Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1912-11-08
Early RecOlIsctisns Of Noxubss.

Of them sad and many pleasantly, as !
turn my mind to things Of the past.
lReally, they crowd IN upon me IN
sch number as to make it difficult 70
Icide as to Just where to begin.
4 To start with, I will say that the Ma
con Beacon was the second newspaper
I ever saw-the Montgomery Advertiser
being the first.
Here | will relate a little circum-
\ stance which tells how the BEACON was
revered in those days: Mrs. Martina
Greer. a wealthy old lady living two
miles east Of Shuqualak. could be seen
coming into town every Saturday morn
ing. seated in one Of the carriages fash
ionable In those days, but new long op-
solete. the driver seated on top, her
mission being to get ''her BEACON,
and If she failed to find it at the post
Office her disappointment was p'tifu''
she contendiag that lone OF the great
eat comforts of her old age was the
weekly visits Of the BEACON.
In answer to '.vet." in your last is-
sue, will say that I am writing from
recollections of boy, but my memory
doesn't fail me as to Bill Darian, for be
and Dan Featherston. both mechanics,
land Darian banjo picker). were
building residence for my father
when the war broke out, and immedi-
ately abandoned the job and hurried to
Macon to join a company and go to the
front. However, as to what particular
company they joined, Or battle killed IN
he may be right in his contentious.
He suggests Billy Massengill as prob
ably the person to. whom I had refer
ence. Now / knew Billy Massengil
well. The Arst minstrel show ever
attended Billy Massengill was the lend
man" in the performance and some OF
his sayings and songs of that night are
still fresh in my memory, one OF ms
songs going this way:
''Vinegar shoes and paper stockings ),
Come sit by me Miss Polly Hopkins.
Another verse Of this song being;
.'The biggest fool ever saw
Was all the way from Arkansaw."
Now as to Big Bud. | am not gong
-tS.gainsay anything he has said relative
to my article prior to this, but . piece
Of history that he doesn't perhaps re-
member in connection with the Captain
Massey 1 mentioned, is the fact that q
portion of Capt. Massey's good war
record was the breaking up Of the garg
OF deserters rendezvoused in Jones Co
In 1864, he and his company having
caught several hundred of them ard
sent them to the front to again take up
arms in defense of their country. Sew
eral other companies had gone into that
county ahead of him and were run out
by the deserters, but Massey knew no
such word as "run" and did the work
to a finish.
Speaking of the Noxubee Rifles, the
first hanging | ever saw detachment
of that company. bearing arms, and ac-
companied by brass band. was in at
tendance. It was in 1859 and the harg-
ing took place just across the river
bridge from Macon, about half way be-
tween that bridge and the railroad
bridge.
It was a negro Ia slave) that was
hung, his crime being the killing OF an
overseer on the Ballard place by the
n ,me of "Ctd,." The crowd had gath
9 ed an hour before the hanging and at
the appointed hour the Rifles hove in
sight marching in two lines, single file,
with the doomed man seated on coffin
in wagon, between the lines, preceded
By a brass band. the band playing the
rag time tune of
'Oh. think Of your head, think of your
head;
Think of your head in the morning.
can never forget that day. ] was a
boy only eleven years of age and when
the drop fell the blood rushed through
the white linen head wrap the negro
had on, turning me deathly sick.
came up to the hanging with a
crowd from Shuqualak who had been in
yited by the section foreman, Mr.. Belk,
we riding on his hand car. propelled or
navigated by poles-three negroes
standing on each side, handliag the
poles-a car pretty generally used by
section men in those days.
Since writing you the first letter
some kind friend, writing from Shuqua-
lax. but who failed to sign his or her
name, sends me memento of the Quit
man Light Infantry IN the shape of an
invitation, which because Of the well
known names it bears, give as follows:
MILITARY PARTY.
Your company is respectfully solicited
at party to Be given by the Quitman
Light Infantry at the Masonic Hall. in
Shuqualak, on the 9th day OF January,