The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-15
Burning of the Capitol, 1549.-An
 Amusing Incident.

When the State Capitol was burned Dec. IA, 1S49, an amusing incident oc- cured in connection with the rescue of the seal which Garrett relates in an in terestng way in his "Reminiscences of Public Men in Alabama in connection with sketch of Beloved l.. Turner, then posed of Washington and Clarke Counties. cal strength. While the Capitol was burning. he took very active part fin saving the public property. Everything had been taken from the Secretary of States office but the State Seal with its heavy fixtures of arms, and large balls of lead. 1t weighed nearly 800 pounds. Mir. Turner appealed to Mir. Garrett who was the Secretary of State, to know if the seal should be saved. and on receiv- ing an affirmative answer, he called to his assistance d negro, and told him to get under one of the arms, while he got under the other. The negro was the tall- CT of the two, and as they strengthened with the load, MT. Turner was at a great disadvantage. But he did not hesitate, and only told the negro to 80 ahead. His pisting and writhing. however. indica!- ed that his strength was severely taxed: MT. Garrett says that while he remained in the office of the Secretary of State, he never knew MT. Turner to come into it afterwards without stoDing just out side of the door, and taking good look at the old seal and it's heavy fixtures. in deep thought, in which recollection ap- paared to be busy; and once or twice he remarked, half-way to himself: That is the heaviest load I ever attempted to carry
 Proposed Change.
 While no change was made by the General Assembly, it is not unlikely that there were attempts in that direction, W. Collier, of Nov. 15, 1855, he makes the following recommendation, although noth- ing seems to have come of the effort:
 No State Seal has been provided by ner rigyta Of ln contemplate it's existence. The Seal now used has been silently adopted by the Executive, or Secretary of State, and is intended to represent the rivers of our State, though apparently unmeaning. have devised a coat of arms. simple and significant, suitable to be impressed on seal. and will hand the design to any committee to whom the subject may be referred" Journal of the House of Representatives, 1853-'54, D. 52).
 the matter seems to have advanced to the appointment of a joint committee of both houses of the Legislature, to consider a design for new Coat of Arms for the State. The committee duly reported and a description of the Seal proposed has survived, which reflects the temper of the public mind at that time on several i'm portant questions. It is interesting. and is as follows:
 The Genius of the Confederacy. stand ing holds the National banner; ~with her right hand, she takes the left of the Genius Of Alabama, represented ny q Nlr- gin seated on a cotton bale. who while she gives her hand to the Union, points with her other to the star of Alabama on the flag with the motto. Younger but Equal On the left of these figures ship in full sail, indicative of the i'm portance of commerce and direct trade with our own seaports.' lWest Alabam- ian, Carrollton. Dec. 9. 1S5O
 Still the representatives appeared 10th to venture the selection, and the Con- vention of 1861 found the old seal still in use. The provision in the instrument adopted by that body is the same as in that of 1S19. except the clause making the Territorial Seal official. The Seal was to be kept by the Governor. The Constitution of 1865 provided for a Seal to be kept by the Governor. and the seal now in use' is to continue until another Is adopted by the Legislature.
 Erroneous Forms of the Seal.
 From an examination, it will be seen that the Seal consists simply of the map of the State. showing its principal riV- CTS. The popular impression that has of- ten referred to it as d map of the State, suspended from a tree, is entirely CT roneous and is without foundation. The writer has impressions which cover every decade from ISIS to 1868, and no such form is shown.
 Another erroneous and fanciful adoption is the use of a map suspended from tree. supported on one side by wago? loaded with cotton. drawn by oxen, and on the other side by train of cars with cotton beside the track. This IS actually used by La Bree in the Confederate Sol-