Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-29
STORY OF STOCKTON.
Pen Picture of the Novelist Nov
Writing for The Dispatch.
HE DICTATES ALL his WORK.
Last Raid Of Joe Wheeler, One Of the
Greatest Cavalry Leaders.
GEN. WADE HAMPTON's EMPTY BOAST
rconanspospxscn OF THE DrspArcH.1


WARRINGTON, March PA sallow,
dark-facsd little man who looked almoss
siekly by his contrast with the burly statss-
mans wife who sat by his side, rode up
from the Capitol in one of the 5-cent her
dies yesterday. The face Of this man was
extremely sensitive. His eyes were DARK
and full of soul. His jet black hair showed
out from under derby hat, and he seemed
rather to shrink from notice.
As he got into the car he limped slightly,
and he sat there packed between two big
women like sandwich until the car came
to the transfer station at the corner Of La
fayette Park. Here crowd of women
rusbsd in. They saw that the herdic was
full, but that made no difference, and young
and old, they stepped in and looked at the
men, inviting them with their eyes to give
them seats. A number of the men were
Congressman. These sat still, but when
gray-haired lady entered the herdic, this
little dark-faced man stood up and gave her
| Q seat.
He Took Another Herdio.
The condition of his health, however,
evidently prevented his remaining stand
ing. and he quietly stepped from the herdic
and waited for another car, on which he
would have to pay an extra fare. This dark
faced man was Frank r. Stockton, the nov
elist. The gray-haired woman was twice as
strong as he was, and she entered the Eerdic
knowing some man would rise and give her
| q seat
Frank r. Stockton is doing some literary
work here. He carries his work with him
| wherever he goes, and he has some of the
most curious literary methods Of any of the
American authors. He plans bis novel and
writes it out in his head, so to speak, before
he puts word down on paper. He thinks
it out down to the conversation, inelud-
ing the commas, periods and exclamation
points, and when he has the whole story
ready, and not till then, be dictates it.
After beginning his dictation he goes right
along from morning to morning until it is
completed. He dictates about 1000 words
in morning, and he walks up and down
the floor while debating. He once.told me
that be could dictate better than he could
write, and that the only writing he did was
his private letters. He sometimes dictates
the last chapters of q hook before the first,
and he says he does not see how one can
write a novel without he has outlined it
beforehand. He does not revise his stories
TO any great extent, and his memory is a
most phenomenal one. He likes Washing
ton we'll enough to come here nearly every
winter but the most of his work is done at
his home in New Jersey.
General Joe Wheelers Last Raid.
The memoirs of Jefferson Davis by his
wife say but little about General Joe
Wheeler's connection with the last days Of
the Confederacy. General Wheeler was the
greatest cavalry leader of the South, and he
is as active now as he was when he followed
the fortunes of Jefferson Davis down into
Georgia. He is short, slim, nervous. wirv
little fellow Of about 125 pounds weight.
His black hair has become tinged with gray,
and white strands are creeping in his full
black beard. His heart Is still young, how
ever, and though he has made fortune
since the war closed, as planter, there Is
nothing snobbish about him, and he is one
OF the most popular Congressman at WASH
ington. He told me the otherday of bis last
days with Jefferson Davis.
IT saw him." said he, when he was still
President at Charlotte, n. G. He had been
driven away from Richmond, but he still
kept up his show Of authority. He held his
Cabinet meetings, and among others who
were present at the time, were Wade Hamp-
ton, John G. Breckenridge, Reagan and
myself 1 knew the war was over and
wanted MIR. Davis to fy. He did not seem
to think as I did and he held q Cabinet
meeting at which he told me he had decided to
move my troops on TO Cokesborough, N. G.
I then had eight brigades under me, but
told Mr.. Davis that my men thought the
war was over, and I thought it doubtful
whether could hold them together. Wade
Hampton was more sanguine, and he pomp-
susly said, We'll, General Wheeler 3 troops
may not obey, but whatever order mine to
do, they will do
The Soldiers Had Had Enough.
"This put me in rather bad light, but I |
doubted what Hampton said. Upon reach |
ing my soldiers l found that they had all |
disbanded, and the best 1 could do was to !
get 500 men who said they would stick to me |
and the President. This 500 were splendid |
fellows, and started with them toward |
Cokesborough, but soon received orders TO |
90 toward Washington and Georgia. As |
went South stopped at Yorkville, where
Mrs. Wade Hampton was, and called upon |
her. She told me that General Hampton
had lust come in, and a moment later he en-
tered. He was as tired and as sad a man as
I have ever seen. He had found that his
boast about bringing his soldiers with him
was an unfounded one. He had to start out |
with single company, but his men had all
dropped OH before he got to Yorkyllle, and
he had ridden 90 miles ON stretch in order
to get in.
"Well, from Yorkville went South, but
received an order to disband my troops be-
fore reached Jefferson Davis. had done
so and was lying in the woods in company
with several of my soldiers when company
of Federals discovered US. had torn the
stars from my coat and they could not tell
my rank. 1 finally told them who. was,
and they said as wanted to be with Jeffer-
son DAVIS they would take me to him.
Thereupon they carried me to Augusta and
put me on a boat in company with Jefferson
Davis, Alexander H. Stephens, Clement C.
Clay and John H. Reagan. This boat took
us to Savannah, and from thence we were
carried to the Northern prison. I was sent
to Fort Delaware. but was released after
time" FRANK G. CARPENTER.