The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1849-06-20
HOW TO MAKE A HORSE
DRINK


Our friend Judge Edmonds, who,
amid all his dry labors, relishes q Joke
as well as another, tells some pleasant
stories of, incidents which sometimes oc-
cur on his country circuits. Among
them is one connected with the temper
ance cause, which two or three years
ago disturbed the State and agitatedal
classes, by reason of the submission to
the ballot-box on the question whether
any licenses to sell liquor should be
granted. The Judge was holding court
in the country at the time the vote was
taken, and for week or two afterwards,
and looked on with o curious eve to see
how the matter worked. He observed
especially the fact, that the strongest
vote against licenses was generally Civ
en- in those towns where there was the
most drinking, and that in those towns,
and indeed generally, persons who had
been in the habit of drinking, now drank
harder than ever, could drink if they
pleased, and suould, law or no law. He
therefore remarked that he never saw
so many drunken men in his life. When
he landed from the steamboat, the men
who ferried him over the river were
drunk; when he left the small boat, the
man who took him up into village kept
his horses on the run, and, drunk as a
lord, prided himself on driving within
q few inches of the edge of the road
without precipitating his load, q hundred
feet down q ravinc. Every body, in
short, seemed to be intoxicated; witnes-
ses and parties came into court half
seas over. Ono witness fell in his whole
length when leaving the stand; another
got asleep in court, rolled off the bench,
and had to be carried out of the room
another was SO very stjolly,' as they
called it, that he could not give his tes.
timony in asober word at oil. One af.
ternoon Of a delightful day, early in the
season, after the court had adjourned,
the Judge was sitting on the porch Of
his hotel, with several gentlemen around
him, whose attention he was calling the
number of drunken men then within
sight, and he and they were speculatine
upon the effect of the law, and upon
the odd sort Of feeling which had pro.
duced such result, whom a man came
up to them most particularly tipsy. He
had some business with one Of the par
ty, and boozy as he was, showed that
ne was smart, shrewd fellow, and
wlthal fond of fun. When he had got
through his business, the Judge said to
him
81 suppose, my friend, you didn't
vote on the mo License side, this ell
ection?"
"Didn't I, by -?' was the reply
yes l did, though, I tell you.''
"You did?' inquired the Judge; chow
did that happen?'
,"Why, Jud ge, I'll tell you what it
49, hiccuped the fellow, "I'm pretty
likely man, when I let liquor alone; it's
only when get rum aboard of me that
l make q fool Of myself"
"Well, why don't you let it alone
then2' 'o
!, ~! you see judge, that's easier said
than done. When Pm any where it is,
l must hove it, SO I voted to shut 'em
all up"
"Oh! you see Judge, I was consta.
ole !ye or six years, and then deputy
sheriff three years, and then sheriff
three years, and then constable aein: go
I've been about good deal among tho
boys, and got to drinking, and now T
can't stop. Judge, Til tell you what
ne continued, with an apparent change
Of the subject that no one could account
for 81 am the universal horse.doctor
down in the Highlands, where I live
and if any body's horse gets sick thew
come to me. The other day fellow
came to me and said his horse was sick.
l asked him what was the matter with
his horsef lie said he wouln't drink,
and he asked me, what no could do to !