Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1893-02-02

~ S'Aoy3 NAA >>SNO>~
appearance.
Our hero was the only son of
Peggy Campbell, an old widow. She
said she was Of noble Scottish descent,
being the great ~eat-granddaughter
of the chief cook in the house OF
John MacCullum Moore, the great
Duke of Argyll. Nobody knew nor
cared where they came from; in fact,
no one ever thought of that. They
were ''permanent fixtures" in the
settlement and had been from time
immemorial. They, or rather Dame
Peggy, earned a scanty livelihood by
doing odd jobs for the neighbors and
by dyeing and weaving, arts in which
Peggy was an expert.
Our hero and his mother lived in
little tumbe-down cabin on their
own farm, a tract of six acres, situated
high up on the side of a very poor
and stony hill, whose soil would
hardly Sprout COW pea.
When this old shanty finally came
tumbling about their ears one blustry
March day, the farm, or plantation,
as Ad called it, was abandoned and
they took up their abode wherever
they found a deserted cabin.
In appearance our hero was very
remarkable. He stood six feet two
in his stockings and weighed one
hundred and twenty pounds. His
legs were merely ''pipe stems, and
both seemed to "come out at one
hole" as the neighbors said. His
arms were long and dangling and his
hands very red and skinny. His long
nose was sharp and thir, his eyes
blae and watery, and his head was
crowned with mat of very bushy
yellow hair. His beard was scant
inGeed, or zone in a HILL as people
said. lie invariably wore very tall
and badly battered beaver and faded
green frock coat, both of which looked
as If they might have seen service in
the Revolution.
He had eight of the meanest,
mangiest curs You ever saw, and they
invariably followed at his heels
wherever he went. The sight was
half amusing, half pitiful, on a cold,
windy day, to see him coming, his
long, thin Ices dangling rather than
stepping, his arms swinging awk-
warllv and his tattered coat-taiis
Topping gleefully in the wind, with
his many canine friends stepping upon
his hee'>.
Ao and his curs were sure to put
in their appearance at hog-killings,
corn-shuckings and other rural fes-
tivities. He seemed to Sscent the
battle from afar,o but he never
appeared antil near meal-time, and
no one ever saw him heip with the
work. However, ne was always in
the front rank AT the table, whether
invited or not, and his appetite was
something remarkable. Indeed, such
were the quantities of r'good cheer"
consumed by Ad that one inyolun-
tarily wondered where it all went to,
unless his LEGS and number twelve
feet were hollow
Ad was very mealv-mcuthed and
famous liar; and while the afore-
said edibles rapidly disappeared the
mcllowest lies imaginable rolled off
his tongue. He told tales about what
he had seen, heard and done and
what crops he used to make on ''my
plantation" that would put arabian
Nights to shame.
Bat to come to our story proper.
| Adonis believed that there was hid
den treasure that he was destined to
find. lie said that, when a small
boy, the spirit of an Indian chief
appeared to him in dream and told
him this. SO wherever he went his
eyes were bent upon the ground, and
every odd nook and corner was
searched for the hidden treasure.
Now, about this time there lived in
that particular locality young lady
named Olympia Washburne, the
daughter OF a wealthy planter.
When our story opened she had
Just returned from boarding school,
where she had taken on an excessive
degree OF polished sentimentality.
She affected extremely refined man
ners and conversation. She would
walk from one side of crowded
room to the other to get to door to
take drink of water, and when she
talked it was merely continuous
series of obs, obs, oh mys, did you
evers, and yes indeeds. Notwith-
standing her faults Miss Olympia had
numerous beaux and was very
popular young lady generally, for her
father owned four thousand acres of
fine land and scores of slaves. But
the war came on and her father,
Charles Washburne, mortgaged all
his property to raise funds with which
TO equip regiment, of which he took
command.
During the war Adonis somehow
became acquainted with Olympia and
he fell deeply in love with her. At
first she scorned him and guyed him
numerically, as did every one else.
But Ad was not to be thus slightly
put off. He could not take a hint:
He told Miss Olympia the story Of
the treasure it was his destiny to dis
cover, and as it was exactly suited to
her romantic nature, well schooled
by reading ssThe Life of Captain
Kidd" and so forth, finally she became
interested in him; and when Olym-
pia's favorite canary died he wrote
such touching poem in memory OF
the event that she was completely
carried away. From this time onward
she regarded Adonis as a genius,
merely hampered by poverty.
At last the war was over; but in
the meantime Col. Washburne was
! killed and Mrs. Washburne died of
broken heart. All the Colonel's
property was swept away and all the
grand estate disappeared ike fog
before July sun, and Olympia's