The Forrest City times. [volume], December 24, 1909, Image 6

About The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919

Image provided by: Arkansas State Archives

                
HAD CHARMED LIFE
Mexican Veteran Fought Against
His Father and Brothers.
Pennsylvanian Now Ninety Years Old
Helped Storm Vera Cruz Away
Back in 40's, and Faced Nu
merous Civil War Perils.
TUoonisbr.rg. Pa -One of the few
survivor: in pennsylvania of the M» \
lean war of ISii.-IS. a veteran of the
civil war. a man who has fought In 27
battles, was thrice wounded, holds
four honorable discharge: . and who,
when but a lad, saw much of the civ
lilted world. Is .John Sylv< -ter Myer
of I.line Ridge, Columbia county, now
!*0 years of age, hut who looks easily
20 years younger.
Few men have haC such an experi
ence as this old man. who fought with
the union army because hi believed
Us cause to be right, while bis father,
who disowned him because of his loy
alty, fought, with seven other sons, fot
the lost cause of the rebellion And
from that day, Myers, whose father i
owned 1,500 slaves, has see nnelther
father nor brother.
a rover rrorn boyhood, tie leit home,
near S{. Louis, wh>-n but 11 years of i
ago. and going down the Mississippi j
on a small boat to the Gulf of Mex 1
ico. shipped as a cabin boy on an ]
K^tllsh bound vessel. Three trips
he made, and in 1824 left the vessel
and struck out through Germany,
Switzerland, Russia. Italy and France.
In the last named country he was ar
rested and it was charged that he
was there in the service of another
country. His father's money and in
fluence purchased his release.
At the outbreak of the Mexican war
he enlisted as a marine and was one .
of those who scaled th* walls of Vera
Cruz. From there the vessel upon
which he was taken to the scene of !
war was sent to China, and Myers j
went along.
He attempted to settle down to j
every day life and located at Danville, j
but the wander-lust soon gripped him j
and it was only a month or two until
he had enlisted with the government
to do teaming from Omaha to Cali
fornia. In that service three years,
he made six trips through the Indian ;
frontier and figured in many a fight I
with them.
He was one of the first to respond
when President Lincoln issued a call
for men, and he was captured in the
Shenandoah valley in 1862, but the
confederates left so small a guard
over their prisoners that the latter
*rt upon them, and, killing them, ef
fected their escape.
He participated In nearly all the
most Important battles of the war. At
LILY THAT LOOKS LIKE MASK OF M'KINLEY.
This flower recently was on exhibition in California. It forms a remark
able portrait of William McKinley, twenty-fourth president of the United
States, who was assassinated by Czolgcsz in 1901.
North Ann river, where he helped
build a pontoon bridge, the Union
forces were surrounded, and the or
der was given to destroy the bridge.
Kighty-flve men were detailed to do
the work. A death toll of 83 was
claimed, and Myers was one of the
two who escaped.
While the forces were lying before
Petersburg there occurred an incident
which he will never forget. One of
the guards doing duty at the home of
L)r. Samuel Withers, a supposedly
northern adherent, but a confederate
at heart, complained of feeling ill, and
Myers was ordered to provost duty.
The night before two guards had been
found with their throats cut, and My
ers was more than ordinarily cau
tious that night.
It was almost midnight when he
saw something moving outside the
house that resembled a Newfoundland
dog. Challenging the object three
times and receiving no answer, he
fired, and then running over, struck
the object a terrific blow on the head
It was Dr. Withers, a large razor in
one hand, his form enveloped in a buf
falo robe, dead. Myers was court-mar
tialed and acquitted.
In the battle of Fort Harrison, in
a hand-to-hand encounter, he was
struck In the mouth with the butt of
a confederate musket. He ran his
bayonet through the man who had
struck him, killing him instantly; but
Myers still carries the scar of that en
counter.
In the battle of Fredericksburg his
clothing was shot into shreds and his
canteen shot off his person, but he
was uninjured. In the battle of the
Wilderness he was not so fortunate,
however, for he was. shot below' the
knee, and lay on the field four days be
fore he was found. He was finally
mustered out of service March 17,
1866, at Philadelphia. Many years he
spent in traveling; but for some time
has been living quietly, as befits his
years, at Lime Ridge.
Mr. Myers is a Frenchman by' birth,
and his grandfather came to this
. country with Lafayette and served as
J a cavalryman.
GOOD GOUT REMEDY
Episcopalian Rector Finds Effec
tive Cure in Old Bucksaw.
Veteran Decides to Sever Gastronom
Isal Relations with Canvasbacks,
Terrapin and Wines and Turn
to Tree Chopping.
New York.—The Rev. .7. Prescott,
of St. Ann's P. E. church. Sayville,
I.. I , has added a bucksaw to the
weapons with which he fights the
world, the flesh'and the devil and the
other day he appeared on the streets
of the village with the bucksaw over
his shoulder to show his parish how
effective he Is.
Dr. Prescott (if he Isn't a doctor
already he will tie soon, having dis
covered something! has been the rec
tor of St Ann's for 37 years and for
the last two or three years lias suf
fered great agony of mind and body
because he was popular and had so
many millionaires among his summer
parishioners He never gets a chance
to eat a wholesome meal of crumbs
with I.azarus, but day in and day out
has to sit up at the table with Dives
and the result is he has developed
Just as fine a ease of gout as if he
were a millionaire himself.
llut in a very short time Dr. Pres
cott won't have any gout, thanks to
the bucksaw which beats goat s milk
and which, let it he said with no Ir
reverence. seems to have been in this
ease more effective than prayer. Fast
ing might have helped some, but. as
already explained, the rector never
got an opportunity to fast.
There probably never was a coun
try parson who knpw more about can
[vasbacks and terrapin and the merits
if rare vintages than Dr. Prescott
[He gave up the vintage some time
igo, blit it was too late to cast devils
»ut of that foot by such a simple sac
Ifice. They got wors* asd rheuma
tism came to help them in the torture
if the good dominie.
He fled the millionaires of his par
lb that he might live the simple ,'fe
ir a spell in the Mohawk valley
lere he had a special goat to pro
ic« his milk supply and for the sake
variety he added buttermilk. But
spite of that Dr. Prescott's gout
it no better and he returned to Sav
lile the other day convinced that as
^ng as he had to have the troubles
his pastorate he might as well
ive the social joys,
it was three days ago that he dis
pr«red the bucksaw bj act Met t lie
inted a pine tree removed from the
rtory yard, so that more sunlight
tid reach his aching foot when lie
: it up on the aim chair on the
veranda. While thinking about It he
hobbled into the woodshed and there
saw the bucksaw.
Then he had an inspiration. Seiz
ing an ax, he tackled the tree him
self. Finally getting the tree down,
he started to saw it up for lirewood.
That night he slept the sleep he used
to know before he knew how to dine.
That Job finished, he tackled another
tree that threatened to fall. The dev
ils were cast out.
The other day I)r. Prescott went
forth into the streets of the village,
taking the saw with him. When
ever a surprised parishioner com
mented upon the agility with which
he walked the rector pointed t the
saw and told of the cure.
The trustees of the church are de
lighted about the improvement in
Dr Prescott's condition, but are wor
ried about the shade trees on the
church lawn, it may be necessary
either for the rich parishioners to
substitute some simple cereal for
pate de foie gras when they ha\e the
rector to dinner or for tlie church to
purchase a piece of timber laud near
the village.
FINDS RARE GEMS IN BIRDS
American Klondiker Presents to Can
ada Many Specimens Found in
Gizzards of Ptarmigans.
Ottawa. Ont.—Wilson Foster, Klon
dike prospector, has presented the
Dominion museum with 10,000 speci
mens of minerals secured in the Klon
dike region, gold, topaz, opals, etc.
Many of the specimens were taken
from the gizzards of ptarmigans and
grouse found in the rich mineral hear
ing districts of the Yukon. They rep
resent almost every kind of precious
stone except diamonds.
While prospecting here Foster no
ticed the birds always picking away
at stones and trapping many he was
astonished at the variety and value
of the stones found In their gizzards.
One curiosity he is giving to the
museum is a mastadon's tooth, weigh
ing it pounds.
He will present to the lir-tish mu
seum at London, where he is going,
a collection made up of 50,000 speci
mens of minerals, probably one of
the largest collections in tins world
Foster's baggage consists of two
trunks, but in these two lie has not
less than 2,000,000 mineral specimens
from all parts of the Yukon
Foster is a native of St. Louis.
Build Steel War Balloons
Metal Aircraft to Carry Twenty Pas
sengers, Sleeping Bunks and Two
Aeroplanes.
Vienna —At the Daimler Motor
works here a dirigible balloon of soft
eteel Is being built. Instead of using
rubber and silk, like Capt. Thomas
S. Baldwin, the American airship
builder, or aluminum, like Count von
Zeppelin. Herr von Walach, the Aus
trian inventor, makes his entire gas
balloon of steel.
Though the craft is well advanced
in construction, details are carefully
guarded. Its size cannot be learned,
but it is known that the steel walls
of the balloon will be a little over a
half inch thick and consist of many
.'19x39 plates All the plates are
welded in annular form by an elec
trical process.
The balloon Is of the familiar cigar
shape, painted with a specially in
vented mixture to make it airtight
and is covered with a silk paper, in
stead of silk cloth to reduce fric
tion.
The estimated weight of the balloon
is ever 2^,000 kilos and of the gasoline
engine luei about 2,500 kilos. This
fuel will enable the ship to sail 24
hours.
Following the Zeppelin principle,
the gas reservoU Is to have three com
[ partments to enable the rraft to keep
afloat In case any one compartment
le Injured. This feature is in line
with the decision reached by the
French aeronautic engineer in bill Id
ing the new army airships.
1 he car is to accommodate 20 pas
sengers as well as extra ballast in
the form of two aeroplanes of the Far
man type. All arrangements will be
made to provide cooked food for pas
sengers and crew, which will be pre
pared on board. There will also be
miniature salons and sleeping bunks
It is proposed to carry aeroplanes
to use them in case of war like tor
pedo craft. The greut airship itself
is regarded by the inventor as a large
ironclad. It will naturatly be able to
resist attack that would destroy rub
ber or aluminum craft, and will be so
constructed that it can ram aerial
opponents.
llelng made of steel, it can hold gas
far better than any other vessel. It
is not so affected by changes in the
atmosphere, which cause contraction
and expansion, and will lose only a
small percentage of its buoyancy in a
year.
Valuable Biro.
London.—Bred at Martham, Norfolk,
a magpie pigeon has been sold for
$300. a record price for the breed, and.
in gold, heavier than the bird itself.
All Over Arkansas
TWO DIE IN MINE EXPLOSION.
Charred Remains of Victims Taken
from Hartford Shaft.
Hartford.—As the result of an ex
plosion which oc curred in a coal mine
operated by Hoian-Darnell Coal ''nm
pany. A K. Welch, married, and Wil
liam King, unmarried, are dead, and
a lire wnich threatens the destine
tion of the entire mine is ragi i„ m
a dozen or more ‘‘rooms" where ibe
men have been at work daily.
The dead men were shotfirers and
had entered tin mine after all the
other miners had come out 01 the
shaft. The miners were on their
way to their homes when the force of
a terrific explosoion -hook the ground
upon which Ui v wali 1. anu was
followed by a deafening roar.
The men rush* d to the entrance of
tlie shaft and the relief part} started
into the mine. Koi a time the lire
hurried so fiercely that it was lin
possible for the men o descend into
the mine, but they lined} succeed
ed in gaining an eiitrs.i cv and the
bodies of tin- unfortunate men note
recovered. The two men who lost
their lives were burned almost be
yond recognition.
Two large streams of water were
turned into the mine, but the Haines
gained rapid headway, and the prob
ability of controling the fire was not
encouraging at any stagi . .lust what
caused the explosion will probably
never be known, as the only men
who were in the mini at the time
were the two shotfirers whos« lives
were lost. Under the mining rue. s
of the district only two shotfirers go
into a mine at one time for the pur
pose of firing the shots, and this pre
cludes the possibility of anyone being
in the burning mine.
GIRL BURNED TO DEATH.
Mother Seriously Hurt in Trying to
Save Unfortunate Child.
Van Buren.— Loraine. the 13-year
old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard
West, living five miles east of tins
city, was fatally burned, and in an
effort to save the unfortunate hi 1 d
the mother was fearfully burned.
The timely arrival of a neighbor
attracted by the cries of the victim
enabled him to extlngirsh the burn
ing clothing of the mother and her
life was thus saved. In their snug
gles through the house fire was -tail
ed in three rooms, and it was by
the hardest work that the building
was saved. Mr. West was away Irom
home at the time, and the fire was
started by the explosion of a coal oil
lamp
CLUB WOMEN ORGANIZE.
Little Rock District of the State Fed
eration is Formed.
Little Rock.—Tvro hundred women
from various sections of the state
attended the meeting here which re
sulted in the formation of the Little
Rock district of the Arkansas Feder
ation of Women’s Clubs The state
is now divided into four districts, the
others being Camden, Fores' City and
Fort mith.
Mrs .1 O. Frauenthal of ’on way
was elected president of the Little
Rock district, and Mi- Clio Harper
I acted as secretary. The president
I will appoint a pennant m secretary.
A letter of greetings was received
from the national president, Mrs. B.
N. Moore, who recently visited all the
federations west of the Mississippi.
Daniel Murder Trial Begins.
Clarksville.—(>. R. Daniel, who shot
and killed Dr. John W Mitchell last
September, and was later indicted by
the grand jury on charge of first
degree murder, was brought into the
circuit court here for trial Monday
The prominence of the parties and
the wealth of the deceased has at
tracted more than u-id attention to
the case. The two m< n were part
ners, and evidence at the coroner’s
jury tended toward domestic rela
tionships which ended in the tragedy.
The defense won bail for Mr. !>an
ie: behind < loscd doors, and after an
indictment had been voted the de
fendant was again admitted to bail.
Mrs Daniel, who was in Austin,
Tex., at the time of the shooting, is
expected to be at th< trial.
♦ ARKANSAS NEWS NOTES. ♦
On«> of the new n.i tural curiosities
in the state is a hot salt water well
which spouts to a heicht of (to or TO
feet. The well is located in Da las
county and was an oii prospect.
A plan is under way to form a sys
tem of drainage ditches which will
drain thousands of acres of rich and
alluvial lands in the St Francis Riv
er basin in Northeast Arkansas.
The Iron Mountain has just pur
chased a depot site at Wynne at a
cost of $12,000. A building which is
to cost about $25,000 win be erected
Because of friction in the Trinity
( athedral at Little Rock, neither the
dean nor the bishop conducted ser
vices Sunday.
A call was issued Monday for a
state convention of landowners, moj
‘ hants and professional men to nn-et
in Little Rock on January 21 The
object is to advertise Arkansas to the
outside world in proper and effective
manner.
GATHERING CHESTNUTS
* _
By LAWRENCE CLAY
—I
(Copyright, I!* '- by Associated Literary I’ress.)
The first frost of the season had
come, and Miss Dolly Meserve w ■ s on
her way down to the back lot with a
basket on her arm. A big chestnut
tree had stood there for no one could
remember how long, and this fall it
simply hung loaded with burrs. The
frost probably had opened hundred' of
them.
The back lot was half a mile back
of Farmer Meserve's house, and the
girl with the basket was his daughter,
who had just completed a term at a
seminary and was home for good. It
was a biting morning, and she had
donned her mother's hood and shawl
and borrowed a pair of yarn mittens
from brother Will.
Yes; the frost and the morning
breeze had done their work. A bushel
of chestnuts peppered the earth and
more were falling, and the basket
Miss Dolly had brought held only
two quarts. She was a girl who doted
on chestnuts and hadn’t had any for
three years, so it was easy to tell
what she would do on finding the
ground covered with them. She sat
down and began to shuck and eat.
She turned her back to the wind,
snuggled the old gray shawl closer,
and began to eat and eat and eat.
She hunted for the very biggest and
fattest, and didn't mind the squirrel
chattering and scolding on the limbs
above.
She knew he was there to get his
share, and she had a half -formed idea
that when she got through eating she
would throw clubs and give him a
scare. Had she been familiar with
squirrel lore she would have under
stood him during the first five minutes
to lie saying:
“Well, upon my soul this is cheeky
of you! Haven’t you been to break
s'lrrjr* uz^jr iiv
[ *■ z< :-y>' v' it#1'7*0 7'-V£= JfA&AT <£0 7*
fast? Have you got to lay in a store
or starve through the winter? (do to,
girl, and give us squirrels a show!”
Pretty soon she noticed that his
chattering had changed, hut she didn't
look up nor fry to interpret it. What
he was saying was:
"A young man' A young man! A
young man is coming this way!"
Of course. Miss Doily would have
scrambled up to look for the young
man and make out whether he was tall
or short, light or dark, handsome or
homely. Not getting the alarm, she
continued to devour fat chestnuts.
lie's got a gun! He's got a gun!
He's got a gun on his shoulder." ex
claimed the squirrel, as he hid behind
a limb and peeped out with one eye.
They ought to have been plain to
th" girl as (ireek, but she never even
misled a bite it couldn t be charged
that she was thinking of a man, voting
or old, and so in an absent-minded
state
"And he's going to pepper me—me_
me* shouted the squirrel as he disap
peared into a hollow limb.
This time Miss Dolly faintly com
prehended and looked up. Flash—bang
scream! She scrambled up and
down again with a moan, and was too
overcome to hear the squirrel shriek
ing out:
"He’s shot a girl! He’s shot a girl!
He's missed me and shot a girl!"
"What is it? What have I done?
What’s happened?” cried the voice of
a man bending over her, and Miss
Dolly shrank away and looked up to
see a young man with a gun in his
hand at her side. Her hand was
clasped to her chin and blood was ooz
ing from under her fingers.
"I—l have wounded you!" gasped
the,young man. as he turned pale
"Yes. you have' ^i’ou have tried to
kill me'”
Oh, no, no, no I shot a squirrel
in the tree. I give you my word I
shot at a squirrel."
"Hut I was sitting on the ground
here."
"Yes, but one of the shots must have
struck a knot and been deflected I
am sorry—so sorry* i can‘t tell you
how sorrj I am. May I see the wound’*
Perhaps the shot only glanced off "
"And perhaps I shall carry a horri
ble scar there all my life!" she replied
with a stamp ol her foot You are a
nice man to be given charge of a gun
How many other folks have you killed
•jr wounded this morning’"
"<Jo for him, Dolly—go tor him!"
chattered the squirrel, ‘'lie tried to
kill us. and don't you let hiui talk
about any deflected shot!”
"So sorry, you know so sorry” -he
young man kept stammering
wouldn't have shot you for live dol
lars—honest, I wouldn't. Is it a l ad
wound? Is it painful? Do you think
it is mortal?”
"I fear it Is!" replied Miss Dolly as
a spirit of mischief bubbled up. Yes,
it may be fatal, and 1 don’t know what
excuse you can urge before a coroner's
l jury. You will l»e declared my mur
derer!”
"He will—he will—whoop! ho will!”
chattered the squirrel.
"So sorry—so sorry'" th con
I fused and upset young man. ‘I—can't
1 call an ambulance here, you knew and
—and 1 don't see tiny doctors' ; ;ns
around Can I help you hot •
j then—tl.cn—”
' I think I have the strength • i walk
home, but you may run to the village
! and tell Dr Smith that you hav, .-hot
me and tell him to come. Tell bin; it's
probably a mortal wound. Tell him
that it's Miss Dolly Meserve you tried
to kill. Hotter throw away tha' gun or
you'll be shooting the doctor!”
"Yes—yes—surely I will. Yes I'll
get I)r. Smith. So sorry, you know.
Do you think you can reach home
without help? Yes, certainly—" And
lie was gone.
It was true that some of the bird
shot with which the gun had been
' loaded had struck something and been
deflected. Two of them were buried
in the quilted hood, and two or three
others were found in the folds of the
I heavy shawl Only one had struck
Miss Dolly as she raised her face, and
that was in the center of the chin.
It had not penetrated deeply. As a
n|itter of fact, she dug It out with her
finger nail on the way home. The
doctor arrived in his gig with his
horse on a gallop. At first he was in
clined to be angry, but when the story
was told, and when a little plan was
unfolded, he laughed and offered his
ser\ ices
Two hours later, when Will Bailey,
son of Lawyer Bailey of the city,
called at the farmhouse to repeat that
he was so sorry, and to say that he
was visiting the Scotts and doing a
little shooting, he found a young lady
on the sofa with her head, chin and
neck done up and a strong smell of
drugs in the room. He was told by
Miss Dolly that the doctor had said
that she would probably pull through
if given the best of care, and he went
away a happy young man. lie sent,
to the city for flowers and fruits and
books He presented brother Sam with
the shotgun, and he told the father
that he would be only too happy to
pay all expenses.
Of course, the patient began to get
better At about the third call of the
would be murderer she had dispensed
with most of the bandages. At about
the filth there was only a piece of
plaster covering the wound. After
time weeks he called one afternoon
to find the plaster gone, and after a
look he cried out:
by. Miss Dolly, you’ve got the
prettiest dimpled chin in all America’
lteally, now, but—"
No it was a month later that he
proposed. And he took her down k>
the old chestnut tree where the squir
rel chattered:
"I 'nought so! I thought so’ First
you shoot a girl and then vou tell her
how much you love her and ask her to
be your wife! Co to, both of you!"
Pacific s First Concrete Pier.
The first concrete pier on the Pa
cific coast, and a hi* one it is has
been completed recently. Extending
m a straight line 1,000 feet out into
the Pacific ocean this latest example
m wharf construction is at Santa
Monica, where the longest wharf in
the world—the Southern Pacific rail
road's pier at Port Los Angeles is
already located.
So far aml ,tlp Piles of the land
ward end of the new pier have been
in position for several months—the
sea has not made the slightest ini
press'on on the concrete posts. Tere
dos. those sea worms which make the
life of the wharf builder a continuous
nightmare, are powerless to penetrate
the new piles; barnacles cling to them
in small numbers, but can do no dam
age. while the strongest waves of the
sea break aimlessly against the
smooth concrete and without deleteri
ous results to the wharf which they
I support. C as&ier 8 Mugaziuc*.
Plucked.
"My first rase," said an eminent
lawyer recently, "involved a young
woman whose common sense was
about as good as were my chances of
success. After a protracted struggle
we got a jury which I, in my youthful
blindness of hope, considered espe
cially favorable to my cause. 1 drew
my client aside and whispered in a
triumphant tone:
Madam, the Jury has been picked.’
"She turned her baby blue eyes full
upon me.
<>h. I m so glad she gushed, ‘be
cause I'm a little superstitious and I
always did have the fullest confidence
in bald-headed men.'"—Pittsburg Dis
patch.
Londoners Live Long.
Londoners live, on an average, to an
age of 57 years. In most parts of the
country the standard is below this.