Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / Aug. 17, 1908, edition 1 / Page 9
Part of The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
CHARLOTTE DAILY OBSERVER, AUGUST 17, 1D03 9 1 :- iF. OF -STATED BY COL. ( . Raleigh, Aug.' Jl. A great miny ! people uik about the superstitions of a negroes, but very few have, an idea ., how 'deeply thejerejroote winds of white people, too. A State l, official told me the other, day about vfc case In point ( A feood many years J?v ago . he and other prominent , men v ': were invited to a dinner given by a ' '.v V Governor, and as he was standing In -.- - thsthall the Governor walkediMnyry .. hastily, evidently" quite excited, and rj v;told him that fourteen peraons had T-eeannVired" lo ""The ainher. : but -that only thirteen had come; that It .was f-'Jc hut a little whilex before the hour 'fUand that. m. ease the fourteenth man V 1-Watled to ahow up h . was .going , to . '- ask' the- gentlemen to quietly leave '-.- the hoase, , so thera would be "only j -twelve at the table, telling him that . v.', he counted on thia aa an added proof of thlr friendship. ,., The guest was ready to make a quick . get-away, 'whn to the quick relief of the men '.- the fourteenth man rang the bell and showed Up. Strange to say, a few r-. years, later th State official in' ques- V'-tion was the guest of another Gov. , ernor at a banquet of tha same kind , v'v This ' ttni only thirteen - made their . ..-.. appearance and he remarked to the Governor that perhaps he had better ..... v. t A y . ' Yw tut w many pfrauua luiidiu- ' ered thirteen an unlucky .number. . This Governor laughed verTtfieartliy v . and aaid thirteen had n terrors for . - hlm.: The State official alluded ' to . wf nt on then to tell of hla own luck ' with that number on a trip he took. f He . left here- on the ltth of the J "i month; there, were thirteen persons In the. Pullman car;, the train was No. 19, -which Is three thlrteens, and In half a doxen other wavs that num. her- cropped' up.- but' his luck never nickered, -it waa a great trip. Tne . ' hoodoo failed to connect. ... ..- HENRT CLAT'S SPEECH. 1 Hon. John Nichols, of thia city, ex . member of Congress and now united States commissioner, was speaking the ' other day about hla first arrival In Raleigh. It was In 1144, n the ery day .when Henry Clay made his ',m3V'. famous speech from a portico of tha Capitol, which waa then qulta a new : bulldlnr and the admiration of the ( -k wholes country, being by far the" V- handsomest at all the State Capitols ' and Indeed exceeding that at Waah . ; Ingtoo. Mr. Nichols remarks about Clay's v speech show the Interesting fact that here at Raleigh Clay met hla fa's by losing the presidency of the ' United V Stajes. He was the guest of Hon. , Kenneth Rayner and Hon. Qeorge E. Badger, Mr. Rayners bouse standing where that of Col. A. B. Andrews '4 . now" Is and having been removed ;'- j ' some years ago for use as a school, , - later as a' boarding house and quite 'f, recently having been torn' down and V;-'f rebuilt and used for a building of a public nature at the Pilot Cetton ; Mills. Some contend that Mr. Clay's U". famous letter in regard ,to slavery In V .Texas, etc., which cost him the presl r ,f dency, was written at the . Rayner ' . placev 'outdoors, under one of thet - great oaks, some of which yet stand V in the' yard' of the Andrews house, V hut It seems that It was really wrlt ; 4 - ten In the office of Mr. Badger, ,,, ?; 'Which stood ' across the Street - from . the present agricultural building. Tha ; J date.flf the .speech was in April and the character of the weather in that . month Is not such as to. usually make . Outdoor writing 'common. There are several men living here who heard .. , Clay'a great speech. He was a pop- ' ular Idol and people had come two hundred miles In wagons or on horse- back to hear him. ' Lightning can play some queer ' pranks. Six miles from here, on tha ; Neuse river at Mllburnle, Is an elcc 7" trie power plant and, although all kinds of lightning' arresters have ." been . tried there, during every big V storm the plant has to be cut oig; otherwise the lightning goea right ,r "Into It and affects the dynamos, sot -: coming. Into the city at all. Noted 'i, experts have tried tq solve this prob lem but so far- they have failed. " At the Soldiers' Home there are some very interesting characters; but one of them is certainly Dred Thom 'r as, who Is from the County of Wake and who Is perhaps the only man In North Carolina suffering from ai ' .- wound made by an Indian arrow. Thomas Is about 80 years old. and when he waa a youngster went , to -V Florida to aid in taking some slaves v y there for . their owner. He reached- v that State at the time when the war - with the Seminole Indians , .was on and was Immediately pressed Into : servlea, this being done so far aa all able-bodied men In reach were con cerned, and was put right in the " fighting. ' He was hit by an arrow In i . the seek and an ugly scar, yet re-j s mains. The wound nearly cost him; his life. . - I IGNORANCE OF NATURE. . " What queer ldeaa so many people i who ought to Itnow better have ; ': about flowers and plants, A f er , v. days ago a lady of this city .was tak v ' - Ing a' tramp In the country In search - of flowers and mushrooms, both -' of which she is very fond of, and was . coming along a highway, when she 1 met a young white man riding on X his wagon. She had an armful of " . the beautiful trumpet, flower and a - basket well filled with mushrooms xt ; the edible varieties. . The countryman 'v stODned " and looked - at her , open- f." mouthed and then said: f What are : you goln' to do with that cow Itch?" ); by this meaning the trumpet flower, She told him what It. was and then . he said:- "What are you goin' to do : s with them toad stools V' She told , him she Intended to eat them and then he made hi finishing remark - hy saying: "God knows yon -must be ;, hard 'un -for victuals . and flowers She collapsed with laughter. - ; .. : .' i-t The attitude of ; the " Republican tV'eaders towards North Carolina as Vslebatable ground this year seems "to J rather, that of the Democrats. . In f? otner woros, it is stated m . r. , Prysn will not speak here because h Is ure of how the State will go, i-Thile on the other hand. It is now -:. Intimated that Mr. Taft will not come f "either, .because the national commit - tee does not think" there is anything doing ih this Commonwealth; that 1 -.there 1a, no prospect for .he O. O. P. North Carolina' haa certainly steer--d remarkably clear of convict scan dal, and the people here regard with . horror the news which cornea from tTgtsr-f-4he -ab u sea there. These are tn great defreediia to tha Ittrm lng-out plan and to the passing of the control of convicts from State to pri vate hands. Thus It Is that cruelty and hoodie go hand In hand. ' This Stste haa never permitted convicts to pass from under tts supervision, and this Is the prime csus of trie absence ' of scandals here. Convicts have been t-'fed on all sorts of public work and . n private work, but have been guara- FRED A. OLDS, ed, fed, clothed and ordered about by penitentiary officials..; i HISTQRICAL.JBEAU -tnat the stat historical commission Is looking out. for a seal for lta use (and vrhlch, by tha way, J8 to be that of tha Province of Albe marie, this belna: the first .seal. has brought up 4 the whole questioa of seals, and the Secretary or state - is looking into- this matter and there will be artery omplet colleetionv At pna time very large seals of wax,- weighing a quarter of a pound, and three or four Inches in diameter, wera usea, at tached to docamfata by Up or ribbon but the use of, these was abandoned because they made such a bulk in the packages of the postmen, who In al most'; every case carried the . malt on horseoacR,' Hon. Thomas iRv Jernigan, so we known in North Carolina, front which however, he has been absent soma years, having Jived in China since 189S, sends me his book, "Shotting in China," admirably . Illustrated, . tn title-page being faced ; by acapltal photograph of himself, hla dog and his Chinese ammunition bearej The book is full of clever thjngs, and shows that Mr. Jewjican -; is an all-rt uaav man, equally at home In the field of sport or In that of law and business.- He has taken a very prominent position In China, ' aud has -; a great 'many friends among the natives. " His book entitifioV'Chlna In Law and Com merce" Is a .handbook In . China. Europe ajid the United States. Mr, Jernigan finds gams very abundant In cnina, and this includes several van etles of pheasants, such aa In thia country are In the parks, magnificent birds, some or which ara illustrated Mr. Jernigan'a book was published In Shanghai In June of this year. Prom what can be learned of the crop situation, in this State It may be ooiaiy saia. in a general way, mat up to' this date it is the best crop year North Carolina has ever known. Thia will certainly apply; to the grain crop. Tobacco haa . been Injured aomewhat In the east by rain, yet It Is a nne crop. The leaf of the tobacco in the eastern section Is thinner than In the west. DOCTOR'S SPORTING BLOOD An ex-engineer waa telling a good stoVy a day or so ego about the old days when trains on rival roads used to race between Raleigh and Cary, and finally this got to be so dangerous that one of the roads Issued an order against it, but it happened that on the. very day the order waa Issued the president of this road, no less a per son than tha late Dr. William J. Haw kins,. got In the cab of an engine, as na frequently did. As the train rolled along towards Cary, with Engineer Mortimer Fleming, known everywhere aSj rapid runner. In charge, a train ori'the rival road, the Southern, crept up alongside. Fleming kept a watch ahead, yet out of the corner of his eye iookea at the "doctor, who was on i seat in the cab. The Southern engi n.eer. ranged up alongside and inch by inch crept anead. He blew blast after blast of his whistle, as If In challenge or derision, until Anally Dr. Hawkins could stand U no longer and, turning to Fleming, he said: "Are you going to let mm pass you?" That was enough. Fleming pulled her wide open, and when he reached Cary the Southern train was nowhere in sight Next day me oraer came down from the bulla tin board. The doctor had plenty of sporting D iood It Is astonishlnr what neonla will do In order to obtain pensions. Out at the Soldiers Home one day thia week while I waa taking photographs of the superintendent and some of me oldest Inmates along came Chairman A. B. Stronach, of the board of trustees, and he told a story aooui an oia citizen in Raleigh, dead now, wno soma years ago went to appiy ror a pension. This man was in the employment of Dr. A, W. Frapps here, in a factory .which, in is3- 4 made wooden saddle-trees. He was asked If he was In the army and said no, but when asked If he was wounded, replied yes, and said that was why he wanted a. nnninn When asked to1-describe his Injury no saia: una day they told me to take some saddle-trees and load then on a wagon. . I took them and the wagon waa backed up' sideways to the factory, and as I tried to get between it and the door the horses moved and a saddlniree wounded me in th stde. You have no idea what a terrible wound' s saddle-tree makes." The poor fellow failed to get any pension, and he carried the wound to his grave. . He had the Idea that simply because ' he had worked during the war he had a title to a pension. DEVOTION OF SLAVES. ' A friend from the Scotland Neck country was speaking the other day about the devotion of so many of tne slaves during the war when fam ilies who owned many slaves divided the work Infinltesimally among the latter. He said that directly after the war a girl who had been a slave at one of the great mansions along the Roanoke river went to Washing ton, D. C, and there a ladv from the North who waa looking for a servant met her and said ahe wanted to hire aome one to work at her home. Then ahe turned to the colored girl and said: ."Can you wash?" The reply was? "No, mi'm; Melindy did the washing." "Can you cook ?" To this the reply was, "'No,' ma m; Chios, ahe ' did r that." VCan you wait on the table r 'Tfo, ma'm, Charltyr she did that." . The ; flnal question was, "Well. in heaven's name, what can yon dot'f The girl made her final answer, tooi. saying, "Well, ma'm, I used to keep the flies off the table and look after old Miss feet" ' That's all ahe ever did. Her . old mistress was lame and thia was the principal Prt, of the alave girl's work. . - 'THE FA Mors Bwmnr.E ' The pardon of the last of the gold brick swindlers. John I Howard, by Governor Glenn, certainly end a very queer story, which has - heed touched upon, more or less lightly. In various ways. Jn ' liOI, ' when Howard. Daley and , Hswley were convicted of trying t work the gold brick, game on Paul Garrett, who had been too sharp for them and had had them caught In the act. they were put In the penitentiary here n4 Immediately ..the' most remarkable efforts were made to get them out The , Governors of Illinois and New York were very pronejiijlgurejula.. taiwiwmwiir ana as to JIawley, who was from New Tork, . some things which were . extremely re. markable wers done. This man was tied up with. Tammany in such a way, that-great sums were put up for lawyers for htm and to obtain hla release In any sort of way and lawyers were employed. Tremen dous pressure waa brought to besr upon Governor Aycock for him and then upon Governor Glenn, and the climax was reached when a--very mysterious sort. of attempt was mad to actually force -Governor-Glenn" to give this man a pardon.. It was per haps the rudest thing ever attempted and some .day the whole story - will leak , out, for' - Governor Glenm, outihis balance and . fell backwards roll of courteay to - his hosts, has never himself -told the story, though it got into.the papers In one wsy orjjjothejrjjhgrv shot through the -and hemJe-itlH haTg'To8a'yTiow'much Is true; or how much is false, but It was plainly stated In. the newspapers that - it was sought by friends of Hawley. at a ' banquet' near New York to actually by force make tha Gov ernor yield. .. Daley waa a - mere youth .and was the" cat'spaw. of ' this criminal outfit, and the Governor or Illinois showed a tremendous" In terest In . him, asking,' for a pardon for bint - as a personal favor, i and Governor Aycock pardoned htm one Christmas. Hawley died - In 'prison, having been In the hospital for some time before hla death;- and passed away about ' a - year ago. Thia - left Howard, the oldest of the outfit, and really 4ts head, tn prison." ; It must not be thought that he did not , have tremendous influence-behind hlnv for he certainly did.' Steven A.. Douglas, the son of the famous man ' of that name, came here from Chicago, backed by plenty of money; and tre mendous efforts were made to induce Governor Aycock to pardon the man, but he positively refused. ' It haa been , aaid that aeveral persons were approached In an endeavor to bribe, even up to the amount of $10,000. to let "'Howard escape, but ..bribes -were scorned and it j waa not until Gov ernor Glenn concluded that the aged man had had punishment enough In eight years of labor and confinement that he would show clemency and turn ' Attn rome:""- - "t!-r-i . "Howard spent a day here after his release and seemed . to have plenty of money. He waa seen at one of the banks and at a telegraph office and sent a number of telegrams.-'. It Is said money waa also ' offered : to get Hawley's release, too. As to all these men . One singular effort was made, this being to get a Federal judge here under habeas corpus pro ceedings to take Jurisdiction; on the ground that the punishment waa ex cesslve and violative of that section of the constitution which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, but this did not go, and Judge furneii declined to take any action whatever, This was the first gold-brick game worked In North Carolina and no doubt will be the last, aa the "bad medicine" riven . the crfmlnals Is powerful deterrent. ' In . a hotel in Texas there la gold brick, with the corners and edges of that metal, but the rest of some other substance, worth hardly anything, hlch was sold to an English "ten derfoot" who had Just come over The sale broke him and he left for his home by the first steamer. TELLING STORIES. Mont of us have seen a picture representing a Greek story-teller seated on a bench, while before him, In the happiest of all happy attitudes, are his listeners. The love for stories has In nowise abated since the old Greek days and I find nothing so delights all children and many grown-ups as well aa to hear a story with more or less of thrill to It. It has been my good fortune to meet not a few of the thrills. Down by the sea' coast I have told my friends. at many a tireslde, of scenes In our North Carolina mountains, and up In the mountains I have talked to them about what eastern North Car olina presents as strange a world to tnern as anytning BinuDaa tne Sailor ever saw tn all his- Imaginary Journeying. Away out in the lofty table lands of west Texas, more than mile above the sea level. I used to entertain the school children, Americanos and Mexlcanos, with all aorta of stories and these loved dear ly to hear about water. One day the children at the white school house took me up into what they called their cave, which was In the side of the mountain. Just at the line where the perpendicular rock, known the "rim-rock." rises straigni frnm fh ilnnia at the hill. It la a world of volcanic origin and the. acv tioh of fire and water is -never shown more clearly. Everything la blasted and black or brown and lm mense boulders have fallen down the alope, some hanging on to it ana others being at the bottom and water and other agencies have made rantastlc caves and recesses in . m rlm-rock. In one of these we went and found the floor of Infinitely fine sand, upon which water had never fallen, rainfalls b.ing Indeed, rare in that 'region. Here and there in thia soft sand we saw footprints of various animals, notably goats, and we threaded the maze without find ing anything substantial. The chil dren often played In this place, tn front of which are two big boulders. their tops on a level with the floor of the cave, while very rough rocks are steps giving access to the cave. One visit was paid on Thursday at recess, and the afternoon was de voted to different sorts of races on the grass in front of the school house, which la built of sun-dried brick, or adobe, and I engineered all sorts of handicap events, m which boys . and girls both participated, while others looked on. On the fol lowing Saturday, a holiday there aa well aa here, I went up on a moun tain across the valley, probably a couple of miles off, and was looking at a quarry there from wnicn pin it marble waa taken and nappening to walk on- top of the mesa or table land on too of. the rim-rock, saw people riding fast Into' the village L and a little later heard firing and then saw people coming down the alope near the cave ana tne scnooi house. When I ot back to the place I ' found the most excltinr event had transpired. What Presi dent Roosevelt calls mountain lions and what we tn North- Carolina call panthers had been cabins r some trouble ln tha mountain., foot hiltf aome miles from . the place, : and a hunt had been organised to kill these cruel animals which were destroying colts and sheep. In this hunt cow boys - and cowgirls participated, as well as a number of dogs, and there had been lively times since early morning when two panthers (though at one time' they only thought there was one) , were aroused, from . their lair by big and fierce dogs. The chase ' led right into the Milage,, one panther going near the postofttre and hotel. Bp lta slope by -the school house and then Into ' the- cave men tioned; another panther going te the same , place, but a little - different route. ' .' . '-! When, .the cowboys and girls, heavily armed with rifles and re volvers, - reached the place the dogs made a dash up the slope and up the rough steps at the mouth of the cave, but would not enter the lattar, evidently, feeling that they were at in disadvantage'- hved--hjidtr-at the entrance, which Is aomewhat smalL Two cowboys, by' mesne of aid from others, climbed on 'top of the two big rocks In front of the entrance to the cave, others taking position In the vicinity. . One of those on the rocks had a rifle, the other a heavy Tevolver. the only kind car ried in that part of the world. Sud denly the man with - the rifle- took quirk 'aim and fifed and at the In stant a panther, struck la the head, but with amasing , vitality k?ft. sail ed through, the air and caught "with fierce;' claws upon the boulderi at the , very feet . of the ' man with the revolver, who leaned over" and fired in the. face of' the animat then lost ing nearly to the foot of the hill and being badly bruised, while the pan- fell down on the, other , aide-of the boulder. ' . Just as some of the hunt ers started to advance towards the scene . there waa heard the horrible cry of tha panther and the other one, the mate of -that killed.- nun itself at the man . with the rifle, across some- fifteen' feet or more of ; epacei With - lightning-like quickness - he raised his weapon, fired and struck the beast, but while . the latter was in -the-atr aeveral pel sonaateach side fired at him and their remarkable- marksmanship . waa shown' by the fact, that h, four or five bullets struck, end the-great panther which had launched Itself wkh such farce struck the boulder and rebounded, falling dead, almost beside Its. mate. Then-it waa-that theeheering was heard and the crowd dashed' hi. The school children had oy this time as sembled from ' all parts of the town and little did they think of what would have happened if it had been some school day, when they might have been In or around their pet cave, for - they r sat on the aides of the two dead panthers and aeemed to have' an air - of proprietorship In the whole scene.. Through it all the cowboys and cowgirls showed equal coolness. There - were three of the latter, powerful women, so. sun burned as to ' look almost like Mexicans. They , rode antrldo and carried rifles and iyjoJyeriifui!d after- the combat they and the cow boys did all sorts of equestrian stunts, to the Infinite delight of not only the population of the own, but to that of this tenderfoot from North Carolina, who would not have miss ed the occasion for anything In the world. The Mexicans, gathered, too, and looked on with keen approval, and even the browsing burrohs w-hlch were eating' anything In the vicinity, from a tin can to a piece of wood, seemed to have departed from their usual languid Interest. The scene was Texas all the way through and nothing wilder can be imagined. - Secretary of Agriculture Ellas Carr aad State Horticulturist Hutt had an unusual experience In th State Mu seum. They had started home, but near tha building caught an English sparrow and decided to return and give the bird to the rattlesnakes, which are In a large box on the ground-floor, and are special pets of Curator Brlmley. There are two snakes, one somewhat larger than the other. They have thus been com panions for a couple of years. Last summer the big snake ate only on bird. The smaller one, far more ac tive, gets practically all the good things in the way of rats, mice and birds put tn the box, which has a front of glass and sides of wire. Thn two snakes appeared to have been friendly, tiraplto thia unequal division of food. Mr. Carr put the sparrow Into the box, through a little trap door in the top. The big snake quite quickly struck him and death follow ed in a few minutes. Then v the snake which had done this deadly work took the bird In-its mouth, but strange to say Instead of taking It by the head, as usual, took t by t.io middle. This gave the smaller snake his opportunity and with a slow mo tion he went up and took the bird by the head and slowly swallowed it. When his head reached that of the big snako he hit the latter on the Jaw, so that the blood flowed. This aroused the other snake to fury and a battle began which Mr. Carr and Mr. Hutt will never forget. The big snake, without releasing hla hold of the bird, struck the smaller one on top of fhe head, sinking hli long and sharply curved fangs so deep as to cause a profuse flow of blood and to badly lacerate the head. The snakes writhed and struggled. Their move ments were far too rapid to follow by the eye. There was nothing to give them any leverage; the only thing in the box bring a tin basin of water, The rattling was incessant and penetrating. It seemed certain that the smaller snake must soon be killed and Mr. Carr got a piece of iron, opened the trap door they resumed the fight, Dut were and separated the snakes. Presently again separated and then became quiet and apparently friendly. The big one did not appear to care for tha Dlrd and tne utile one ate It arter all. The combat lasted two hours. The snakes were drenched with water and were much exhausted. The large one appeared tho more tired of the two. Roth are as strong as whip cord, and the fight showed that they are nothing but muscle. eaten only one bird. ThU proves how little tnese snakes can exist up. on. The fight showed Chat rattle snakes are Immune from the poison of their kind. The smaller snake was so badly hurt about the head that it seemed sure It could not live. bat It Is all right. Its quickness at all times Is astonishing. The fight Is the only thing which haa ever aroused the larger snake. The "rattle" of these snakes, by tha way. la very like the noise made bv locusts, the cicadas. . I have been struck by this both In the mountain! and near the seaside. Some years ago, near old Fort Macon, at Beaufort, a rattler was heard, and was found colled under an old cart. He began rattling when I was yards away.. He was wonderfully like a cricket as to the hound he made. In Plsgah Forest. In Transylvania county, two rattlers were heard at once. Their noise waa almost prevtuely that made by, what country people call "dry- flies" or "ldx-UBses." Rocky Mount Tobacco Sales Increase. Special to Th Observer. ;- . .' Rocky Mount, Aug. 1. Tobacco- sales ara Increasing In sise dally, alt conintning the whole of the forenoon to dispose) of the amount offered Fri day. The offerings consist almost en tirely of first prlmlngSj which" are very common, lacking body and char-, acter, color being the only redeeming characteristic, prices are very sat isfactory. In fact they ara higher than for several years, quality considered. Curing In this section will" he rom pleted with the end of this week and considerable Increase In salea Is ex pected. The sales for the past week totaled about .200.009 pounds. . . T Kmrj " Deserter Arrested at Rocky , . .. Mount. ; t - Special to Th Observer. , Rocky . Mount. Aug. II. Russell it . m urr ayjLnung .man , who was 4 wanted fur desertion from the United mates navy, waa arrested in this city Friday upon an Identification from the naval authorities. who be lieved the young man to. be in this ctty.N Murray's. home was not here, though he was .with a brother when arrested. In the custody of -a police from the local force the young man was yesterday returned to Ports mouth. Vs., from which place he had deserted from . th U. B. H. JTrfcflklia. " SOTES OF A.JIOUmiS TRIP A VACATION AT WEAVfTRYILLE. Th Qeiet Village in Buncombe; Har -rounded by Mountains, a line Spot i- For . Resting Picnicking on nam ' bnrr . Mountain a Popular Pastime -raggy Mountain the Meccai of Many JPartleWTbe Ttwro Full of - Pretty and Cultnmt Lassies, witn a Perceptible Scarcity .of .-Young Mm TrulW Line Now Being BulU Will 31ake the Place, a l1 Resort ' ilany Polnta of Historical Interest in tiie eignoornooi. . ; -y: vv-.. " i " BY U. X. HOlTr'MAN. . , -WTlh-namloir'tif tetrTrtyg'aThta disposal the news editor laid aside his blue' pencil early on the morning, ot August d. deserted the "night gang" of his co-laborers "upstairs" and be came a day'Jdler, with correspondents and . "specials" occupying no part., of his mental make-up. Never having imbibed the glories of western North Carolina, of which he had heard, so much, the Idler decided to betake himself to the "Land ot the Sky" for a few days; then he would Journey flown ( to Wrlghtavtlle Beach. , he thought, for the refreshing sea breeaea and the enticing surf, In that way get ting as much and aa great a variety of. pleasure out of his touting period as possible. But the bent .laid plans of both mice and men. as Burns said, gang oft agley." and it turned out that the Idler uient aTThli moments for leisure In the high altitudes, and never for once sighed his soul joward the region where the salt water flow ed. The mountain air, scenery, et cetera, captivated him and the sea shore trip wss postponed for future days of frolicking, It waa in the Town of Wcavervllle that-the Idler tarried and to hla mind It brought remlniscencea of the Sleepy Hollow Immortalized by Washington Irving. There can hardly be a more delightful stlt in the Tar Heel State In which a resident for 355 days in the year of a ceaselessly bustling city can spend a few days recreating. Weaverville Is a hundred feet higher than the far-famed resort of Aahe viUei'and nestles quietly and soberly within the enfolding arms of tha Blue Ridge, being almost literally surrounded by mountain peaks. It Is eight miles north of Ashevllle. In the County of Buncombe. In the valley of Ream's creek. To the outside world It Is almost unknown except as being the seat of the Methodist Institution, Weaverville College, but It Is deai tlned within not many years to be come better known. It has been Isolated and somewhat hard to reach, but a street car line is now being built from Ashevllle and when it in completed (which Is to be this fall) many visitors who now stop in the Mountain City will take the trolley and rest out in Weaverville. The population of tho place Is some five or six hundred happy souls. They live, for the most part. In handsome homos which they own themselves, get along well with each other and have no troubles. About a quarter of a century ago th town was in corporated, but two years ago the charter was forfeited, aa being an en tirely useless thing for Weaverville. The people needed no mayor, no aldermen, no police. An ex-mayor told th Idler that during his admin istration no taxes were collected or expenditures made ithere wasn't any need for such. The homes are scat tered about over a considerable ex tent of land and each citlsen haa plt-nty of "elbow room." Orie good lady of the place delights very much in the fact that her chickens can go almost as far as they wish In every direction and still be on their owner s land, and she lives Just about In the heart of the town, What a wealth of breathing space, and what an inheri tance in tho air they .have to breathe! To the pleasure-seeker there are many points of Interest. Right hex I do the town Is Hamburg mountain, a peak whose altitude Is probably five hundred feet above that of the town, and this Is a favorite place for picnics. The climb Is not rugged, but still of enough declivity to set the appetite in good working order by the time the summit is reached. The first evening after the Idler arrived he was a member qf a party of young ladies and young men that cended the heights." The party started up tn . time to get to the top by sunset and-dld not coma down till after 10 o'olock. Tha sun set view from this peak Is sometimes very gorgeous, but on this particular evening clouds shut off the light of the departing Sol and the boautlful sight was missed. But the outlook in every direction over valley and peaks, over wooded regions and the sections covered by the 'green crops of corn, with here and there a faint breath of blu f moke curling up from the heartstone of some contented household, was worth every drop at perspiration and every pant for breath required to reach the mountain top. Then after supper had been eaten and'the young ladies showed them selvfs experts 1n the culinary art a big, roaring camp fire was built and around this the crowd gathered, and the night air was cool enough to make the fire feel very comfortable. The young ladles mingled their voices to gether . In singing appropriate songs and there was plenty of. other amuse ments to fill the moments and make them pass away with much rapidity. There waa no little fun, too, in get ting back down the mountain in tha dark, but the .foot was reached with out any considerable mishap. . " Hamburg mountain affords an Idea! outing for a few hours, but the point visited for a trip of several days is craggy mountain, which la a peak nearly '7.000 feet , high, eight mile east of Weaverville. The trln j -en- erally made to the foot In wagons and men on loot and on horses to the top, where the tents are pitched. Several attempts were made by a party to go id tne mountain while tho Idler, wai In town, but the heavens opened and the floods came and said nay.'. It rain ed and threatened for several days and made it rather disappointing for th . pleasure-seekers, but th cloud panorama above thv mountains and the' brilliancy of th sun that followed amply made up far the gloom of the rainy day. ; . JWeaver WUels very strikingly a lown, sparkling eye ahdcheeke that hav th color of ruddy apples and with all the sweet graces which - Mother Nature ...bestows upon her rustic daughters, and aith a good school In their midst the r all cultured and accomplished. Tha young men are very sesre In the place, having mi grated to the cities and towns, as country boys do. to earn a livelihood. Th girls are therefore, always glad Yhih college opens, for It brings In enough members of th sterner seg to make the parties and ' picnics and sociables enjoyable to' the feminine participants ' . " , rBeisldea the picnicking and gather ings of a social nature, riding and driving, la a popular : pastime .at WeavervtneTTSeaulifuITemooth roads wind about among the ' valleys and along the mountain ; sides through many shady spots, and the scenery Is magnificent. - The whirling rapids of the French Broad river are only four miles away, making a delightful drlva for an afternoon to that stream. The only difficulty in the matter of this sport is securing a team always at the time It is wanted, for .there la-enly one llTefTsIabft"and l"t not a large one) in the place and the teams are generally kept busy. ;. ; . . . . An Ideal drive for a full day Is to Ashevllle and return. The. eight miles of road to the city Is macadamised and only a few minutes over an hour are required to make the- distance, giving plenty of time for wandering over Ashevllle. around" BlHmore and through the famous estate of Van derbilt, getting hack to Weaverville by the light of the moon. And. by the way, -the moonrise, the planet belna: full and of a golden hue, on the night of the 11th Instant, waa such a gor geous view that the Idler could not imagine It possible for even a moon rise at sea or In the Alps to be mora beautiful. ' There are many other delightful points about the little town that the Idlerco ujdm e ntlp n, jsuihas-theHrroveJ W great oak trees where the Meth odists used to have a camp-metlng ground, the old water mill with its high dam and big wheel, add so on; but he will pass on to several histori cal events about the town. Weaver ville got Its name from Mr. Montrevel M.. Weaver, who came to North Caro lina from Hftxnsylvanla early- in the nineteenth century and was owner of all. the land where th town Is now situated. Western North- Carolina was then known as tha State of Franklin and the present Ashevllle was called Morrlatown. Mr. Weaver's daughter, -Susan, who married a Murray, is said to have been the first white woman born in Buncombe county. The moat Interesting Inhabi tant of Weaverville at the present 1 Capt. W. E. Weaver, a grandson of the founder of the' town. He has a good memory and talks very Interest ingly of the past. He tells a good Joko about the man who built the first brick chmney in all that section. This wss Sammy Samples, an Eng lishman. He was up on a ladder lay ing the brlak and feeling very proud of the fact that he was going to have a chimney much better than any of his nelghbora could afford, when an old sow and her brood came rooting around among the brickbats and debris that lay on the ground. Sammy called to his helper to get her away quick. But he was too late, for the old hog had already got her nosa nnder the foot of the ladder and brought the EngllMhman down upon herself and her pigs. As he extri cated his bruised self front the squeal ing porkera Sammy remarked to his attendant: "Tho Lord cast th devil into tho swine hundreds of years tgo and he Is still in this old sow." On the road to Craggy mountain, three and a halt miles from Weaver ville, stands th birthplace of the 8tate's beloved Zebulon Balrd Vance; The Idler did not get to see this house, but was told by Captain Weaver that it Is occupied by a widow, Mrs. Benja min Hemphill, of whose husband he told a rather remarkable story. Shortly after Mr. and Mrs. Hemphill were married he caught the gold seeking spirit and waa one of the forty-niners who went to California, leaving his young wife and two small children behind. Mrs. Hemphill hard from him only once, that short ly 'after he arrived In th new Eldo rado, she mourned him aa having joined the host of th departed anlrtta but never took unto herself another helpmeet. One day three years ago. lo and behold, ths supposedly dead nusosna returned and there was a happy reunion of husband and wife and children. But the happiness last ed but for a few years, Mr. Hemphill navmg died something over a year ago. Weavervlllo in a strong Methodist stronghold and withal a community oi very pious people. The strength or the Methodists in that region la due In great part to th fact that BIshon Asbury visited the place In 1 81 S and scattered Gospel seed that "brought tortn many roid. He' came acrona the mountains from Tennessee and preached at a place now within th town, and also ministered to tha peo ple up on Beaverdam, not ao far from Weaverville. It was for a long tlm that no other denomination save th Methodist was known in that region, and Captain Weaver aaya that he looked upon a member of the Baptist faith who first rams to that section very much as a country boy does the first .time he looks upon an elephant at a circus with wide-eyd wonder. The Methodists had a camp ground within a hundred yards of when Weaverville Colleg Is now located, with about two hundred tents, and under the big arbor that stood In the centre of this circle of tents hundred of people were converted. Several an nual Conferences were entertained ther before the war. ' But not a lgn of the camp ground remains to-day and giant oaks now cover the sits. Weaverville College waa naturally built as a result of this strong Meth odist constituency there. . ' There la a possibility that Weaver ville may secure the assembly or Chautauqua grounds of the Southern aietnodist Church and become again a great gathering place for the follow, era of Wesley. Tha committee to which haa been entrusted tha selection of a site for these assembly grounds visited Weaverville last Tuesdaw af. ternoon and- looked over - the . alt which the town has to offer. r Though not well known as a u Ri mer resort Weaverville- attracts, a goodly number of people every sum mer. There haa never been ' a big hotel In the place to boost It and draw the crowds, but the cltixena of ths place open their hospitable homes and th stranger - finds no trouble la securing a place to stop, and th fare Is good and wholesom and th rate very low. , Th Idler and Prof. M. R. Richardson, of tha A. and M. Cortege, were fortunate In belnar admitted to tlg.JpJgaiaa!l.lUBmay Jnvn- D.S Atkins, pastor of the Methodist church at Cornelius. In the town were also visitors from Danville. Ky.; Lynchburg, Va! Atlanta. Oa.; Mobil A la. ; Durham, Fayettevllle, Salisbury, Chapel HIlL Goldsboro, Ashevllle and other places; and some ot them have been spending portions or th summer In the place for years. Weavervlll Is, Indeed, a 'plac which the pleasure-seeker regrets greatly to lav and h want to go back.. -" '. : :' ,, --- Southern Rci";;::.; - h. B. Following- schedule. figures puU llahed only as Information, and ax ru.1 guaranteed. April UU, 16: .t:a a m.. No. M. daily, far Washing, ton. and points North. Pullman drawing room sleepers to New Tork, Day eoacbas to Washington.-. -;,'- ; . . . 'IJb a- m.. No. 2, daily, for Columbia. Savannah and Jacksonville. Pullman drawing room sleepers to Augusta and ' JacksoavlUs.. Day coaches to Jackson villa, a j . ,. .- , . t:X 1 a. ro., NV , dally, for Richmond and local points, - 112 a. tn., Ne. 4i dally, for Washington and aolats North. Day coaches Charlotte to Washington. '; :3 a. m.. No. : J6, deny, for Columbia ., aad local polnta .. . 7.M a m., No. Is, daily es-eept Sunday. lev SUtesvUl. . TaylorsvUle and local points. Connects at. MooresvlU lor Win. .-ateo-Salem, and at Stateavill for Ashe vllle.. .... ; .; ...-.: -j ?:K a. m.,1 No. IV dally.- for "Atlanta. Dsy coaches Charlotte to Atlanta. - Stops at principal points en route. ' i '. 10.66 a. m.. No. M. daily, for Washing- -. ton and points North. Pullman drawing , reora sleepers to New Tork and Rich mond, Day coaches to Washington. ln : nlng car service. -.- : a. m.. No. H. daily, for Winston- -Palem, Roanoke and local points. ; -i' 116 a. m.. No. tl. dally. New Tork and . New Orleans Limited. Drawing room ; sleeping cars. Observation and dob ears.. ': . New York to New Orleans Drawing room sleeper. New Tork to Atlanta. Solid Pullman train. Dining car service. U:06 p. m.. No. 11, dally, for Atlanta V and local points.- :00 p. m.. No. $, dally, for Greensboro , and local polnta ' " - p. m.. No: 4U dally except Sunday, for ffoneca and loral polnta 4-4S p. ni., No. a7. daily, for Columbia and local polnta. , ' (:So p. m.. No. 24. dally except Sunday,1: ' for Statesvllle. Taylor-vtUe and local K polnta. Connect at Statesvttl lor Ashe- ' ville. Knoxville end Chattanooga. :- 7:18 p. m., Na II. dally, for Richmond r and local polatn. Handles Pullman sleep- .?' er. Charlotte to Washington, and CharV v lotte to Richmond. " I:!5 p. in.. No. M. dally. New York "and. t Now Orleans Limited for Washington and points North. Drawing room sleep- ( i ers. observation and club cars to Nw V Tork. Dining car service. Solid Pullman . train. :36 p. m , No. SS. dally, for Atlanta and point fJnuth. Pullman drawing room ,-,: sleepers New Tork to New Orleans. Rich- ,-v mond to Birmingham. Charlotte to At lanta. Day coaches Warhingtoa to New .j Orleans. Dining car errtca. Ticket a. sleeping ear reservations and ' detail information ean b nbtalaed at ticket office. No. tl South Tryon street ; ', C. H. ACKERT. . T Vice Pres. and Oen. Mgr., , . Waithma-ton, D, C ft H. HARD WICK, P. T. M W. II. TAYLOR, O. P. A.. . : Waihinirton, D. C - R. L. VERNON. T. P. A.. Charlotte, N. C. SEABOARD Thee arrtvala and departures as well aa the time and connection with ether cona -panlee. are given only as Information and are not guaranteed. Direct Tine to th principal cities North, ; Esst, Mouth and Southwest. Schedule ' taking effect April Uth. UX. subject to ' change without notice. Tickets for pssaag on all trains are -sold by this company and accepted by the passenger with the understanding that this company will not be responsible far failure to run It trains on schedul time or for any such delay aa may be Incident to their operation. Care Is exercised Jo glveglv correct time of connecting lines, but this company Is not reeponelol tor rrors or omission. " Trains Teav Charlotte ss follows: No. 40, dally, at 4:30 a m.. for Monre. ' Hamlet and Wilmington, connecting at Monroe with SI for Atlanta, Birmingham and the Mouth west; with U for Raleigh, v Weldon and Portsmouth, with at Ham let for Raleigh, Richmond, Washington. ' New Tork. Ne. 44, dally, at 5:00 p. m.. tor Monroe. , Hamlet, Wilmington and all local points connecting at Hamlet with 43 for Coluna- -bis, (Savannah and all Florida points, and No. U for Raleigh. Richmond. Washing ton and New Tork. out change. - No. 13J. daily, 7:00 p. m., for Monroe, connecting with 41 for Atlanta Birming ham and th Southwest wttb train H at Hamlet for Richmond. Waahtn sleeper on Jhle train from Charlotte. N. New York. With II at Monroe tor RW eigh. Portsmouth and Norfolk, througn : colntoD, Shelby and Ruthertordton with C, to Portsmouth, a., dally. Train arrive In Charlotte as follows: No. 1M, f:G0 a. m., dally, from points North and South,. ' No.-iS. daily. uM p. m.. from WIlmlnwJ ton and all local polnta. No. 1S2. dslly. 7:00 p. m . from Ruther- ' ford) on, Shelby, Llncolnton and C. 4k ft ""' W. Railway points. ' No. . 11:30 p. m . dally, from Wllmlng. ton. Hamlet and Monroe; also from points Kat. North and Houthwaat. ooanectlna at-Hamlet and Monroe. , ' Connections are made at Hamlet with ' No. 133, dally, at :U a. m., far Lin through train for points North. South and Southwest, which are composed ol vestibule day coaches between Porte mouth and Atlanta, and Washington aad Jacksonville, end sleeping cars between Jersey City, Birmingham and Memphis, and Jersey City and Jacksonville Cafa cars oa all through trains. For Information, time-tables, reserve- -tlona or Hea board descriptive literature apply to ticket ssents or sddress: JAMBS KER. JR.. C. P. A., t Seiwyn Hotel. Charlotte. N. C. NORPOLK WK8TER.Y RAILWAY, Schedule tn ecfrt May 17th, No. lO WamLv Charlotte. So. Ry. Ar nm 1:60 pra Lv Wtnaton. N. & W. Ar t:00 pn 4 7 pm Lv Martlnavllie, t. 11 if ain 72SpmAr Roanoke, Lv 1:3) am Connect st Roanoke via Shenandoah Valley Route for asertnon, and all polnta In Pennsylvania and New York. ' Pullman sleeper, Roanoke and Phlladel phla. - -- . r Through coach, Charlotte to Roanoke. -Additional train leaves Winston IJt) a. m. daily except gaoday. It you ar thinking of taking a Ma rnn want auotatlnna. cheapest rates, reliable and correct Information, aa to rout. ' train schedules, the roost comfortable and -quickest way. Writ and th Information la yours for the asking, wttb en ot ur complete map folders. , . .. M. f. PHAOO. Trav, Pass. Agent. ,: W. B. BBVILL. Qeal Pass. Agent. , Roanoka, Va SPECIAL RATES VIA SEABOARD TO ;CAN OTATB CONVENTION. . The Seaboard bees to announce, rmtmm ' based oa W per cent.' ot the dmbM bw.i fare for the round-trip trom ail points on this Una In North Carolina to Char lotte account of this occasion. Ticket to b sold for ail train Autiut for train arriving In Chclott forenoon of : Aasuet Hh with , final rctarn nmit August Wth. The IJeaboard offer excellent double dallv train aervlc to Charlotte, and for further Information regarding rata and schedule from your statton call on your ticket agent or address th undrtcned .V . n. UATTt.-i. "X Traveling Passenger Agent. 'i- ----- '-,. - . Raleigh. N. C. LA ST" IWW RiftST KXCVRSfON TO - WILMINGTON, ACGl ISth. IT. 'the Seaboard will ofrat its lt tow rat excursion to- tVUmiuctoo. leav ing Charlotte Tueeday. Auguet tsth. at t a, ro. Par for th round tr'o only First-class eoachee ' and PuUmsi c r . cats in Pullman It each way. The -on at Wrtghuville la at U hur t an 1 ail should evall themselves ef ti-,: im portunity. Thia wm be a most d." . ' .1 three, daya outing. For rurihr iuu-nna. lion call on your ent er wive. : JAMK8 Kl-.:t.-JTt. ; --. f. P. A., QlrtoHf, ,N. c. - ,C H. QATT1S. ' T. ' P. A., lulelsh, N. C.
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 17, 1908, edition 1
9
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75