Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1913-06-20

tains. The letter is from one Of your
coInty's most honorable and widely
known citizens, Hon. w. J. Hubbard,
and the same IS given below, intact, as
| received it:
shuquslak. Miss. May %. 1913.
Mr.. J. J. Haynie.
Quitman. Miss.
My dear Sir am reading ycur
early RecollectiOns'' with much inter
est. remember, and can vouch for
the correctness of much you say, as |
was a boy about fifteen years old at
the beginning Of the Civil war. 1861.
and lived in the neighborhood Of Sum-
m~erville. At that time G~athright's
school for boys was in its prime. There
was also at that time a female college,
located neal that Of T. S. Gathright's
boys school, a female college, presided
ove by his brother, Zeb Gathright.
The town of Summerville consisted
then of four general stores; two retail
grocery stores; two blacksmith shops,
and two churches, Baptist and Method
list.
The stores we're kept, as we'll as |
can remember, one by Burrage &
Thomas-Jno. H. Burrage and d. II.
C"Hawk'O Thomas; one bv Stands &
Co.. (Dr. Shands): one by r. zoe and
one by John Num-. DR.. Stands and
DR.. Larkin were the physicians located
there then. There were also one or
two saloons and In addition to the stores
and saloons. there was a bowling alley
and a hotel. | think the hotel was
kept by DR.. Stands.
Today Summerville has two stores;
no shops; no Doctors; no churches; no
saloons; nc school except the usual six
months free school.
We have now the telephone, the sew
ing machine and the late inventions
~conveniences. with the daily mail.
But are the people better contented or
living any easier or getting anything
more out of life than they did in 1861?
Your friend and comrade.
W. j. HUBBARD.
| well remember just how Mr.. Hub.
bard (then a boy looked in 1861.
During that year and along through
the years marked by the war often
visited my uncle's family (Cass Wester-
field at Fearn Springs, and had to pass
right by the Hashuqua factory where
Mr.. Hubbard was employed. Mr..
Holmes was the factory's owner, Ia
generous-hearted New Englander), and
young Hubbard was one of his favorite,
trusted employees.
In 1861 the firm of Reed & McGraw
was the principal firm at Fearn Springs.
The Westerfeld referred to was the
war tax-assessor of Winston county,
living there.
The mention Mr.. Hubbard makes of
the Gathright schools in his letter re-
minds me that Shuqualak was the get
ting off station for all pupils from
abroad destined for these two schools,
and the mode of conveyance over the
eleven miles of mountainous road out to
the school was my fathers omnibus
line, it often requiring the two big four
horse omnibuses, with 16-seat capacity
each, and all the carriages and hacks
that the stable owned to carry a one
days arrival at S~huqualak along about
school opening time.
When young lady pupils we're sent
out they were given preference of the
%omnibuses, mo boy pupils being al
lowed to ride with them, and either an
older brother of mine Tor myself would
go along, in addition to the trusted ne
gro driver, as protection for them.
On nj occasion | remember a bevy
of twelve young ladies arriving on the
north-bound train at 900 a. M, to be
sent out and that my brother and the
driver, Cato Buck, a slave whom my
father had hired from DR.. John Buck
were sent out with the omnibuses. Ir
the crowd there were one or two girls
who were rude. rebellious- ''didn't
want to go to school," and all the way
out threatened to desert the crowd anC
walk back to Shuqualak and take the
train back for home, it requiring tn,
combined importuning of all the othel
girls to keep them from carrying GU
their threats.
At the mountain six miles out, it wa
necessary for passengers to get out an,
walk up the steep hill, and all got on
except these two disgruntled girls, an,
when the top of the mountain wa
reached and the other young ladies' go
back in they found that all the plus
velvet upholstery in the omnibus ha,
been cut into giblets by these two girl
with their pen knives during the rid
up the mountain. My brother sal,
nothing. He knew that they were tn
daughters of wealthy parents and tina
MIR. Gath-ight would take a hand whel
the school was reached, which he did
my brother having told him after tn,
girls had alighted and gone into tn
building, his remark being, "Just tel
your father to estimate the damag
done; send the bill to me, and | will Sc
that he gets his money" and he di
get it, and speedily. and the two OBJ
streperous girls fathers had to foo
the bill, the evidence against them a