Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1850-10-12
6istorifal.
ADVENT OF COL. ARCHIBALD YELL.
LIFE IN ARKANSAS FIFTEEN YEARS AGO.

The first morning of the first Monday in
November, 1885, broke on the mild meri-
dian of Arkansas, with sun of almost orr
entail brilliancy. A SKY clear as crystal
bent its blue arch over an atmosphere soft
and warm as the balmy breath of May. 1t
was q godsend of golden weather to the
gathering crowds of human beings that from
an early hour came pouring into the streets
and public square of Van BureE, new but
1ourishing village, situated on the river
from whence the state derives its name,
and in the immediate vicinity of the Chero-
kee line. Men, women and children,
white masters, black slaves and wild paint
ed Indians, with plumes nodding from their
swarhy brows, continually swelled that
living sea, all burning with impatence to
witness their favorite show, 10 enjoy, one
might say, their only popular amusement,
the common pleasure alike of every class
for on that day the district court opened its
regular sessions for the large county of
Crawford.
Persons ignorant of the economy OF So
cial life in the backwoods cannot even i'm
agine what strong and strange passion
those far western people manifest for the ex-
citement of the forum, and more especially
for the concomitants and consequences
which always attend or follow in its train.
But we should remember that, in the pau
city of other means of gregarious amuse-
ment, it is to them church, theatre, gym
| nasium; newspaper and telegraph-the
sole local point ofreunion, where all orders,
and not unfrequently both sexes, go TO see
and be seen. The court-yard is also the
frontier preparatory school of party poll
tics, in which the young athletes of am
bilious genius learn TO exercise their tongues
to dart dagger-words o: bitter denunciation,
and their hands 10 WELD real daggers, pis-
tolls and shot-guns gs
This, too, is the battle-ground where the
old heroes, whose laurels have been culled
Oh many a bloody field, meet to measure
arms. This is the constituted place for the
? decision OF all matters in dispute of every
name and description. The paper plea.
of record form but small item of the mul'
tifarious issues to be tried here. Has the
ldir lame Ol NOthdi octh ooliVu o1 Nti'
poisonous lips of slander, it is here, nea
the door of the forum, and within hearing
of the Judge and Jury, that the father, bro
ther, or husband will wash out the darl
stain with the red life blood of the calum
= niator, or else lose the last drop Of his own
!. Has private quarrel occurred betwixt bul
lies, atiornles, doctors, teachers or dvine'
be sure it is here, in the public courtyard
before the gazing, shouting, agitated multi
tude, that the parties will fight it out
: Such is the common law of custom and th
prescription of immemorial and sanguinar
usage. af.. rEL
Here, also, is the chosen rendezvous {
rogues, drunkards, whiskered gambler
horse jockeys and all Office hunters az
ID demagogues. 1t is for reasons such
these that the docket of frontier court
a. never cleared of its cases; for every o
one adjudicated, at least two new ones a
added to the list and thus the accumulate
goes on increasing from year to year,
This makes it the elysium of lawyers
There is sad drawback, however, on the
felicity. The litigants, witnesses and spe
tators are mostly loaded down with dead
Of weapons, and are equally ready to use the
Us. on the slightest show Of insult. = Hen
're none but fearless fighters need hope for ST
,u- cess at the bar. Under such state of C
''0 cumstances, it is easy to conceive the seer
Of wild strife, confusion and outrage ex