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WESTERN
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SERIES, VOL. 11. NO.
LOVE, rHEDY
By J. C. L.
uiten tee lacts of real life are
wore interesting than the tales of
fictiou. It is not always that
lov and romance, tragedy rnd
the :ial happy ending, is confined
to the brilliant and fertile imagi
nation of well known writers, who
cater to te literary tastes of the
general public. Frequently in the
busy bee hive of the people who
make up hustling towns there ar
constantly occurring love Bcenes
and romauces and love scenes, now
and then a tragedy commingled
with the devotion of a woman,
and the solf-sacritice of a man for
her to whom he has trusted the
keeping of .his first
love. Su?h a tru
and youthful j
etory, occnr-1
rinr in the count jvrofc Rutherford i
and ' HiidnrsMSi, in 1 hi3 Statf ,
amongHihe foothills of the blue,
capped peaks of )v Alleghanies,
in the year 1371, with the conclu
sion ne:j.r the flourishing town of
Waco, in the state of Texas, twen
ty years later, is that which fol
lows :
Shortly after the war, illicit
distilling in the western part of
this State was carried on to a
much greater extent than it is
now. In those days the moonshi
ners lay around their, "blockade
stills," as they are (called, with
their guns in their hands and they
usually fought the revenue officers
when they came upoithe scene of
action to c,ut up the still anddes
troy the liquor. And the feeling
against the law was so great that
it was worth as much as the life
any person who had knowledge of
the running of a "blockade still"
for him or her to give information
to the revenue officers of this fact.
As soon as it was definitely known
that a certain man bad become an
"informer" on the blockaders,
he was marked for death sooner
or later his doom overtook him
and he was found in some seques
tered place with a bullet hole
through his head.
.in the year isu, there uvea ?n
the county of Rutherford, about
ten miles from the court house,
near the road leading from Ruth-
erfordton'to Marion, a man by the'
name of Henderson Adair. He
was an honest,' etnrdy mountain
eer, who had raised a large family,
and had known what it was to
work hard all his life for a living.
He was a most uncompromising
old line Whig, and before the war
his word was law and gospel on
election day at McMahan's pre
cinct. After the war he became
an ardent Republican. Among
his family at this time were two
grown sons Columbus and Go
van. These boys were "chips off
the old block." They were radi
cal Republicans and were intoler
ant of the views of their neigh
bors. They were courageous and
aggressive, and had many enemies
in the county; They had many
fights : Paring the war they were
strong Union men arid delighted
in piloting Federal soldiers who
had escaped from the Salisbury
and .other Confederate prison,
across the mountains and into the
Federal lines. Of course all the
Confederates were their avowed
enemies. . Under the sway of their
family MacMahan's precinct was
as largely Republican as it had
been Whig. For these reasons the
Adair, family had many enemies
among those whom they delighted
to denounce as' the "secesh,
meaning those persons who had
favored the war against the
Union.
Like most of the mountaineers,
old man' Adair and his boys do
pised tho law which forbade their
distilling the grain which they
raised without tho payment of $2
on the gallon, as it was in 1871,
and thv did not hesitate to vio
late the law by running a "block
ade distillery.' They resented
what thev were rieased to term
the "inherent right of the people
to do as they pleased with the
nrodnnt. of their own hands ' as
their fathers and grandfathers be
fore, them had done." They
39.
D
ROMANCE.
HARRIS.
deemed it a most outrageous de
privation of their rights of civil
-city lu-ai tney must p iy
on whiskey and brainy
lit- ,.-..- At..,
a tax
They
ueasea to hh at
war with
th
S law. It wes thi- one black
spot on the record of the Republi
can party that at time almost
made old man Adair and his boys
and neighbors vote the Democrat
ic ticke.
A near neighbor of the Adaira
was a man by the nam of Martin
Baynard, At this time he was a
married man with three children.
Ilia wife Sallie was known far
and near as the trelt'c-st woman
in the county. She had been well
educated at a faniale school in the
town of Hendersonville. J?he was
a perfect'brunette. Her hair and
eyes were as black as the wing of
a raven, and her cheeks were red
and rosy with perfect health. Her
features and form wore such as
would have mrde tho admirers of
the Greek slave of liters die with
envy. She was a most expert
horse woman. No xrm backed a
horse more gracefully or securely
than she. Sho "rode to the
hounds" in all the fox hunts and
generally carried off the brush.
She handled a rifle and shot with
great skill. As a girl she was be
loved and petted by all who
knew her, and as long as she lived
in Jvutherford county, she retain
ed the good will andesteem of all
ller neighbors. The word of Mrs.
Baynard in all social matters was
equally the law and gospel as was
that of old man Henderson Adair.
Martin Baynard was a rough,
uncouth son of the mountains.
His education was limited. He
possessed very little property, al
though he earned a good living for
his family. That he was very in
ferior to his wife in every respect
was apparent to all who knew this
ill-mated couple. How . pretty
Sallie Morgan came to marry Mar
tin Baynard was a mystery to all
who knew her. It was "talked"
that she had been engaged to som?
young man while she was at
school, and that it had been bro
ken off, and in the rebound she
h?d married Martin Baynard, who
had been in love with her ever
since thev went to school at the
White House in the Cove" as
children. Such was the rumor
but what was the real truth was
not then known. Years after the
time of whioh I write it came to
be known that Sallie Morgan,
when Fhe went to school in the
towr. of Henderson ville, was the
sweetheart of Terrell W. Taylor,
and that they were engaged to be
married. Fur some time these
two young people were all in all to
each other, and when together
they thought the world well lost
But the course of their affection
did not run smooth, and it was
said that Taylor became jealous of
the attention which Miss Sallie
received from other young men
Sallie had genuine affection for
Taylor, but she was somewhat of
a coquette, as every beautiful wo
inon is to more or less degree, and
she had. much attention from the
gentleman beaux of Rutherford
and Henderson counties. Taylor
was as jealous as a Turk, and he
resented the fact that she would
not confine herself to him. Fi
nally, they became estranged and
the engagement was broken off.
Sallie finished school arid went to
her father's home in Rutherford
county, near what is known as the
"White House in the Cove." This
house was the first one in Ruther
ford that was painted white, hence
its name. It was here, in June,
1858, that the writer saw Sallie
Morgan. The occasion was a dis
cussion between Mr. Zebulon B.
Vance and the Hon. Waightstill
W. Avery, Whig and Democratic
candidates for Congress. This
was the first political gathering
the writer had ever attended. He
well remembers the occasion
Therrwas a great concourse of
people, present. "Mr." Vance,
the Whig candidate, was a boyish
voung man, and almost unkuown
DEVOTED TO THE DEVELOPMEM AX!)
RDTHERFORDTON, KORTfl CAROLINA, THURSDAY,
outside of Buncombe county. His
opponent was the leader of the
Democratic party in this State,
and its ablest member. He had
been chairman of the committee
ou resolutions at the national con
vention held in 1350 at Cincinna
ti. The district hact been. Demo
cratic for many years. General
Thomas Clingman having been re
peatedly elected froaa it. lie was
at this time in the -United
Senate, and the Hon. Mr.
sought to be his sucessor.
Vauce had and the
States
Avery
"Mr."
ro
nlv and the rejoinder at this dis
cussion. Mr. Avery opened and
delivered a most able and learned
address ou all the issues, which
wis understood and appaeciated
by only a small number of his au
dience. He indulged in no humor
and did not cite illustrations with
which to point and enforce his ar
gument. It would have le?n a
great speech for Westminster Hall
or tha United States Senate, but
it was sadly out of place, consider
ing the fcd'icafio:;, intelligence anci
political experience of those who
listened to it. When "Mr" Vance
came to reply, it was seen after a
few minutes that he had the crowd
in the hollow of his hand. H was
chastn and pnre m his language,
for there were hundreds of ladies
present. His speech was literally
punctured with wit and humor
that kept his hearers in a contin
ual roar of laughter and Applause.
It was a field day for Vauce.
When the discussion ended, both
candidates were the recipients of,
flowers from their lady friends.
oim of the Whig girls
who presented "Mr. Vance with
a boquet was Miss Sallie Morgan.
The writer, who was then twelve
voars old, remembers her as the
most beautiful woman he had ever
seen, one was most necomingiv
dressed, and fully- answered the
description heretofore given of her
She made "Mr." Vance a neat lit
tle speech in presenting the flow
ers, congratulated him on his ad
dress and predicted his election.
Mr." Vance then got down among
the crowd and told anecdotes and
made himself "hail-feilow-weil-
met" with all. How he reversed
the vote and was elected by 2,049
majority, is now history.
As the writer and -'Mr." Vance
rode home after the speaking, the
man who was in after years to fill
such a large place in the hearts
and the affections of the people of
this State, frequently referred to
what a lovely girl Sallie Morgan
wa?. Tiie war soon came on and
LtnVbeautiful girl faded from the
memory of the writer, and he next
heard of her in 1871, as the wife
of Martin Baynard. Like tire
Adairs, Bavnard was a violent Re
publican and was completely un
der the domination and control of
the Adair family. He aided them
in running the blockade distillery,
very much against the wish &n&
protest of his wife. Finally the
enemies of the Adairs and Baynard
found that a man bv tii9 name of
Silas Weston, and his wife Polly
who lived near the Adairs, had
positive evidence of the running
of the blockade distillery. This
information was furnished to the
revenue officers andColumbus and
Govan Adair and Martin Baynard
were indicted in the United States
Court. The indicted parties al
ways believed that Weston and
wife turned informers and gave
the information. Tho truth is
that the information was given by
other parties and Weston and wife
Avere unwilhn? witnesses before
the grand jury, and were the only
witnesses for the government-
Right here the trouble began
which brings an awful tragedy in
to this story.
As soon as the Adairs and Bay
nard found that they were indict
ed and that Sila9 Weston and Pol
ly Weston were the only witnesses
against them, they conspired and
agreed to murder Weston and his
wife in order to remove the wit
nesses, and carry into effect the
unwritten law of the moonshiners
against an informer. Weston and
wife had four small children and
lived in a cabin about two miles
from where Henderson Adair
lived. How well the conspiracy
I rm iLDIXO u THE BEST ITLI.K
to murder' was. executed wiil be
best, told by l'olly Weston in her
testimony i: the Sute versus Co
lumbus and Govan Adair and
Martin Baynard, on pages 298,
209, 800 and 301 of the Sixty-sixth
Volume of the Reports of the Su
preme Court of Korth Carolina.
She says:
"That she was the wife of Silas
Weston, and that she had been the
mother of four living children.
Thcit she lived in Rutherford
county. That on the night of the
20th of April, 1871, about one
hour in the night, she and three
of her children had risen from the
supper table, leaving uer husband
at tha tatde feeding the baby. She
heard the growl of a dog m the
yard, tnd went to a crack in the
end of cabiu, see to what had dis
turbed the dog. On putting her
face to the crack she was fired on,
thi powder l uring her eye, aud
she staggered back exclaiming
"lm killed! God have mercy on
me!" The door was then burst
oj ..en, and Govan Adair entered
and fired on her husband while he
was seated at the table, and again
as he retreated to the other end of
the house. Govan Adair and Mar
tin Baynard then seized her hus
band and cut his throat. As Co
lumbus Adair came into the house
he fired on David and then shot
her son, W. H. Steadman. The
two first named children were kill
ed instantly ; W. H. Steadman
breathed twice with a gurgling
sound, and exclaiming "they have
killed me" died. While the shoot
ing and cutting her husband's
throat was going on. she attemp
ten to FeVjnd"er tii-bed. Govan
Adair and Martiu Baynard" Tjragmoi'ide on the btdy of her husband
ged her out,f and Uovan Adair at
tempted to shoot her, but his pis
tol did not fire. He and Baynard
then gave her several severe
wounds, leaving her, as they sup
posed dead; they then attempted
to cut her infant's throat, set the
bedding on fire and fled from the
house. She lay upon the floor un
til the flames began to burn her
hair, when finding her infant still
alive, she took it and placed it
outside the house, and returned
and dragged Theodosia out, whom
she left just outside of the burning
house dead, being unable to carry
her any further on account of a
wound in her arm aud shoulde.
She then made her escape to the
house of a Mrs. Williams, about
a mile from the scene of the
quadruple murder."
The next morning the house
was found in ashes, and the re
mains of three human bodies, cor
responding in size to Si'as Weston
and the children, were found on
the site of the burning house, and
the child Theodosia was found
dead with a bullet hole through
her breast, and her body burnt
and lying where her mother said
she left it the night before when
she escaped from the flames. The
murderers did not think for a mo
ment that they had left Mrs. Wes
ton alive, and when they were ar
rested next day and were told that
it was on her affidavits, Govan ex
claimed, "Why, aint 6he dead?"
This circumstance was very strong
against them in the trial. The
case was removed from Rutherford
to Henderson county for trial,
becauf e of the influence of the de
fendants m the former county.
At this time 1871 a man by
the name of Terrell W. Taylor was
sheriff of Henderson county. Fif
teen year3 before this he had been
engaged to be married to the wo
man who afterward'' became the
wife of Martin Baynard. It seems
that there was a disagreement
between them and the engagement
was broken off, and both in after
years married another party. Tay
lor and Mts. Baynard had , 'not
seen each other for years. The
black-haired, rosy-cheeked and
blacked -eyed maiden had grown to
be a beautiful mature woman, and
when she first came to the jail in
Hendevsonvill-i to 6ee her husband
and Taylor saw his first love, it
made his heart leap and brought
vividly back to him those days
when he sat with his arm around
her, his lips to hers the world
well fursrot in the experience of
love's young dream. In their con
r WKSTKI.S NORTH CABOUSA.
JANUARY 12, 1899.
versa ti n tnere were references to
bygone days and what micht have
been, ard then nvMsteyes and the
silent clasping of hands. In due
time the trial came on, and the
three defendants were convicted
f murder and an appeal was ta-
Ken to the bupreme Court, In
regular order came the decision
affirming the judgment and the
three defendants were sentenced
to be hanged. Governor Tod. R.
Caldwell was appealed to for com
mutation, which he promptly re
fused to grant. The feeling ran
high against the defendants
and the populace clamored
tor their blood. The. fear of
a rescue from jail was so great that
Sheriff Taylor remained there all
the time after the day for the
execution was fixed. INow came
the time that tried the soul of
Talor. Mrs. Baynard was well
nigh crazy at the impending death
of her husband. - Baynard, while
rough aud uncouth, was the fath
er of her several children, and he
had been kind and lovingand true
to her, and by force of these things
her heart-strings had entwined
themselves around her husband,
and the thought of his being put
to death, and by tho lover of her
youth was worse than death itself
to her. She made appeal after
appeal to Taylor to help her in
some wav to save her husband
from a felon's death, but there
was no way except by the betray
al of the taw and the commission
of a high crime. Mrs. Baynard
finally declared to Taylor that if
her husband was hanged that she
would remain in Hendersonville
during the execution and commit
and that llsylojwould be respon
sible for her death and' i he ;2.king
of her children orphans. Never
was man so sorely tried. Between
his own duty to his county and
State and the woman he had loved
with the fires of early manhood,
his trial was that of a martyr.
He had never failed heretofore in
the honest and fearless discharge
of his duty. He possessed the
confidence of the people of the
county more than any other man.
He wanted now to do his duty,
but he was not made of clay dif
ferent from other men He had
loved this woman who virtually
demanded of him not only the life
of her husband, but bei own life
as well. Taylor well-knew that
Sallie Baynard meant all she had
said about killing herself, tt was
the story of the Garden of Eden
over again. The woman -tempted
and the man fell.
The day before the time set for
the execution, Mrs. Baynard came
to the jail to see her husband for
the last time. She again told
Taylor that she would never sur
vive the ignominious death of her
husband and demanded his life of
Taylor because of their love in
former days. Love proved strong
er than duty to the law and out
raged justice. .
The cry of the. widowed wife
and the dead and cremated hus
band and children were forgotten ;
only the sweetheart of his youth,
for whom there yet remained much
of that first love which it is said
is never extinguished, was thought
of, Mrs. Baynard was permited by
Taylor to go to the cell of her
husband, and no one was allowed
to witness this last scene between
the doomed husband and heart
broken wife. When the time had
expired, Taylor unlocked the door
aud Mrs. Baynard passed out,
weeping and inconsolable, and
mounting her horse proceeded on
her way home amid the blue-cap-ned
peaks of the Blue Ridse in
Rutherford county. When sup
per was taken to Baynard he was
lying down and would not eat.
Next morning when breakfast was
brought he still would not eat.
When it became time to prepare
for the execution, Taylor and
minister went into the cell and
found Mrs. tfaynara dressed and
awaiting them. The clothes o
her husband were hanging on the
wall. Baynard had dressed in
the clothes of his wife and had
been permitted to pass out by
Taylor, as he had agreed with Mrs.
Bavnard to do. A cry was raised
and a heavy reward was offered
for Baynard's arrest, but he was
never, heard of. The wife was
permitted to go, and while many
believed that Taylor had allowed
Baynard to escape there was no
proof of this tact. The two
Adairs were hanged and lie m one
grave beside the public road,
ai out ton miles from the town of
Rutherford ton. Baynard made
good his escape and his family
disappear) d as completely from
the public eye as if the earth had
opened and swallowed them.
The scene now turns from Bay
nard to Terrell W. Taylor. After
being sheriff for some years, Tay
lor was elected State Senator and
served several terms in the Legis
lature, but somehow it seemed to
be a hard struggle for him to get
along, and gradually his busi
ness and property slipped away
from him until he was in actual
want. During these years his
wife hat died and his children
had married and left him, and
like the "King of the Forest,'
now in the eveuing of his life, he
stood alone. Now and then there
were questionable transactions
charged to him, until finally he
was charged with a serious crime
and then he left the State. This
seemed to close up this chapter,
but after the expiration of six
years there comes a story from
the Lone Star State that again
brings the Baynards and Taylor
before the public.
When Baynasd escaped from
Hendersonville jail, dressed as a
woman, he made straight for
Texas. As soon as his wife could
settle up her affairs and turn her
property into money, she and her
children quietly slipped out of the
country and were soon forgotten,
Tbev landed in Texas, near Waco,
where the hn stat: ;Lr n dfat her had
preceded them. Here tneyhludej
another start in lite.
But what had become of Terrell
W. Taylor? 2io friend or relative
lad heard from him since he left
the State. It appears that now
and then he received a letter from
Mrs. Baynard, so that when he
eft North Carolina he made his
way to Texas. He was now free
and longed for a sight of the
sweetheart of his young manhood
days. ; He finally reached Waco
and found where the Baynards
ived. Taylor was now CO years
old. His head and beard were
frostv and his troubles and exile
bad changed him until his most
intimate friend would not have
known him. Believing that Sallie
would not recognize him, he made
exeuse to call at her home, she
did not recognize him.
He ascertained that M. Baynard
had made every effort to atone
for the murder he had committed.
His life had been one continual
atonement since he left jail. He
had prospered as a farmer and
had died two years before Taylor
reached Texas, leaving property
valued at $50,000, ail of which he
willed to his wife.One boy and one
girl of the children were married
and living not far from the home
stead. The other girl was with
her mother. Tavlor asked where
Baynard was buried and the wid
ow walked with him a short dis
tance to a beautiful grove of trees,
where stood an imposing marble
shaft with these words inscribed
thereon :'Martin Baynard, a faith
ful husband and loving father lies
here."
So here was the dust of one of
the men whose soul was stained
with the murder of tour innocent
human beings. As Taylor stood
by this mound he thought of the
day when he had forgotten his
oath to his State his oath of of
fice all because of his first love
for Sallie Morgan, and had saved
the husband of the woman he lov
ed from an infamous death. As
she stood beside him he gazed in
to her face, and with her fifty
years she looked as if she was but
forty. The black hair of former
dav did not show a single line of
gray ; the cheeks were yet red and
rosy, and the eyes were as black
and brilliant as they were the day
they caused Terrell Taylor to give
up the world as well lost for a
smile from Sallie Baynard. So
$1.00 A YEAR CASH IN ADVANCE.
he took her hand and held it in
both of his and looked her in do
eyes and said: "Sallie, is it .vi
sible that you do not know re'i"
She knew him instantly and
claimed "Terrell Taylorl" - id
le said by the grave of this r.n
whom they had saved from au
awful fate. "I tell you tha I
lave never ceased to love :3U.
ike yourself. I am free, I h vs
nothing but myself. My property
is all goue. I came out here to
be near you but you are free rlo.
I ask you to take me for your has
band." And by the dust of ltfar-
tin Baynard they again plighted
their troth and passed Land in
hand into the house happy in
the never dying passion of ch
other. And there we leave
them, with tho remark that tha
sun which Terrell W. Taylor had
seen hundreds of times from the
mountain tops of the peaks oi the
Blue Ridge where he lived in Hen
derson count v, arise from
horizon and animate all the world
that came under his vision for
miles and miles around him with
light and life, had again enveloped
him. His declining vears were to
be the paradise of his existence on
this earth. It is surprising f iat
he counted his failure to do his
duty the commission of a gvaat
crime excusable because it was
doue for a woman, and that he
torgot the four mounds among tha
foot-hills of the Blue Ridge,
where rest the cremated remains
of Silas Weston and his three in
nocent children. AU for the lovs
of tho woman who was his Eve
and who was now to be his Re
becca. And here we leave them with
our opening remark that truth
is oftener stranger and moro thril
ling than fiction.
Daily Charlotte Cbserver.
A Demagogue's Act.
The u"iity with which Cqu-
federate veterahV"5.roni ' w 'ik
to Texas and from Oregt u i" X' r"
lda have condemned and t-pi.. nj.-
on the proposition of Marion But
ler, wh by a strange dispensa
tion of Providence is a Uni'ed
States Senator from North Caroli
na, will refresh the fading filth of
many in genuine manhood. But
ler pops up in the Senate aud asks
the Federal government to pen
sion Confederate veterans.
Who commissioned Butler to
speak lor Confederate veteraue, or
to ask anything in their name?
He does not belong to their glo
rions com pan v, and few of that
company in North Carolina would
speak to Butler on the puoiic
road. They regard him as a rene
gade from those principles wh;ch
lie far deeper than the issues rais
ed by the civil war. They look
upon as au enemy ot dsceut, clf ii
and capable government.
Therefore, when he comes up
with tho audacity of a bribe l'or
their favcr in the fhape of tit
Confederate pension bill, they ill
feel like kickiug him.
Butler has mistaken the aud
ience to which he attempted te
play. Atlanta Journal.
MORTGAGE SALE.
By virtue of a mortgage made to f h
undersigned by W. Hill and wife, Sir
minah J. Hill, of the county of Kulh
erford and State of North Carolina,
given on the 25th day of November 18
93, and recorded in Book E, No. 227. in
the Register's office for RutheriV.fd
county, I will sell to the highest bide r
for cash at the Court Ifouse door ia
Rutherford ton, on
Monday, February 6th, 1899:
tbe following described tract of land.
known and designated as follows: In
Rutherford county (on Henrietta rcud)
near Henrietta, adjoining lands of O.
Pannell, Oland Wall and others, be
ginning on a pine, Pannell's corntr;
thence S f 3 W 71 poles to white oak;
thence S 47 E 101 poles to a pile of
stones: thence with the road N 40 7 82
poles to a stone pile; thence N 57 11 84
poles to a pile of stones; thence N IS
W 100 poles to the beginning, contain
ing 43 3-4 acres. Said sale is made to
secure payment of the debt contracted,
and secured by the aforesaid mortgage,
to which reference is made for partic
ulars. This Dec. 22nd, 1898.
D. B. McBrayek, Mortgagee.
SAI.K OF LAM).
By virtue of a mortgage dport executed to us
by J. B. Steadman ami wife, N. E. Steadman,
dated September 3rd 1"WS which was Riven tore
cure a note for SiauM. with interest bearl.i
date with mortgage deed, we will sell for cash
at the Court House door in Rutherfordton, N.
C. on
Monday, J&nsry 9th, 199,
the following described tract or parcel of land,
lying on the north side of Main Broad river,
being a part ot the Arlow steadman river tract,
adjoining the lands of l 1. iioneycutt, Sarah
Steadman, Martha Rofcbins and others, begin
ning on a stone pile in the field D. P. Honey
cutts corner thence N 6 W 8 poles to a stake;
thence S 21 W 123 poles to a stake in Coles line;
thence with Coles line E 89 poles to a stake.
Honeycutts corner; thence wltn bis line vm
poles to thebeginning. containing 25 acre
more or less. This December 15th. 18P8 -
- J. F. and A. C. Alexasdeb. Mortgagee. :
George P. Martin, Attorney.
S