The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-03-04
SARGE PLUNKETT.
AMONG THE SCOTCH PEOPLE
ON BURNS BIRTHDAY.
A Strange Old Man Who BELIEVES
That. His Prayers Are Being
Answered.

spiced with the softness of pathos or
thrilled with the fire of adventure to the
fullness of our hearts content.
We knew there could be no better
place to see the one hundred and thirty
/ ninth birthday of Robbie Burns cele-
brated than among his countrymen at
the granite ouarries of the lower part
of DeKalb. Going there for this pur-
pose and listening to the songs OF the
poet as sung in his own tongue, we tru-
ly felt as if strolling along the banks
and braes of bonny Doom or listening
to the nlurmur of 'Aftan's Sweet Wat
| ers" We could no more describe the
| sweetness of this occasion than we
could picture the merits OF the Marcy
men and bonnie lassies who have been
drawn into this section by the granite
industry everywhere so abundant. we
| were carried to the grave OF the nfSt
Scotchman who came here for TINS pur-
pose. and the first man to cut block
| of stone now so common upon streets
He is remembered most affecuonateiy
by his country people, and they nave
decorated his grave in the cemetery Oh
Lithonia in a most artistic ana appro-
pirate manner This man was James
r. Wilson, Aberdeen, Scotland. me
4 Gate n,
this man s., 900 too much in cashing
check which he discovered after arrlV-
ing at Lithonia. He at once telegraphed
the bank to save them worry. ana the
next day carried the money back. The
hank official received it without even
thanking Wilson or paying his car fare
or telegraph expense, whereupon ne
only remarked that they should do the
|
again.
At Stone Mountain we had a look at
the crown head of the Confederate
monument to be erected at Chickamau-
ga battlefield. This monument will
truly be wonderful piece of work, and
was performed by Scotchmen-a Mr..
Potter. Mr.. Beacon and another gentle
man whose name have forgotten. The
base of the monument is constructed of
solid granite. then comes four pillars
six feet in diameter: then the crown
head with a horses head from each
side and end-it being square: then an
other tier Of smaller pillars and upon
these will appear a bronze statue of
Confederate soldier. The statue, when
placed in position, will measure eighty
feet high
Before leaving Stone Mountain, for
the sake of diversion. I will give the
story of a strange old man who pays
frequent visits to these granite fields,
and whose belief in the efficacy of pray
err would be an ornament in many 9TH
ers far more cultured than he.
Long long ago. before the hammer OF
the Scotchman was ever dreamed OF
and before these rocks ever had scar,
this strangeEold man owned lands and
lived a little northeast of the steep side
Of Stone Mountain. He had raised
family here perfectly beautiful in their
innocence and happy in their back
woods seclusion The old man himself
was rated an infidel, but his family were
strict members of little log church
which had been organized near the foot
of the mountain. The family had long
since despaired of ever getting the Old
fellow TO attend church, and nothing
was thought of it when upon every
Sabbath morning. he filled his bow
basket with corn, got small sack of
salt ready and went to the woods TO
find his hogs and salt his cattle-this
had been his custom for years upon the
Sabbath day, and ne scoffed the idea Of
there being any good in religion or in
churches.
So things were moving when man by
the name of Cloud-Aaron Cloud-visit-
ed the section, bought Stone Mountain
for little of nothing and announced that
he was going to build a fine hotel and
tower on the mountain and make 1T
great summer resort for pleasure seek
ers. This all transpired, and our strange
old man soon saw his children depart
ing from the backwoods' simplicity and
taking on the airs Of the fashionable
people who assembled at the hotel on
the mountain His girls were no longar
content with plain homespun goods.
and his boys failed to see why they
should work so hard, and that under the
sound of string bands from the dance
halls or brass bands from the great
tower that reached above the clouds 1t
was soon plain that the dissipation and
extravaganza of fashionable resort
was bound to contaminate the simplici-
ties upon which our old friend so much
dotted AS for him, he never changed,
:. except to grow sorrowful over change
he could not stem.
Upon a certain Sunday morning. this
strange old man In returning from where
he had sailed his cattle, CHANGED to pass
: near the log church at the foot of the
, mountain. He had no idea of going TO
, church: he had never been. His pants
were rolled up nearly to his knees for he
had waded the streams: he was bare
, footed, and in his shirt sleeves. with his
, bow-basket on his arn1-surely not a
very fine condition to visit church serv-
! ice, if he had ever thought of such q
thing
i Suddenly our old friend stops. He is
t listening to the loud old preacher and It
5 is the first time he was ever known to
S do such a thing. Surely the preacher
2 has said something to please him, for
I he draws a little nearer to the church
a and stands with his hand up to his ear
. he listens anxiously; what does the
| preacher say?
2 by prayer. my brethren and sisters,
we can do anything-even yonder noun
tain brethren and sisters, could he
moved by prayer and faith-faith,
5 brethren. faith and prayer. would scat
s ter yonder mountain like chaff before the
: wind"
Nothing on earth could have pleased
this old strange man more than to scat
| ter this mountain-scatter the hotel and
the tower and keep the fashionable peo-
pie away He liked the words. and he
walked nearer to the church, even to the
door. andsthen inside. Such commotion
II was never seen in a country church be-
n fore. His good old wife ran down the
aisle to meet him, and throwing her
arms around his neck. she shouted fol
: Joy. Then the daughters and the sons
: pot around him and there was wild