The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-03-11
LAMAR FONTAlNE NO MYTH.
MARVELLOUS WARRIOR AND HIS
sTUPENDOUS STORIES.

the Poem "AII quiet Along the Po-
tomac. and Made Trouble for the
Authors Son.
From the New York Sun.
Ever since it became known that the
story 10 the effect that the Boer General
Piet Joubert wa once resident of TINS
country and fought in the Confederate
Army during part Of the Civil War, rested
upon the authority of one Capt, Mai,
Col, Gen. Lamar Fontaine formerly OF
Mississippi and now Of the United states,
many persons throughout the country
having thrown up their hands ana SAID
I'VE might have expected it," and many
others have been led 10 express doubts
whether there was or is Lamar Fontaine.
In addition 10 an interview ascribed to
Fontaine giving with much detail certain
experiences with Joubert on the fields OF
battle in the South in 1916, there has
appeared recently certain controversial
matter over Foutaiue name giving his al
legged opinions. based upon personal obser-
walton of the Barbara Fritchie Civil War
episode.
II is now declared with absolute positive
ness that Gen Joubart was never in the
United States and the assertion is made
in language even stronger that if man
named Lamar Fontaine, or having any
other name, saw Joubert was here and
fought in the civil War polite language
lacks a suitable cpitbet 10 apply to him. 30
many remarkable stories have been attrlb-
uted to this man FOntaine that many per
sons believe that the name Is one taken
up generally by that class of newspaper
ronancers known as fakirs whenever
tremendous tale is to he sprung upon the
public. and that Lamar Fontane is as
much of a myth as the once famous Tom
Collins.
The Remembrance of evidence seems to
go to show that not only has Lamar ron
tane been a real person, but that ne is
alive to-day and is living either IN the
town of Shaw or Of Lyon, Miss; that ne
is q civil engineer about 70 years old, and
that, according to his stories, he is about
The most marvellous man that ever lived.
II he has not told all the stories attrlbut-
ed to him he is one of the most injured
men that ever lived. No matter who mas
told the stories in his name, they are OF
the Munchausen variety, and this has led
to the belief that the fakirs must be using
his name as a sort Of general, all around
person of utility from whose tongue any
kind of yarn, involving danger, hardship
or courage, could be suspended so as 10
secure publication if not credence.
If there. is one man in the United States
who is positive that Fontaine really has
existed aud probably exists, and who be-
lieves that he has documentary evidence
to prove such existence, that man is c.
Eliot Beers of 1i09 Lombard street, Phil
adelphla. For twenty years Mr.. Beers
has been chasing Mr.. Fontaine around this
country, and Mr. Beers says that it is no
will-o' -the-wisp chase. either. Mr.. Beers
mother Ethel Lynn Beers, wrote fam
Gus war lyric once The Picket" or IAN
Quiet Along the Potomac" and Mr.. Fon-
tame appropriated it and thereby got a
reputation as a versifier; some even called
him a poet. He lived on that reputation
as a literary person. appearing here and
there about the country as lecturer on
the strength of il. Everywhere Mr. Beers
could get trace of him as lecturer, or
as having set up a title to the ownership
of that poem, which in 1861 was as much
talked of as Kipling's "Absent4A1inded
Beggar'' is now, he has had to write let
ters as matter of fiiial duty toward his
mother, who died in 1879 and denounce
Fontaine as a humbug. Scores of these
letters by Mr.. Beers have appeared in
various newspapers of the country. The
story to the effect that Fontaine wrote
the verses keeps on appearing from time
TO time, and ii was only few months
ago that Mr.. Beers wrote another letter
giving the absolute proofs that Mrs. Beers
was the author of the verses.
1t does not appear that Fontaine has
ever contradicted MIR. Beers or brought
action against him for defamation of char
acter Every few months Mr.. Beers gets
a newspaper clipping saying, Lamar Fon-
| tame the well-known author of that
beautiful poem, All Quiet Along the Po-
| tomac lectured here last evening" etc
and then Mr.. Beers gets out his batteries
! and fires a shot at Fontaine. who, by
the time that the projectile strikes. has
| fed, taking with him his myth of au-
| thorshp. Some day Mr.. Beers expects
| that these newspaper references to Fon-
| tane as the author of the poem will cease
| because nature has decreed that. every
mon must die. Mr.. Fontaine is said tC
! have reached his Biblical three-score-and.
| ten, and Mr.. Beers thinks that when ht
| passes off the stage the notices that NJ
| has been lecturing around the country a.
! the author OF the celebrated war poem
etc. may disappear He hopes that Fon.
! laine won't come to give spook manifesto
| tons
Not only has Mr.. Beers had the evidenc,
of newspaper clippings that Fontaine i.
! an entity, but he has letters from per
sons who know Fontaine well and VIII
| have had business relations with him On,
Of these letters is from a well-known law
Yer in Mississippi written in July, 1896
The letter. which Mr.. Beers has shown t.
| a sun reporter, says:
81 was for four years an officer in tn,
| Confederate army and in 1864 was a pris
oner of war at Columbus, o., Camp Chas
at which Place and time this same Lama
! Fontaine was a pr sonor for part of tn
| time. Before then I had only known o
him as the reputed author of the poem
| in question. and had had no reason t.
doubt that he really was the author. Blu
the poor donkey did not have the sense t,
! keep quiet and to be content to pose a
| the Single Poem Fontaine.' On the con
trary, in response to requests from va
rious ladies in Kentucky, Maryland, etc
| he did not have the sense to refrain from
| essaying to add to his fame already ac
| CURED as the reputed author of 'All Quite
| Along the Potomac and he was contin
| ually getting off lines of that mediocrit,
| hated of gods and man that Horac
| speaks OF. but not even rising above dog
Gerel. From the moment I saw his frs
essay in that line | set him down as al
impostor No writer of such trash coul