The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-21
AN UNUSUAL MOUNTAIN HERO.
What Jim BIatchman Did.
W. ]. Hampton in New York sun.

Later he became a murderer ana swung
for it. but Just the same he was hero of
the unusual sort.
Living in the mountains Of the Cumber
land as he had since his birth. il was not
to be expected that he could be Of the
higher type of manhood which tradition
assumes to be found mostly along the
broader paths of civilization. yet Jim
Blatchman was not found wanting when
the time came. albeit there was a strange
tumble in his ignorant mind of what con-
stituted heroism.
At least. IL may be called heroism,
though Jim didn't know it by that name.
But to the story Of II.
Jim was a young mountaineeF Of twenty
five; tall, loosely coupled, sallow of face,
slow Of speech, devoid Of grace, and still
having a heart in hun Which FOR year or
more had been wont 70 beat as "a trip
hammer whenever his eyes fell upon the
pleasant face Of old Zeke Munyon's daugh-
ter Martha.
And 1t was noticed by the gossips of the
Fork that Martha rather favored Jim,
for he owned little farm with a hewed
log house on it, and Martha being ambi-
tious in her social nature felt that
hewed log house was none too fine Tor her
feather. f., ef~
True. she had not been accustomed to
the luxury of hewed logs as house ma
terial for her fathers residence was only
OF logs I'm the rough, but this lack rather
infamed her ambition and made her wish
the more for those things which she had
not.
Neither had It any appreelable effect up
on her conscience that Jim made more
money selling the ''moonshine that ne
made than he did selling the crops that he
made.
II was the end. not the means thereto,
which most interested this mountain maid.
To Jim. however, these slight discrepan-
cies Of clfaracte did NOT appeal. He wa'i in
love with Martha, and when man IS IN
that condition nothing else counts.
So time trotted on, until the wedding
dav was almost in sight, and Martha went
to the county town to spend a day and
buy herself a calico gown and few other
"weddin fixin's."
Bad day for Jim.
At the tavern where Martha put up she
met a fine looking fellow. not of the noun
tains, who was a deputy United States
marshal by appointment, and a 'revenoo'
by mountain title. r
Usually the love Of the mountaineer for
a "revenoo" is not of the kind that passeth
understanding but Martha's ambition led
her in advance of her people, and she
looked kindly on the officer and listened
with many a blush to his pretty speeches.
When she left for her home the officer
told her he would come to see her. and
Martha was so pleased that she forgot all
about Jim.
whether the officer was in love with
Martha or not may not be known, but 1t is
known that he came to see her; that he
came often; that the oftener he came the
better pleased he seemed to be, and the up
shot of it all was that Jim felt called upon
bn
own relations to the then existing situa-
ton r,f
"'Tain't that don't like you, Jim, jist
ez much ez l ever did," she said to him,
but you amt like the captain"
But you wuz lovin me afore you seen
him." argued Jim.
mo, 1 wuzn't JIM" she admitted. II
wuz tryin' to, an maxim you believe 1
wuz but thar wuznt no love thar. Least
ways, not like this I've got fer the cap
Tin Jim got I'D and walked the floor
"Tn kill The hound" he said, and Jim
had some experience in that line, and knew
what he was talking about.
you might ez well XIII me, too, Jim,
she replied to this threat, fer what kills
him. kills me-.
Jim sat down sobbing with a grief greater
than he could express.
"Oh, Marthy, Marthy," he said after a
few minutes ITO think that you WIZ
more'n everything in the world TO me, and
that thar gwuzn't notnin' else l keered
fer eff it wuzn't you, and now you have
give it all up fer stranger, and him
revenoo."
Perhaps It was not such a burst of emo
tional eloquence as the more civilized man
could have poured forth at such time
but there was all of Jim's heart and soul
in 1t, and there can be no more than that
in any human utterance.
H. All ssv,I
when the officer came on his next visit
Marthy talked to him of this old lover
Of hers and the officer smiled softly to
himself.
He knew Jim Blatchman by reputation,
and was anxious for a personal acquain-
lance Martha could bring about a meet
ing and Martha did.
1t took place near Jim's moonshine fac
tory in the depths of the mountains. Not
withstanding the deputy was looking for
Jim, the meeting was a surprise to him
and to the one man with him. So sur
prising, in fact, that before the officers
knew exactly what had happened Jim had
them both covered with a Winchester
and their hands were up in the air quite
out of reach of the guns they carried for
such emergenc ies.
who are you? What do you mean by
this outrage?" storIned the deputy mar
shall. not, however, taking down his hands
to make gestures with. for Jim's Win
chester seemed TO forbid that.
I'm Jim Blatchman,'' replied the
raoonshiner quietly. land reckon you're
the feller that Marthy loves" he added,
gulping down a lump in his throat.
Whether the officer loved Martha did
not appear to be taken into jim s &C
count.
That's none Of your id business"
retorted the deputy. who had plenty Of
nerve or he never would have held the po-
sition he did.
Il reckon faint" said Jim meekly,
thinking of Martha all the time.
The deputy was growing FESTIVE.
''Well!" he exclaimed. when are you
going 10 let up on this?"
And that's none O. your id business"
said Jim, with only the very faintest