The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-06
Rx w. q. MCLuRE.

By W. c. MCGUIRE.
 Demopolis, February 5.- 5.-tSpecial)- The steamer Demopolis has entered the service of the Mississippi Warrior Transportation company. She is proud steel-clad twin-screw steamer of the latest model in towboat con struction, and is named for the thrlv- ing little city located on the lime chalk bluffs of Marengo county-just below the point where the waters of the Black Warrior join the Little Tom bigbee and form the Tombigbee in US path to the gulf at Mobile. She was formally christened with elaborate ceremonies and with a throng of l,o00 happy people as witnesses on Janu- ary 31.
 It has been said that history repeats | itself. Some say it matters not where | you have been," but rather "whither 1 art thou going" in this age of com | mercialism and hurry. But 1t would have required the vision and apprecla- tion of one gifted with bright and ! brilliant rays of accomplishment with the pen to presage what this occasion 1 means for the people of this vicinity and the state large-if, indeed, 1t | be possible to draw an appropriate picture. BIT OF HISTORY
 1 In the year 1918, colony of the French landed upon the high chalk bluffs at Demopolis, and thus felt at home and safe from the Bourbon rule in their native land, which had full sway after the great Napoleon was l defeated at last at Waterloo. A more | lenlightening reference to this historic incident may be found in Plcketts History of Alabama, chapter fl, Mod
 ern French Colony in Alabama or the | Vine and Olive company.
 bof roin | lthat Miss Louise Webb. the sponsor. dI the day, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John \ lC Webb, Jr., and granddaughter or Capt John c. Webb of Demopols, IS one of the very few, if not the only de- scendant of one of the original French. | emigrants and grantees of land m ! Marriage county, at and around Demop- oils. made by the government to these proud and fearless French people; Miss | Webb holding such distinction on her | mothers side, through the BroWders and Garbers, dating back to Maj. J. M. ! Shapron, who received his grant Janu- l ary 16 1819 under decree of William H. Crawford, then Secretary of the I Treasury Mention should also be made | of the fact that the land where the II Demopolis docked for these exercises has been owned by Miss Webbs fam | fly on her fathers side, through four | generations.
 | MAlDS OF nOINOh III Assisting Miss Webb as maids were: | Misses Hope McMillan and Martha \ Taylor. Miss McMllan being daugh- ter of the late Rane McMillan, who for | years was prominently identified with the mercantile circles of DemopoliS, and a stepdaughter of w. g. Prout, | president Robertson BGnking com
 pany. Miss Taylor is the gracious and | accomplished daughter of MT. and Mrs. Taylor of Demopolis, and niece of Val Taylor of Uniontown. She comes of good old Virginia stock, be- ing a great-great niece of Col. Edwar1 A. Taylor, who locatede in the early days of the republic at Columbus. Miss. In thus referring to these pretty and
 charming girls and their companions part in the christening of the Demopo- lis. mention. must be made of little
 Miss Mary Joe Lee, daughter of J. l Lee mayor of the city, she being g lreal maid of honor as we'll as flower lgirl. As chaperone of the party, Mrs l.; Henry McDaniel, in her charming anc | efficient manner not only scored l0S | per cent, but managed well to holt
 the enthusiasm of her charges within | bounds.
 III IN REMINISCENCE
 Fl At 12 o'clock, upon invitation of th' | master of the craft, a party of in
 
 her maids of honor and others in at
 tendance. had delightful boat rid
 up the river, through the governmen
 lock- During the process of the luncl | served on board, Mrs. McDaniel re \ called that she, when a child sittini on the knee of Grandfather, Maj. Will liam P. Webb, of Eutaw, remembers lprophecy he made that the Birming
 ham and Tuscaloosa district served b \ the Warrior river was the comin | Pittsburg of the south, and that tn waterway would be made navigabl II for all-year traffic some day, an | (which in conjunction with the Panam canal would open to the world ou | immense treasures of coal and irol | and that the great cement makin
 material deposits around sDemopol lwould be appropriated by futxre cI,
 ilization through the impetus of ns | tures gift of transportation, now con Ling into use and benefit.
 Promptly at ? o'clock Miss Mar II Louise Webb broke a bottle of real chan | pagne over the bow of the noble era | amid the cheers of not less than 1,50
 | people in attendance, and thus ";
 swelled a loud invocation that this bo
 would safely ride henceforth the benei
 ! cent waters of this system, bearing avs
 | the products of Alabama's shop and fiel
 mine and factory. ready wrought in
 Iieyerythine of ornament and value.
 Ii REAL CHAMPAGNE
 | Leonard L. Shertzer, president of |
 Chickasaw Lumber company, acted
 | master of ceremonies. His speech "
 beth instructive and inspiring. On |
 part of the mayor of the city, Warr
 C. Mcclure welcomed the Demopoli
 | to Demopolis He took occasion to ft
 mally present, with short and appropra
 remarks. the master of the boat. Cal A O. J. Blanchard and his efficient cr' to the throng of people present, and ca : | received the plaudits of hospitable M appreciative audience.
 IT Assisting Captain Blanchard were D. {. Slaughter, as pilot; Freeman Thrower. mcte: Wilbur Cox and c. c. Lewis,
 engineers. These gentlemen were giv
 ' to understand that when landing and {