The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-06

Trains leave from Central depot. corr
cropping out. For instance there is 40
doubt that he did blow out the gas i'm Will
lards hotel, Washington, D. G., on the
night of Nov. %. 1897; that the people OF
the hotel broke in his door and that ne
was dragged into the hall utterly uncon-
scious He was sick for two days, but
as soon as he was well enough to appear
on the streets he hunted the newspaper
man who had been most instrumental IN
spreading the tldings of his catastrophe,
and boxed his jaws until his ears sang.
If the man had made the slightest resist
ance Martin would have killed him where
he stood.
In person he was six feet high and broad
of shoulder, but very gaunt. His mar
and beard were untrimmed. His arms
swung loosely, and he walked with the
long stride of the man who in his early
life had doue most of his travelling ON
foot His eye was the keen, cold eye OF
the pioneer-the eye of the Anglo-Saxon
who has conquered the waste places and
driven all foemen from the face of the
land he desired He was hearty in his
friendships and hatreds and uncouth IN
speech and manner His oaths were so
plentiful they ceased to be profanity. Ihe
words rolled from his mouth as uncon-
sciously as his breath l heard him tell
once of the failure of a mornings stroll
after squirrels 81 riz," he said, one -
fine day an snatched hold of my - ola
rifle That - son of mine had been a.
wearin' of my kittpdge belt. / went into
the - woods an&was walkip' down the
- road, when seen a - squirt settin'
on tree. / pulled the - trigger
an the - gun weren't loaded. The -
squirt set thar an liked to laugh his -
head off. l loaded up, an she wouidn {
work. | got a - 45-ealiber kittredge into
the - 44-calibert gun, an, never killed
a - squirt"
During the stormy days of the Fifty
first Congress, when Thomas b. Reed per-
formed his remarkable feat of organic
ing and controlling the House of Repre-
sentatves with majority of one, chiefly
through his ruling that a quorum was
present whether a quorum voted or not,
Martin was a silent but conspicuous fig
ure He did not understand the niceties
of legislation From his viewpoint the
Republicans were strong, and he did
not see why the matter could not be
settled out of hand. He was watched
more carefully by his friends than by
his adversares. On the morning of the
day when ''Buck" Kilgore-also of Texas
and also dead-kicked his way to freedom
by smashing one of the House doors,
there had been wordy passage between
johnson of Indiana, Republican, ana
Grain of Texas, Democrat. The two APP
preached each other exctedly and coll
lision seemed imminent. At that juncture
the eyes of quiescent members were trans
ferred from the principal figures in the de-
bate 10 the center aisle. Grain and john
son were not apt TO hurt. each other with
anything more deadly than their hands,
but in the center aisle a dozen Democrats
were slowly bearing back "Howdye" Mar
tin to the cloakroom. His jaws were set,
his face was pale with the pallor of death
and his eyes blazed Tightly gripped in
his right hand was six-inch easp-knife
with the blade open. This was knife
that he carried, not for purposes of Of
Tense, but to trim his nails with every
month He spoke only once, and then In
response to a whispered work of soothing
from the venerable David b. Culberson.
''D-i it, let's have settlement" He was
shouldered out, however, and taken from
the capitol 1t is rather a singular bit OF
Washington journalism that an account of
this incdnt did not appear in any print.
"Old Howd'y e"-so called because that
was his invariable salutation to man and
woman, boy and girl, white and black
took out Texas regiment in 1861 They
went direct to Virginia and faced the Fed
BILE. but 1t is strictly true that in 1853 the
personnel of this regiment was entirely
changed Every man of the original re-
cruitage was dead or incapacitated by
wounds. "Howd'ye" went back to Texas
| and got another. Not many of them were
| left IN 1865 when Grants mighty and vic
| torious host was bearing down upon the
starving and dsheartened legions of Lee.
| An old Southerner has told me of meeting
NJ ,fr.erf ~ en-.
| render" as it is Familiarity called In the
headquarters and his dirty regulars were
| bivouacked by the side of a country road
| Martin asked him for the news. He was
| told that Gen. Lee had surrendered. Mar
| tin drew a pistol from his holster. "Ei
you say that agin'," he declared, IN
blow your head Off" He was assured that
| Il was true. He turned to his men and
| said: Boys I'm goin' back to Texas
where a man can live an the blacks can't
| run, US Who's goin' with me?" A few
| of them responded. The others were toe
weary and heartsick to move. He headed
his little band due South, turning his back
upon the chilly Vrginian fields. He got
through the scattered Federal line some
how and made his way home, 1t was his
| boast TO the day of his death that he had
| never surrendered
There were many Objectionable things
about this man lie was rouSh, ne was
violent, and he had little respect for tie
sanctity of human life. But he was brave
| he was honest, he was chaste, he was ut.
| terly true to his friends, he loved his sec.
| ton of the country. The people who were
| his constituents were devoted to him. II
was said OF him that one knew always
"where to find him" He had the old-lnf
Southerner's reckless hospitality his impa.
| thence Of restraint and his disposition e
| take the law into his own hands on the
modest headstone that shall mark his eter.
nal resting place his friends should carve
| only the line: "He never told lie In his
| life, nor swore out warrant"