The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-28
LEGISLATURE WILL ELECT
 J.F. JOHNSTON AS SENATOR

rushed across the field in tho face of deadly fire. secured the cover of a trench and In 8 hand to hand fight took the redoubt from the amazed Federals. In this brilliant dash by forty men 100 Federals and three flags were cap tured. The fire of the Federal army was concentrated on this spot but the gallant party safely brought of the trophies they had captured.
 Within the last year e Mississippi veteran on his way to . Confederate reunion. talking with an Alabamian. recalled this incident which he had witnessed.
 T saw many daring things in my four years service" he said. T saw many men do heroic deeds, but the bravest thing ever saw was that dash of Pettus at the head of his forty men,"
 Colonel Pettus was captured at the fall of Vicksburg but was soon after wards exchanged. He was promoted to be Brigadier General and fought in the desperate engagements around Chattanooga, Dalton and Atlanta Be- cause of his bravery and daring at Rocky Face Ridge. General Pettus was affectionately termed by his men "Old Rocky Face" In the last fighting in lima, the last fighting in the war. Gen eral Pettus bore a distinguished part
 Like all other Southern officers he returned to his homo at Selma to ind his private fortune completely de- stroyed. He built it back to a com petence by his industry. but he was never. wealthy man. Like his dis tinguished colleague he preferred to be honorably independent than to stoop to do any low thing which would feather his nest, in the term of the day.
 In the midst of his law practice and while fighting for the political rights of the white people. ho volunteered his services to defend prominent white men of various sections of the State who had been indicted in the Federal Courts for alleged frauds against the ballot.
 Defended Young Conner.
 He defended these men in the Fed eral Court at Montgomery. and among them were three young men of the name of Conner, members of a leading family of Barbour County. Braxton Bragg Conner. now Governor of Ala bama, was one of the men who. profited by the legal assistance of General Pet tus and he to this day expresses his gratitude for his kindness.
 AS a Solicitor Senator Pettus served during pioneer times in the counties of Northwest Alabama In those rare moments of his old age when he grow reminiscent. he would delight his friends in telling of the men. the scenes, the customs and tho happen ings in Alabama in the '40s. One of these stories had to do with man whom as Solicitor. he tried and con- victed on the charge of murder.
 The death sentence was pronounced on the man. Preparations were made for his hanging. A great crowd gath cred to witness the unusual tragedy of a man being legally hanged. On hanging a. horseman rode hurriedly in the little town. He bore a reprieve signed by the Governor.
 The Sheriff scanned tho paper close iy. Finally he said:
 That may be the Governors hand writing and again 1t may be not. l amt never seen the Governors hand writing. I guess I'll go ahead with the hanging
 Some of the lawyers heard of the coming of the reprieve and how the Sheriff regarded it. They went to him to expostulate.
 You can't hang that man now. They'll impeach you and put you in jail If you hang him it will be mur- der the lawyers told this pioneer Sheriff
 T can't help that" replied the Sher- if firmly. "rhe people have come here to see a hanging. Why. some of these have come forty miles over the noun tains and camped out to get here. The fellow ought to be hanged anyhow. They want to see the show and I am going to give 1t to them. And he did"
 Senator Pettus never had but one contest for United States Senate. the one he entered in 1896 and in which he was victorious. At each succeeding election by the Legislature he was unanimously elected. By exclamation the Legislature reelected him in 1903. The present Legislature carrying out the unanimous wish of his people gave him the second unanimous election.
 He was assured of a seat in the Sem ate until 1915. His present term would have expired in 1909. but as the Ala bama Legislature meets only every four years and so at this session he was given the election that would have come to him in 1909.
 In Washington he was noted fig ure. He was the oldest member of the United States Senate. His fel- low Senators held in the highest es- teem that sterling. common sense which had characterized his whole life and the word of no Senator car ried greater weight than that of Sem ator Pettus. He was venerated not only because of his great age. but be- cause of the unchallenged integrity and purity of his long life.
 High in ROOseveIts Eyes.
 President Roosevelt. man who diff fered. with him on many questions. man who was the pl Uduce of different civilization and different environ ment and a man who Was widely diff ferent from Senator Pettus. entertain ed for him an affectionate admiration.
 But In the hearts of his people his fame and memory IS preserved. He sometimes differed from the views of the people of abama and whenever he did he followed the dictates of hts own conscience. But his people who knew and loved him. only admired him all the more for 1t. He cast his vote against the Hepburn hill a bill against the railroads for which the en- tire state was clamoring, and yet on the heels of that vote he went into a primary and got more votes than any other mans whose name was on the ticket He even received more votes than Senator Morgan.
 Yet he never in his life appealed to the people for their regard and their affections He never went about tell Ing them what R great friend of the people he was. He never found 1t necessary to espouse any popular cause and to tell the people that he was the only man to bring in the reforms. He never in his life made one of the speeches characteristic of Alabama
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