The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-11-28

Now, every Just man knows, OF course, |
that our soldiers have as much right
TO pensions as theirs, and IL will be so
set down In history, but the tide is
against us, for whom the Lord loveth
He c~hasteneth. And so we have to do
the best we can These good people
In Louisville have got an association
that makes provision for them, and
while they can't pension them, they
get them something to do. Captain
feathers is the leading spirit of this
good work and he has such men as
General Basil Duke and General Taylor
and Major Davis and Captain Easton
and Dr.. Broadus and DIR. Hemphill to
help him. All the best people encour-
age them.
One day a dilapidated man on
crutches called on Captain feathers
and said:
"Capen, I heard that you'were look
ing after the old vets Of the confederacy,
and l thought 1 would call and tell
you that 1 am one of them and would
like to have @ good square meal once
more. It's about dinner time and l
haven't had anything to eat today
but the captain dident believe him.
"Where we're you wounded?" said he.
cat the battle of the Wilderness,
on the 10th of May, 1854" said the man.
What is your name? ?" said the cap
tain.
civilian w. Beazley," said he.
The captain was very busy, n as
he handed the old vet a dollar, said
"Now go and get something to eat;
then go to a barber's and get cleaned
up and come back here at 3 o'clock.
l wish to talk to you"
Precisely at 3 o'clock Beazley hobbled
in, leaned his crutches against the
wall and sat down. He was much inn
proved.
"Now, MI. Beazley," said the cap
tain, 81 want to cross-examine you,
for we have no money to waste or i'm
posters. Where do you live and what
have you been doing and what regiment
did you serve in ? Tell me all about
Yourself"
Beazley smiled and said, "That is
all right, captain. I'm not afraid nor
ashamed to give you my history. I
was q private in Company B, Fourth
Alabama. 1 lived in Selma. am a
printer by trade and have been tramp
ing around hunting work and thought
] might get work on The Courier
Journal, but they said I was q back
number, which is Q fact, and nov I
am aloat without a dollar or a friend.
My wound has never got we'll and I'll
o1o" ~ w W. IL Joo "IO W oOO v
"No, no." said the captain, "who was
your colonel? ?"
1--WE had seven or eight" said Beaz-
ley, "but the last one was Colonel
Scruggs. He is living down here in
Huntsville. He knows me. You can
write to him and he'll tell you that l
am no impostor."
Captain feathers did not wait for
credentials, for the mans face was
-.lo-s1 ~..~, IT. lS~,lA 49,
some decent clothes and set him up in
II little stand by the bank with q few
dollars worth of cigars and news
papers and little tricks and told him
to sell them. "Trade with mailman
said he to his acquaintance who came
into the bank where the captain is
cashier. "Trade with that old
veteran, he was wounded at the Will
derness." And they do trade with him.
He has paid back the money aud is
now making about $12 q week and is
one worked in Cedartown and knew
all my old-time friends down there and
many in Rome.
Captain feathers afterwards met
Colonel Scruggs in Florence, Ala.
and the colonel said. "Yes, I knew
Bill Beazley. AT the battle of the
Wilderness on the 10th of May, 1864,
my color bearer was shot down and the
boys we're about to waver, for they
were falling right and left under an
awful fire, but Beazley rushed forward
them over his head, cried out, Come
on, boys and they rallied on him and
followed him to victory. That's the
kind of nan Bill Beazley is. But he
was shot in the hip in that same
charge and I don't know whether he is
living now or not. But why do you
ask P"
The captain told him and he was
much gratified.
Every survivor of the Eighth Georgia
who was in the first battle of Man.
assas will feel interested in this, fol
the Fourth Alabama fought right be-
sides them in the pine thickets, and
scores of both regiments foremost
fighting, fell among those pines. Bill
Beazley was there and he kept on being
in the front until disabled in the Will
derness.
How many of such heroes Captain
feathers has in charge, ] know not,
but a number of the old veterans met
at Captain George Norton's one night,
and those walls heard many q yarn.
Captain Norton came from Rome tc
Louisville as soon as the war was
OfeI duu SOUL lOuIu lTlenuS anu KEPT
them. He has made q good name and
Il slow fortune and uses both with
becoming dignity. A slow made for.
tune will stick to a man, but a big pile OF
money will make Il fool of anybody on
short acquaintance.
Captain Norton has q numerous
family-a lovely wife and children
and everything around and about is so
atfectionate and home-like that l am
obliged to speak Of it for it is u model
family. I say "homelike" because
one day the captain hired an old
fashioned darby to sod the front yard
with blue grass. The third day he
found that the old darky had left the
front and was putting down some sod In
the back yard.
"Uncle jake" said he, what in
the world are you doing around here.
| told you to sod the back yard.
Now, do you just stop it. There is not
enough sod for both"
Old Jake leaned on his hoe and said {:
Mistis sont me round here she say T
must sod dis, and / sod it,"
well, that's all right" said the
captain {; ''go on and sod it, but don't
dig up any more ground. Just sod that
you've got dug up until get some
more grass" %
After he left the old man talked to
himself. "Mistis say sod all round