The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-12-13
WHEN TAXES In RALEIGH
WERE NOT AS HIGH AS NOW
Dr. Whitaker Gives Some Charming "reminiscences
of His Boyhood and Youth. A Letter From
Friend in Georgia.

Yes 1 do she said. But, remember
she added, I don't drive you away from
home, for I don't want you to be away:
so, if you get drunk again it will be
with the understanding you are going to
leave, of your own accord
g A few days after that conversation
announced my determination to go
fishing, and asked my wife to give me
a basket of provisions, enough to last
two men a day or two, as / expected
a friend of mine to go with me. The pro-
visions were packed in the basket while
was in the garden digging bait, or pre-
tending to be digging; for that was only
ruse. The truth was l was going Off
to get drunk and had no need of bait.
thought 1 was throwing dust into my
wife's eyes, but 1 wasn't. She saw
through the whole thing, while she acted
as if she though 1 really was going a
fishing.
"At length my friend and l, after we
had gotten several bottles of liquor,
started out to Peace's mill, on Steep
Hill Creek, thinking, and laughing over
how nicely we had fooled cur wives; and
every time we had a hearty laugh we'd
| take a drink, and then we'd take another
drink to make us have another hearty
laugh. Well, we got down to the pond
Just about the time we were drunk and
then we forgot all about home and wives.
We flshed some, and caught enough fish
to make our provisions hold out as long
as our liquor lasted. / don't know just
how many days that was. l think il
was about a week. We had not become
cool sober when we came back to Raj
eigh; but, it seemed to me l never did
want to see my wife so badly in all my
life. i passed my house a time or two,
to see how things looked and finally made
up my mind to go home anyhow, be the
consequence what it might. Just before
reaching the house l saw my wife come
out on the piazza, and she saw me COM
ing. Thinking I'd be a little funny, 1
pulled off my hat and threw it at her,
trying the while to look sober and walk
straight; but, no sooner did the hat hit
the floor than she kicked it out, half
across the street. l knew what that
meant; so, picking up my hat l went off
and spent another week fishing. l had
to fish that time, for | had no provis-
ions to go upon. At the end of the week,
l was so hungry and tired of fishing |
was determined to go home, and stay
there, if l mad to take a beating, which
l deserved. / walked around town, going
by home every now and then, until my
wife had gone to bed. Then / went
around the back way, crawled in at a
window, and crept softly into my wife
room. There she was on the bed, but l
was AFRAID to say a word. l was so hun
cry 1 could have eaten anything. There
was a little light in the fireplace-enough
to enable me to find some cold hominy
in the cupboard. As noiselesslv as a
mouse, l got the long-handled pan and
put the hominy into it and putting the
pan on the fire, | sat down to let tae
hominy warm a little. But | dropped
off to sleep, as bad luck would have
it, and got to dreaming; in my dream |
thought l was fishing and had a good
bite. | gave a tremendous jerk, carrying
the pan over my head and throwing all
my pan of hot hominy right over into
my wife's face. She came out of the bed
like a tornado, and l went through the
nearest window like a whirlwind, carry
inc the sash like a yoke, around my
neck, for more than a hundred yards, be-
fore l got clear of it, You can all laugh,
but if you'd been in my fix then you
would have felt as badly as l did / laid
in fence corner, just out of town, that
night. and as l looked up at the stars,
and thought of God who made them, and
all else, for his creatures, and how good
he was even to the ungrateful and the
sinful, and how unworthy was, even to
look up toward heaven, l determined, it
l lived to see the daylight, 1 would be
better man. Yes, / went home the next
day, made peace with my wife, put III
the sash 1 broke out, and" Here he
stopped for moment, while wiping the
tears from his eyes-'and, thank God, I
have not tasted liquor since. / am so
glad to be a member of this temperance
order, and 1 do pray that none of these
young men will ever bring the trouble
into their homes that brought into mine;
nor waste their time and money as 1
wasted mine"
l think it was in 1S47 that l heard
that speech, but as L go back in my
thoughts to that incident, it seems as II
it were but yesterday. Most of the faces
looked upon that night are gone to be
seen no more in the flesh. Yet, oh how
real! see old uncle John Palmer, Lewis
Peck, william Stronach A. M. German,
]. ]. Litchford, James Puttick, Mark Will
liams, Rev. Daniel Culbreth, Seymore w.
Whiting and many others, who, fifty years
ago were laying Jne FOUNDATIONS Ol Il
mighty movement that will, trust, sweep
the liquor traffic, with all of its evils, from
this community before another generation
has passed
1 have before me an address, on the sub
ject OF temperance, delivered by Seymour
w. Whiting, Esq, father of the Whiting
Brothers of this city, at the dedication
of the Wake Forest Division Hall, April
2nd 1853, which shows how wisely and
firmly and resolutely the temperance
workers of fifty years ago, were planning
a campaign that Yves to be carried on
until the enemy had been, not only driven
from the field, but vanquished. I remem-
Der Mr.. Whiting as polished gentleman
and pleasant speaker. and more than
that, a man of unusual ability, as q
thinker and writer; a man who came to
conclusions after mature thought and
thorough investigation, and when con-
illusions were reached did not fear to
ont re 10 do hot