The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-01-02

-. + " y. sim because OF quarrel he had
Win MIN. While the whole Of the race
were men of
EXTRAORDINARY BUSINESS ABILITY.
TINS Jerathmel excelled them all. His want
u uIt on sea and land brought rich returns.
lucas IKE, everything he touched seemed
urn 70 gold, even, like his pagan proto-
ypei 70 tue sands OF the sea. In his dav, $50
years ago, a few thousands were regarded
IN New England as a fortune: to posses, a
hundred thousand entitled a man to rank
a. Veritaole Dives, but this village Cruesus
wheh ne died was worth "a million
OF money" Princely as was his estate. il
Drought him scant respect, for he was hated
and despised by ali. A shylock in all his
dealings, a confirmed miser and heartless
creditor, he was also perfect fisnd in tenn
per ana natural disposition, and it was a
sad DAY for Mary Shurburn, the Somerset
street heireSs of Boston, when, attracted by
the halo which at that time hung over the
Bowers family, aud dazzled by the glamour
Oh the reputed wealth Of the younger scion
OF the family, she gave her hand in mar
rage 70 him. Then it was to revenge himself
upon his father and brothers, he built this
mouse with the determination of eclipsing
all OF theirs, although much that was
added to its interior and the splendor Of its
surroundings came with the advent of his
son John
My informant. Mrs. Pierce, remembers
the famous spendthrift and heir well. As
different from old Jerathmel as the oppos-
ing poles, as the manner in which he scat
tered princely heritage demonstrates
with his family old Bowers was close and
and exacting, save with John, who was the
favorlte and INDUCED one of his five chill
dren. As years ana infrmities came upon
the old merchant he was obliged to dele
gate the transaction of some of his business
to others, and John Bowers often acted for
his father. But his tastes were ex-
penslve and his ruling passion was
gambling. The parsimonious allowance
dealt out to him by his close-fsted father,
though hberality itself compared with the
stipend which fell to the share of the other
members Of the family, fell far short of his
needs. and thus it came about that about
five years before his fathers death he
became the central figure in transactions
which gave him a transient but widespread
notoriety. He was sent by the old man to
Boston to meet brig owned by the former
just arrived from China, loaded with tea,
to dispose of the cargo. This he did, and
with the proceeds in his pockets dallied
for a day or two with the gilded youth
OF the town and to pay his davotions at the
shrines of folly and pleasure before return
ing to Somerset to make an accounting of
his stewardship to the avaricious old master
who, as will be seen, waited his coming
many weary days. The first night after
receiving the proceeds of his cargo, John
Bowers sat in to play, and stiff game it
must have been which he ran up against,
for by morning his last rupee was gone. To
face his father thus was even more than
this favored son dared to do, and the next
night found him again at the table seeking
fn hic losses hxr T1lo f1,a h,sc,
itself against the game which few hours
before had hghtened him of the cargo, and
this, too, was before another day engulfed,
and Bowers found himself stripped from
truck to keel.
Too well he knew the storm which would
break over his head should he return home
empty handed, and in despair he shipped
aboard a vessel bound for New Orleans, and
for time became an outcast from home
aud society.
HE LED A NoMADIC LIFE,
dwelling with a tribe of Indians on the
borders, near the Mississippi, until discov-
cred by traveller, to whom ne conflded his
identity. Through this man his family be-
came apprised of his whereabouts, and old
Jerathmel, now lettering on the brink of
the grave, and yearning for the presence of
his best-beioved child, sent special mes
senger to find the prodigal and bring him
back to the house of his father, to receive
the old mans blessing and forg Iveness. He
came, and Immediately launched forth into
his old life, only the measure of his prodi-
gality and extravaganza increased many
fold since his father was no longer able to
attend to his own affairs. and John Bowers
had now full and complete control. Shortly
after his return the old man died, and an
incident connected with this event was told
tue writer by an old lady who got it from
her grandmother, who was witness to the
scene. 1 have mentioned that the elder
Bowers was cursed with an irascible and
ungovernable temper, which made him
terror to his family and life a burthen for
his servants.
As his bodily ills multiplied he became as
much worse in disposition as possible, and
as his feeblenes5 increased he used a heavy
cane, which he had slung to his wrist with
a leather strap. If anything displeassd
him, he was in the habit Of laying this staff
upon any unfortunate servant within his
reach, one of whom, tradition says, he killed
outright Tom, his colored valet, had felt
the weight of that cane on his broad back
times enough to have a wholesome dread of
il. and so one morning when the grandame
of the lady who tells this story entered
Jerathmel Bowers room she saw him sit
ting in his chair, his head thrown back, the
fixed and CLASSY expression OF death Ia his
opened ewes and the cane in his nerveleSs
grasp. while at a safe distance sat black
Tom. with a doubtful and troubled look
upon his face. Recovering from the shock
which the sight of the old man gave her,
she exclaimed:
tom, is your master dead"
"Well missus, / done think he's gone OFT
bout ten minutes ago, but l don't car to
90 nigh him jest yet while he got dat yer
cane in he's hand. Use been fooled too of'n
bv Massa Bowers by dat trick"
But he was dead sure enough this time,
and in his will, after providing for his other
children handsomely, he devised to John
BOWERS the balance of his estate, which ex-
ceeded 100000. This was in 1876, and
then commenced a reign of prodigal ex-
travagance in the Bowers mansion, which
made it more renowned than before, to be
followed in a few brief years by ruin and
disaster.
sSYou should have seen the Bowers place
in those days" said Mrs. Pierce to the
writer. 81 remember as we'll as yesterday
how it looked. TIE grounds about the
house covered several acres, and all the
village back there was once part or them.
A great wall of brick, twenty feet high,
inclosed them. This wall, by the way, was
blown down in the great September gale OF
1919 and the bricks were aroerWard car
ried to Newport, and used IN the con-
struction of Fort Adams. Within 1t was,
10 nv Young fancy, a garden OF paraolse
marble walks and fountains, and glass
Conservatives covering several acres, hlled
with rare exotics and tropical plants, ana
the fruits of every cline; recaI my
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