The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-07-29
Leads all North Carolina Daies i'm News and Circulation

H. A. Stewart 25 acres in watermelons,
Walter d. McEachern, who has lao
acres under cultivation, Bob Coving-
ton, J. ID. McEachern, Archie 2. Glib
son, f. H. Kimball
Watermelons are just now being
shipped by the car load, great, striped
loads of them, the rattlesnake variety.
This, too, is a very valuable crop; for
instance, Mr.. G. f. Smith shipped this
week three cars of melons which
netted him $321.2O.
The Grin That. Won's Come OF.
It's no trouble in this section to
pick out a cantaloupe grower" said a
gentleman yesterday; you can spot
them by their grin; there's one now.
The man pointed out did not look
in anywise like a farmer except in the
easy swing of his shoulders and the
open cast of his face But the grin
was certainly there, eighteen karats
fine, "on less than twenty acres under
cultivation" He was a young fellow
not over twenty-five. | learned that
he was a college graduate. He had
taken to the farm and is making more
in three months than many of his pro-
fessional fellow students can hope fOl
a number of years, at any rate, to make
i'm a years work. In the meantime,
the Scotland county man is raising a
family and accommodating money. No
wonder he has the grin that won [
come off.
| spoke above of the difficulties ana
the technical character of the work
of raising melons. 1t is work that
calls for brains and for education.
Many of the farmers about Laurinburg
are college men. They live an active,
say that in the homes of the average
farmer may be found the best and lat
est literature, pianos, the conVeniences
of town life The people know how to
enjoy life and they know how to ap-
proach the gyound intelligently and
make it pay dividends.
Anecdotes of Quabenbush.
Quakenbush, to whom the monu-
ment was unveiled yesterday, must
have been a wonderful man Probab-
ly think, it was his humour which so
won over the whole people of this sec
ton. They talk of it as gentle rail-
lery," and often when you are listen
ing to anecdotes of the man, the point
seems to get lost in the shuttle. Which
goes to prove the human touch which
is beyond words. Those who tell the
stories, remembers how they enjoyed
the little occurrences at the time and
forget that Quake" as he is generally
to, is no longer here to give
them life. There is something pa :
thctic about this vain cropping after a
ndead words.
Archibald johnson, of Charity and
Children who is-herc, is stopped al
every corner'to tell about the time
Quake" gave him hat Everybody
knows the story but they like to hear
it told. Johnson was running a small
paper and he was not looking like Il
dude Particularly was his hat fan
gone into shabby genteel" AS he
passed along the street, looking glum,
he came by Quakenbush standing on
the corner leaning on his crutches.
The school teacher reached out giant
arm, plucked the hat from the editors
head, held it in one hand and drove
his fist through the crown. Throwing
down the hat, he turned on Johnson
with mock severity: "What do you
mean going around with a hat like
that! Go in that store, sir, and get a
decent hat and charge it to me-"
Another time. a crippled jeweller
who had boy in Quakenbush' school
was asking that his bill be rendered.
Quake looked at him with quizzi-
cal smile:
when your legs grow straight and
mine grow out" he replied, you shall
have your bill"
Quakenbush's leg was bitten by q
vicious Jack when he was a small boy
and was amputated at the thigh.
Once he met General home from
the war with wooden leg. How did
YOU lose your leg?'' inquired the Cen
cral "A Jackass bit it Off" replied
Quakenbush, "how did you lose
yours?'
The General felt that he had been
highly insulted He glared at Quaken-
bush a moment and then replied:
"a damned jackass bit mine off.
sir" and he turned on his heel and
went.