The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-04
CAPT. SID JONES HAD
LIFE OF ADVENTURE
Carried a Big Heart Under
Outward Reserve
LIVED WITH INDIANS
Body Was Taken to Nashville Yester-
day for Interment-Had Friends
in All Sections of the
Country
LIVED WITH INDIANS
By CLYDE w. ENNIS

1
the life work of Capt. P. Sid Jones in this
city Thursday night, the activities OF
one of this country's most romantic char
acters closed.
| The death of the Louisville and Nash
vile district passenger agent was the oc-
| oasion for widespread sympathy yester-
day. Covered with flowers. testifying to
his wide circle of friends, his casket was
conveyed yesterday to Nashville for In
| terment Occupying private car $s of the
IoGiH,ille and Nashville, Mrs. Jones, Mrs.
NJ. ',a II. Smith. Sid b. Jones, a son, ac-
com"anied the body. In the party was
| ais :. T.. Bartlett, general agent for the
Hartman lines, and Carl Herndon, travel
| ing passenger agent for the Louisville and
Nashville. Mrs. Milton II. Smith, the only
sister of the late Captain Jones. reached
| here yesterday morning on train No.
| from Louisville. With the funeral party
she returned on train No. 2 leaving at
noon.
| At the station yesterday at noon many
| citizens of Birmingham gathered to pay
their last tribute to Captain Jones. The
! station was crowded with persons who
/
| Life of Adventure
| In all the south there are few men who
could approach Captain Jones with a life
story SO filed with adventure and pictur-
esque romance.
| His adventures. his experiences during
the war in the rugged northwest, where
he was the prisoner of an Indian tribe
for years, and his later exploits are
enough to fill very interesting volume.
| He was wont to discuss with friends
his varied experiences. He had bound
neatly a roughly written sketch of his life,
which was his ambition to have published.
Often during "a cold, wearing afternoon
he would lean back in his chair, fill a
cob pipe with Kentucky clipped and in
story go off into the far west as 1t was
| in the old days, while his assistants and
friends listened with bated breath.
| He was born In Kentucky. He entered
the service of the federal army from that
state and saw active service for four
years. He was promoted time and again
| for bravery under fire. and came home
after the war at the head of his com
p2ny. During that memorable struggle
Captain Jones underwent many exciting
| OK xperiences. He returned home in 1864
| filed with love for the army, and it was
then he came pretty near getting into
| trouble. He had been asked to become a
major in movement in Mexico. and was
invited to bring along a company of Ken
tuckians to help out. He was engaged in
that work when the Mexican embassy at
Washington intimated to the Secretary of
4
nsurrecton business and a secret service
corps was sent after the spirited leader.
He escaped them. however, and journeyed
to St. Louis. There at the old Planters
hotel he Joined two friends and started
west.
Captured by Indians
They went as far as the. Dakotas
TRAILING over snow capped peaks; there
Captain Jones was separated from some
1companions and was left deserted in the
Wilderness. He was taken prisoner the
next day by rowing band Of indians
and he believed then his life was to be
ended. However, he illustrated to the
Indian chief how the sun came up and
went down at night by using bar
rel and a torch. The Indian had be-
llieved the earth was visited by new
sun each day. That made "hit" with
| the chief and the adventurous youth
found favor with the tribe. He was
there in that Indian camp for two or
three years. He was given dog and
| tepee and was made one of the tribe
However he did not propose to become
an Indian brave and after exercising
! the greatest diligence he was one night
| enabled to escape. He rode 500 miles
| in the snow to an army post and thence
returned again among the pale faces
| Captain Jones organized a stage
| route along the old Santa Fe trail and
was held up many times by outlaws
His work there, to hear him relate 1t,
was filled to the overflowing with those
Incidents OF the wild west narrated so
| often In dime novels.
He remained in that country for some
| time and came back finally TO Ken
lucky. He was placed In charge of i'm
migration for the Louisville and Nash
| VILE system in the early days AMI was
| the first railroad official to bring set
tiers into this section. He founded the
| town of Thorsby ana did more for
| towns along the line of the Louisville
and Nashville than any other one man.
HE finally entered the passenger de-
partment and remained there 'in har-
ness up until his death Thursday
might.
Had Big Heart
| To a casual acquaintance Captain
Jones might have made the impression
of being somewhat arrogant or
served But underneath that rugged eX-
/ terror there was heart and a desire
| to be fair and square that was appre-
ciated always by those who really knew
lCaptain Jones. He was a good sports
man. His fayorite sport was hunting
and 1t has been told that he travelled
| mil m IN nd fpiti fat
! to a sick pointer dog. He WAS
usually fond of good dogs and On that
topic he could be depended upon to talk
for hours.