The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1906-09-07
TupELo, MISSISSIPPI FRttDAY SEPTEMBER Z, 1906

after the war, llvl"g IN the same
place from the time of his re-
moval in 1866 till the time of his
death.
Another of Tupelo's first set
tiers was Capt S. ]. High. lam
not certain, but think he was a
North Caroiinian. He lived in
the town of Pontotoc before the
war between the states, and the
| year after the war he moved to
the place between Verona and
Shannon known as the Smith
place at the present. do not
know whether Capt. High ever
lived in the Delta or not, but l
know he was engaged infarming
there before the war. | have
myself heard him speak of plant
ing cotton there after an over
flow and what he made per acre.
He said as the water receded he
would have the negroes drag log
chains attached to mules through
the deposit left by the water and
then have the seed sown in the
trench thus made and had the
small negroes to tramp them in
with their bare feet, and that he
had made a bale per acre thus
planted. After Capt. High re-
NAMED on the place ] have called
the Smith place one year, he
moved to Tupelo and built on the
lot now owned by O. B. Rogers.
1t was a very large lot then, in
cluding the lots now owned by
H. H. High and Geo. T. Mitchell,
the district attorney. / think he
moved to Tupelo in 1867, SO that
he may we'll be called one of the
old citizens. Capt. High was a
man of fine appearance. having
a large and we'll shaped head,
wonderfully expressive eyes,
looking you square in the face as
he talked to you. He was rather
quick spoken and blunt in his
speech. but had a warm heart.
kindly nature, and was loved by
all his employees. There was
nothing little or mean about him
but he was generous and for
bearing and forging, but when
any one SO far forgot himself as
to undertake to sWindle him, his
contempt for such was SO great
that he was compelled to speak
so plain that he was ever after
remembered. AS a merchant he
was honest and fair, not putting
goods because they were his, but
selling on merit and wishing to
give full value for the money he
received in return. Capt. High
built the old frame house on the
corner where the First National
Bank is now situated, and for
twenty years or more was prom
inent figure in the mercantile
business. He was very frank in
his intercourse with men, and |
feel sure no man will say he was
ever deceived by any transaction
with him. He was fair toward
his competitors in business, but
if they did a thing he did not con-
slider fair and square, he did not
hesitate to speak out in condem-
nation. remember to have had
a transaction at one. time with
another firm involving thirty dol
lars, in which | thought the
charge rather high, though was
not a judge Of the value of the
article, and ] was telling the
Capt. Of it, and he spoke out at
once, saying: Col. Clayton, they
have charged you ten dollars too
much" So you see he was man
having the courage of his ccnvic-
tions. / remember but one sne-
cial incident in his religious HE.
We were having a religious meet
ing at the old Methodist church;
and it was a meeting Of much
power, none being able to remain
in the house uneffected. Capt.
High must have been something
like sixty years old then and had
never seemed to be interested in
relation to the hereafter up to
that time. He attended the meet
ing regularly, and one day after
the services were over and | was
going out at the door came up
to Capt. High, whose eyes were
streaming with tears and his
countenance all beaming in smiles
and he said to me in that blunt
and emphatic manner character
|istic Of the man: Col. Clayton,
/ | am a changed man. From this
time on intend to live a differ
ent life. I've got my head set in
| IA different direction and my
heart is fixed, = and soon there
after he attached himself to the
Presbyterian church and lived a
respected and humble member
thereof till his death.
FRISCO SYSTEM
WEST BOUND
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