The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-09-24


took prominent and leading places 1
the history OF their State and country
The Buffers have not only been th
equals of any OF the families OF Car,
lima, but they are unriyalled by an
In their devotion, in their work AN
in their service they have done thei
State.
He referred with much feeling I
the Butler burial ground, which
located In the new county near tn
future Court House, and which ha
been SO carefully kept and sacrell
regarded by the family, as the restin
place OF any family of such worth uoul
be by those who venerated their dead
, This burial ground would be In two O
three miles of the county seat, and h.
knew that many pilgrim would sto,
to see the resting place of this illustri
ous family, and he predicted that tn,
epitaphs upon the stately monument,
OF these dead would be read with pride
by the Carolinians who went there
Saluda, he said, was the mere Indiar
name for adirty little rivera name
which has already been fixed to some
thing, and then with magnificent
burst OF eloquence he said, "My God
are illustrious names 30 plentiful that
they should be overlooked for some
petty Indian namep We can afford to
lose none of them"
II Gen. Butler has ever done any.
thing to the discredit OF himself or to
his State he never knew OF it. If any
body objected to Calbraith Butler losing
his log in the Confederacy he never
J card ofit. II fanybody objected to Cal
braith Butler risking his life at the
head OF the militia at Hamburg he
never heard of it, and If anyone object
ed to his risking his life in helping TO
redeem Carolina he had never heard
OF 1t, and yet on account of some petty
prC Judice 1t is proposed to do him and
his family this grave injustice. He
referred to the terrors of distributing
public offices and how difficult 1t was
to have sufficient to go around among
the officeseekers, and created much
amusement by saying that they were
like hundred hounds after fat
rabbit, and that was the cause of most
OF the yelping after Gen. Butler at this
time.
He spoke Of his long career in Con-
gress and how he had always watched
the career and course of Senator Butler
and II there was ever anything culpa-
BILE, wrong, or unjust about him Or his
movements he never heard of 1t or
saw 1t and he fiattered himself that he
was. pretty clever observer of men.
Ii he did not do for you. all that he
could, IL he was not q conscientious
and honest Senator, then was not
faithful member of Congress for my
people, and pray that South Carolina
will always have men in the United
States Senate his equal, in honesty,
ability and eloquence, but he said that
he had great fears that it would be q
long time before his equal in ability,
elOquence and influence would find q
place in the United States Senate from
South Carolina.
He appealed to the sentiment and
right of justice of the members that
this distinguished name should be per-
petuated in the name of the county
where the family had lived. The
family had for three generations given
the State and country generals, able
Judges. Senators and Congressman and
other distinguished citizens, and he
knew OF no family in any State that
had done more to deserve the perpetual
tion of the family name. With another
burst OF eloquence he said, If you will,
Leave Calbraith Butler out of the mat
ter entirely. Do not count him at all.
There are others, and many of them,
who have done their full share for the
State that deserve to have the county
called Butler.
He then said that he would take the
liberty Of speaking of his dead friend,
Gen. Mart Gary, and he felt that he
could call him friend, for he had
none who were dearer or closer to him.
He was nearer and more intimate with
Gen. Gary than he had ever been with
Gen. Butler, and he and Gen. Gary
had always been the most intimate of
friends, and yet when Gen. Gary died
there were suspicious and mutterings
sbout his Independentism, or leanings
in that way. Yet can say that there
was never q truer or nobler man than
Mart Gary or a man who did more for
his State than he did.
He said that long ago the tempta-
tion was offered him to have the pro.
posed county called Tillman County,
but that he said he would not have It
for it would be like robbing the But
lers of their just rights. He would
as soon do such a thing as to rob them
and he would sooner, he said with
much emotion, put pistol to his head
and blow bullet through his brains
than rob the family of it's rights. Gen.
Gary was under a much greater cloud
at the time of his death than Gen.
Butler, and when be died he and others
wanted to do the proper credit to the
LhOiuoiy VI oSh. StTy, tuu u0lu u IutoU-
ing at Edgefield, at which he made q
speech advocating that handsome
monument be erected to the memory
of Gen. Gary.
A society was organized to raise
money with which to build the monu-
ment, and books aud pictures were to
be sold to raise the money or help, but
1t was found that it had to be aban-
dOned on account of this shadow. Gary
had written @ letter to Col. Cash and
for this and other reasons the same
people did Gen. Gary tho injustice to
be suspicious of him and to underesti-
mate his great services to the State for
| q time. He for one never questioned
the work, the honesty or faithfulness
Of Gen. Gary, but he could hardly help
| feeling that he had some right to
smart under certain things that were
4 done. He wanted to perpetuate the
! name OF the "Bald Eagle of Edgefeld, "
and would advocate that the naming OF
the new county, but he wanted to see
the names OF Butler and Gary linked
together. Gary was born inside of the
proposed new county of Greenwood
and the Buffers have been born In the
new county that is to be given thai
name.
Col. r. B. Watson, OF Edgefield, sale
that he had no feeling In the matter
that his ancestors and those of Gen
Butler had been killed side by side IN
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