The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-04-04

lcry in Walhalla. little mountain
town in South Carolina. A famous
brand of 'smountain dew is sold un-
der his name, aud his lithograph por-
trait adorns the heads Of the bar
rels.
From the outside of t..1 Jail the Wis
itor can see the sad and wistful faces
Of the prisoners pressed against the
netting of the narrow windows, and
here he will sometimes meet their
friends who have come to converse
with them. In one Of the middle cells
on the lower floor the grating has been
cut with Il file, leaving an opening
large enough to admit hand and
!lrt bottle Of whiskcy or other solall
article, and the prisoners find it q
great convenience. In return for the
favor Of their conversation they some
times ask the 'outsidcr' for tobacco,
whlskcy ,i newspapers, or request
him TO write letters for them to wives,
friends, and swccthc ,rts at home.
Here. it may be remarked, is one of
the few places where one may here the
"wc uns" and 'yon 'uns" so often
quoted by writer's Of alleged Southern
dialect.
The Jail has its traditions, and these
are known to all the mountaincers. 1t
is SO strangely built that nothing short
Of dynamite could effect an exit, but
yet there have been prisoners who cs-
capped. The most noted of these was
Little Bill" Howard. He was
stupid young fellow, Of medium size,
rough in manner, and surly in speech,
and no one supposed him capable of
planning to escape as he did. His
story is only one exempliGcation of
the truth, which officers Of the law
fully recognize, that the mountainecr
is not such fool as he looks
Howard was convicted Of the MUIR
der Of a man named Ross, who was
supposed to be an informer, and vas
sentenced to be hanged. He made
his escape only few weeks before
the time set for the execution. It is,
or was, custom in Greenville to per-
NIT the wives Of prisoners to visit
them in Jail and sometimes to spend
the night. On this occasion Howard's 8
wife, a stout young woman, was
brought by her father-in-law to spend
day and night in jail with her hus-
band. AS he lived thirty miles up the
mountains, the old man whishcd to
start home very early in the morning.
So before it was fairly daylight the
old jailer was called up to let out Mrs.
Howard. He did so, as he supposed,
but on entering the Jail few hours
later he was astonished to find Mrs.
Howard, dressed in her husbands
clothes, in the cell and the condemn
ed man gone. Not knowing what else
to do with her, the authorities later
in the day released Mrs. Howard.
'Little Bill" remained in hiding for
few months, but was at last recaptnr-
ed, obtained new trial, and wes as
quilted.
A more pathetic story is told here,
though the incident to which it refers
occurred ia Georgia = a.cons?::Hsz
from the mountain regicn was serving
his time in the jail in Atlanta when
he heard that his baby at home was
very sick. He brooded over the eub-
ject few days and then one morning,
when the prisoners we're taking their
exercises in the yard, made ladder
of two Of his companions and went
over the wall. After walking over
100 miles, he reached home, only to
find that the baby had been buried
the day before his arrival. He again
set out for Atlanta, and in few days
knocked at the door Of the jail. asking
to be readmitted and exousing his un-
ceremonious departure on theground
that when he thought Of his baby and
its mother there in the mountain home
alone and helpless, be "iest had 70
60.
- The man who has money to burn