Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-06-18
SERTED AROUND THE MAHOGA
NY TREE.
NV Introduction to POmpano and sun
dry Southern Dishes.

civil war 1t was my happy fortune to visit
savannah. and, for a few days, to be a
guest at the Pulaski House, then kept by
Messrs. Wiltberger & Carroll, to whom |
had letters of Introduction, among them
one from my friend MIR. VIM. b. Coleman,
then connected with the New York Hotel.
and now, as l perceive through mention
of him by "SeNagenarlau'' in your Hotel
sketches, manager of the Reed House. at
Erie. Owing, probably, to Mr.. Cole
mans letter, land the ladies
composing my party-were given pleas
ant rooms ON the second floor. look
ing out upon Johnson square-a hand
somely laid out park, with marble mon
ument, rising above its foliage, cOmmemo-
ratiye of the heroic deeds of Gen. Ma
tbaniel Greene, of Rhode Island. who
won great fame in his Southern cam
paigns, especially at Eutaw, during the
revolutionary war, and to whom the Geor-
gia Legislature, as mark Of apprecia-
lion Of his services, granted a tract of
land near the city of Savannah on which
he was living at the time of his death. in
1856 The corner stone OF this monument
was laid by Gen. Lafayette during his
visit to this country in 1926.
Now, Greene was pretty good Gen
eraI. and, doubtless, had eaten his dish of
pork aud beans in his Yankee home with
a reish but whether he appreciated or
not Southern fare, there is no record;
though it is recorded in our national an
+ nails that he did appreciate the courage
and services of Francis MariOn-a man
who cOuldmake feast, and invite Brit
ish officer to partake Of it with him, off of
roasted sweet potatoes. Mari0n's habits
were simple, and his food, during his
swamp career, was chiefly potatoes, rice,
hOminy or corn, and his eXhilarating
drink vinegar and water.
] recalled these facts to mind-and
something more, especially as related to
the Indebtedness of the South TO Northern
valOr during the revolutionary war
when. on sunny morning in April, fif-
teen years ago, looked out from my bed
room window upon johnson square. The
associations thereupOn engendered
prompted me to rambe to the market and
inquire the price of sweet potatoes. Tve
forgotten what the price was, and, also,
that Of many other vegetables and fruits
which l found in the market. In fact the
Information l received was that the most
desirable of early vegetables, raised in
that region, tailed to find a remunerative
sale in the Savannah market, and, there
lUIGs WGI0 bGnb W NEW j OEhs lu6BG carly
vegetables, found, included peas, string
beans, asparagus and tOmatOes-tO say
nothing of strawberries. This was at a
time, too, when the facilities for sending
garden products to the North were not
what they are now.
cannot say much for the excellence of
the Savannah makets of that day. The
meats displayed were far from being first
class, though the poultry-the spring
chickens, the capOus, the green geese and
ducklings-was equal to the best in the
markets of the North; so, too, were the
game birds-tender. fat and Juicy. There
was, however, no great display of fish, the
early shad season was over, but l saw a
far show Of red snappers and pompanO.
! was told, however, that the appearance
OF the latter named fish in the market was
exceptional. Whether it were or not. l
had the pleasure of tasting One-for the
first time in my life-a few hours there
after, an account of which 1 purpose to
duly set forth in the present sketch.
was fortunate in being at Savannah at
time when the Southern Associated Press
was there in convention; and still more
fortunate IN having letters of introduce
ton TO several Of its members, including
Col. VIM. 7. Thompson, editor Of the Sa-
vannah NelUS; Capt. f. W. Dawson. of
the Charleston IS. CO. NelUS; mir. James
r. Randall, author of "My MARYLAND"
and editor of the Augusta Ga. J Chr0nj-
Gle, and otheTs-citizens of Savannah.
Here may mention that was honored,
on the occasion of my visit, with a com
plimentary invitation to a dinner given
by prominent citizens of the town to the
members of the association, whom l,
thereby, had the pleasure of meeting, so
cially around the festive board. It IS
scarcely necessary for me to add that l
found them most genial and agreeable
gentlemen.
OF the dinner itself I simply retain the
memory Of its appetizing character, and
the abundant supply of game, early vege-
tables and Strawberries set before the
guests. ! remember, too, that at each
plate was placed bouquet, composed of
moss rose buds, orange blossoms and jes-
samiues.
Although 1t might be presumed that
had so fully enjoyed the good things Of
the banquet as to be Indifferent to the
partaking of food for the next twenty-four
hours, yet this was not the case; for,
when on the following day, about noon,
Col. Thompson suggested the propriety of
luncheon, acquiesced. Perhaps, how
ever, the fact that l had eaten no break
last, and, further, that my friend prom
ised to place before me two dishes of
"hiNu udu NEVER previously lui buhtus
had much to do with my acceptance of
his invitation; nor, ! will add, was the
pleasure | anticipated from his compan-
i0nship to be lightly disregarded--fOr the
Colonel was a noted after-dinner story
teller and could keep the table in a roar.
But before j give an account Of our
httle repast, it is proper to say few
words concerning my friend: Now, | sup
pose, comparatively few NOrtherners ever
heard OF William Tappan Thompson, Of
savannah; but when introduce him to
them as MojOr Jones, of Pineville, author
OF "Mai0r Jones' COurtship," "The ChrOn-
lcles Of Pineville," and other humorous
works; and a frequent contributor 10
william A. Porter's Spirit Of the Times,
In us palmy days, there are few OF my
readers, whose memories are worth any
thlng-and memories 20 be ofvalue should
De from 30 to 40 years Old-but VIII rec
0gnizo him as one whose writings they
nave heartily enjoyed and who TO this day
holds an enYiable place among the humOr-
ISIS n oar country. The humOr, though
somewhat coarse. was genuine, and the
characters introduced true 10 the life they
represented. There are still to be found
IN the wiles OF Georgia just such uncul-
Wred and uncouth men and women as
Col. Thompson described and barley, the
artist, depicted, forty years ago. And II
~ much TO say that his books are still
printed and still sell.
Maj. Jones, at the time OF which l
write, was nearly 60 years Of age. A
small, spare man, slight In build but