The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-10-02
T,he Elrss .eIntervie,rer.y !.

& + . 81 y. .t
Old Mrs: Annie Royal was the efrbt
American interviewer. OF this We sup.
pose there can 90 no doubt. She made
a tremendous impression In those dayt
when women were proverbially deinufe
when the few female lobbyists wosf
scoo2ed hats and long wells, and were
even In that dress considered immodesf
There was never any enc like her before
her day, and she had no successor. a
rough old Customer, o regular SuwarroS
in peticoats, such as Byron describes the
old chap to have been, Mrs. Royall
thought nothing Of collaripg the Presi.
dent in Eis sanctup, or u Invading Che
Senator in lis innermost retreat. Thev
tried to laugh her down, but ahe was too
terrible for ridicule; che welded q
sharp pen; she had stout lungs aud q
formidable voice, which vas perfectly
masculine, commanding eyes, compact
| form, O Coriolanns carriage. and when
angry was dreaded by her victims as II
| she were an Hyrcaniau tiRreas. Thi-
| old lady died on the lst of October. 1855.
| at the advanced ago of ninety.two. She
published sI Warrington two weak
ly papers called "T1e Huntressi' and
paul Pry," devoted to personal and
political sketches of men and thinea
| about the city.
Old Mrs. Royal deserves to be per.
petuated, If for 10 other reason tkad as
q part of American romance. Only
think of it-as late as the May term OF
the Washington court of 1899 she was
indicted as Common scold,n .,hich yo-
quilted in fine of $5 in the August fol.
lowing. Her maiden name was Annie
Butler. She was Of Irish descent, al-
tnough born in Western Maryland.
When in her si1th or seventh year she
was seized by Indian warriors ont of the
cornfield and carried by them to their Ohio
homes, where she remained until her
fifteenth year, and, Of course, acquired
the habits nf these savages and had no
earthly chance of any ordinary or even
Christian education. The way she met
her husband was romantic. Colonel
Royal, q native Virginian, it sesms, knew
the facts of the abduction of Annie. He
was widoweF and much older than she,
end doubtieS5 remembered her appear
ance when child. Travelling in Ohio
he visited the Shawnees, Wyandottes,
&c., and among one OF these tribes acci.
dentally discovered her, obtained her
liberty, sent her &c sehool for two years
and married her. She had an elegant
home until her husbands death in 1875
or 1916, when the litigation with the
heirs that followed that event reduce5
her TO such poverty that when che ar.
rived In this city, in the fill of 1928 she
had scarcely shoes to her feet. She found
patrons in an humble family by the
name Of Dorrice, where she, Fortunately.
stopped to warm her feet. Mrs. Royali
was distinguished by hatred Of what
she called shsms and hypocrites Of all
arts, and che was death" on intemper-
ance, although she loved the pipe and
indulged In tobacco. She was perhaps
the original crusader in the matter Of
intemperance, although ehe did ne. pray
in front of corner groceries" nor whis.
key saloons. But that she was aggres.
eive in all warfare may be CLEANED from
the fact that an impotent and irritable
clergyman in the heat OF passion once
threw her down stairs and broke hel
leg.
Old Mrs. Royal hated elfeminato
young men, and she said: "Why do thoy
want lazy, sinecure places undsr gov
ernment7 Why don't they hoe their
own roy 2" Indeed, she long antedatsd
Horace Greely with the a5Honition.
"Go West, young man." She was dreaded
as q piackmalleF; che was solicited Hg q
"riter Of pnfis; enc made noise over
the whole land, for the sting of an asp
was in her pen, and her little l..alaidhill
newspaper was perfect sensation in
those quiet days of the Republic. Where
her newspaper files are 1t Is probable no
one knows; perhaps none of her works
exist: She bounded, annoyed, flattered,
pryed into the affairs of all the pro5ai.
n,nt public men of her day--in fact, sac
was o perfect disease. All doors were
open, and all locks Ito speak poeti-
caliy) were burst opei: by her when she
resolved on an interview. The comic
element in her strangely contrasted with
those grave days, when the Washingto-
nian and the Jefersonian dignity espa.
ciaily pervaded the Executive chambers
and the Senatorial halls.