Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1884-11-29
CHEcKERED CAREER
The Astonishing Record OF =
.Southerner.
sChawed~ by a Tiger. Bitten by . Mecca
sin, struck by Lightning, Tried For
Murder, HE Dies at Last
ia His Bed.
lMiIiedgeville GA J letter.


| The death of Thomas Stewart, In Ber-
rien County, removes singular character
from the scene of life. He first appeared
there in lS45. He was not remarkable for
anything except for scrawniness, being OF
small stature, lean and OF a sclay-bank
color, the result, perhaps, OF private meals
off the chimney elry. But as time sped by
he became hero ia that then wild country;
at least he was a hero in one sense
The family with whom he lived resided
not far from the Alapaha swamp. One
| day he and another boy were sent TO the
swamp 10 feed a SOW. When within
short distance OF it large American tiger
or jaguar sprang out of the bushes and
brought Stewart TO the ground. He fell
on his face, and the jagaur seemed TO be
in no hurry to kill him. Indeed, the brute
was engaged just then in watching the
other boy fleeing in the direction of the
house, Being satisfied as to the direction
tho other boy took the beast then took
Stewards head in its mouth and closed ON
| it, but its teeth slipped over instead of pen
etrating the skull Ii bit the boys skull
several times, with the same result, and
the boy, with presence of mind wonder
full in one so young, did not once finch
while the animal was tearing huge burrows
through his scalp. The tiger, after holding
its nose near the boys face an instant,
as if listening if he was breathing,
seemed satisfied that he was dead and
hastily covering him up with pine straw
ran hurriedly after the other boy. AS soon
as the creature was out of sight Stewart
sprang to his feet, and, taking a wide cir
IsI.
mand, and finally reached the house in
safety. The other boy reached the house
some time before the tiger came in sight of
it, and the BRUTE seeing that he was too
late, hurried back to his first prey.
If Stewart had moved while the tiger
was biting his skull, or if he had breathed
while the beast was listening, with it's nose
close to his face, he would have been torn
into fragments; but the boy, having heard
of many of the peculiarities of this fero-
cious beast, was prepared to profit by the
knowledge.
The neighbors rallied at once, and were
successful in killing the jaguar, which
they found little further on in the swamp.
A few years after the above occurrence,
Stewart, while feeding a cane mill, had
one of his hands caught and drawn in be-
tween the rollers and so badly smashed
that the hand and a portion of the arm
withered.
Later ON he was in the field at work,
when thunderstorm came up and he was
struck by lightning and left for dead. He
came to, however, and was all right in a
few days.
By this time he was old enough to take
l.; Go I,,< 4, @f Il;
girl did not favor the alliance, so they de-
cided on elopement. In those days, even,
a hero could get married without shoes, so
he started for the future wife, succeeded in
getting her from the house and the happy
pair were on their way to the parsons,
when Stewart was bitten on the foot by a
moccasin, a dangerous reptile. Even that
did not stop him. They proceeded to the
parsons and were united in wedlock
Stewart did not die from the snake bite.
History does not say whether the snake
died.
Next we hear of Stewart he was being
tried for his life for the murder of man
named Wheeler. The evidence was all
against Stewart, and everybody thought
he would hang. He was defended by the
now venerable Judge Hansell, of Thomas
vile, Ga, then young lawyer just "start-
ing out" SO able was the defense, so pa
thetically did the young lawyer dwell up
ON the many hair breadth escapes of the
prisoner, who seemingly had been pre-
served through them all through provi-
Dental Intervention, that the jury brought
in such verdict as sent him to the Peni-
tentiary for six years. While in the Peni-
tentiary he learned the painters trade,
and after satisfying the sentence of the
law, returned home.