The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1901-07-06
GRENADA, MISS, SATURDAY, JULY 6, 1901.
MISSISSIPPI MATTERS.
NOTES OF PAST AND CURRENT EVENTS.
By J. L. POWER.

OTES OF PAST AND CURRENT EVENTS.
By J. L. POWER.

very youthful, comes to us full of
good things, and seems to have deter
mined to gather together for it's readers,
matters of historic interest. There are
very few communities in which there
has not been. at some time, occurrences
o. more than ordinary interest. These,
while not always of historic value, are
always Of local value, and should be
collected and preserved. The writer
has long desired to make trip
through the interior sections of Miss
lssippi, for the special purpose of col
lecting just such information, and in
addition to all Of these valuable stories
the world would be amazed at the great
wealth of curious and beautiful old
treasures hidden away in the homes
of Mississippi.
Among the things of which the
Meteor speaks is an interesting relic
In the shape of sword of the Revo-
luton owned by Mr.. ]. NJ. Thompson,
OF Maben, and descended to him
through his grandfather, John Thomp-
son, who came to this country from
Scotland in 1851. He was then IS years
old, and died at the age Of SO, and was
buried in Henry county, Va. Mr..
Thompson enlisted at the beginning of
the war, and served through it-seven
years. The sword which his grandson
so values has a blade 231a inches long
and IL, inches wide. The handle is
5la inches, making the sword 26 inches
long. 1t would seem a cumbersome
weapon to the soldier OF today, but
history records that it did valiant ser
vice in the attack on Stony Point, as
well as many other places.
Mr.. Thompson was fourteen years
old when his grandfather died, but he
recalls. vividly the wonderful stories
he used to tell, of his fighting days.
Particularly does he recall the story
Of Stony Point-that memorable at
tack. The old soldier said that it
was our plan to scale the wall-a few
men to go at first, and when the Brit
ish fired voAey the rest of the Ameri-
were to charge the British before they
could reload. OF the hundred men
who answered the call for volunteers
only twenty were chosen for this des-
perate attack. Seventeen Of the twenty
were either killed or wounded, and of
the three remaining, one was Mr..
Thompson, one a man ma ned Clegg,
and the other name has been forgot.
ten.
The capture of Stony Point Con the
Hudson about 40 miles above New
York; has been carefully looked up
by the Meteor's correspondent, and
does not differ essentially from this
most interesting of many Grand.
fathers tales" that our people could
remember.
Communications have appeared in
several State papers recently, touching
the longevity of certain citizens in
the various sections from which these
letters were written. All of these
have been read with interest because
il is a pleasure to know that the
days of good man have been long
in the land" A correspondent from
Alderman has, so far, earned the blue
ribbon by his report of an old gentle
man and lady, Mr.. and Mrs. Shumaker
who had lived to the good old age OF
101 and 100 years. Up to a few years
| hof hnr oil A.
seven miles to church each Sabbath
Another aged citizen Of that section
Mr.. Whitehead, despite his ninety
three (93) years, continues to do al
his farm work-plows, makes rails
ETC., and does it as well and as rapidly
as men on the bright side of fifty. Mr.
Whitehead helped build the first Cour
House at Louisville, Miss. Among
the numerous things that set this ole
citizen apart as remarkable is the fac
that he thinks nothing Of going t.
town, horseback GA miles) to trans
act his busness-and more wonder
full still, he has his third set of natura
(or should we say un-natural?) teeth
in excellent condition. Ackermai
should advertise her air and water
along with other attractions-and W,
will soon have people journeying t.
Central Mississippi in search of tn
Fountain of Youth.
A correspondent from a neighborinI
shipping point writes to the Crysta
Springs Meteor that, despite the goo'
quality of vegetable shipments thi
season, the prices have not been good
because Of what is termed falls
packing" This it seems, has beef
practiced so extensively by SOM
shippers as to have injured, in a meas
ure, all in that section. This is bal
Tor the section and the State. as i
takes much longer TO kill a bad nam
than it does to make good one ant
that is saying good deal. Trucl
; farming has done too much for tn
, planters of this section for them t
allow their reputation to be injure'
by few careless, or dishonest, pack
ers. The Meteor's advice is good an
! should be heedea-