The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-06-12

dIIu went Oul. VI course IL Ildue d
sensation.
/ don't remember the mans name,
but he was sort of half-witted fellow
whom all knew, and due allowance
was made for his untimely remarks.
One of the most ludicrous things
ever witnessed happened one night in
Franklin county, at Shiloh church.
Rev. G. o. DuRant was preaching a
revival sermon using for his text I'm
hell he lifted up his eyes, being in
torments; and Seeth Abraham afar
off, and Lazarus in his BOSOM And
he cried and said, Father Abraham
have mercy on me, and send Lazarus
that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water, and cool my tongue; for | am
tormented in this flame" About the
time the preacher was making the SER
mon extremely awful, talking of the
thirsty tongue that cried for just one
drop of water to cool it, brother
who limped in walking, arose from
his seat, took a bucket of water that
sat on a table in front of the pulpit,
and with dipper in hand, went up and
down the aisle watering the cOngrega-
ton, until he emptied the bucket and
then started out to get another bucket
full; but l stopped him. The congre-
cation saw the humor in it and could
not help smiling. 1t looked as if the
brother thought he'd better water that
crowd, lest they might be where there
was no water, very soon. don't
know what other idea could have pos
sessed him. But enough of this.
Seeing that DR.. c. w. Byrd, of At
lanta, Ga, recently preached at Pleas
ant Plains, Harnett county, near the
home of his mother, brings to my
mind many things of the long ago. In
my boyhood days my father, A. f.
Page, Esq, then d young man, and
my elder brother went into the tur
pentine and timber business in Cum
berland county near BarclaysVille.
There was no Harnett county at that
time.
1t seems as if it We're but yester-
day when Frank Page" then a young
man, my brother Jefferson, and
young Mr.. Byrd Gall now dead), left
my fathers house, one morning, to go
down to the scene of operations. And
how wildly come back to me the re-
collections of those turpentine and
timber operations. Turpentine axes,
hackers, scrapers and dippers were all
new to me; but I-Soon became so ia
milar with them their novelty ceased;
and, after using them awhile L was
heartily sorry / ever saw one.
Hewing, hauling and rafting ton
timber was a bigger thing to me than
the turpentine business. And going
down the Cape Fear, from Averys-
boro to Wilmington, on d raft, was d
very exciting experience to me as a
boy
Ton timber was hewn pine logs. A
large pine squaring II inches, fifty
feet long, would contain coo square
feet Of timber, and a raft that was
200 feet long would have not less THAI
q. hundred such sticks equal to sixty
thousand square feet. The saw mill
men of Wilmington would buy those
RATS. paying from five to ten dollars
thousand. So, q raft of ton timber
would bring from a hundred and fifty
to five hundred dollars.
Carrying a raft over Smiley's Falls,
just above AverySboro was an eXcit-
ing as well as very dangerous af->
fair, and none but the bravest and
most skilful raftsmen would under
take it; yet, hundreds of RATS did go
over those falls. The water had to be
d certain height before the raftsmen
would dare to cut loose, as there were
many dangerous rocks over which
the RATS had to go. And
what made going over those
falls still more hazardous, requiring
the most skillful plotting, was the
fact that there was "a very narrow
place on the falls. where the water
was swiftest on either side of which
were great rocks, that would have
torn a raft into shivers had it struck
one of them. Those who had frequent
ly gone over the falls and through
that narrow place told me the run
was at the rate of twenty-five miles
an hour, and all that could be done
6Il WI llf
swift current was to hold the oars
steady and let it run.
1t generally took a raft three or
four days to go from AVerysboro to
Wilmington, and it required about
four men to pilot it. OF course it
could go no faster than the current of
the river. And when it met the in
coming tide, near Wilmington, it
would turn back unless tied to the
shore. Steamboats, steered clear of
RATS for, while they could not do a
raft any damage, a raft could and
would do them a great deal.
The headquarters of those turpen
tine and timber operations, were at
Mr.. Daniel Shaw's, on the Averys
boro road, four miles south of Bar
claysville. Mr.. Shaw was a fine old
Scotch gentleman whom everybody
liked, and though far advanced in life
when / knew him, he was as jolly as a
boy. / think | am not mistaken in
saying that one of his daughters mar
ried a Mcleod, and that she had a
daughter who married the young man
Byrd who went down into that country
as my fathers agent in the timber
business. Having married down there
he did not return to Wake, but settled
near Barclaysville, where he became a
substantial citizen, raising up family
of children, one of whom is the dis
tinguished Dr. c. w. Byrd, of Atlanta,
Ga. Since writing the last sentence
a doubt arises in my mind whether
it was Mr.. Shaw's grandfather or his
own daughter that Mr.. Byrd married,
therefore, if my old-time friend, Mr..
B. F. Shaw, of Ellington, son of
Mr. Daniel Shaw, sees this, | hope he
will, for my own qualification, as well
as for truths sake, settle this point
for me.
Frank Page also found wife while
in Cumberland the granddaughter of
Mrs. Barclay-Miss Catherine Rabo-
teau-a very beautiful young lady,
who. though her home was in Fay
etteVille, spent much of the time with
her grandmother. 1t was there Mr.
Page found her
What queenly old lady was Mrs,
ranl l.. H.. I0.