Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1904-02-20
TITLES WON AND LOST.
the Esteem of His Fellow
TOwnsmen

TON Darby, a former state senator
in the Florida legislature from Putnam
county, is now a prosperous and a popu-
lar broker ION the curb" with an Office
not a thousand miles away from mo.
&C." where all the stocks are said to 60
when they get right cheap and the
crowd Is selling, relates the New York
Commercial. Darby Is a North Caro-
Imam, but lived in Florida many years,
where he had a varied and rather pic
turesque experience. He Is still on the
sunny side of SO, and has a well-marked
vein Of humor. 1t Is a funny story that
he tells about The evolution of mill
tary titles down in the state that grows
alligators and oranges and strawber-
rles, and is now said TO be held POLITICAL
ly by a Standard Oil mana republican
as in the hollow of his hand.
When Senator Tom was only about 2S
years old lie had q good-payins sawmill
down on the gulf coast close TO Cedar
keys.
He employed a lot Of men, paid them
their wages promptly, had a good bal
ance ~always>in a Gainesville bank, was
a good fellow withal and very naturally
he o Gales o be known as "Caph
Darby. Il ' IS no captain, he ex-
plains. but ellat was the habit of the
country and 4! had to stand for ii. Why.
even the railroad conductors are 'cap'ns
down there"
Pretty o he got some big contracts
for getting ont cedar logs for some OF
the large lead pencil companies, en-
ployed men, and had a bigger bank
balance. Then II was Major Darby
the whole county catching on at once.
B%y-and-by came a big contract for
lumber for the ~" road, then building
here in New York. More men, bigger
mills, longer piers and more schooners
loading at them. Now 1t was Colonel
Darby.
81 got me a good pair of high-step-
ping mares and a red-wheeled top bug
gy, in which | drove about a good deal
looking after my numerous lumber
camps and gangs of men," as the sena-
tor tells it now, 'and | smoked good
cigars. dressed well, talked some politics
and read the New York papers. The
first thing | knew they were addressing
me as General Darby. 1t was no use
protesting. 1t had TO go And the
country papers would o and then in
terview General Darby-so | was high
line all along the gulf and up the road
into Alachua county"
Along came a gulf storm one day In
the late autumn and the hurricane
swept the whole coast to destruction.
Next morning General Darby's
wharves and mills and booms ard YES
sells and logs and sawed lumber were
all out In the Gulf of Mexico, scattered
and lost. and he was 100000 poorer than
when he went to bed the night before.
He hustled to pull himself together
and save the foundation of a new bust
ness out of the wreck, but 1t was uphiH
work. He paid all his men their wages
in full and let other creditors wait-a
proceeding that kept him solid with the
people-butp pretty soon somebody called
him Colonel Darby one day and in
less than a month his title of general"
was a thing of the past. After a fire ard
a railroad wreck which had still further
impaired his fortune 1t was Major"
Darby again, and about a year and a
half after the hurricane all the county
people were addressing him by his orig
inal title of captain
Things weren't going very well with
me- says Senator Tom, and one fine
day as | was standing in front of tho
post office reading my mail | overheard
a tall cracker say to another, looking in
my direction: That's old man Darby
over yander. What do you reckon he'd
say if | asked him for a iob?"
That settled me! From General
Darby down to ole man Darby inside
of two years was too much for me!
| quit that country and went up to
Palatka and into politics. The sen.
ator' seems to stick better than all
the others. after all"