The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-05-19

no men from whatever section ever cauIs !
into that part of our State who acre
more cordially welcomed. The lieutenant
had stirty-one men in his On
that trip. but two other divisions Of
them had gone to other places for break
fast
SIMMONS.
They went on into the mountains and
captured the no;rious Simmons. whose
name has been mentioned In connection
with that OF Wade. They took him to
their encampment near Lexington. y. &.
and put him into the guard house. White
plundering and numbering IN the nl9nu-
tains he had supplied himself With a
good sum OF gold and silver with some
OF which he bribed the sentinel and got
away. and has never been heard from
since IN those parts.
In August. 1865. / was asked 10 open III
a school in Wiikesboro and entered ups 4
the work the first OF September. 'fae
school house was on a high ridge vest of
the town nearly a nile from the coart
house. l boarded in the home OF Mr.. II.
| Curtis, at the ford OF the Yadkin River
on the road leding from Wilkesboro 10
| Jefferson, in Ashe county. 1t wa5 just
| one mile from Mr.. Curtis's TO the court
house, and about a quarter OF a mile 10
| the school house. I went = ; my boarding
place each day for dinner. "a did also
his son. and daughter and a young lady
who was boarding there. The first week
in October the first court that had been
held in a long time was in session. pre-
sided over by Judge Anderson Mitchell.
of Statesville. One day during that
week. just after dinner, while in the
sitting room with the two sons and three
daughters OF Mr.. Curtis and the young
lady who was boarding in the family. two
men rode up to the gate ana into the
yard and right up to thu window OF the
room in which we were sitting and one
asked Judson, the eldest son of Mr.. Curtis
for powder to load his pistol, saying with
an oath that he had just shot at a rebel
and must have powder to reload. Judson
told him he could not get it. He replied
that he would then come in and take ii oy
force. JudSon then turned to me and
said, ''Wha must do?" l replied, "do
not let him AVE it from now until moor
on Doom's Day. and if he attempts &c
come in here we will kill him."
On two occasions before this the Handy
gang had entered this home and riflet
every trunk and drawer and broken VI
furniture, and these TWO men were know
to be their sympathiZers. He then rod,
to a negro cabin nearby and learning
where Mr.. Curtis was at work, gallopet
up to him, pointing his pistol at his head
said, GIVE me powder tn load my pisto
3 or l will blow your brains out" MI
Curtis replied: If you get powder from
: me you will get it burnt. He came INT
!, the house as pale as a corpse and tol'
his younger son, Finley, to &c into
f small room in the rear of the buildin
o and load those guns as quick as possible
Finley and 1 had them loaded perhaps i
e less than five minutes. The young MA
demanding the powder was still in tn
5 yard on his horse. l took my stand a
5 the front window and turned to Nj
| Curtis and said: II want you to under
stand that I propose to kill him if b
n attempts to come In" He said, THAT
exactly what I want you to do"
The young man had dismounted an
was throwing the bride rein over tn
horse rack. At this momen Mr.. Curtis
oldest daughter came to me frantic wit
u fear, begging me to put down the gu
Q and let him come in and take what h
e would, saying if we resisted some on
t would be killed. l babe her go to tn
rear part of the building where she woul
be out of danger, and to go at once, say
ing that l would rather die than to liy
in this way. Finley had taken his pos
n ton at the front door. and his father 6
e the parlor window. Seeing that we wer
6 armed and ready, he at once remountet
y and leaving the other man on his hors
" at the gate, said to him., "YOu rema:
y till I return. I will go to town and &c
my crowd and will come back to get whi
l want" He galloped away toward tow
e l went out to the gate and told the OF
remaining to take his companion away 6
soon as he returned; that we did not wis
" to hurt any one. He said to me, "Yo
have guns in that house, have you not
e He was told that it was ours to kno
n what we had. In the meantime we sci
Judson Curtis down the river throug
the bottoms to the court house to infor1
n the Judge and Sheriff of what was goin
on. I sent the two young ladies WI
y were my pupils to the school house
Is tell the young men there and who ha
II been soldiers in the war to come to II
1t Immediately. They came and 1 had NJ
II more han time to tell them what W.
Of up, before he with eight or ten Other
came ga1loping down the hill with the
~ pistols, and as they approached the ga
= VIC ai OFt INV hHS O"o NhA ~
n our places with our guns. They saw 1
when they reached the gate. He stoppt
y and said: Here is the place" SEER
lie our increased force and the advantage "
az had in the house, they took his horse
sr bride and said, Come on, come on al
m on they went across the ford and Gle;
e. out of sight. That night the Sheriff Wi
l. a posse of men pursued them and captu
}, ed the two first mentioned and carrie
he them before Judge Mitchell, who impose
a a fine on each and sent them to Jail f
III a term of months. When the Judge SCI
e. fenced the young man to Jail he told hi
S that if he had persisted in going in
Id that house that he would have been xii
10 ed. In a few days the young man Sc
III his mother word to sell his pistols, sa
IL ing that he never expected to buckle OF
u On again while he lived. They served o
their time in prison and both becan
good citizens, and so far as l know tn
&c may be living today. This was the la
of the troubles that followed the war
ca all that section Of the State.
w. r. GWALTNEY.