Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-02-02
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C(INBFRLANDS
~ CHARLES NEVILLE bUCA, -
WITH ILUSTRAII0NS FROM f cP1TSSsE R0sQEGsksA1pl' - ~

as possible, WHICH pIoNeu W VIC dN~
we'll enough.
While Spicer South and his cousins
had been sustaining themselves or
building up completeness by tlling
their soil the leaders of the other fac
tions were basing larger fortunes on
the profits Of merchandise and trade.
So, although Spicer South could nei-
ther read nor write, his chief enemy,
deeper scrutiny showed this seeming
ing an urbane and fairly equipped man
of affairs Judged by their heads, the
clansmen were rougher and more illit-
crate on Misery, and in closer touch
with civilization on Crippleshin. 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 feudal
county seat to the sections one point
of contact with the outside world; q
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 an
ample frame building, on whose side
wall was emblazoned the legend,
"Hollman's Mammoth Department
Store" That was the secret strong
hold of Holman power. He had al
ways spoken deploringly of that spirit
of lawlessness which had given the
mountains a bad name.
When the railroad came to Hixon
it found in Judge Holman a public
spirited citizen" Incidentally, the tim
Der that it hauled and the coal that
its fiat cars carried down to the Blue
grass went largely to his consignees.
He had so astutely anticipated coming
events that, when the first scouts OF
capital sought options they found
themselves constantly referred to
Judge Holman. No wheel, it seemed
could turn without his nod. 1t was
natural that the genial storekeeper
should became the big man of the
community and inevitable that the one
big man should become the dictator.
His inherited place as leader Of the
Hollmans in the feud he had SEEM
ingly passed on as an obsolete pre-
rogative.
Yet in business matters, he was
found to drive hard bargain, and
men came to regard it the part OF
good policy to meet rather than COM
bat his requirements. 1t was essen
tial to his purposes that the officers OF
the law in his country should be in
sympathy with him. Sympathy soon
became abject subservience. When a
South had opposed Jesse Purvy in the
primary as a candidate for high sheriff
he was found one day lying on his
face with a bullet-ridden body. 1t
may have been a coincidence which
pointed to Jim Asberry, the judges
nephew, as the assassin. At all events
the judges nephew was poor boy,
and a charitable grand jury declined
to indict him.
In the course of five years several
South adherents, who had crossed
Hollman's path, became victims of the
laurel ambuscade. The theory Of CO.
incidence was strained. Slowly the
rumor grew and persistently spread.
though no man would admit having
fathered it, that before each Of these
executions star-chamber conferences
had been held in the rooms above
Micah Hollman's Mammoth Depart
ment Store" 1t was said that these
exclusive sessions were attended by
Judge Holman, Sheriff Purvy and GER
tain other gentlemen selected by rea-
son of their craftsmanship. When
one Of these victims fell John South
had just returned from a law school
down below" wearing 'fotched-on"
clothing and thinking "fotched-on'
thoughts. He had amazed the COM
munity by demanding the right to as
sist in probing and prosecuting the
affair He had then shocked the COM
munity into complete paralysis by re-
questing the grand jury to indict not
alone the alleged assassin, but also his
employers, whom he named as Judge
Holman and Sheriff Purvy. Then he,
too, felt under a bolt from the laurel.
| That was the first public accusation
against the bland capitalist, and it car
ried it's own prompt warning against
repetition. The judges high sheriff
and chief ally retired from office and
went abroad only with a bodyguard.
Jesse Purvy had built store at a cross
roads 25 miles from the railroad. Like
Holman, he had won a reputation for
open-handed charity, was liked-and
hated His friends were legion. His
enemies were so numerous that he ap-
pretended violence not only from the
Souths but also from others who nurs-
ed grudges in no way related to the
line of feud Cleavage. The Holman
Purvy combination had retained
enough Of it's old power to escape the
laws retribution and to hold it's dicta-
torship, but the efforts of John South
had not been altogether bootless. He
had ripped away two masks, and their
erstwhile wearers could no longer hold
their old semblance of law-abiding
philanthropists. Jesse Purvy's home
was the show place of the country
side. Commodious verandas looked
out over pleasant orchards, and in the
same enclosure stood the two frame
buildings of his store-for he, too