The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-12-21
CHAPTER l.
Kettle Drum and Fife.

Before during and after the war.
Shady Dale presented always the same
aspect of serene repose. It. was, as you
may say, town with history. When
Raleigh Clopton, shortly after the sign
ing of the treaty of peace between the
United States and Great Britain, cross
ed the oeonee and settled on the lands
Of the hostile Creeks, his friends de-
clared that he was tempting Providence;
and so 1t seemed; but the event proved
that from first to last, his adventure
was under the direct guidance of Provi-
denee Raleigh Clopton rlsked every
thing and gained the most beautiful do
main in all the land. He had, indeed. one
stormy interview with General MeGilh.
vray. the great Creek chief and states
man, but after that all was peace and
prosperity.
General McGillivray was one of the
most remarkable men of his time. and
his time was during an era of remark
able men. Courageous and adventurous
himself. he was no doubt attracted by
the attitude and personality Of the fear
less Virginian. He became the warm
friend of Raleigh Clopton, and marked
that friendship by deciding to the first
white settler two thousand acres of land.
Moreover, he named the estate Shady
Dale, and aided Raleigh Clopton to es-
tablsh a trading post where the court
house of the town now stands; and on
pine near by he caused to be made the
seniAlance of a broken arrow, a token
that between the Creeks anc the master
OF Shady Dale a lasting peace had been
established.
This was the beginning When the null
tifarious and long disputed treaties be-
tween the United States and the Creek
nation had been signed, and a general
peace was assured Raleigh Clopton COM
municated with his friends in Wilkes,
Burke, Columbia and Richmond counties
the choice spirits who had fought, by
his side In the bloodiest battles Of the
war for observation-disclosures them Of
his good fortune, and invited them to
share it. The response was all that he
could have desired. His old friends and
comrades lost no time In joining him
the Dorringtons, the Tomlins, the CATH
ers, the Awtrys, the Terrels. the Odoms.
the Dumsdens, and later, the friends and
relatives of these
Take them all in all, the mon and wo-
men who responded to the invitation of
Raleigh Clopton may be described as
the salt of the earth. They had all, wo-
men and men, been subjected to the trials
and hardships of a war In which no quar-
ter was asked or given; and their expert
ences had given them a strength of char
acter and a versatility IN dealing with
the unexpected events, that could hard
~ be matched elsewhere. To each of those
who responded to his invitation, Raleigh
Clopton gave a part of his domain and
laid out their settlement for them.
Naturally, the most interesting feature
of Shady Dale was the Clopton Place.
1t had been the home of the first set
tier, and in 1860 when Nan and Gabriel
were enjoying their happiest days, 1t
was owned and occupied by the son,
Meriwether Clopton
In the pleasant weather, it was a
familiar spectacle to see Meriwether Clop-
ton sitting on the wide lawn, reading
Virgil and Horace. two volumes of
which he never tired.
There were days long to be remember
ed when the master of Clopton Place read
aloud to the children, translating as he
went along, and smacking his lips over
the choice words, as though he were
tasting fine quality of wine. And the
children felt the charm of these ancient
why words written down centuries ago,
had power to take possession of the
mind. Something of the charm that dwelt
all about the place had its origin and
centre n Meriwether Clopton himself
His years sat lightly upon him. He had
led an active and a temperate life, and
hale and hearty old age was the fruit
thereof; so that when the lads who listen
ed to his mellifluous TRANSACTIONS from
Qf in nAt1 -
preciate the qualities that go to make
up good man and an influential citi-
zen, the fact dawned upon their minds
that Meriwether Clopton was the finest
gentleman they had ever SEEN
We'll, whatever serene repose stands for
Shady Dale possessed 1t in an eminent
degree, and the people there had their
full share of the sorrows and troubles OF
this world but of these Nan and Gabriel
and Cephas knew nothing except in
vague, indefinite way They heard hints
of rumors and some times they saw
their elders shaking their heads, but the
youngsters lived in a world of their own,
and the vague ruInors were no more in
teresting to them than the reports of
canals on Mars are to the average person
today. The most serious trouble they had
was not greater than that which they dis
covered one day on Bermuda hill. As
they were sitting on the warm grass
wondering how long before peaches
would be ripe, they saw field mouse
cutting up some queer capers Nan in
stinctively gathered up her skirts; but
she did not run; her curiosity was ever
greater than her fear. Presently we
found that the trouble of Mother Mouse
We're very real. A tremendous black bee
tie had invaded her nest and had seized
one of her children. a little bit of thing.
naked and red and about the size of n
half-ripe mulberry. The mouse was quite
dead. Cephas crushed the beetle Was
the beetle preparing to eat the mouse?
Tasma It'd said yes, but Gabriel thought
not His idea was that the mother mouse
had attacked the beetle. which had fallen
in the nest accidentally. The beetle.
striving to defend itself, had seized the
mouse between its pinchers.
But the Bermuda fields were not the