The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-11-29
WAS FIRST SUGGESTED
BY A GEORGIA MAN
PURCHASE OF THE RICH EN-
PRE- OF ALASKA. SOME IN
TERESTING HISTORY.

The history OF Alaska, that great
and practically unknown part OF our
country. is somewhat connected with
that of our good old state OF Georgia,
writes Lamar Williams in the Macon
Telegraph. This may be news to the
most Of the people OF our country. and
doubtless is, but nevertheless It IS 25-
solutely true.
Sometime in May, 1901 at Florida,
in Orange county, New York, there
came into the world boy baby who
was destined to play an important part
in the history OF the nation. In the
same year, in October, in Putnam
county, Georgia, was born another
boy, who was destined to play an inn
portant part in his country's history,
but not quite so prominent as that OF
the northern boy. And no one ever
thought the paths of these boys would
cross, and that they would become
fast friends and remain such in spite
OF terrible trials that confronted espe-
cially the southern boy.
Time moved on and in due course
the northern boy graduated from col
lege and came south to teach school
in Putnam county, and to live in the
home of the southern boy. They were
almost the same age and became, as
stated, fast friends.
The Georgia boy was prepared for
college by his young teacher and q
few years later was graduated with
honors at old Franklin college, now
University OF Georgia,
l don't know how long the Yankee
boy lived in Georgia, one or perhaps
IL L. 4 NT1.,,,
York and commenced the practice Of
law. The Georgia boy also graduated
in law but did not make it his life
work, deciding instead to be a planter
and settled in Butts county on the old
Mcintosh reservation, having bought
this from Mcintosh himself. This
tract lay between Big Sandy creek
and the Ocmulgee river, and was the
last land owned by the Indians of
Georgia
Time moved onward again and the
political atmosphere OF the day was
charged and surcharged with ques-
tons of great moment, and upon the
settling of which depended the his
tory of a nation. There never has. as
yet, been published a history Of those
strenuous times that has been fair to
the great section OF country in which
we live but some time, somewhere,
God will raise up a man great enough
and big enough to tell the whole truth,
in spite of politics and the devil
All through these years this Yankee
and this southerner had remained good
and true friends, and kept up a regular
correspondence in spite OF the great
political gulf that swept between. The
Yankee boy, who had taught school in
Putnam county, Georgia, was none
other than William H. Seward. who
became United States senator and at
terward secretary OF state under Mr..
Lincoln. History teaches how active
and bitter he became against the
south, and those who had known him
and had been kind to him, when he
was a stranger boy in a strange Coun-
try. could never quite understand how
he could be so.
The Georgia boy was the late Mai.
B. F. Ward, of Butts county, who was
prominent in those times in the legis
lative halls OF the state, and while he
regretted the necessity of his native
state seeding from the Union could
see no other course with honor.
The civil war came; and while Mr.,
Seward was doing all he could to help
crush the south Mr. Ward was doing
all he could to forward the fortunes
of the Confederacy, by giving to its
army his three sons, The eldest OF
these bows. Frank Ward, was one
among the first Georgia troops to
reach Virginia, and was captured at
the first battle OF Manassas. He was
carried to Washington and put into