The leader., 1902-07-09
THE FOURTH ABRoAD-OTHER
NOTES.
SANFORD, Miss, Jul.

10Th of June | headed for Society Hill,
to attend the fraternal conference of
the Lawrence County Association,
which was held on the 9TH Sunday and
Saturday before. En- route to that
point l touched at Edgar, Boyd, La
noir. | smelt nothing at Edgar that
tasted like hash. The meeting at So
ciety Hill was a grand success, as the
Irishman said by the Atlantic ocean.
Many sledge hammer strokes were put
in on temperance and prohibition.
This old church is surrounded by no.
BILE people, noted for unbounded hos
pitality. In that section for long
while there has been hoodlum ele-
ment who were wont to go to the
churches, drink "blind tiger" whisky,
fire pistols, etc., but through the efforts
of Judges Truly and Nevill, backed
by their district attorneys and law
abiding people, that thing is rapidly
becoming thing of the past. Since
the meeting at Society Hill horrible
crime was committed in that commu-
nifty by an old brute in human form
by the name of Corbit. He outraged
an afflicted daughter of John Magee,
a highly respected citizen and prom
inent farmer of the Society Hill neigh
borhood. BY enraged neighbors and
frinY11c IF nv. ha h11nHnI
down like wolf and caught at rail
road camp, not far from where l am
now writing. He has family and
bears an unsavory reputation. I don't
know what disposition was made of
him, but let us hope that he was placed
in the hands of the civil authorities to
let the law take it's course. If or any
of my family were murdered to-day, l
would want the murderer to have a
fair trial tomorrow.
Leaving Society Hill, I zigzagged
through the country to Seminary, on
the G. & S. l., touching at Carley, Bass
Field, Wilksburg and Williamsburg.
En- route, crossed the grading of the
Newman Co.'s railroad, running from
Hattiesburg to Brownsville, and the
Lord only knows where the thing will
go before it stops. On the glorious
Fourth [ drove up to Sanford where |
found the people gathering from the
four corners of the earth TO celebrate
the day at grand picnic, under the
auspices of the W. G. T. u, of this
section. The day was spent in hearing
temperance recitations by twelve beau
tiful young ladies from the rural dis
tricts. They recited their pieces we'll,
and there being two classes, medals
were awarded to one of each class.
Ye scribe was called on for Fourth
of July speech, but having forgotten
the words that he used to say on sim
liar occasions, he just took a crack at
creation and wound up on the weather.
A sumptuous dinner, ice cream,
lemonade and watermelons we're served
by generous and noble-hearted peo-
pie. A nest of yellow jackets became
nightly stirred at the dinner table
and one poor fellow, while waiting on
his best girl, unfortunately got one of
the little creatures tangled up on the
opposite side of his pants and he came
near stampeding the whole shooting
match. He went straight up into the
air several times, but the law of gravi-
tation would as often assert itself.
There was nothing in the affair to nour
ish the poor fellow, but he was awfully
stirred later by the proceeding.
Notwithstanding this picnic was
gotten up in the interest of temper
ance, yet there were some people who
ordered whisky for the occasion; but
be 1t said to the honor of Mr.. Thibo-
deaux pronounce it YOURSELF, the
clever depot agent at Sanford, he
would not deliver the whisky on that
day, it being a holiday. Mr.. T. is a
teetotaler and a Prohibitionist, is a
Frenchman and held in high esteem
by the good people in and around San
ford. If all depot agents would throw
themselves on the side of law and Or
der, they could do much toward tracing
up "blind tigers, for, as rule, they
know who orders the whisky. Every
thing passed off remarkably quiet here
yesterday. | saw one or two who were
boozed to some extent, but they mo-
Tested no one. One poor young man
lay stretched on the ground near the
platform where the fair young ladies
were delivering temperance pieces, but
he slept during the entire service and
disturbed no one. In the afternoon
he awoke from his slumbers and stag
gered away. AS the young man went
Keeling off, a brother said to me,
"Thank God, that isn't my boy. Eyes,
said 1, "but he is somebody's boy"
God hasten the day when the damna-
BILE thing will be driven from our Dor
ders.
The crops in this and all other sec
tons, as far as have come, are burn
ing up from the long, continued
drouth, but 1 hear it thunder and
there is prospect for rain this morn
ing. May God send the rain speedily
upon the thirsty fields. l began a
protracted meeting to-day at Provi-
dence Church, ten miles northeast of
Hattiesburg. This is large country
church, pastored by Elder A. J, Rog
ers, noble son of old Copiah, and [
am glad of the oppoi tunity of assisting
him in this important field. Will be
from home two weeks longer, per-
haps. J. A. S.