Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1875-09-18


to swell the cavalcade Of Vir-
ginians gone West, as the phrase
used to run whel, as / said in
former chapter, Urbanna (then in
the back woods) contained so
many Virginians as to be Ell titled
to be called a Virginia colony
around which, as headquarters for
emigrants to the Wat h country,
they congregated with singular
proclivity To this .c.e were
marked exceptions in the case of
owners of slave in any considera-
BILE number. They generally avoid
ed the rec States, for obvious rec
sons, and settled in Missouri.
There their descendants asst ],
not unn..turally, however un - 80
ly, 10 swell the ranks of the advC-
Gates of slave. y in Kansas, not ur-
likely to become, some of them,
borde. ruffians in the memorable
struggle over what the democrats
used to jeeringly style bleeding
Kansas. There my Winchester
schoolmate under notice, George
William Ransom, most likely
went, if he did go West
| For the most part, as amongst
the sons of the upper counties
with whom / was associated at
| Winchester, most of those recalled
were from Fauquier. OF such,
first to the front, flor decidedly
schOolboyish reason to be men
toned presently comes Oliver
Funston, who subsequently grad
uated in medicine and se.t'cd n
his native county, where believe
he still lives. He and l he'd a
bloody fist fight in the academy
yard. Causing hin 10 back up
against stone wall, / managed
to make him lose his balance over
it, and gave him black eye. l
was proclaimed victor by the boys
who had egged us on. But it
proved a dear victory to me, such
was my dread of the stern old tea
cher noticing divers black eye,
and ferruling me for giving 1t to
him. But he either failed to OBJ
serve it, or did not seem to, if he
did. DIR. Funston and have
never met. Had we net, of course
we would have laughed at our mu-
tual schoolboy folly in going into
a fight about nothing, as it very
likely was.
From the same county went Ma
thaniel Burwell, known during
the war as Col. Burwell. He is
still in Faueuier. His tempera-
ment was different from that of
Funston, who was by no means
high-strung. Burwell WAS. His
temperament was active, and he
bore himself as one who felt that
he was born to command. He has
been prominent in public matter;
but has not attained any particular
distinction that am aware of, ex-
cept by novel plan, adopted by
him, many years ago, for bringing
a rough crowd to order when act
ing as Chairman.
The story about the Colonel runs
in this wise There was an old
fashioned barbecue in Fauquier-
such an one as | have taken occa-
sion to describe in former chap
ter, as held in Berkeley. Nat"
was selected as President of the
Day. Captain Whiskey" being
around, there could have been no
old fashioned ox-roasting without
him. OF course there was a muss,
sooner or later. Toasts being in
order, some of the crowd were not
disposed to come to order while
they were read or responded to-
In this.emergency, having called
and raped to order until his pa
thence, If he had any left, had ex-
cusably ceased TO be virtue, Col.
Burwell-for Nat. donned the ep-
aulets of that rank before the war,
drew from its scabbard his 'hith-
erto bloodless" sword. Ito borrow
one of Henry Clay's oratorical
flourishes of words,) and flourish
ing it around the heads of the tur-
buleLt disol derlies, he threatened
to put it through the heart of the
first one who opened his mouth in
disorder again
II tell the tale as twas told to me"
without pretending to vouch for
its verify. / may safely infer that,
unless Nat reformed in his use of
language, after we were boys to-
gether, he did not fail to energize
a battle" the fiourishes Of his Da-
mascIs blade, with liberal exple-
tives, hurled in the recognized
Southern vernacular, on the try
ing occasion under notice, at the
unruly crowd over which hs chad
the khonor to preside . so oppor-
timely. j Els.
WASHINGTON, ID. q.