable.
From the moment Manesseh Fisher |
stows away on Jones’ ship, the plot, |
somewhat in the Colonial manner of
Inglis Fletcher, moves swiftly onward.
We follow Jones and Fisher as they
abandon a pirate ship when mutiny
threatens and in which Fisher saves
John Paul’s life, to the Carolina* and
to Hdenton. There Jones meets Jo
seph Hewes. who was later to become ,
a powerful influence in his life. Ad-I
venture follows adventure as they trav
el northward, and as rumblings of Co
lonial rebellion against England be
gin to shape into action, John Paul |
Jones, after disheartening and dis
couraging set-backs that would have
stopped a lesser man in his tracks, be
gins to emerge into the dominant fig
ure he was to become.
Like a golden thread the tender love
story of Manesseh Fisher and the aris
tocratic Lady Margaret weaves.
through the story. Fisher first meets I
Margaret aboard the ship that rescued
him and Jones after their flight from
the pirate vessel. The romance, is
early beset by difficulties, and when;
I after a few meetings. Fisher is whisk-j
'ed away by John Paul Jones, he thinks
• all is lost and he will never see his
beloved again.
I Don’t Trend On Me is divided in two
j parts, the first dealing with prelimi
[nary incidents, which leading into the
I second part recount Jones's immortal
THE CHOWAN HERALD, EDENTON, N. C., THURSDAY, JULY 22, 1954.
deeds in the Ranger and the Bon Hom
me Richard. Here as before lie was
beset with difficulties . . . “jealous de
tractors . . . motivated by vanity and
self-service.” But as Fisher makes
clear, John Paul Jones lacked “one
talent necessary to the complete suc
cess he strove to attain: altho assidi
ous, he Was not an artful enough poli
tician.” There was the rub—John
Paul Jones knew how to deal with
men, but knew nothing of the devious
schemes of politicians and “short
sighted legislators”. But John Paul
! Jones is triumphant over everything,
from the capture of Nassau early in
the Revolution to the magnificent vie-j
tory over the Serapis, in the Bon Horn-|
me Richard, the apex of his career,
j It was during this engagement he
! tween the Bon Homme Richard and
; the Serapis that John Paul Jones ut
tered the famous words that have!
ijrung down the years as the rallying!
! cry of tho United States Navy—“T
have not yet begun to fight!”
And again we see the furtherance
of the love affair of Manesseh Fish
er and the Lady Margaret in a smash
sequence that has all the ingredients
|of a Hollywood thriller. All that is
lacking is technicolor and cinema Scope.
jin breath-taking scenes we find Fish
| er discovering the whereabouts of his
j beloved Margaret, and see him bring
her away by a clever ruse. Then we
see all his new-found happiness dash
|ed away when Margaret’s father in
i turn abducts her and places her in a
convent. And then when the wheel of
fortune again spins we find Margaret’s
j father in prison and Fisher by an
other clever ruse learning from him
| where he had hidden Margaret away,
i Tensely the plot builds up to a happy
ending with Fisher’s flight from the
convent with the Lady Margaret, and
finally their marriage under the aus
pices of John Paul Jones.
Don’t Tread On Me is written ip
the best tradition of the historical
'novel, replete with plot, incident, sit
. luation and drama. There is the fee!
.'of the rolling deck of a ship, of storm j
and hurricane and the sting of salt j
. spray in one’s face, the sound and
[fury of battle, and the tender touch
. of a love story to soften the necessary
. scenes of action, as men fight and
. sail —and live and die for a Cause.
No man ever flashed across the his- j
torical scene of any country with more:
. magnificent brilliance than John Paul j
. Jones displayed, when his exploits and |
i daring adventures meteored across the
, I embattled scene of early America.
I “Nameless”, he was the child of des
! tiny, and his is the story of destiny—
; the destiny of a man, and the destiny!
ijof his country.
’ Moving Chicks Into
Laying House Critical
i' -——
-! Most chicks purchased in North Car
-5 olina for fall layers are now on rang
-1 es. Some of the birds have develop
ed to the extent that they will soon
be laying a few eggs. This presents
poultrymen with a critical decision.
R. S. Dearstyne, head of the depart
ment of poultry science,. N. C. State
College says the decision of when to
move pullets into the laying house is
one of the important questions to be
answered every year by laying flock
owners.
Some poultrymen feel the birds
should be moved as a group at the
first indication of lay. Others believe 1
that they should be left on range until
the rate of lay is pronounced (until |
! 15-20 per cent of the birds are pro
ducing). Dearstyne explains that de-j
! spite the fact that sexual maturity isj
inherited, there is quite a variation,!
even between full sisters, in the time)
that sexual maturity occurs. This
icreates some" confusion.
After birds come into production,,
Isays Dearstyne, they react to a change!
;in environment and until adjustments
are made some slump in production
may occur.
Dearstyne believes it best to move!
'birds into the laying house when sign's'
of approaching sexual maturity are
“well defined,” with this proviso:
“That the group in question is hatch-'
ed at the same time and that all show
good body Weight,”
The quarters into which the birds are
moved should have been cleaned and,
disinfected. When the birds are fi
nally moved they should be handled!
<; WILLIAM
WORDSWORTH
I O
if “The meanest flower that <»
\ l blows gives thoughts too j j
\; deep for tears.” ; J
1 < >
f A ceremony of well-order- <>
!j; ed dignity is arranged by us: <>
J J there is a personal note of < >
sincere courtesy in our pro
f fessionalism. < ’
1 rK.trjf)jyfj»i;iij?nwywr4
< iTkdli'MS-rUi'i r T« ttVtiitlli’tU%
Tssssasss.;
individually and strict culling of sub
normal birds carried out.
Insecticide Label Should
Be Read Before Using
It’s important to read the label on
the insecticide you buy, says Juliusi
Daniels, Negro cotton farmers of Wil
liamson, Route 3.
Carl D. Hodges, assistant Martin
County Negro farm agent for the Ag
ricultural Extension Service, says Dan
|iels had an experience recently which
thousands of farmers have had —that
jof not taking time to read the insecti
|cide label.
1 Daniels checked his cotton field for
NAGS HEAD COTTAGES
FOR RENT
ELECTRICALLY EQUIPPED
SCREENED PORCHES
FOR RESERVATIONS WRITE
J. D. PEELE
ROUTE ONE EDENTON, N. C.
| Phone 481-J-5
I go COUNTRY I
j |
—Hi la. Doocwirn sows. wsnuw mm
ESTABLISHED «04g . frWIAPH-PMIA.
; H BOTTLED BY I A DOUGHERTY'S SONS, INC. DISTILLERS, PHILADELPHIA, PA
| !
. I boll weevil infestation recently and,
like other good farmers, decided it was
time to treat. He went immediately
[ to the feed store and ordered a well
• known weevil spray. The clerk misun
derstood and gave him the wrong in
-1 secticide.
ii Daniels hurried home and began ap
• plying the material. A week later an
other weevil check showed that the in
i festation had increased considerably.
• Daniels called in Farm Agent Hodg
. es. The first question the agent ask
i ed was, “What did you use?” A quick
t check uncovered the mystery.
Daniels is now convinced that all
farmers should read their insecticide
rl labels carefully.