The Rice belt journal., May 21, 1909, Image 2

About The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??

Image provided by: Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA

                
AFFAIR OF THE
PANAMA HAT
BY AN V X-OPERATIVE OF
THE SECRET SERVICE
CAPTAIN DICKSON TELLS
OF ACOUIRING AN UGLY
SCAR EARLY IN HIS CAREER
ES, I did promise to tell you
how I got this wound," re
plied Capt. Dickson, when I
recalled his mention, in a
former reminiscence, of the ugly scar
on the back of his neck.
"It happened when I was young in
the service, and it was due to my am
bition and foolhardiness, a combina
tion that is dangerous in any one's
system. The adventure came near
costing me my life. I have always
connected that affair with a Panama
hat. A Panama hat got me into trouble
anti got me out again, in the end
saving my life."
"The Chinese exclusion act has giv
en a lot of trouble to the government
in one way and another, but the con
sequence I am most familiar with is
the smuggling of coolies into this
country through Mexico and Canada.
('oolie labor is cheap, and it is a profit
able job to slip a bevy of them across
the frontier.
"Things began to take a lively turn
as soon as I reached Presidio, my
headquarters, a village of mud huts
and rambling shanties on the Rio
Grande. I left the Southern Pacific at
Nopal and rode many weary miles
across country. Over the river, in
Mexico,, was the dirty village of Prest
Tlio del Norte. It is impossible to
imagine a more forsaken looking place.
The Rio Conchos, a river of uncertain
habits, flowed into the Rio Grande
here. It was by means of this river
that coolies were brought, to Presidio
del Norte.
"I had arrived in Presidio wearing
, a heavy Scotch hat. It had been cool
when I left Washington and this was
my first trip to the Texas border. I
saw at once that my hat was a back
* number. Jarrall. the customs officer,
suggested that I get a Panama, telling
me that I could secure a smuggled one
at a reasonable price from a dealer in
* the village.
"Hlie said he knew they were smug
gled, but that there was no remedy
for it as the government didn't think
it of sufficient importance to put its
agents on the case, and he was pow
erless without them. I took his ad
vice and bought a Panama, the largest
and whitest' and most conspicuous one.
"The next morning after my arrival
I crossed over to the Mexican village,
to look around a bit and see if .I
couldn't pick up some valuable infor
mation. I was wandering about, star
ing at the crude hats and the naked
babies, when I encountered an Ameri
can wearing a hat that was a dupli
cate of my own, only his showed
marks of hard usage.
"'Hello!' he said, 'when did you get
In?'
"I was on the ppint of telling him
that he had made a mistake, but
something prompted me to play him
along and see what he was up to. I
merely replied:
"'Yesterday.'
"'Where is Munson?' he queried,
looking me over carefully.
"'He will be here later,' I replied at
a venture.
"'Now let's get down to business,'
he Began.
"'All right,' I replied.
"'We have 300 coming down to
night,' he said, 'and 200 more in three
,days. The boats are ready and Man
uel is in charge at Huataz so there
isn't a chance for anything to go
wrong at that end of the line.'
"He paused a moment to mix an
other highball which he swallowed at
a gulp.
"'You know where to meet us to
night?' he queried.
"'The Ipstructions haven't been too
plain,' I repliled.
S' "'Blame that mutton-headed Indian,'
. he swore. 'I might have known that
:. he couldn't get anything straight.
. Well, I will have to t-41 you all over
in. You and Muns.,L be at the cot.
ionwood towhead two miles above
wnat 11:30 to-night to check up the
 eattle and pay over the money. Take
the north trail from Presidio and turn
:- to the left at the giant cactus. You
_ can't miss tle way. It is about two
a: ulles. The cattle-path at the cactus
-'Will lead you-out to the landing at the
i-: towhead. Andrews and I will come
:ever with the first boat and we can
s eek up as they land. I suppose you
Sa)ve the papers,' he concluded.
W · o, Munson has them,' I ventured
feeig sure that if Munson didn't
Sthem I did not kow where they
S 'Wel, be sure than Munson brings
1ib along,' he admonished.
ca oncluded the interview and
oh time in getting back across
to tell Jarrall of my adven
le was delighted at my luck.
mte minutes after tenr I heard
hoofs pounding the sand to
SI· could almost have shout. I
pp w shre that it was Davis
. It was only the mes- I
-we had dispatched in
M1 was coverd with
i Mbj throat was so
r e itherally.
bil bgre 'Jat'rall'sa
him as he 1
staggered into the room. A few
drinks put him on his feet, and then
he told us that the rangers were not
at their headquarters but had gone
in pursuit of a band of cattle thieves.
"'Well, we can go after them our.
selves,' I said. 'There will only be
two against two and we will have the
advantage by surprising them.'
Jarrall looked at me in blank sur
prise.
"'You must be crazy, man, to sug
gest such a thing. I am not counted
a coward, but I wouldn't undertake
the job without at least half a dozen
good men at my back, for all the gold
in the world. It would mean certain
dleath for both of us. No, I am not a
candidate for the undertaker just yet.'
"With that I buckled on my revolver
and started for the door.
"'I wouldn't do that, old man,' Jar
rail breathe4, a look of real concern
displacing the amused expression that
had so nettled me. 'My God, man, you
.dig
j"ii
_ 6
C~ - S.r. iL
'V.
ri"V
i-
~· c~ CIK
don't know what you are doing. I
haven't lived on the border ten years
for nothing. You will be killed. I
can't-I won't permit it.'
"I turned on him and snarled in
his face:
"' You are not big enough to hold
me and you can't keep me any other
way unless you shoot me, and I don't
think you want to commit murder.'
"I poured out a volume of vile abuse
for which I was afterwards heartily
ashamed.
"'I am going,' I concluded, and with
that I sprang out of the house and set
off at a run for the north trail.
"'Wait until I get my gun and I
will go with you,' Jarrall shouted after
me, but I paid no attention to him.
"It was half-past ten, and I knew it
would be a tight race to be at the ap
pointed place on time. The messen
ger's horse was standing before the
door. I mounted it and set out at a
rroid rate for the trail. It was a wild
ride through the chaparral that night,
my heart beating time to the pounding
of the horse's hoofs. At the giant
cactus I hobbled the pony and has
tened, on foot, down the cattle-trail
towards the river.
"As I came in sight of the water,
shining white and silvery through the
bushes, I could malae out the bulk of
boat approaching: tgripped thy revol
ver nervously and waited for it to
land. The cottonwood trees 'cast
heavy shadows where f rouched, and
this gave: me the advaptage: of the
smugglers, for the moonlight wa .a.
moist as bril liatý, i s.mlgbL Th
, "1 . ,: ,.;·'ý` y.'-". ij" L
prow of the boat grated on the beach
and four men stepped out. I had only
counted on two. In my hurried ride
I had planned out my course of action.
I had read somewhere of a soldier
capturing a company of the enemy
singlehanded, and I intended to follow
his plan.
"As the four men advanced up the
shelving bank I gave a tense command
to an imaginary posse hid back in the
shadows and, with my revolver leveled
I stepped out into the moonlight, cov
ering the nearest of the men.
"This trick may have worked with
soldiers, but it certainly didn't go
with border outlaws. No sooner had 1
stepped from the shadows than the
four men reached for their guns, at
the same instant dropping flat upon
the ground, where they were almost
invisible.
"I took hurried aim at the foremost
man and pulled the trigger. The
hammer fell with a metallic click,
which rang sharp and distinct in the
still air. Then, with a sickening
sinking of the heart, I remembered
that in my hasty departure I *had
failed to load the revolver. I was
unarmed and at the mercy of the out
laws.
"These Incidents had happened with
marvelous swiftness. Instantly there
was a flare of light, a loud report, and
a bullet sang uncomfortably close to
my ear. It was the first time I was
ever under fire. There was a second
flash, and my right arm dropped limp
ly to my side. I sprang for the shad.
ows of the cottonwoods just as the
third revolver cracked. The bullet
cut across the back of my neck and I
fell unconscious.
"When I came to myself I was in
the bottom of a boat and the four men
were paddling with might and main
for the Mexican shore. Here was a
pretty mess my rashness had dragged
me into. I realized that the men would
show me no mercy, that death prob
ably awaited me at the landing. But
I was mistaken in this. They did not
know that I had recovered conscious
ness and I could hear what they said
when they paused in their furious row
ing to catch their breath.
"They seemed highly excited over
my single-handed attempt to capture
them. One of them, a Mexican, wanted
to kill me at once, but the American
wouldn't hear to it. He advised that
I be revived and made to tell just what
I knew. This met with general ap
proval, and it was decided that I
should be taken to the house that I
had visited that morning in company
with the American. They were go
ing to hold me a prisoner there until
they had gained the information they
wanted, and then; they were going to
make an end of me.
"They stopped talking and resumed
their paddling. I was ip the 'heavyy
shadows at the bottom of the boit,
and when I noticed that my big Pana
ma hat was resting on my chest an
idea came to me. I fished a pencil
stub from a pocket and, with my left
hand, sci-awled a message to Jarrall
on t~e brim of the big hat. It Was a
miserable effort, and I feared it would
be 'nnttelijgible. I told hiim of iiy
capture, that I wasd wounded, an be.
ft gtaken to the hote wTi th te broken
oohVVWYink.ýýýýýý
.,1 1.3*ý ` zp S1,i~t.ýý{p~,ýý{ r3' et
"The men jerked me out of tbi
boat with small ceremony when w!
reached the shore. I moaned piteous,
ly and lay limp and inert, clutching
the hat with my left hand, the writ
ing underneath. As they packed me
up the bank I dropped the hat in the
shadow of a bush. After this I be
came unconscious from the pain of
my wounds.
"I came to in a small room with a
single window up near the ceiling. It
was heavily barred with iron, between
which I could see a single star, so I
knew that it was still night. I lay
there for a long time, it. seemed, half
conscious and utterly resigned. I was
suffering too much and was too weak
from loss of blood to care whether I
lived or died. In fact, I think I pre
ferred to die. The smugglers had not
dressed my wounds and I felt that I
was slowly bleeding to death. It was
beyond my strength to make any ef
fort to escape.
"I had dozen off again, I suppose,
when the report of shots awakened
me. A battle seemed to be in progress
about the building, but I was too
weak to more than raise myself upon
my good elbow for a moment; then
I fell back panting and exhausted.
The rattle of firearms grew less dis
tinct, as if the shots were coming
from a great distance and I slept
again.
"The next I knew Jarrall was bend
ing over me. I was in bed and very
weak. It was the room where I had
stopped in Presidio. I felt that it
was a hallucination of my feverish
brain.
"It was little that I did towards my
recovery. Jarrall did it all. By force
of his personality he nursed me back
to life and health, and when I got
strong enough to talk and tried to I
apologize to him and ask his forgive- I
ness for my abominable conduct he 1
would not permit it. He was a man I
and a gentleman, at all times.
"One day he told me how he had
come to rescue me. I
"He had followed after me when I
ran from the house, only stopping I
long enough to get his gun. This de- i
lay had, allowed me to mount the
horse and secure a good start. He A
knew it was useless to follow on foot, 4
and he had lost further time catching
a pony and saddling it. I
"Before he managed to reach the
giant cactus where I had hobbled my
horse, he heard the firing at the land- I
ing. He had arrived at the river in I
time to see the boat landing at the 1
farther shore.
'As soon as the bandits had left,
he swam his horse across the stream I
and found my hat. His pony struck it r
with a hoot and knocked it out into t
the moonlight. He had picked it up I
and found the message upon the brim. 1
"Appreciating that pursuit was use- t
less, he had hastened back to Presidio t
to' secure assistance. He .met Capt. I
Davis and ten rangers on the way, I
They had returned to camp sooner I
than was expected, and seeing Jar-.
rail's note, had pushed on to' Presidio I
Without rest. t
"The rangers then committed a t
breach of Inttrnational_ law. With
Jarrsll for g tde, they had invaded I
M 9lgo and rescued me:"
t.ot.r1. ht 1, by W ,q Chapn at.
( y~opyrig a G neat Bitain)
PRESIDENT TAFT ATTENDS
CHARLOTTE CELEBRAI'
Three Days' Carnival in the North Carolina City
the Anniversary of the Famous Mecklenburg
Declaration of Independence.
Charlotte, N. C.-With three days of
military drills, band concerts,
speeches, athletic contests and other
kinds of entertainment, the one hun
dred and thirty-fourth anniversary of
the Mecklenburg declaration has been
celebrated, and all North Carolina ii
happy in the knowledge that its pet
legend has been recognized by the
president of the United S~ates; for
Mr. Taft gave the occasion the official
sanction of his presence and was the
chief feature of the celebration.
'The carnival began Tuesday noon
s when the Charlotte fire companies
gave an exhibition of their skill and
speed. At three o'clock there was a
drill by a body of United States cav
alry and a band concert at the fair
grounds, followed by a league ball
game. The evening was given up to
a drill by the Charlotte drum corps and
a concert by three bands.
Governors' Day Program.
Wednesday was designated as go'.
ernors' day and the main event was
the delivery of addresses by Gov.
Kitchin of North Carolina and the
chief executives of several other
states, at the fair ground. These were
preceded by a big athletic meet and
followed by a cavalry drill, military
maneuvers and band concerts, with
another ball game thrown in for good
measure.
Two events made the evening not
able. The first was a May musical
festival at the Auditorium which en,
listed the services of a number of ex
"r! I
Presidect Taft.
cellent soloists and a large and well
trained chorus. The second was Ma
illuminated parade given by the Order
of Red Men.
President Taft Arrives.
Just at ten o'clock Wednesday
morning the booming of a 21-gun sa.
lute by the Charlotte artillery notified
the people that President Taft had
arrived on his special train. Nearly
all the inhabitants and the thousands
of visitors were at the staion, and as 4
Mr. and Mrs. Taft alighted from their I
car they were greeted with a mighty
roar of applause. A special recep.
tion committee took the distinguished
guests in charge and conducted them
to the Selwyn hotel, where they were
welcomed by Gov. Kitchin, Senators
Simmons and Overman and the mayor I
of Charlotte.
After meeting all the committeemen
and their wives, Mr. and Mrs. Taft, to- C
gether with Mrs. Stonewall Jackson, e
the governor and mayor and other t
distinguished visitors, were escorted a
by a guard of old soldiers to a review. I
ing stand and witnessed a great pa. -
rade of all the military and civic or- c
ganizations that could take part in the
celebration. e
Mr. Taft Speaks Twice. c
A second installment of the music 5
festival in the Auditorium was
graced by the presence of the city's I
,guests, and then all returned to a
the reviewing stand, where President i
Taft delivered an address. His words b
were listened to with close attention e
and frequently elicited loud applause. I1
Later in the afternoon the president 0
made a speech to the colored people e
and the students of Biddle university. o
From 8 to 9:30 fn the evening Mr.
and Mrs. Taft held a public re- d
ception in the parlors of the Sel- .
wyn hotel and shook hands with, thou- r
sands of people. a
Military drills, band concerts and tl
other entertainments were provided a
for the crowds all Wednesday after- 5
noon and evening, and the great cele- a
bration closed in a blaze of glory. t
Old Controversy Renewed. e
The people of North Carolina, whose c
proudest boast has been that their an. e
cestors were the first Americanp to u
throw off the yoke of British rule, now a
rejoice in the feeling that President tl
Taft has, fecognized the justice of f)
their claim, but the century-old con- I.
troversy has broken out afresh. Many I
historians refuse to accord to the pio
neers of Mecklenburg county the
honor that is thus accorded them.
These historians allude to the story tt
as "'the Mecklenburg myth," and b
thereby arouse the anger of North p
Carolinians.
According to those unbiased Investi. p
gaton's who 'have looked moat deeply h
into the matter, the Mecklenburgers h;
did hold a public meeting an May tu
s3 . s. and did adopt resolutions tu
-quite abra.'. uo f th Public sea
of that tin,, lit. nlt wventuring -
.ield of ind' pendinc:e further th.
;ay that th'.s " re olutions Were
`main in fra. t.il Great Brite
signed its prrr os In l
earlier, se*,« )f the actors in the
tending endeav'oretd to suply t
')rd from Utllitry, U:tconsciously
Imingling some of thy' phrase0~
the Declaratioon olf .lJuly 4, whlc.
the resolution the theone of
nounced indepelndency, v
through another dimntess of
they affixed the ,late of May 2,a
to them.
Case for Mecklenburger, 5
The case for the Me'cklenb
sot forth as fotiows: In 1816
I arose a great rivalry between.
chusetts and Virginia as to whif
mnonwealth should receive the.
for the Philadelphia document
the controversy was brought
congress. It was at this tin
I )avidson. a r'epresentative tl8
gress from North Carolina, ann
that Mecklenburg county had d
her independence 13 months
the promulgation of the doc
Philadelphia.
While the statement created
surprise it resulted in an inv
tion into the facts as to the M
burg declaration. This inqul
made by Nathaniel Macon, wh~
resented North Carolina in the -
and through Gen. Joseph Graham
Representative Davidson, Sena
con received from l)r. Joseph
Alexander, the son of John M
Alexander, a full account q:
event," which Dr. Alexander
had "copied from papers left
father." This statement, wh
eluded the May 20th declaration,
tor Macon sent to Raleigh, N. C.;
it was published in the Re
Friday, April 30. 1S19.
Dr. Alexander's Story,.
Dr. Alexander related at length.
the farmers of Mecklenburg
in the spring of 1775 had called t
vention to be composed of two
gates from each settlement fi:
county to meet May 19 to
means for the assistance of the'
fering people of Boston and to'
cate themselves from the I
storm." "Official news, by ez
rived of the battle of Lexin
cording to Dr. Alexander's
Senator Macon, and the Infl
the news from Lexington, he
resulted in the unanimous ad
the Mecklenburg declaration
pendence.
The declaration, as writtei;
Brevard, and approved by tLhe
tion on May 20, 1775, reads;
"1. Resolved, That wh
rectly or indirectly abetted -
way, form or manner co
the unchartered and dang
sion of our rights, as ci
Great Britain, is an enemy
country-America-and to'
ent and inalienable rights of.
"2. Resolved, That we, t
of Mecklenburg county, do
solve the political bands V
connected us to the motl8 e
and hereby absolve ourselves.
allegiance to the British c
abjure all political conn
tract or association with
who have wantonly tramp
rights and liberties and
shed the innocent blood of
patriots at Lexington. -
Declar-d Themselves
"3. Resolved, That we do
clare ourselves a 'ree 'and
ent people, are,and of righti
be, a sovereign and selfgov
soclation under the contro[
power other than that oi
and the general government
congress to the maintenance
independence we solemnly
each other our mutual
our lives, our fortunes and
sacred honor.
"4. Relolved, That as wd
knowledge the existence anL
of no law or legal officer, ci
itary, within this county, we.
by ordatin and adopt, as a ru
each and every one of our
laws, wherein, nevertheless,
of Great Britain neer can be
ered as holding privileges, is
or authority therein.
"5. Resolved, That it is als
decreed that all, each and e
tary officer in this county i
reinstated in his former coms
authority, he acting confor
these regulations. And that
member present of this dl
shall heinceforth be a civil o
a justice of the peace, in th
ter of a 'committeeman.' to I
ess, hear and determine all
controversy, according to
ed laws, and to preserve
union and harmony in said _
and to tuse every exertion to.
the love of the country and-:
freedom throughout America,
more general shid organized
ment be established in this P
Blessings of a Diet.
Nowadays it's a godsend for
to get rheumatism. Instead oft
him up with salicylic acid, I
potash and other strocities
out his insides, intelligent ph
put him on a diet. When
him of being a hog they curei
his rheumatism and every
from a murderous liver to tbe
tion of a .fend.-New York
. ,-