The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-03-12
atlanta Constitution,

dstCSHt4 COtStHR6Uits
1t was in the Judges room. The other
day was called to Calhoun town on bus.
mess, and had to stay over night. Court
was in session and Judge Miner honored
me with an Invitation to share his room
and his bed. In the olden time, when
the lawyers rode the circuit, it was big
thing for them to gather in the judges
room at night, and discuss the affairs of
the nation, and especially its politics, and
tell anecdotes and exchange wit and Wis
dom. "As iron sharpeneth iron, so q
mans face sharpeneth the face of his
friend" and SO by the time these lawyers
had taken the grand rounds they had diff
fused knowledge. pretty generally, and
each one carried his fresh accumulations
home and scattered them among his
friends and companions. Book agents
were unknown newspapers we're neither
numerous nor newsy, and hence it was a
great comfort to the people to catch the
sparks of genius as they scintillated from
the lawyers and the politicians on the
stump or on the forum. Stump politics
were big thing with the people. The
two great parties of Wings aud Democrats
were pretty equally divided. Sometimes
one was in power and sometimes the 9th
er, and the contest went on from year to
year and never ceased to create excite
ment. It is not so now at the south, for
there is practically but one party, and it
takes two to get up fight. We were re-
calling and discussing these old times in
judges room, for there we're some of us
who are not spring chickens and we have
memories. The faithful sentinels of time
memory the only faculty that does not
decay with age and that never goes back
upon the days Of our youth. Calhoun
town itself is rich in memories and we
recalled its ancient history away back in
the thirties, when it was located few
miles away on the banks of the Oostau-
aula and was called New Echota, and the
Indians lived there, and were happy on
their hunting grounds. Big John Un-
derwood used to tell me with unfeigned
emotion about his arresting John Howard
Payne at Roas's Landing, (which is Chat.
tanooga now and bringing him to New
Echota as prisoner suspected of trying
to induce the Indians to revolt. Payne
was not guilty. He was wanderer-a
misanthrope-but Big John said he Vas
"much Of gentleman" He was search
ed and had in his pocket letters that
proved he was the author of Home,
Sweet Home," and he wore next his bo-
som a locket that contained the miniature
of lady. He was detained at New
Echota for several days, and until orders
came from Governor Troup for him to be
mounted and escorted to him at Milledge.
vile. He vas treated there as al honor.
ed guest, and after awhile sent to Wash
ington.
Then We talked about the great Wing
barbecue Of 1852 that was given at CAL
houu in honor of Alexander Stephens,
who was then in the zenith of his fame
as stump speaker, and how we Demo-
Gratis of Rome tried to get some great
man to come and meet him and stem the
tide, and we wrote to Cobb aud Herschell
johnson and Chapel and others, but
they all had some other engagements,
and at last, in our despair, we settled
down on Russell, the gifted, eloquent, but
unreliable and ungenerate Russell-a
man of splendid appearance when sober,
and whose clarion voice and eagle eye
marked him as an orator. He was as
gifted in lies as be was in language, and
80 ne groomed him in secret for few
days and brought him up and hid him in
the multitude. The woolhead boys came
in crowds from the mountains and valleys
to hear Little Al eek, and he made q
great speech-a wonderful speech-and
had captured the crowd, and came down
from the rostrum and was receiving the
congratulations of the people and kissing
the young women, and some of the ba-
bies, when suddenly Russell mounted the
platform and screamed out, "Fellow citi
zens" at the top Of his voice. BE soon
engaged their rapt attention and told
more lies on Little Aleck in half al hour
than had been told on him in all his life
In vain did Mr.. Stephens interrupt hin
and deny the charges and call for the
proof. In vain did General Black try tt
drown his voice and make him come
down. "I1et him go on Let him go on,
the wool hats cried, and when Little
Aleck again denounced the charges and
called for the proof, Russell stood proud
ly erect, and folding his arms across biz
breast, looked up to heaven and said: 81
thank my God, sir, that I do not have tt
prove to this people the truth of what
have said. They know me-they raised
me. am on my native health-but if
was 200 miles away from home as yot
are I would carry my proof with me, ,
and we all cheered and shouted amazing
ly. Mr.. Stephens was whipped-com-
pletely whipped, and left the field in dis
gust. The finale was made intensely lu-
dicrous when Russell came down ant
went among the tumultous and enthusi-
astic crowd and kissed half dozen wo-
men and children.
Fifteen years after that l met Mr.
Stephens at MilledgeviIle and he alluded
to the Calhoun barbecue and he suddenl,
asked me if Russell WAS dead. mo, h
is not dead" said l. IT was in hopes tha
he was dead" he said. "He is a monste
| of infamy."