The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1897-05-05
started ON his march with two excited

out they met some horsemen conveying
an old carriage containing Walton
| Scroggs, seriously wounded, and doc
tor. With the escort Lambert held
brief parley, also with the wounded
man, who, though weak, was full of
pluck and spirits; his sole anxiety
| seemed to be on the score of his wife
| and the shock the news would cause
her. The account given the young off,
GER of the circumstances leading up to
the facts differed radically from that
with which he and his commander had
| thus far been favored. This was to be
| expected, as up to this point their sole
informants were either negroes or a
couple of whites of the Parmelee stamp.
In the north, as rule, the affair APP
peared to have been a wanton and un-
| provoked attack by Walton Scroggs and
| his friends upon some negroes who had
| been instrumental in securing his ar
rest-nothing short, in fact, of red
| handed act of vengeance, as was evil
dent from the fact that Immediately on
| his release he and his party, armed 10
the teeth, had ridden over to Vernon,
instead of going home, and without
warning or apparent warrant had be-
| gun the indiscriminate shooting down
of certain unpopular whites and their
luckless negro supporters.
In the south, except among certain
| journals published in the interest of
| the radical" republican party, the 9th
er side of the story was promptly cir
| culated. "Capt. Scroggs and friend,
endeavoring to reach home by cir
| cuitous route so as to avoid trouble after
his release from Jail, where he had
| been incarcerated several weeks on
baseless, trumpedup charges, were set
upon in the streets of Vernon by
| blackguardly pack of loafers, insulted,
| abused and assaulted, and finally COM
PEELED in self-defense to draw their re-
volvers, not, however, until they had
been fired upon. One odd circumstance
connected with these perennial shooting
scrapes in those days was the fact that
| in footing up the score it was always
| found that five negroes TO one white was
about the proportion of casualties. This
may have been due to the fact that the
ratio of black to white in ever scrim-
mage was about five to one. or else that
the Caucasian, being cooler and long
skilled in the use of arms, was more
effective in close combat. At all events,
when impartially investigated it was
found that this Vernon difficulty diff
| fered from it's fellows in no particular
except one-that it "had no political
| significance whatever" Walton's
friends, rejoicing with him in his re-
| lease from durance vile, did so after the
fashion of the day, and more or less bad
| whisky was consumed before the stage
reached VernoD-where more friends
were met, more treats exchanged, and
where, as the devil of mischief would
have it, he happened into the bar of
| the old tavern just at the moment when
| two or three others, all white, were hap
pening out. One of these was an old
time admirer of Esther Walton, a man
with whom Scroggs had been at outs
| for years. There was n jostle-uninten-
| tional-a sheer in the careless apology
and a ranking word or two. Peace
makers drew the principals apart. In
deed, Walton was too happy to continue
his Journey home and Estherwards TO
care to quarrel. But his rivals heart
and brain were burning, and more
| liquor made matters worse. The horses
were being brought around from the
stable with the troop of vagrant ne
groes loafing after, when, despite the
efforts of his friends, the half-drunllen
man came lurching out of a neighboring
saloon and with savage oaths rushed
| at Walton, demanding satisfaction"
! Weapons were drawn and shots eX-
| changed on the instant, and one of the
scattered mob of negroes fell dead with
a bullet through his heart, while for
moment Walton, with smoking pistol,
stood alone, looking down at his as
sailant writhing on the sidewalk
Friends rushed in, carried one man into
the drug store and crowded Walton in
to the tavern bar. 1t was "fair fight"
He had drawn only in self-defense. His
assailant was to blame, and there was
no man TO suggest arrest. But he stood
there pale and unnerved now, covered
with sorrow at the disaster to the man,
who, even though no friend was popu-
lar, we'll and widely known, and, ac-
NOluIuS W INC SOIucNu1b ucceSSlDIc
standard of the state and day, "a per-
feet gentleman" 1t was characteristic
of the time and place that nobody pres
cnt happened to think of the dead negro.
Among these poor people Walton
Scroggs was, perhaps deservedly un-
popular. The other man, open-handed,
generous, easy-going, had won not
little of their unreasoning yet enthus-
astic regard. 1t was while Scroggs,
with two advisers, was seated, sad aid
trembling, in a little room of the tavern
awaiting the result of the doctors en-
animation of his fainting foe that q
citizen came rushing in. ''Scroggs,
you'll have to get out of this-quick.
There was meeting of that old Grant
and ColfaY club going on up the street,
and the niggers have rushed in and told
'em you killed Pete jackson. The
whole gang of 'er are coming"
Coming? They were already there.
With furious yells and vergeful threats
n surging crowd of negroes came tear
ing along the village street, stopping