The Washington herald., 1907-05-08
Alas. No Trenton Limestone

In its chagrin at failure to prove that
Texas strawberries are entitled to the
same high rank in things gastronomic as
the Potomac shad, the Houston Post is
driven to desperate straits against The
Washington Herald. our Lone Star con-
temporary has butted into the cOntro-
yersy over the birthplace of Andrew
Jackson, and to sustain its untenable
position has invented marvellous story
20 prove that "Old Hickory was born
under circumstances like unto which not
even Julius Caesar could claim more
astonishing distinction among the sons
of men. In reality, there is no proper
ground for controversy over the State
Of Jackson's nativity, and even If there
were. we would deny the Posts right to
take part in il. We settled that question
with the Norfolk Landmark long ago by
quoting Jacks9ns own words, and we
defy the Post, as we defed the Land
mark, TO impute To our hero either igno-
rance or false pTetense concerning an
event in which he was one OF the prin-
cipaI participants. Besides this, It does
not lay in the mouth Of the editor Of the
Post to detract one iota from the fame that
is Jackson's by its effort 70 make the
state Of his birth North Carolina instead
Of South Carolina; for had il not been for
Jackson's military genius that bold al
veuturer, Aaron Burr. would have out
Witted Thomas Jefferson and cut Texas
OF forever from sisterh0od in this glori-
Gus Union of States by making it a mere
satrapy in the empire he plc uncd TO estab-
ish, with Mexico as it's center. There
then would have been no San Jacin,
no Alamo. no Sam Houston. no Bowie,
no Joebailey, no Houston Post. Com
mon gratitude ought therefore. to suggest
to the editor of the Post that he speak
only in praise Of Jackson or not speak ar
all
But il is on the question Of Indigenous
eatables, so to speak, that the Post is
/ really cornered and concerned Having
! been beaten down on its strawberry CON
/ tention. the Houston paper returns grog-
! gily to the fray with the claim that the
Texas black bass fatten upon jack rab-
bits which are foolish enough TO enter
! that ravenous hsh's domain. We hold no
/ brief for the jack rabbit On the con-
trary. We have very poor opinion of
! that idiotc and uBtOothsome quadruped.
/ 1t is the c0tton-tal species Of the rabbit
/ family-which, praise heaven. is only very
/ remotely related 10 the jack rabbit
/ whose intrepidity, prowess, wisdom, and
/ toothsomeness enlist our admiration. We
would no more think of eating a Texas
black bass that had murdered and fed
D
! Spanish mackereI that had gorged itself
with Houston sewage in Buffalo Bayou.
! In unconsciously c0nceding superiority
/ to the Potomac shad and its delicious roe
/ our Houston contemporary staggers re-
/ luctantly into piscatoriaI wisdom, but
/ falls into geological error. 1T may be, "a
| says the Pest, that somewhere under the
| bed of the upper Potomac there is a
/ stratum of Trenton limestone which i'm
/ pregnates the water Of that stream. and
/ thus imparts a favor TO shad" Unhappily
/ for the lovers of real country sausage
the soil Of this otherwise blest region of
the continent is not underlaid with Tren-
/ ton limestone. Fo~ some inscrutable rea-
son, into which we are not sacrilegious
! enough 10 inquire, the Creator Of the
] universe confined the area of Trenton
/ limestone almost entirely 70 the blue
grass region of Kentucky, though tiny
| little spurs of it dip down into the edge
Of Tennessee, while others. still timer
reach o short way UP into Ohio. It i.
this remarkable geological formation
which imparts TO the corn. the hickor,
nuts, the beechnuts, acorns, sassafras