Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-08-01
A WAYSIDE COMBAT.
BY OPIE p. READ.

The year 1876 was notable era in
America, being the birth period Of
two great events, the opening of the
Centennial and the starting and sus-
pension of the Evening Mail at Nash
vile, Tenn. The world may not re-
gard the birth and death of that news
paper as in the least historical, but /
do, and the world must not deny my
right to hold certain opinions. Ten
newspaper men-Or rather, ten
Notwithstanding myself, put
in all the money they could borrow
and brought out the first number of
that fearless newspaper, and until a
number Of notes fell due, it showed
many signs of prosperity. Aside
from its financial condition, there
was but one trouble: Nearly every
man wanted to sit in the Office and
write editorials. / remember that
one afternoon we had twenty-columns
of editorial and the "write.up" of a
brewery. Well, after we spent all
the money we had and a large sum
that we didn't have, the unlettered
agent ola court came around and
said that we had been worrying a
great deal Of late we might 60 away
somewhere, it made no difference tC
him, and rest. | didn't know wheth.
er the other Journalists" went, but
an editorial writer named Bud Dillon
and | started in the presumable di-
rection of Memphis, city nearly 3O(
miles distant. We had no particular
business in that town, but as we had
no money, we resolved to 60 thithel
and start another newspaper.
"THE LONG FELLOW SPREADS HIS
NosE.n
l shall describe Dillon as he was
then. He may have changed since
| hope so. He was a short man
with bench legs, and usually wore
wrong tont' shoes, one Roman anC
the other italic. He had served il
the Confederate army, and had come
out with pair of home-knit sock
and an appetite whetted keen by ex
posture. When sober he was a grace
full, and when drunk a disgracefu
writer. Some Of his works had at
tracted attention, and his "write up
of a dance hall and beer pavilion wa
highly spoken of by the proprietor
He had a sort of saddle-skirt com
pleXion, with the exception Of hi
nose, which was exceedingly red
and, when at its best, shed an efful
gence over his entire countenance
He had no hair to speak of, except il
the past tense, and his mouth, whel
not engaged, looked like a sever
cash and partly healed. His dispC
sition, under ordinary conditions
was blithe, but he had so keen a sens
Of injustice, when practiced upol
himself, he sometimes sought re
venge.
l shall not attempt to give a detail
ed account of that foot~sore expedi
ton. The very thought of it make
me weary. Miles and miles of blaz
ing railroad track; eerie swamps
where snakes squirmed in the gree
OOze; rag weed bed chambers lighte
by chandeliers of dew; bellowin
bulltrogs and screaming night hawk
hunger.
One afternoon, after an early stal
at morning and a persistent pull a
day, we were stretching our legs ft
town called Milan. We had bee
told that paper published there ha
been awarded the delinquent tax lis
and that the editor was in need {
printers to put it in type; and, bein
compositors as we'll as Journalists,
we saw chance to ease our dow
trodden condition. In approaching
town we had learned to look for tn
courthouse dome, and had oddly far
cied that we could determine by i