Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1859-09-17
A Sauintine .Jurv.

Once upon time, or to be little more
particular, nearly half a century ago.
there dwclt in the town Of, in Old
England, remarkable oddity, in the per-
son of an attorney at law, who although
not fair t. look upon, (for he was in truth
one of the honieliest specimens of humani
ty ever beheld by mortal man,) was withal
person of sound judment, great bcnevo-
lencc, varied learning, a poet, painter,
and wit of no mean order
ltso happened that the aforesaid gentle
man, C C., Esq, was appointed
High Sheriff of the town Of. lie
was man of fortune, and had a kind heart,
MS many poor prisoner could testify, who
partook of the good cheer with which the
prisoners were literally supplied at Christ
: mas and other well known festivals from
the private purse of the High Sheriff
1t was of course the duty of the High
Sheriff to summon Grand and Petit Jury,
our High Sheriff ndulred in some of the
strangcst and drollcst Fl Ks that have prob
ably ever been heard of in any other town
or country. In the first place he summon
ed for the October court jury consisting
of twelve of the fattest men he could find
in the borouhh, and when they came to the
book TO be sworn, it appears that only nine
Jurors could sit comfortably in the box
After good deal of sweating, squeezing,
and scolding, the pannel was literally jam
med into the box, and when seated they
presented to the eye of the court, the bar
rsters and audience, the tightest fit" of
a jury that was ever seen in court room
Literally they became much to the amusc-
mcnt of the court and the robed advocates,
ga packed jury" and no mistake.
For the January term our facetious High
Sheriff, Gin consequence, it was said, of
some lint from the Recorder, that there
should be no more fat panncls summoned
to his court,) went to the opposite extreme.
He summoned twelve of the lcanest and
tallcst men he could find in the borough
and when they took their ats in the box
t appeared comparatively empty-therc
was indeed room enough for twelve more
Of the same sort and dimensions.
For the April term of the court our hu-
morous functionary summoned jury CON
sisting of twelve barbers Now it hap
pcncd that among the latter were the very
pcrruquicrs who dressed the recorders and
barristcrs wigs; and some of the latter ar
riving late at the bar had to appear that
morning in court with their wigs undresscd
or half dressed, so as to cut very ridcu-
lous figure, amid the smiles and haIf-sup-
pressed laughter of the bystanders The
High Sheriff enjoyed the fuss amazingly,
but looked '"grave as judge" while he
tried to keep silence in the court room.
But the crowning joke of this waggsh
! functlonary occurred at the summoning of
his fourth and last jury at the summer ses-
sion in July. For that term of the court
the High Sheriff, not having the fear tf
the recorder, the Mayor and the alderman
before his eyes, actually summoned squin-
ting jury; twelve as queer looking bipeds
as ever took their seats in a jury box-a
jury that was probably more looked at and
laughed at than any of the appointed twelve
that ever sworc to well and truly try. and
true deliverancc make, between their Sow
crcign Lord the King and the prisoner at
the bar
But the scene was so irresistibly droll
that the learned recorder could not main
tain his gravity. The Mayor and Alder
man followed suit The barristers laughed
while their wigs became bald and powder
less; nay even the poor prisoners in the
dock, who were to be put upon their trial,
and some of them undergo transportation,
could not refrain from joining the general
cachination! And when the learned re-
cordcr commanded the High Sheriff to
bring the court room to order, and intima-
ted, with half suppressed laugh, that the
latter ought to be ashamed of himself for
summoning such jury, the drollcry of this
court scene was considerably heightened
by the quick, ready, and sonorous response
of the High Sheriff, who, looking at the
same time at csquinting jury, exclaimed,
can good and lawful men, your honor"
But our humorous functionary has long
since shufhed off his mortal coil"
SINGULAR TRADITIoN-Am the
Seminole Indians, there is singular tradi.
ton regarding the white mans origin and
superiority They say thatwhen the great
! Spirit made the earth, he also made three
men, all Of whom were of fair complexion;
and that after making them, he led them
to the margin of small lake and bade
them leap therein and wash. One immc-
diately obeyed, and came from the water
purcr than before he bathcd; the second
did not leap in until the water had become
slightly muddy, and when he had bathcd
he came up copper colored the third did
not leap in till the water became black
with mud, and he came out with its own
color. Then the Great Spirit laid before
them three packages of bark, and badc
them choose and, out of pity for his mis-
/ Al a