The Washington times., 1905-10-01

Jones feud of the six
ties-is dead Strange
to say ii died natural
death. For nearly forty
years it has slept Now in the per-
son of Cuthbert Jones-last- of the
Jones family, or at least last OF the
Elmiy Joneses of LOuisiana-lt has
ceased to be. Some of the Liddells
are living yet, but the house of Jones
is extinct. Death has signed for 1t
a lasting peace with its ancient
enemy.
In dying peacefully in his bed.
Cuthbert Jones, friend of Grants,
and at one time a resident of Wash
ington, has broken family record.
For several generations no adult
male of the house of Jones has
done such a thing. They have been
wont to die with their boots on-and
with their guns cooked AS a boy
Cuthbert barely escaped the family
doom in the last great feudist battle
which left of the Elmly Joneses only
himself, a youth just verging into
manhood, a young brother, still
mere child, his mother, and one sis
ter.
Since then Cuthbert Jones has led
a more than ordinarily eventful life.
He has spent the years of his man
hood in semi-barbarous, half-civiliz-
ed countries in a security which he
would not have known in his home
in these enlightened. progressive
United States of America. He has
served for a good part of the time
the Government which his father
and his fathers foe fought side by
side, in temporary truce. TO over
throw. Finally he has died in Peru
he alone of all the men of Elmly
has died in one Of those unsettled
South American countries whose
chronic upheaval Uncle Sam regards
with amused and tolerant superior
ity, the peaceful death which GER
tainly would not have been youch
safed for him in the home of his
childhood.
Just how the Liddell-Jones feud
started, probably no one, even down
in louisiana, certainly no one in
Washington, in this day and genera
tion could undertake to say. 1t
began like most of the feuds,
whether of nations or of individuals,
in one of those boundary disputes
which have vexed the souls of far
mers since fields first were titled.
But the beginnings of the strife have
been lost with the memories of those
who ruled the bayou plantations in
the antebellum days and have long
since lapsed into silence.
Those proud old Louisiana plant
ers-the wealthiest in the land
ruled the bayous beyond the fear of
law. The Liddells and Joneses oc-
cupied plantations next door but
one" to each other. When the mas
ters became involved in a quarrel
over some outlying bit of land, the
numerous slaves of both plantations
naturally took it up. They con-
tinually added fuel TO the fire and
stirred up the smouldering embers of
resentment. The masters did no
vulgar back fence brawling, of
course; they left that to their mig
gers,' who attended to that end of
the affair thoroughly. For them
selves, at first their weapons were
merely the shafts of polished sar-
casm that sturig and ranked, the
taunt and innuendo that left hearts
sore and festered in the memory.
Finally the quarrel involved the
kin of 10th families the entire
countryside was kin to one or. the
other, and in many instances tO
both sides of the feud. Just when
the first clash came is not recorded
nor yet how it was precipitated
to avenge insults real or fancied
And those proud, fiery old Louisiana
planterfolk were quick to see, Oh
imagine, insults. To. use a bit o.
modern slang, they were looking fol
trouble with a telescope. Naturally
they found ii. 1t is, as a rule, quite
Tisible to the naked eye, and re,
quires no magnifying.
And the women were no less en-
thusiastic than the men in thi!
search for possible insults. II i