Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-10-11
blaine and the NIountaiueer

An incident Of Blaine's Western trip.
which the Blaine organs are making a
great deal Of. IS related in an alleged spe-
ciaI from Canton, .. The special is as fol-
lows:
Give me something. Jim Blaine! Give
me your MISUNDERSTANDING belong
ing 10 YOU that l can hand down 70 NY
children" This exclamation vas heard
AT the rear Of Mr.. Blaine's train this morn
ing al Sisterville. ". Va. upon the ONO
River Road. The train was about % pun
away from a crowd Of several hundred
mOuntaineers, who, yelling and cheering
around the track a. Mr.. Blaine stood,
hat in hand. waving his handker-
chief. when out Of the crowd there
jumped a stalwart young fellow
with a soft black hat crawn over pair Or
blue ewes deeply set in a brown, SCARED
face. set OF by a dashing yellow mustache-
He ran 10 the train. and, climbing up the
steps until be could lean over, almost az
Mr. BIaine's sleeve. began ID r. peat the
u'ea heard from the crowd: 20, jim
Blaine. give me something OF yours
something YOU have touched or handled
At first every one thought the excited
Young man was crazy but IN moment
this thought was dispelled by a look At
the man, who was begging in all the
tones Of the most exaggerated
pathOs for something from jim Blame.
Mr.. Blaine was actually embarrassed.
He felt in his pocket for handkerchief,
but be found that was left in the state
room. Then he thought he would give
the man his battered silk hat, but there
were some cards inside the inside band
that he could not get at easily. All this
occurred in q moment Of time, as the
train was now beginning 70 move.
The mOuutaineer looked in the window,
rrrsnsr~n IN q FaUH
for some souvenir. He saw ex-Sec-
rotary Of the Navy COT, whom be knew,
and he cried out TO him; 20, Mr.. Con.
make Jim Blaine give me something"
Mr.. Blaine hurrledly wrote mis- auto
graph diagOnally across the face OF tele-
graph blank. as the mOuntalneer sWore
with a great oath that he would not leave
the train without something. The train
was moving at quite fast rate OF speed
when Mr. Blaine stepped out Of the door
and handed the mOuutaineer the slip OF
yellow paper.
Il have written my name there for
vou. - said Mr.. Blaine, as the man with a
veil Of delight jumped from the train,
waving his gilt in his hand.
The above is no doubt intended TO illus.
trate the wonderful power Of Blaine's al
legged magnetism. II may be that the
entire account is a fancy sketch, and has
no other foundation than that some one,
az one Of the numerous stations at which
the train stopped. asked Blame for a SOU
venir. There are newspaper men who
have very fertile imaginatiOns, and who
can make a very pretty story out Of very
slight materials.
But suppose that some rough noun
taineer in West Virginia did ask Blaine
for something that ne could hand down TO
his children. what does it prove: Not
that the man was well informed respect
ing Blaine. but that he was impressed by
BIaine's palace car, the prominent men
who made up the travelling show, and the
tact that Blaine was Presidential candi-
date.
II he had known Blaine as the author
Of the Mulligan letters, if he had
been informed Of Blaine's wrong
doing in connection with Little Rock
and Fort smith Railroad bonds
and Northern Pacific Railroad bonds,
il he had read Henry Ward Beecher's let
ter showing that Blaine had sought
bride Of $4,000 while Speaker Of the
House. if he had known all about Blaine's
prevarication in the Hooking Valley mat
ter. if he had heard about the kemble
checks which, it is alleged, prevented
Blaine's nomination in 1876, would this
guileless son of the mountains have so
earnestly sought something from Blainets
hand down TO his children. Things which
belonged to Washington and JEFFERSON and
Madison and Lee and Lincoln and many
others famous in history are highly priced
because they were great and good men,
but what would this mOuntaineer's chill
dren care for something that had once
belonged 10 Blaine!
Blaine ought 10 have been prepared TO
meet demands like those made upon him
BY the unsophisticated mOuntaineer.
Where were the Mulligan letters! Blaine
must have them, because he refused
10 return them 10 Mulligan, although he
promised TO do so. What more apprO-
pirate thing could he have given the
mountaineer than the letter in which he
points out the imprObability that he will
prove a s'deadhead'' in any enterprise in
which he may embark.