The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1880-08-18

. TOO asgravating. Choose your road. II Y
travel together another day | snail shoot yea
I Aud 30 they parted. Mr.. Piummer was coed
/ tempered fuu Of humor. hearty laughzl
3 lived n period when street fights and duel
= were the order Of the day, but was rarely in
I VOWED IN faculties. His personal cOurag
Z was doubted. but without any reason what
ever. On very exciting occasions, in "a
p presence Of an angry crowd and OF some va
would have been Glad to shoot him. he exhIe
itel singular co5luess aud seIf-eommaud- d.
and Governor kunueis were bitter enemlts
ana IN the canvass OF 1875, Plummer follog -et
him around. and goaded him with lrrltatla,
speeches and newspaper squlbs- They met a
Ga latin on the day OF the election. Runnst
was like mad bull, tearing up the earth, aHt
( INDUCING in most profane language. and W.
- carried away with passion that he bro2'
down IN his speech and lost the vote OF ina
large county on which has reelection depen4
ed Mr.. PlUmmer stood inFhe street perfectly
calm made d speech that pleased al parties
and though the county Was largely Democrat
ic aud gave large majority to AL the Other
Democratic candidates, he carried II for his
friend, Judge Lynch, the opponent OF Run
ne!s.
MIR Plummer being from Massachusetts.
/ was once, IN some newspaper, faunted WIN
being an abolitionist in disguise. He met II
by having secretly printed and distributed a
hand-biI, in which he was charged, on the
/ authority OF Gen Arthur Fox, a we'll known
planter and politician Of Lawrence county,
with having confessed abolition opinions 70
MIN, and having lnstigat=d several OF MS
/ slaves To abscond. This produced great ek-
| cItement. Mr. PIummer waited until his enc
mics began 10 use IL on the plattor %, and then
| he came out with the printed declaration OF
I Gen Fox, that the hand-bill was tissue o.
! lies; that MIR. Plummer was as orthodox as any
I man IN the South; was ms frequent Wis t1f
/ and cherished friend, and be would personally
| ehastise the author of the hand-bIn If ae
! dared reveal himself
The reaction tremendous. Plummer
was never tainted on that subject again. The
/ late Powhattan Ellis, who was, IN turn Circuit
Judge, United States District Judge, Senator
| i'll Congress and Minister TO Mexico, though
always traight- out Democrat, arristo-
cCatic in his tastes. habits ami appearance;
| very dignihed, precise and dressy. Some
where in the east, in some canvass. when ford
ing a creek which proved to be swimming he
lost his portman teau Plummer Published IN
advertise ment in the Monticello paper: Lost
| by Hon. Powhattan Ellis. in crossing Tallaba-
In, the following articles: lawn handker-
chiefs; . cambria shirts hight do; night
cap; l pr. stays; pr. silk stockings; hair
brush, iesh-brush, nail-brush, clothes brush,
raZors and dressin glass, pomatum, perfume
etc. etc, That advertisement killed the
Judge east of Pearl river; such a sample Of
''swellet head etfemiuancy, and NatcheZ
dandyism, was not wanted IN the plney
woods
Ia 1880 when 8Ir. Plummer on his first
canvass for Congress, he was SO little known
and appreciated in Natchez, the commercial
metropolis Of the State, it was made a charge
gainSt the writer twho was before the peo-
pie fer reelection to the egIsIature( thAJ ne
was friend Of that gentleman, and had IN
vlfed him to visit the county The charge
created quite excitement, and on the 0th
July be had 10 issue circular. IN which he
said: Il have not invited him 10 this county,
nor have l. thus far, taken any part in the
canvass. Mr.. Plummer is my personal friend,
and however unpopular ii may be here, l am
not ashamed afraid TO own 1t. In becoming
a candidate TO represent you Ia the Ieg1sla-
ture, did not relinguish my rights as citi-
zen, and / shall exercise my privileges at the
polls without consulting any man or set OF
men. | may make myself obnoxious 70 pow
erful men, and be harried by their bulldogs,
but | shall steadily pursue the course that my
own judgment approves. This, had II oc-
Cured to-day, would have been called bull
DOING.
Plummer was invited TO NatcheZ by leading
citizens he was entertained and lionzed by
the very gentlemen who had attempted 10
''bulldoze'' his friend and then and there, he
made out his slate for Congress, for Governor,
and for State officers, with his own name, at
the head of the ticket, for U. ). Senator. The
banks were thrown open for his accommoda-
ton. He purchased stylish bar0uche; mount
ed has servant in livery, and set out on the
canvass. He was then at the height OF his
power and popularity But from the date OF |
this visit both began to decline. Previous to
dis he had had no connection with InlrIguers,
cliques banks or combinations. He stood
nnon his own platform of "Flummer for the
81 go, ,-~"nle for Plummer,' and had
been found irresistibIe But now - !
come one of a ring; in alliance with capital /
! Is aud men of aristocrotic habits, and the
illusion was ovor He was no longer a lion |
whose roar had frightened the stock -jobers IN
their dens, but n house-cat purrlng about their
ieet. he petted and ceressed lie
could no longer use his taYorite slang, 50 ac-
to the multitude, of 'swelled heads,
aud ''bloated bondholders but had to deal IN
the cream and sugar of hattery and talsehood
This was in the bond. lie had got their money
and he had nominated two or three OF them
for high office, and his mission was to eulo-
gize and not to denounce. This was out OF
his line. His forte was ridicnie and fault
finding; to set the poor against the rich; to
consolidate the pine-woods counties against
the river section. This policy he had 10 re-
verse, and consequently failed. Il was no
longer "Plummer for the people, but Plum
mer for the banks and the banks for Plum
mer,' and he lost his popularity. The combl-
nation slaughtered him. He seems to have
lost courage. and never afterwards occupied
a public position; never indeed aspired to
any; neglected rather abandoned his pro-
fession, and went down rapidly in the social
scale.
He never seems to have had any thirst for
money. He was lavish with it when flush, but
generally had none or very little At one
time he established and was President of the
Bank of Grenada, which tlourished for time,
and be owned many of the town lots He died
in Jackson IN 1S47, in an obscure cabin, and
in poverty Those who only knew him, in his
lurking in mean places, with low associates,
can have no conception of the power he once
exerted. Those who knew him in his better
days, what he had been, and what he m ght
have been. sincerely lamented his indiscre-
tons and unhappy fate.