Gulf Coast breeze. [volume] (Crawfordville, Fla.) 1897-19??, 1897-12-03
A REMARKABLE CAREER.
DRAMATIC EPISODES IN The LIFE
OF EDMUND c. ROSS.

From Typesetting to the United States
| senate HACK to the Case Again Uow
lie Was Appointed Chief Executive OF
New Moxico-'Go,. Rose, ifNna Please"
Forty-oue years ago, writes y. A.
Watrous in the Chicago Times. Herald,
a family named Ross, then aud for
some time residing in Milwaukee, con
stituted part of Kansas colony
which went all the way from Wiscon-
sin in covered wagons. II is not nee
ossary 10 say that there were troub-
lous times in Kansas IN 1896, when
John G.. Fremont was the first Repub-
ican candidate for President and
James Buchanan the Democratic
Shooting between men was an every.
day occurrence, and men shot to kill,
too. The colony from Wisconsin was
armed, both men and women carrying
reviewers and the men rifles besides
Nearly every day, while on the way to
"bleeding Kansas" there was stop
To practice shooting Mt mark. Some
of the young fellows madea frightfully
bad showing; couldn't even hit the
tree upon which the mark rested. 4
printer. Ed Ross, a member of the
family mentioned, was q most dismal
failure as a marksman. His mother
quite an elderly woman, wearing spec.
tacles, stood for some time watching
the practice. After the printer Ed
had shot four or five times and missed
the tree each time, his mother said:
"My boy, you can't shoot for shuckS:
give me that revolver" Shecarefully
reloaded ii and took position several
yards further away from the mark
than Ed and the other poor shooters
had been located. Planting her left foot
sixteen inches behind her right and
bringing the revolver up like profess.
sional, she took quick glance at the
mark through her glasses, pulled the
trigger and down came the white
patch.
stick it up again, "said Mrs. Ross.
Again the mark fell to the ground
and again it wasreplaced and Knocked
down.
When Mrs. Ross offered the reyol-
yer to her son he said: "No mother,
you keep it, I'm no gunner; you are.
/ will get n 'sit" in u printing oili,e
when we get there and use another
kind of shooting stick, and you can
kill my share ofthose border rullians."
Ross kept his promise. Hewent to
work at his trade aud in due time be-
came an editor and proprietor. Not
long after the war Kansas had one of
its regular rip-roaring senatorial con
tests, which resulted In the election
of the printer editor, Edmund @. Ross.
He went to Washington Republican,
but wouldhot follow his party in the
enterprise to depose President Andrew
TJoSshscciS. me kslls1 ~ Ba6nsH6I
never forgave him. Since then he ha.
been Democrat.
When Mr.. Cleveland became presi.
dent the first time Ross Was a typeset.
ter on a New Mexico paper and very
poor. One day, while setting up a
list OF presidential appointments, the
old printer, whose family had been
scantily clad and fed for some time,
got to thinking over his past good for
tune He said to himself: "rhe lsst
Democratic president was saved by
my vote, and have suffered for that
vote ever since. / could have bean
reelected to the United States Senate,
maybe several times, but for tina. act.
As tits, I'm poor, in need, my family
lacking the comforts of life, and [
working ut the case. I'll ask the new
president for the governorship Of
New Mexico"
The next day his application and the
letters of several influential Democrats
were on their way to Washington. IL
was not many weeks after that when
the foreman handed the old printer
another take" of presidential ap.
poin ..nents. When his dim old eyes,
looking through spectacles, fell upon
Edmund q. Ross, to be governor of
New Mexico" the stick" fell from
his hand, and when the foreman looked
over his lease" the printers face was
in his half-closed hands, resting on
the "space" and ga ''boxes."
whats the matter, Ross?" asked
| the foreman.
The old man slowly raised his head,
looked at the foreman and said: Gov
ernor Ross, if you please; look at
that" and he pointed to his copy"
drop your work and come here,
all OF YOU" called the foreman. 81
want to introduce you to the governor
of New Mexico. Together, hip, hip,
hurrahr'
One of the printers lodged out of
the Office and ran over and told the
Ross family Of the good news, and
when the governor was about halfway
home he saw his household coming to