The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1919-09-19

the guerrillas under Captain Holtz-
claw raided the town time or two,
and men were killed, and the elder
Pershing played mans part.
"But the guerillas did not attack
US because we were Union people,
insists Banker Lomax. "There were
two or three bad characters who
lived there then, and they had held
up and robbed people from other
counties. So the guerrillas got after
U.S."
However that may be, the PERISH
ings had no more to do with raiding
or the resistance than had other peo-
pie in town. The Pershing store was
looted-"they took perhaps $1,000
worth of stuff"-but Pershing was
not the outstanding leader of the
Unionists. The town had been pretty
consistently Union since early in the
war, when a troop of Iowa soldiers
interned at Quincy several of the
more violent talker for the Confed-
eracy.
81 can remember that some Of them
called out, Save us, John Pershing,'
when they were taken away" said
Lomax. "He was standing there look
ing at them, and they knew him to be
good Union man, who might have
, influence"
! The stories that "Mother" Perish
ing made Union flag and that the
elder Pershing hung it over his store
and thus provoked the guerrilla
wrath are untrue, according to old
times. "Those were unsettled
times" said Lomax, "and many
is the meeting we held IN
the second story Of the build
ing that stood right on the
corner where my bank is now, to talk
over resisting the guerrillas. Once
they raided the town and one man
fired out of the window and killed
a guerrilla. The others fired back
and killed him. Old Man Pershing
was present at the meeting"
But those troubles of the Debat-
able Ground came when the future
general was too young to be i'm
pressed by them. He grew up a quiet,
studious, we'll behaved boy. When
he was old enough he joined the
Methodist church. Judge Clay Big
Igers, who knew him well as school
mate and playmate, is quite unable
to recall any hectic incident. They
went to the old swimming hole to-
gether and fished and hunted and did
about what country boys always do.
j Like all tine others who knew him,
Biggers is emphatic in declaring that
John J. Perslling was a we'll behaved
boy.
eff he ever did one mean or low or
vulgar action my memory hasefailed
to preserve it," is the declaration of
Banker Lomax.
After his father lost his money the
boy looked about for some work to
do. He tried farming fer l:ttttlc TT
that seemed not to hav appealed to
him. He = said to have taught ne
gro school for little, but Judge Os-
car Libby, who is custodian of the
school boards books, says he can find
no record of this.
81 told the story myself" said he,
sbut there is nothing on the books.
It may be that the general taught
school for little while, when ne
gro teacher was sick, but no pay war
rants were ever made out in his
name. May be he and the negro
fixed it up between them"
During this period he taught the
Prairie Mound school, 9 miles from
Laclede, but again romance butts in
to wall of dull fact. Nothing hap
pened. He was a good school teach
er, who no doubt padded unruly
pupils for their souls good from time
to time, but not enough to be hand
ed down IN tradition. Nor did any
indignant father ever try to whip
him. Clint Stutzman, who was his
pupil, never heard Of John Pershing
ever having had a fight with any one.
There are but dozen or so still alive
who knew General Pershing when he
was boy, and their memories might
be summed up in this fashion:
'The Pershing family was fine
self-respecting God fearing family.
Not one of them ever missed a Sun
day school"
r. ;e +o Conrreesman Rr1rro11rhS