The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1915-02-12


quarrels. But his eyes, which could
not read print, could read the sans
or the times. He foresaw the mev.
liable coming Of that day. Already he
ne had given up the worm and mash
vat, and no longer sought to make or
sell Illicit liquor. That was a conces-
sion to the federal power which could
no longer be successfully fought. State
| power was still largely a weapon in
| Iacuonai hands, and in his country
the hoI!mans were the office holders.
/ 10 the HOllmans he could make no
| concessions. In Samson, born TO be
the lighting man, reared to be the
! lighting man, equipped by nature with
/ deep hatreds and tigerish courage,
there had cropped out from time to
| time The restless spirit of the philos-
| 0Pher and a hunger for knowledge.
nat was a matter in which the ord
man found his bitterest and most Sc
cret apprehension.
1t was at this house that Cporpe
Lescott, distinguished landscape paint.
er Of New York and the world at large,
arrived in the twilight
Whatever enemy might have n he
met tomorrow, old SDicpr South roc.
ognized as a more immediate call
upon his attention the wounded guast
Of today. One Of the kinemon nrovnd
to hae.. a rnde WORKING knowIodge of
bone ling. and before the half hour
had passpd Lescott's wrist VOC IN .
splint, and his injuries as we'll tended
as possible, which proved to be Cufte
we'll enough
While Spicer South and his cousins
had been sustaining Themselves or
building up completeness nv tiIIine
their soil the leaders Of the other fac.
ton were basing larrer fortunes an
the profits of merchandise and trade
So, although Spicer South could moi.
Their read nor write, his chief enemy
Micah Holman, was TO or ward seem.
ing an urbane and fairly eouiDnpd man
of affairs. Judged bv their heads the
clansmen we're rougher and more Tilt.
crate on Misery, and in closer touch
with civilization on CripDleshin. A
deeper scrutiny showed this seeming
to be one OF the strange anomalies OF
the mountains.
Micah Holman had established him
self at HiXon, that shack town which
had passed of late years from feudaI
county seat to the sections one point
of contact with the outside world.
town where the ancient and modern
orders brushed shoulders: where the
new was tolerated, but dared not BE-.
come aggressive Directly across the
street from the courthouse stood IN
ample frame building, on whose side
wall was emblazoned the lego
"Hoilman's Mammoth Department
Store" That was the secret strong
hold of HOLMAN mower, He had "
ways spoken deplOriDgIv of that spirit
of law'cesness which had given the
mountains bad name.
When the railroad camo IN Hivou
it fonnd IN Judge Holman 2 "nuhnc.
sDiritad citizen" Incidentally the Tim
Der that il bauled and the coal that
its fat cars carried down IN tho RIno
grass went largely m his oonsionaos
He had 81 astutelv anticfnatad coming
events tht whom tho fret scouts ~
capital sorrht ontions thev fonnd
themselves constantly raforrod r.
Judge Holman No whea, If eoonoad
could turn without his nod II wae
natural that the poni., etoroLoonor
should become the hip man If tho
community and ;nnvitabIo tbat tho ono
big man should become tho dictator
His inherited place as leader of the
Follmans in the feud he had seem.
iDgIy passed on as an obsolete pre-
rogative.
Yet. in business matters. he was
found to drive a hard bargain and
men came to regard it the na # Of
good policy to meet rather than com.
bat his requirements It was essen
tial to his purposes that the officers