Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-28
Nothing Doing by the Family.

regret OF cOu Sc, Sun-DuC we 1OWanQeQ tW(
dozen shOtguns and a clothes hampah OF
ammunition"
Nothing Doing by the Family.
did anything happen?" 1 inquired, after
a pause. during which my visitor lighted
another cheroot and reduced the level Of
con liquor in his flask by four fingers.
No, suh,'' he replied. Fortunate ly-foah
1 was puhsonally unable to leave Rockin'-
ham at the time-the friends of the de-
ceased reconsidered thah hasty and ill-ad-
vised couse and than was no futhah
trouble But youh PATTY, subj he added
courteously. may be noah fo'tunate."
This typewriter hasn't been oiled for six
days and besides. 1t wasn't originally con-
structed to trife with a tar-heel dialect
So III omit further direct conversation
from Pale-eyes but merely mention that
IN the same, ass-me-the-quinine tone, he
told me that everybody in Rockingham
black and white. old and young, "toted' a
gun and was ready to make noise on very
slight provocation. Then he gave list OF
lation during the past few months
l am not naturally of timid shrinking
disposition, but neither do 1 banker to be
ventilated, hand SO far from home. 1t
miss me at short range Besides, it dis
commodes the system and 1 haven't got
the time to spare for convalescence. So,
for all these reasons and then some, I'm
But from personal experience since I left
washington with the exposition special. 1
can vouch for the fact that Hamlet is not
the only southern town where the gun is
more popular than the kerchief and is
handled with just about as much-or a lit
tie lesS-care. Half a dozen of US from the
train were returning from the Holy Jump
ers session in Danville last Sunday night,
when We had a little object lesson along
the line. We were nearing the downtown
section of Danvlle, on our way back to
the Rainbow, when big, burly negro got
on the car, slouched into rear seat pulled
out a pipe and began to fill it. The con-
ductor. a slim youth with plastered hair
and hoecake complexion, swung along
down the footboard and stuck out his hand
with request for the fare. The colored
Conductor and His Handy Gun.
Fare" said the conductor, again. He
didn't raise his voice, but his expression be-
came slightly bored.
Still the negro paid no attention, although
it was very evident he had heard.
The conductor didn't say anything more.
He just reached back to his hip, lugged out
pocket revolver of heavy caliber and
damned it in the inattentive passengers
face so hard l could hear It click against
his teeth.
"Fare-right away" drawled Mr.. Con-
ductor once more. And he got it-as per
Outside of that incident and my CONVEX
sation with friend Pale-eyes2this evening
nothing has happened to bring the personal
armament proposition home to me in any
way. But l sort of have an idea that
pretty nearly everybody around here is an
animated Fort Sumter. l am naturally po-
lite. but l certainly have become more so
very recently. l defy anybody to pick a
quarrel with me during the specials stay
in North Carolina They can't do it.
won't let EN-. l don't care for scenes of
violence, and | can't see anythlr. in a
quarrel between two grown men-narticu-
larly when one of them carries a gun and
the other doesn't.
OF course, I'm going to take look around
Hamlet early tomorrow morning. Friend
Pale-eyes told me-and | have no reason to
doubt his word-that most of the fatalities
happened al night. But if by any chance
my report the commercial advantages
of Hamlet-the business done here, the pos
siblities of trade and the manner in which
the rGeater Washington idea was received
happens to be less complete than usual, l
want folks at home to know the reason
Duty is all right in it's way, but caution is
sublime.
That's me- |. {. N.