The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1892-07-07

| II WAS our intention ofl9HldiIN u ~
! via Birnin"ham from Atlanta. but
ascertainin9 that VIC would have to
| change slccpers ut : o clock Ill tie
mornin" and having taken precautlon
| TO provide ourselves with tickets either
way before leaving home. we chose
| the latter route as we could take
| through sleeper from Atlanta this way.
| All our party were not successful IN
procuring lower berths, however, and
the preference was given to the elderly
| ladies. This consigned Messrs. Lon
! don and Whichard and the writer and
his wife TO upstairs lodgings. Mrs.
! NJ. declared she could never get INTO
upper No. 81 and if by the aid OF
q step ladder. the obliging porter and
the solicitous individual who felt some
anxiety about himself lest he should
tumble out while being made martyr
of by taking the outside place next to
the aisle. she could crawl up she would
never sleep wink on that shelf. But
! there we were and what were we gong
to do about it? 1t was either one altera-
tive or the othcr-take the upper berth
or sit up all night While the writer
was enioying one Of friend Dorsey's
choicest Havanas after hearty supper
Mrs. NJ. was trying to solve the prob
lem of how we could occupy lower
berth when we had bought and paid
for an upper one. On returning from
the smoking room we found the matter
had been settled to the mutual salts
faction Of all concerned. Our better
half had scraped up an acquaintance
with number Of ladies and gentle
men who were fellow passengers on
| the same car people who travel on a
Pullman sleeper are not long in get
ting acquainted with each other-in
fact, we have found by experience that
they get powerful familiar at least
twice a day, at retiring time and when
they crawl out of their berths in the
morning., to whom she had made
known the fact that we had not been
fortunate enough to secure lower
berth and her aversion to having to
occupy an upper one. Among the
party was a young Mr.. Nottingham,
a real estate dealer of Atlanta, who
was going to Omaha. Clever and
obliging young gentleman that he was
he very kindly offered to exchange
with her giving up his berth which
happened to be lower No. 5 for the
one above. That settled it and there
was at least one woman On the train
that night who was in happier frame
of mind than when we pulled out from
Atlanta a few hours before. | has
tened to add my thanks to those
already extended Mr.. Rockingham
for his kindness and self-sacrificing
spirit, and was not long in showing
my appreciation by turning in and
enjoying a good nights sleep.
From Nashville to st. Louis the
trip was made in the day time, the
distance being 81 miles, or COG miles
from Atlanta. Our route lay over a
good portion Of the finest section of
Tennessee, through the Western part
of Kentucky, past Henderson, flour
ishing and prosperous looking town,
through the Southeastern edge of
Indiana, and Southern Illinois to st.
Louis. Before leaving Henderson |
must relate traditional story told us
III connection with an old church that
stands hard by the railroad, and which
can be seen from the passing cars. 1t
is a quaint structure Of brick, dating
back nearly an hundred years, and was
built by an eccentric and wealthy slave
owner. He would not permit any kind
of work to be done on Sunday and his
custom was to have one of his slaves
sweep out the church every Saturday
afternoon preparatory to holding SER
vice the next day. On one occasion a
man was sent as usual to put the house
in order but instead Of doing this he
went off fishing in the river near by.
Sunday morning the master visited the
church and found the wicked and faith
less servant at work, performing the
labor he was instructed to do the day
before. SO outraged and eXasperated
was the old planter-preacher at this
disregard of his stern mandates and the
duplicity Of his servant, that he fell
upon and beat him numerically with
heavy cane he carried in his hand.
Whether Intentionally or not the iniu-
ries inflicted upon the hapless negro
were such as to produce death, and
soon thereafter red streak resembling
a blood stain appeared in the stone
easement above the door. This stone
was replaced with another. Still the
same streak appeared in the indentica
spot as tho first. This was taken out
and another put in. The same phenom-
enon was observed, the discoloration APP
pearing indistinct at first but gradually
increasing in size and contrast until it
was the exact counterpart of the orig
NAL. Repeated attempts were made in
the same direction-to blot out the
sign by which the memory of this ter
rible tragedy seemed destined to be
perpetuated-but change it as they
might this damned spot would not
OUT There it was on the piece of
granite above the door as plainly Wis
ible as the block itself. The streak
runs diagonally from bottom to top
about ten inches in length and one
inch wide, pale red in color while the
stone is a light gray. 1t has been
many years now since this piece of
stone was put there and as the house
is no longer used for purposes of wor-
ship | suppose it will be removed from
where it rests only by the corroding
hand of time when the building shall
crumbled into ruins leaving no trace of
its former existence save a lifeless pile
of dust. This is the legend that hangs
over the old church, and there are su-
perstitious people in the community
who speak with shake of the head and
a mystitied look when they relate the
strange story of its history. 1t stands
near the edge Of the town. enclosed
with 4 dilapidated wooden fence with
an ancient burying ground on one side
whose marble slabs. dingy and moss
covered. stand as mute relics of past
age to tell the story of the dead who
have quietly slumbered there for more
than half a century.
Evansville. Indiana, was one of
the largest and most business like
cities along the line. 1t lies on the
North bank of the Ohio river. in the
midst of n fine forroiDu and lin, bnr