The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1908-03-05
MR. C0vlNGTOk'S LETTER
he Is Writing History Of His ufs-PoIl,Ics In
Dakota as Well as In Virginia s,IOns
and ESperlsncss.
Pierre. S. D.. Feb. 26th.

Pierre, S. D., Feb. 26th.
l begun history OF my life ) days ago
to contain about 100000 words. 10
this time have finished $4,000. 1t is a
difficult task indeed TO cover a space of
% years. l am 62 and my first recol.
lection begins about years after my
birth
In my last to you. neglected to tell
you that those 159 head OF buffaloes
came from calves captured about 10
years ago.
Wen, am told here that the most
enectual way to exterminate the negroes
and Indians il to educate them. when
they begin to initiate the whites. il Is un-
natural and they die. Negroes need hot
climate ana Indians cold.
had my photo taken standing at the
head oi 100 boys and girls, few days
ago.
l have not yet seen aiour horse wagon
IN this State hitched as we in Virginia
hitch them. Here all four are abreast
Ia Virginia they are one pair in front OF
the other two behind them.
Well of all the political wrangles ever
heard OF Is now going on between Gov.
Crawford and U. 5. Senator KitridRe
II is lar Orse than the contest between
Martin and Montague, OF Virginia. !
heard Gov. Crawford last night and he
Is as huent as Montague, of Virginia. but
| knew he would be defeated. as Monta-
que was, for be piled the abuse upon
hitridge. such stuff will defeat any
man.
| well remember the hot fight in the
Sth District in Virginia, when Lee.
Foster, Meredith and Hume We're candi-
dates. Lee would tell me, | never say
any thing against my opponent, and Il
holds good everywh here.
Well the most beautiful woman | ever
laid my eyes on l. the wife here of a law
yer. she sings In the Methodist choir.
And the female clerk here ia the post
Office Is so nice and polite TO everybody;
che is Mrs. Dewell.
Then the beet preacher ever knew or
heard is Rev. Geo. Rosenberry, of the
Methodist churcn, at Yankton, and the
assistant post master there, Mr.. Dunn.
Is as hue "A man as | ever came across.
This city here is almost entirely new,
not scarcely an old house in il.
was standing on "a high blun here
Monday with a photographer, looking
On the Missouri river, and ali at once
we missed a wagon that was crossing
on the Ice; next day report came it broke
through and oil was lost but the man,
prior to that we had had two warm
days. These Western people are SO dar.
ing they never stop crossing the ice until
someone goes down.
There Is more unison here amongst the
Protestant churches than any W here |
ever visited
This state has only Judges of the Su-
preme Court Virginia has 5; have form.
ed the acquaintance of ? of them aud
they are indeed affable gentlemen. One
of them, Judge Fuller, remarked that he
was a Republican dyed In the wool. but
II he lived in the south he'd never allow
the negroes to get In the ascendency;
that the new constitutions IN the south
were all right and proper; the negro
should never have been allowed vote.
mud all over this state, although
strongly Republican. they dsspise the
negro.
The weather OF this stare exceeds any
IN the Union per capits, and the death
in lower per thousand than any other
state. This speaks volumes for the place.
but because this little city worked so hard
to secure the Capital il is terribly In debt.
am thoroughly convinced but for the
people OF the south the negro would be
~ an awful fix. bid any of Virginia peo-
Pile ever read the Smoked Yank, writ
ten by Melvin Grigsby, of Sioux Fallse II
90 ctN ANNa As OhAl <ON. uCct
people often tell me of how their prisoners
were treated at Andersonville lam post
ed enough to tell them that Lincoln was
the cause oil IT, Then when they tell me Of
slavery, and tell them that Massachu-
setts was the drst slave state and when
it found on account of the climate
they were not profitable in that state,
they will then say: D Massachusetts
and the Dutch transports.'
tell them that we would have been
only too glad to have exchanged prison.
ers, but the authorities In Washington
would not allow it. They knew there
that one southern man was worth four
Yankees on the field OF battle tell them
II took $4,000 4years to subdue ESQ.,
600 men; that is TO say, it took 4 Yam
KEGS with allappliances of modern inven-
tion, with all the clothes and food they
wanted, years to subdue one
southern nan, and tell you that gets
them badly.
T. R. Covington.