The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-04

ernment as a philosopher. The Coosa county farm was to be his retreat where green meadows and fine live stock were to be sources of profit, as well as a perennial delight. While in his summer home. for the first season, he was summoned. to repair with all haste to his cotton plantation In Dallas county. A general poisoning of his slaves had been perpetrated. A Vul- gar feud, unknown to him, existed bee tween his overseer and the over seer of a neighbor. Poison was depos-. ited In a hillside spring from which MT. Yancey's oVerseer habitually drank on his way from the fields. By chance the intended victim went on tho fatal day another way, and by chance also the slaves passing by paused to slake their thirst unsuspiclous of the deadly draught. Instantly all were prostrated in agony. The most skilled physicians
 were called. The master remained at
 the bedsides of the afflicted. A large proportion Of the number died. and the
 remainder were disabled for many
 month. The convalescents were sent to the Harrowgata Springs farm to be nursed. The crops of the year were necessarily abandoned; there was no wage labor available. All was lost. In the year following the great trouble at Greenville the masters fortune was
  slaves were to be supported entirely on his lahor. He lost not 0 moment of time. In February, 1S40. he removed his family to WRtumpka and assumed personal control of The Argus, push ing the business In every direction. He took down his law books, unopened for six years. and few students studied so diligently as he. AS fast as his strick en slaves recovered their accustomed strength he found good masters for them either selling or hiring them out. In the columns of The Argus he of- fered thoroughbred mare and colt. with certified pedigree an extra fine harness horse and some parlor furniture for sale Five thousand dollars was due to him on ac- count of The Cahaba Democrat circu- lation and The Argus business. This he took steps to collect. His friends urged him to take the benefit of the lately enacted bankrupt law. He re- fused. Judge Crawford conferred on him the office of Commissioner in Bankruptcy, which ne accepted, pro- ceeded with his law studies and the winding up of his agricultural affairs, paying his debts dollar for dollar"
 But for this untoward circumstance in all human probability MT. 'Yancey would not have developed into the man of international fame which he after wefd became. II is not known that he had delivered a speech since the re- markable one already alluded to in GreenvilIe, s. C., when he was only 20 years of age. It was not known to the people of Cahaba or of wetumpka that he was a wonderful orator, who could hold listening thousands by the hour with unbroken attention. Indeed. it Is doubtful if he knew himself his power When the political campaign of 1s40 opened Mir. Yancey was just 26 years old, and he was hard at work on his paper. The Argus Mir. Yancey entered into the campaign for the Dem ocratic Presidential candidate and with his first speech thrilled his audience. From then on to his death he was fa- miliar figure to the people of Alabama. So great man as the late Judge George W. Stone. fifty years after wards, wrote: T heard MT. Yancey first in 1S40 I thought then and yet think, he was the greatest orator I ever heard" This was immediately af- ter he made his first speech in Ala bana. It would take too much of your time and patience to attempt to enter into the details Of his life. He still continued in the conduct of hls paper and in the midst of the heated cam