The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-01-29
IDLE HOURS In OLD CRAVEYARDS.

BY R. ID. w. CONNOR.

| Poets have always found it an in
tcresting diversion to idle away rest
| less hours in old and deserted bury
| ing grounds. All of us are more on
| less familiar with their graveyard
musings as they stood by the last rest
| ing place of mute inglorious Millions
and village Hamdens," and philoso-
| rhized upon the vanity of human am
bition and worldly wealth.
| But it is not necessary for one 10
| be a poet to find interest in this pas
| time, especially if the tombs are moss
| covered and tear quaint old epuaphS
/ characteristic of the past; or II the
Wanderer is acquainted with the Ie-
! gends and traditions which lnVarlaply
linger around these old places; on II
| the earth there has been enriched
with the precious bones of some great
| leader or distinguished hero. When
| in the vicinity of one of these burylng-
grounds, | always try to ma or make
| an opportunity to wander among the
Itombs, to pull away the weeds anu
grasses from the Sunken stones ana
to deciphcr, if possible, the cpitaphs
| that lie concealed beneath thick
crusts of dirt. If / chance TO !un
across an old gray-haired Keeper
whose mind is filed with the weird
| stories which flourish in such soil
and in such an atmosphere, con
slider myself extremely lucky and
lsWalloW without questioning all me
| eNtraVagant yarns he may see tit 10
spin 1t destroys half the profit and
all the pleasure to assume doubling
attitude; simple credulity is the first
essential.
One such place which contains an
interesting relic is the old Jappa
| graveyard in Davie county, a little
out of the town of Mocksville one
of the Oldest burial-grounds in North
! Carolina. it has served its time and
is now greatly neglected. The weeds
| and grass grow rank, the trees I'M
trimmed. trumpet-vine and money
Suckle run riot over what was once
| y cturesque stone wall, now rough
pile of disintegrated rock. Rnde,
| rough tomb stones of the eighteenth
| century, brown and messy with age.
stand in sharp contrast to few white
polished marble shafts of the present.
| The differences of style pervade all
| life and do not neglect even the homes
OF the dead.
In this neglected spot there are two
graves of more than passing interest.
| In them rest the mortal remains of
those who gave life to the greatest
pioneers in all history. In the year
| HAS Squire Boone and his wife,
Sarah. with their son Daniel. left
L
| Valley in North Carolina. They were
among the pioneers of that wilder
ness where they and their neighbors
were planting Il sturdy civilization.
There on the banks of the Yadkin
| Daniel Boone grew into manhood;
| there he learned to love the solitudes
Of the forests, the birds and the
| wild beasts: learned TO thread the
Itrackless woods, acquired marvellous
skill in handling the rifle and casting
| the net; there too, he dreamed the
dreams and i'm the rustling OF the
IieaVeS heard the voices which lured
nm beyond the western mountain
walls to plant the germs of white civ
| ilization among the hauntS of the VOL
and the paths of the red-man on the
banks of the Tennessee and the
| phio. There on the Yadkin he tasted
| the sweets of love, found his sweet
heart and made her his, Wife, there
| he raised his first log-cabin and tired
the quiet life of q pioneer farmer. i'ut
| the cali to the Wild resoundcd top
strong in his ears. and struck too
| forciaby sympathetic cards in his
souI a hunter born, he preferred the
solitude OF the forest, the varied, ex-
citing life. of the wilderness to the
| comDauiGnShip of the fifeSidc. the
puet Of the farm. STRONG, brave,
li1he, Injured to hardship and pr4va-
| ton, he traced his steps through the
| painless forest. sought out the hldlng
places of pantherS bear, and wolf
and was the match OF any Indian il
| the sagaCity with which he detected
| the footsteps of the rcd-men. His
| restless spirit refused TO be confined
| within the narrow walls of Il single
! CABIN, and n few years after his tath-
er's death. broke through all restraint
and sought the freedom of the bound
| less woods. Flinging his rifle across
his shroulder he started for the Wild
erness where he was TO earn immortal
| fame.
| Sometime ago ! visited the graves of
| this mans parents. With difficulty |
deciphered the rude inscriptions on
| The rough headstoneS:
SQUIRE BOO(NE)
DEPARTED
THIS LIFE IN
THEY SIXTY
NINTH YEAR
OF HIS AGE IN
THAY YEAR
or OUR LORD
i 1865 GENU
AIRY TIA
The letters NE in the vorR Boone
have been broken off the stone. AL
Squire Boope's side lies DanieIs moth
err. whose maiden name was Sarah
Morgan. The inscription on the head
stone reads:
sab ROONE,
DEPA RTED THIS
LIFE 1TII
AGED II YEARS.
AS / read these two rude inscrip-
lions there came to my minds eye q
picture of all The hardships and dam
gers they experienced in the wild
woods. l saw how they stood >slr-
rounded by savage beasts and still
more savage men their lives exposed
to every conceivable peril in an unset
areas. but the growing scarcity OF
labor has caused the growers to con-
tract the area in outdoor vegetables
and tC give more attention TO the in
tensiVe winter work in the frames. The
| firm we visited work 3 to so hands
during the winter season aud as many
as they can muster in the spring. They