Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1898-06-03
g HOWD'YE" MARTIN.
THE ONLY CONGRESSMAN WHO
EVER BLEW OUT THE GAS

Added Much tn the Gaiety of the National
Capital During His Terna-some Episodes
I'm His stormy Career.
William H. Martin, of Texas. the
only congressman, so far as the records
extend, who ever blew out the gas, is
dead He died at Hillsboro. recently.
OF pneumonia. He was seventy years
old. With him went one of the unique
figures in public life of the decade. He
had outlived his time. There is no
doubt that he did blow out the gas in
Willard's hotel, Washington, d. c., on
the night Of Novenber %, 1887; that
the people of the hotel broke in his
door, and that he wos dragged into the
hall utterly unconscious. 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 tidings Of his catastrophe and box
ed his Jaws until his ears rang If the
man had made the slightest resistance
Martin would have killed him where
he stood.
In person he was six feet high and
broad of shoulder, but very gaunt. His
hair and beard were untrimmed. His
arms swung loosely and ne walked with
the long strides of the man who in his
early life had done most of his travel
ling on foot His oaths were so plenti-
ful they ceased to be profanity. The
words rolled from his mouth as un-
consciously as his breath l heard him
tell once of the failure of a morning
stroll after squirrels. II riz," he said,
"one-fine day an snatched hold of my
old rife. That-son of mine had
been a-wearin' of my kittredge belt. l
went into the-woods an was walkin'
down the-road when seen a--squir-
rel settin on a-tree. l pulled the
trigger and the-gun wasn't loaded.
The-squirl set thar and liked to
laughed his-head off loaded up an
she wouldn't work. got a-45-calibre
httridge into the 44-calibre gun and
never killed a-squirl."
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 a wordy passage between
johnson, of Indiana, Republican, and
Grain, of Texas, Democrat The two
approached each other excitedly and a
collision seemed imminent. At that
tuncture the eyes of quiescent members
were transferred from the principal fig
nTng in tho Hnhafa 10 hn ,lr
Grain and Johnson 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" Martin
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 6-inch
| clasp-knife with the blade opened. This
was knife that he carried, not for the
purpose of offense, but to trim his nails
with every month. He spoke only
once, and then in response to whis-
pered word of soothing from the vener-
able David B. Culberson: d it, let's
have settlement" He was shouldered
| out, however, and taken from the cap
itol. 1t is rather a singular bit of
Washington journalism that an ac-
count of this incident did not appear in
any print.
"Old Howd'ye"-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 Federal lines The state
ment seems incredible, but 1t is strictly
true that in 1868 the personnel of this
regiment was entirely changed. Every
man of the original recruitage was
dead or incapacltated by wounds.
"Howd'ye" went back to Texas and got
| another. Not many of them were left
In 1855, when Grants mighty and vic
torious host was bearing down upon
the starving and disheartened legions
Of Lee. An old southerner has told me
of meeting the Texan on the morning
of "the surrender" as 1t is familiarly
called in the south. He was five miles
from Lees headquarters and his dirty
regulars were bivouacked by the side OF
q country road. Martin asked him ofthe
news. He was told that General Lee
had surrendered. Martin drew a pis-
tol from his holster. EFF you say that
agin," he declared, "I'll blow you're
head OFF," He was assured that 1t 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 too
weary and heartsiek to move. He
headed his little band due south, turn
ing his back upon the chilly Virginia
fields. He got through the scattered
Federal line somehow and made his
way home. 1t was his boast to the
day Of his death that he had never sur
rendered.
UgIiest Animal In the World.