The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-11-05

''' D.
IIrtf rp1feu t1D' w'tra | hn1rl tn
trrm oa. oj our ob @rgint citizens Il
ojh~ lty / v'i for the moment nsto
isar1.
Tbs wprl MA neDa suggested Moth,
bank nor oil mill to my mind, for WI
ihinhinE Of itas whom | first knew ii
Tia j, wa simply what the nam
1,'it. \ Home in the Wuol4" I'll
pji1'tNlo1 upon wbiah this now mo.
0pwj#ir %vilio;n tia,lt vat then owr
81 bY itni B'niamin G. Humphrey
nftor"lrl gp?'rnoror Misti,4ippi Gov
ti1lJlr'yI cum up from NIniborn
county in l3Ii 10 yi1it Mr. John Ne
NeilI. IN older brother Of oar fellow
cp1lt, mro.J Y M'Naill. Of Berrlair
at htl home. Tho Prairie" then
hRIliiul hone on Roe Buck lake.
mile splth Of tba present town II
wa rhlrm'l by the beauty Of tn
country and pnrrh14ni large tracts q
Imd which h. immediately put int,
cultivation aul gave - the plantation
the thprtaN; name, ltta Iienn. "a hon,
in the Toodk' Gov. Humphreys, how
oyer, wl3no, the frat settler of what Is
npv ltt, y '1L sal Mt the ri4k of being
i'"''n' ~, gin! - r"llt'a ~ | hnlrl
il from httnNn lips tho history of Ittn
ii"nlt tirt, whita proprietor He was
a raItmm by mmc Pro He pitched
his tout on n spot afterwards within the
inrlo'nro Of the governor yard
While living on this land. two strang
era "amn ON evening and sought the
9~l'lt'" N pvpltllity Of hil tent. One
. t'l'n WI tcn II with a Kontunky
ride th3 9th 'r Wa ulrrmal. Early on
thu tDjlnWi1E mDraiag Pro aud ono Of
hi1 gu't5i 1llrr'llnI, and despite the
efforts of the other stranger 10 establish
peace between them. they fell upon each
other with the fury Of tigers re
"tr'arer spr,"S lot nis rifle and Pro
s'ia'i HIM Pros rifle wa. unlo,ded
aal both mon coatnndel for the strang
"rS rlilH ~ for another In lIayc Sainte.
Upon slrrn3l, of course. in this strug
rlHdNp'1ll th' hnrl result. Who lost
~ ms .rl''l - miItos l'''stity 1ic
Nbl MY "py ahf' tl' atrI ,lo wa
t'"ji' N,f'r. l~r,1''y tho ria, w,1I
'lr''rr" t'lilth' rln,arl thrp,,m
nrS" wa ~, y'ill ovr.in: himwlf
t., 'h'nLn"t t'4t'p TIL I ;ht fell with
TIA hl'i'& tw'ln hi,hura
Pc 'pr}I;t' ri,'t Tor hi, nvi riiI,
and b'tt1 lpilia; IL. The stranger
took In tn sttn ttion at a glance AMI be
gan to load his piece realizing fully that
procrastination would in this emergency
mean doatl. J
1t Ia harl to fully appreciate tho stu
at'oa of thaN two desperate men in
This most desperate moment. Eacl, lit.
orally inspired by the devil. glarcd eter
enmity at his antagonist as he poured
his charge OF powder from the horn and
the wad linz homo. The
stranger, however, male one fatal error,
A. sspppal to cnt his patching. A
may not s,c his error for
may years, n 81 lirr r~sllizcs the con.
tai2l OF his mistake with awful
Pro dropp,i his bullet in with.
mt thu pitching, primal his pm and
hca chllod upoa hi1 antagonist to lay
Town his gIa His warning, however. ,
fttrllNANl A. tn str,n.sr ro,tin
ihtrlotl lNr'P'tt'lht, warning, hut ,
vida II, artjl Atlu5 til, stran ger ,
tnn>l his blltet hpmD and opened ,
ID pm To postpone action further ,
~ mlinasa, and ~, with deliberate .
i'm, Pro s,nS his bullet through the q
'rhnE'rs brain Dat in the depths of +,
ilt wild wilderness, with no sound to h
r"1k the stiffness of nature save the
DOT OF the owl or tho panther scream,
Q duIa rude anl hasty grave for his
Itr unhappy guest, I,
That awful tragedy. however, changed !,
,c current of his life. He abandoned >.
Il claim aud gave up this, the first II
Foprietor'hip of ltta Bena This was /,
At n h'lf century ago, but it has been .,
cycle in results -,
H.. w
Ca that loacly spot where this deeper =,
e battle wa fought. Il now one OF the "
,ry loyelicst Of villages. =,
There arc two railroads traversiny -,
e very garden spot of the cotton coun. @,
y. the Southern and the Itta Bena Il,
The latter run from Itta Bena 90,
Webb on the far famed Cassidy Bay. ~,
l. through the most fertile, as 1t is the
ea'thiest portion of the Yazoo Delta. D.,
ion;h cotton seed is grown and sold -,
ong the line of this road alone to sup. q,
y an oil mill and make 1t pay. %,
west through the wilderness. l.,
,rnells, Hawkins and the Old Domin. 80
n places, as far as Robinson's, You ira. 40,
rse a most wonderfully productive vi
thickly populated and center. NJ.
< on ltta Bena as the natural and in.
table market for their supply, There
a tele phone line from Itta Bena down
Lake and Bear Creek to Shep.
rdtown, opening to 1t that part of the IN
nntry inaccessible to any other point ~,
d nearly dominating that a bank be ne
tablishcd at Itta Bena for their &C. tn
m%modation From Roebuck landing TO-
the south all around the Lake to a.,
'rt Loring' a distance of twenty five wi