The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-03-16
MISCELLANY.
1as. 7Tc A Funny. Incident.

had gone to the Logan residence to in
terview the general about some matter
then before congress. The general
was in bed, and the reporter was shown
to his room. In the course of the
evening Mrs. Logan entered the bed.
chamber and took part in the CONVEX
sation. In her hand she held letter,
the contents OF which her husband
knew about. She wanted to give it to
the reporter, but the general objected.
But as the newspaper man started to
leave Mrs. Logan slipped the envelope
into his hand. The next morning near
ly every newspaper in the country
printed copy Of it. 1t was rare and
racy document.
Colonel Alexander G.. Horn of Meri-
dian, Miss, then this editor of The
Daily Mercury, was its author. The
letter was intended as an explanation
of an editorial that had appeared few
weeks before in The Mercury. Colonel
Horn and j. j. Shannon were aesoci-
ates in the publication of the aforesaid
| journal. On the morning following
the death of the hero of Appomattox,
The Mercury contained one Of the
most cruel articles about General Grant
ever printed by press. 1t dared any
true southerner to grjeve or show signs
of sorrow over his demise. 1t called
upon the people of Dixie land to exult
and rejoice at the death of a man who
had slain their sons and burned their
homes. The people of Meridian were
astounded. They went to the editor,
Colonel Horn, and asked him, in the
name of peace, to write another article
withdrawing it. He was obdurate and
instead Of doing as his neighbors wish
ed dictated another one equally as fierce
as the first.
At that moment the name of Colonel
Shannon was before the Senate await
ing confirmation as postmaster at Me-
ridian. An enemy of his, knowing the
love that General Logan had for Gen.
eral Grant, inclosed copies of the paper
to him, expecting that Logan would
oppose Shannon's nomination. Shan
non and Horn had dispute over the
editorial, and their relations became 80
strained that street duel was only
averted by the interference of mutual
friends. Colonel Horns letter to Gen
eral Logan was to the effect that
Colonel Shannon was innocent of the
article and had known nothing about it
it until he saw it in the paper. can
not quote the letter with literal exact
ness, but part of it was as follows:
"No; Shannon had nothing to do
with it. In the first place he hasn't
sense enough to conceive such SEN
timent as was expressed in the edi-
torial and if he had he would be too
cowardly to write it. He is my part
ner, am sorry to say, but by making
him postmaster you will afford me the
opportunity of getting rid of him.
"And why not take him, John?
There is a mighty narrow strip between
the radical Republicanism that you rep
resent and the Cleveland mugwumpery
that Shannon tries to represent. He is
not Democrat, never was and never
will be. l predict that you will soon
have him over on your side, and God
speed the dayl We Democrats down
here don't want him.
81 am growing old, but am still in
possession of my mental faculties, and
hope to live many years longer to tell
the truth from day to day about the
despised Yankees and their politics. 1
am seriously afflicted with hemipleia,
else 1 would have mauled HI out of
Shannon long ago.
"Logan, you ought to remember me
as one of the fellows that figured some
what conspicieusly in the Kemper
county trials. guess 1 can take the
credit to myself of having had the
Democrats who killed the Radicals
there acquitted before the courts. l
would like another job of the same
kind.
"You and 1 ought to be friends.
Opposites beget liking. You have
been broth Of boy in your party,
and have been sheol of fellow in
mine."
General Logan replied good natured-
ly to this epistle, after which friendly
correspondence sprang up between the
cratic genius at Meridian and the sem
ator. Logan read the Shannon letter
in the committee room of the senate,
and then laughingly said that inasmuch
as his friend, Colonel Horn, wanted
Shannon confirmed he didn't see how
he could oppose him. Colonel Horn.
unreconstructed, has long since passed
into silence, and few years later
Colonel Shannon was buried at his old
home in Psulding, Miss, town once
made famous by the publication The
Weeklg Clarion, many years ago, of
which paper he was one of the found
ers. During the Sullivan-Kilrain trial
at Purvis some years ago | sat at the
breakfast table with Sullivan and
Colonel Shannon. Sullivan ate three
fried chickens, Shannon four. Charlie
Rich, the great sportsman, got the two
to enter fried chicken eating match.
Some one asked Sullivan how many he
thought he could get away with, and
Sullivan said about eight.
"Eight!' spoke up Shannon. swell,
you will have to do better than that
You may be the champion prizefghter
but you will have to whet up that APP
petite of yours before you can take
away the chicken eating champion.
ship"
The chickens were bought and clean
: ed and were ready for the iron when
the colonel was taken violently ill. Be
fore he could recover Sullivan was ouI
of the state.-Chicago Times-Herald.
Wall said China IN the aeaemhl eC