The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-12

before to make call on Hon. James
M. Smith of Smithonia, Oglethorpe
county,, Medicus, Carlton and Dowdy
The Smithonia, Danielsville and
Gainesville Railroad extends from Five
Forks to Smithonia.
MY visit to Col. Smith was one of
the pleasant episodes of the campaign.
Aside from driving through his prince
~ domain, one of the largest and best
organized farms in Georgia, if not in
the United States, I had the pleasure
OF spending the afternoon with him.
His railroad, the S., D. and c. r. R., is
operated from its junction with the
Seaboard Air Line through Oglethorpe
county of Smithonia. 1 was a little
too late, or too soon, to take the train,
and, therefore, hired a team and drove
to Col. Smiths, a distance of eight
miles. 1 had known Col. Smith for
many years, but never fully appreci-
ated what manner of man" he was
until the afternoon that 1 was his
guest. l do not propose to write that
gentleman's biography. He is a self
made man, an ex-ConfederAte soldier,
who, without a dollar or an acre Of
land when the war ended, begun the
building of his fortune. He had little
experience in business or farming, and
his success is due to the "bigness" of
Tic Hldn III Drains. he is OF immense
stature, a man of my size appearing
boyish beside him. suppose his weight
is about 400 pounds. I can sum up
the rest of my story briefly. His head
is in keeping with his body; both are
large and active. His mind is quick
and clear, and denotes a close observer
and deep thinker; and withal he is an
instructive and interesting talker. A
half-day's stay with Col. Smith inn
nr1SSp6 ho hof faIy
him all in all, he is the equal physical
ly and mentally of any nran that I
ever met. The colonel is a bachelor.
told him that the only thing lacking
to make Smithonia a paradise was a
wife. l think if I could have spent a
few days with him, should have at
least put him on the road to becoming
a Benedict.
Mr.. Ed. G. Turner of Athens was my
chaperone during my visit to Ogle-
thorpe and Madison counties, and am
under obligations to him for his many
kind attentions.
To return to Madison county. 1 have
already referred to its agricultural as
poets. The surface is slightly rolling,
except towards Danielsville, where it
becomes quite rugged and hilly. The
north and south forks of Broad river
run through the country, in which gold
is found in paying quantities, though
little, if any, mining has been done
for years. There are many shoals in
the water courses which will some day
be utilized for supplying power for
factories.
Iron ore is to be found, and within
the last half of the last century iron
works were in successful operation.
Among it's undeveloped riches are
granite, quartz and other minerals.
These valuable natural sources of
wealth await that development which
must come as the population of the
state becomes more dense, and the
competition for means by which to live
become more acute.
The products of Madison county en-
brace nearly all those of middle as we'll
as lower Georgia, namely, cotton,
wheat, rye, corn, oats, sweet and white
potatoes, peas, hay, sorghum sugar
cane, tobacco, vegetables, melons and
fruits of all kinds. Cotton is the
principal crop, however, the product
last year being about $4,000 bales of
upland.
Stock and poultry of all kinds do
well, and considerable quantities of
them and also butter, eggs and other
products of the farm are shipped
to Athens.
Madison county had race question"
years ago, that turned the General
Assembly of Georgia "topsy tur-
wy" In the Revolutionary War,
man of the name of Ay-
cock, owned mu1atto boy named
Austin Dabney, and not wishing to
serve in the militia, he put his slave
in the ranks in his place, representing
the boy to be white. Dabney proved
himself to be a good soldier. and at
the battle of Kettle Creek received a
wound which disabled him for life.
1t was then discovered that he was
not white. Crippled and unable to
do further service Dabney was cared
for by Swhite farmer named Harris.
He was fond of racing and as he was
noted for his courteous behavior, had
always some gentleman to back him
in his ventures on the turf, in that
way made money and acquired proper
ty. In the distribution of the public
lands by lottery Dabney drew a lot
i'll Walton county, and with his friend
Harris and family moved there. Per-
hitting him to share in this distribu-
ton caused considerable discussion, and
the excitement over that had not yet
subsidized when a resolution was Of
fered in the General Assembly to pen
sion Dabney. This added fuel to the
flames and led to the formation of
"Dabney' and Anti Dabney" parties
in Madison county, the opposition to
Dabney contending that the General
Assembly had no right to place a nu-
latto on the same footing as a white
man. However, the legislative action
was sustained. Dabney educated the
eldest son of his benefactor, Harris,
sending him to the state university,
and afterwards supporting him while
he studied law.
A story is told about, a visit that
the old man made in Savannah, Dab
ney drew a pension from the United
States as a revolutionary soldier, and
visited the metropolis every year to
receive it. On one of these trips he
rode from Walton county to Savannah
in company with his white friend
Col. Wylly Pope. Entering the city
the Colonel riding ahead as was GUS
tomary when a white man and a
colored man Travelled together, they
passed by the residence of Gen. James
Jackson, then Governor of the state.
The Governor who had known Dabney
during the war was standing on his
stoop and bowed as Col. Pope passed,
but when Dabney came trotting by
Gen. Jackson rushed into the street,
and insisted that the old man should
stay with him during his sojourn
in the town.
Gen. Jackson lived at the north
west corner of Broughton and Houston
streets in the house presented to him
by the state of Georgia for his revo-
lutionary services, the premises were
some years since remodelled into
L.