Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1854-05-24
DRAFTED FEDERAL wuIG.

A DRAFTED FEDERAL WHIG.
The case of the most interest at tn,
: fall term of Ne court. 1887, was the
State of Mississippi VS.. Major Foreman
charged with assault with intent to Kill
one Tommy Peabody, Yankee school
master in the neighborhood of M-ville
The District Attorney being absent, the
court appointed j. T. to prosecute. All
the preliminary motions of order having
: been gone through, and having failed o.
success, the defendant had to go to trial be-
fore the jury. The defendant being a
warm democrat, selected r. NJ, the then
? leader of the party, and Washington B
T., then rising light of-the same politi,
cal sect, to defeDd him. The evidence was
not very clear or positive. 1t seemed
that an alteration had arisen at the gro
Gerry (fashiOnably called doggery.) be-
tween son of the defendant and the
schoolmaster which led to the. shooting
of the pistol by the younger F. at the
aforesaid Thomas, as the said Thomas,
was making his way with equal regard to
speed of transit and safety of conveyance
from that locality AS it was Thomas's s
business to teach the young idea to shoot
he had no idea of putting TO hazard " the
delightful task by being shot himself {:
and by thinking him of ." what troubles
do environ the man that NEEDLES with cold
iron" on the drawing thereof, resolved him
self into a committee of safety, and pro
ceeded energetically to the dispatch of
The appropriate business on the board
But fast as Thomas travelled. bevy Of
mischevious buckshot, as full of devilment
AS Thomas's scholars just escaped from
school. rushed after, and one of them,
striking him about two feet above the
calf of his right leg. made his seat on the
scholastic tripod for while rather un-
pleasant to him. In fact Thomas suffer
ed good deal in that particular region in
which he had been the cause of much suf-
ferng in others. Thomas also added to
the fun naturally attracting, in the eyes
of the mercurial and reckless population
of the time, to Yankee schoolmaster's
being shot while running. in SO tender a
point, by clapping his hands behind at
the fire: and believing that the muderer
had blown out his brains A mistake
very pardonable in one who had come
fresh from a country where pistols were
not known, aud who could not be expec-
ted, under these distressing circumstances,
to estimate, with much precision, the ef-
feet of g1nshot wound.
Young Foreman. Immediately after the
pistol went off, followed its example,
And not being of curious turn did not
come back to see what the sheriff had
done with document he had for him,
though assured that it related to impor-
tant business. The proof against him
as it usually was against any one who
couldn't be hurt by twas clear enough
but it was not So much so against his ia
ther. The Ma or was there, had partici-
pated in the quarrel, and about the time
Of the firing. voice the witness took
but wasn't certain-to be the Majors,
was heard to cry out, " Shoot Shoot !''
and shortly after the firing, the Major
was heard to halloo to Peabody, run
Run. you id rascal--run u This was
about the strength of the testimony. The
Major was gentleman of about fifty five
-of rudy complexion, which he had got
out of a jug he kept under his bed of
cold nights, without acknowledging his
Obligations for the loan-about FIVE feet
eight inches high and nearly that much
! broad. Nature or accident had shorten.
ed one leg. so that he limped when he
walked. His eyes stood out and were
streaked like boys white alley-and he
wore ruffled shirt the same, perhaps,
which he had worn on training days in
Georgia but which did not match very
well with yellow inSey vest. and pair
of copperas colored jeans pantaloons he
had squeezed in the form of a crescent
over his protu 1erant Paunch on the
whole he WAS pretty good live parody
on an enormous goggle.eyel sun perch.
He had come from Georgia where he
had been IA major in the militia, if that is
tautology for believe that every man
that comes from Georgia is ajor.-.
repaying the honor Of the commission or
title by undertaking fidelity to, the demo
cratic ticket. He would almost as soon
been convicted as to have been success
fully defended by Wing lawyer.
Old F. held up his head for some time
indeed. seemed 70 enjoy the mirth that
was going during the testimony, very
much. But when J. T. began to pour
broadsities into him. aud bring up fact af-
ter fact and appeal after appeal, and the
courthouse grew still and solemn. the
old fellow could stand it no longer. like
the Kentucky militia at New Orleans, he
ingloriously fed, sneakipg out wien no
one was looking at him. The elder She
riff, however. soon missed him, and see
ing him crossing the. bridge aud moving
towards the swamp, raised posse and
followed after The trial in the meantime
proceeded-as did the Major.
:. l said he was defended in part by W
B. T. na
You didn't know Wash "Well you
missed a good deal. He would have i'm,
pressed you. He was about thirty years
old at the time, | am wiring OF. H'