Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-02-08

gusta o. Columbia. S G.. in
IS7S5f7Sl the autumn Of 1870. the Rev.
60 Or. Wilson resigning his pas
tOrate In order TO become professor
IN the Southern Presbyterian TheoloG.
zeal seminary. His chair was that Of
pastoral and evangeliStic theology. He
retained II four years
Tom appears TO have retreated here
into the more exciting scenes OF an i'm
aginative life He forsook in mind the
streets OF the commonplace town and
the dresry banks of the COngaree and
adventured forth in search OF exploits
In faroff lands All boys do some
thing OF the sort. hut there can be no
doubt that In the Ease ~ this young
dreamer the exercise az Imagination
was constant and vivid and that dur
Ing a great part ~ his days he lived. So
far as his mind was concerned in one
or another OF the various characters
which he had invented and assumed
Thus for many months he was an
admiral 81 the navy aud IN that char
meter wrote out daily repurtS 10 the
navy department His main achieve
ment Ia this capacity was the dis
covery and destruction OF nest az
pirates In the southern Pacific ocean
IL appears that the government along
with all the people of the country. had
been terrified 10y the mysterious disap-
pcarance Of ships setting sail from or
expected NJ uur western ports Ad
miral Wilson was ordered to luveSti-
gate with his Grnt After an eveutfuI
cruise they oycrtook one night a p
-Itical lunEiu= craft with p black hnll
and rakish re Again and again the
chase eludcd the admiral Finally the
pursuit ted the fee; 20 the neiChbor
hood Of an island uncharted and hith-
cr'o unknown Here lay the ships OF
tlu outlavrd enemy md the disman
lied rUl's ~ many or their victims
And 10 may hp believed that the brave
American iHrs under the leadership
Of the relpuhtahIe admiral. played a
truly heroic part In the destruction Of
tho pirates
There are TWO things worth noting
about this story. First. the length Of
time-severnl mou,hS-in which the
hoy lived the greater part Of his wax.
Ing hours Ia the character which be
had invented and. second. the veri-
simllitude with which the details re-.
latiuE 10 the great adventure were set
forth IN the daily "rcports."
About this time Woodrow was read
ing COoper's sea tales and Marryat's
yarns and. though he had never seen
ship In his life-nevcr even seen the
ocean-he knew every particular Of
every clHss Of type Of sailing ship.
the name. place aud use OF every spar.
sheet and shroud
At Columbia Woodrow. as he began
now 10 be commonly called. attended
the school kept by Mr.. Charles Hey
ward BarnweIl. But his real educa tioD
continued 10 be conducted by bis IA
Their
He was now approaching the age for
college. In spite OF his late start at
books. be had rapidly qualified in the
ordinary preparatory studies. and at
seventeen. IN the autumn OF 1873. be
was sent of 60 college.
Davidson college. in famous MeckleD.
burg county. y. c.. II a prosperous in.
sutution now and forty years ago was
stanch school The fact that mr.
Wilson had been approached IN conDec-
ton with its presidency may have had
something 20 do with its choice for
Woodrow
Living was rather primitive: the boys
kept their own rooms. nlled their own
lamps, for they Ind only kerosene; cut
up and brought IN the wood for their
own 1res and carried IN water from
the pump outside. Wilson's room was
on the ground door. luckily: It was
rather Job 20 carry arm loads OF wood
10 remote rooms on the upper floors
There still fingers at Davidson the ira
dition that Tom Wilson established &
record in the minimum time necessary
10 dress. cross the campus and be- ir
his seat when the before breakfast
chapel bell stopped ringing
Instruction at Davidson wss rather
better than was common AZ small col
leges in those days still. Il can hard
IL he sad that Wilson received much
intellectual impulse here. although ht
probably added something 10 his stocs
~ knowledge His college mstes In
cluded a score or more who afterwRrc
made regulations IN the world. per
hans the most eminent being X. Il
Glenn. who became governor Of NORTH
Carolina. His classmates rsmembeI
nothing unusual about Wilson wher
at Davidson college. They say be hac
an open. engaging face. pleasant man
nos and was very generally liked
They agree that be was not very much
interested in games. which then con
sisted Of baseball and shiny. How
ever. he played baseball for awhile
on the college nine and had the pleas
urr VI heaEiaE the captain 49, -sIA