The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-03-03
LOOKING FoR noMesTLAwfveRs.



Centenarsan Tramps 900 MiIss en Z
Remarkable Mlssion.
William Shropshire, once slave, now
nearly H,o years old, decrepit and In
firm, walked nearly 100 miles to Cincin.
natl for the purpose. rs he says. Of find'
ing an honest lawyer. and landed penni.
less at the Hammond street station
The old man was given berth in the
celiroom Of the station-house by Lieut.
Kane. and locked up for q nights rest.
He had richly deserved il. for his shoes
from long travel were worn through
and his bruised and bleeding feet rested
ON the ground.
1t all sounds like q travesty On the
profession, for, with apologies to the
credence Of the general public. the fact
Is well known that honest lawyers live
In nearly every city and town through
out the length and breadth of this fair
land. But the old ex-slave has his
crotchets-they usually come with
years and sad experiences, and he made
Cincinnati the Mecca of his pilgrimage.
"Grandpap" Shropshire. as he Is
known in Doneraile, Ky, little town
near Lexington, was once considered
very wealthy, but litigation, as he says,
has involved him and his effects until
now he has made one last supreme ef-
fort to reclaim his lands. The chapter
Of his trouble. is long one and full OF
quarrels, disputes and legal technical
tiles, but from the story he told In his
feeble way at the station IL seems that
he has been often vicMmized owing to
his generosity, until all his earthly pos
sessions have been drawn into the
courts. His faculties are still unim-
paired and his mind on the subject of
his troubles is remarkably Gear as to
names. dates and legal papers. All the
money he started with was spent for
provisions along the route to this city.
He offers $4,000 IN cash to the attorney
who will 60 into the Kentucky courts
and reclaim three pieces Of property
which he claims are held unjustly by
others.
When he started for this city he had no
idea as to the immense distance he had
to travel before he reached his destina.
tion, but he was so determined to And
an honest, unprcjudiced lawyer that
he would not retrace his steps. though
often overcome with hunger and IA.
tigue. Shropshire was once the proper
ty Of Gen. Andrew Jackson and claims
the distinction OF having paid for his
freedom with means that he had accu-
mulated. He 10 typical old slave and
bears the characteristics Of his rapidly
disappearing fellows to such marked
degree as would make him an invaluable
adjunct to An artht's studio II such a
picture were desired. The gnarled stair
with which his journey was made less
irksome was cut from q tree upon
which Daniel Boone found and slew .
bear away back In the days when the
dark and bloody ground" was still un.
baptized with the carnage from which
the name was taken. The old colored
man has survived all his relatives and
for years has been utterly alone in the
world. and. like the lonely occupant Of
the Little Old Log Cabin In the Lane"
has had nothing to do Of late years but
occasionally swap" mules with some
remote neighbor while his chimney
tumbled down and his roof no longer
served to keep out the sunshine and the
rain.-Chicago Chronicle.