The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1907-07-26

moved E5out the streets went lAnguid
". keeping close 70 the wall on The
shady side: the women IN thin white
fabrics: rhe men. often eoatless. carry
ing palan leaf fans and replacing col
lars with handkerchiefs. In the court
house yard the maple leaves. gray with
blown dust and grown 20 great breadth.
droOped heavily depressing the long
moti0nless branches with their weight.
so low that the four or i've shabby
oilers upon the benches beneath now
and then licked them sleepily with
whitfield sprigs
The doors and windows OF the stores
STOOD open. displaying limp wares OF
trade. but few tokens OF life. the clerks
hanging over dim counters as far a.
possible from the glare in front. Cos
siplng fragmentarily. usually about the
Cory murder and anon upon a subject
suggested by the sight of an occasional
pedestrian passing perspiring by with
scrooged eyelids and purpling skin.
From street and sidewalk transparent
hot waves swan up and danced them
selves into nothing. while from the riv
er bank a half mile away came a
sound hotter than even the locust's
midsummer rasp. the drone Of a plan
ing mill
Greater heat than that of these blaz-
ing days could not have kept one Of
the sages from attending the conclave
now. for the battle was on in Canaan.
and here upon the National House cor
ner. under the shadow Of the west
wall. II waxed even keener. Perhaps
we may find full justification for call
ing what was happening a battle in so
far as we restrict the figure TO apply
to this one spot Elsewhere in the
Canaan of the Tocsin the conflict was
too one sided. The Tocsin had indeed
tried the case of Happy Fear in ad-
vance. had convicted and condemned
and every day grew more bitter. Nor
was the urgent vigor of its attack with
out effect
Sleepy as Main street seemed in the
heat, the town was incensed and rous-
ed 10 a tensity OF feeling il had not
known since the civil war. when, on
occasion. ii had set out to hang half
dozen knights of the Golden Circle.
Joe had been Missed on the street
many times since the inimical clerk
had whistled at him. Probably dem
onstrations of that sort would have
continued had he remained in Canaan,
but for almost a month he had been
absent and his Office closed. its thresh-
Did gray with dust There were peo-
pie who believed that he had run
away again, this time never 10 return. |
among those who held TO this opinion |
icing Mrs. Louden and her sister. Joe's !
'tep-aunt Upon only one point was
everybody agreed-that twelve men
.o1ld not be found in the county who
.ould be so far persuaded and befud-
lied by Louden that they would dare
How Happy Fear to escape. The
women of Canaan, incensed by the ter
ible circumstances of the case, as the
TOcsin colored tia man shot down in
be act of begging his enemy's for
tveness-clamored as loudly as the
nen. There was only the difference
hat the latter vociferated for the
angling of Happy: their good ladies
sed the word punishment"
And yet, while the place rang with
of the little man in the
all and his attorney, there were voices
ere and there uplifted on the other
de People existed. IT astonishingly
ppeared, who liked Happy Fear.
hese were for the greater part OBJ
cure and even darkling in their lives,
ct quite demonstrably human beings,
BILE to smile, suffer, leap, run and TO
ntertain fancies; even to have, nc
riding TO their degree, a certain rudi-
entary sense of right and wrong. in
bite of which they strongly favored
e prisoners acQuittal. Precisely on
lat account, it was argued, an &C
Initial would outrage Canaan and lay
open TO untold danger. Such people
sede6 lesson.
The Tocsin interviewed the towns
eat ones. printing their opinions of I
4 .
Iaracter of the defendants lawyer
The Hon. p. j. Parrott, who so ably |
presented this county in the legisla- =
re some fourteen years ago, could :
arcely restrain himself when ap-
cached by reporter as TO his senti-
ents anent the repulsive deed I
Ould like to know how long Canaan :,
going to put up with this sort of a
siness,' were his words. I am a law q
iding citizen, and have served ),
Ithfully and with my full endeavor >.
d ability to enact the laws and
ltutes of my state, but there is a :,
Int in my patience, / would state, =
Itch Iawbreakers and their lawyers r
" not safely pass. OF what use are IL
r most solemn enactments, l may IN
IN ask of what use Is the legislature =.
elf, chosen by the will OF the people, ~
hey are TO ruthlessly be set aside by q
minals and their shifty protectors7 =,
e blame should be put upon the law -
. who by tricks enable such rascals
escape the rigors of the carefully en- q,