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A BRIEF HISTORY OF

MACON COUNTY^

NORTH CAROLINA,

BY DR. C. D. SMITH.

FRANKLIN, N. C.

Franklin Prkss Print.

1891.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF

MACON COUNTY,

NORTH (AROLLNA,

BY DK. C. D. SMITH.

FRANKLIN, N. C

Fbanklix PsEsa PuiIfT.

.1891.

■»T»

^

Census of Macon (bounty.

CiiNfcUb Bulletin INu. 122, give.-* tbe Popuiatioii oi JStyrib Caiolida bv

Minor Civil Divisions. We extract from it the population of Macon
County as follows:

Tow>fSHip.s. JS90. 1880.

*Burt)ingtown, 682 597

Cartoogechaye 819 584

CoH-ee, 1,263 1,066

EUijay, 812 689

'Franklin, including town, 2,249 1,840

' Iligblands, including town, 788 436

l^Millshoal, 699 671

Nantahala, 1,124 855

Smith's Bridge, 1,123 890

Sugar Fork, 543 436

Franklin town, 28] 207

Highlands town, 233 82

Macon County, 10,102 8,064

o

A BRIEF HISTORY OF MA( ON ( OUNTY, N. 0.

I'Airr 1.

1 propose to write a brief history
of Macon County so far as I have j
been able to gather the facts. There
has heretofoi'e been, and still exists
an unaccountable iudiMerence in par-
ticular communities in regard to
their local history — the preservation
of all the notable events — the histor-
ic facts showing their rise and prog-
ress. This is especially true of this
great plateau of country lying west
of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina.
This neglect on the part of the early
settlers to keep a true historic record
of the early settlement, progress, I
development and succeeding chan-
ges of population and civilization, is j
a culpable injustice to the posterity j
of the strong, resolute men who, on |
the retirement of the savages, took i
possession of the country and sub- j
jected its lands to the arts of agricul-
ture and civilization. It is both
interesting and instructive to know
something of the men who first built
habitations in the wild forests of Ala-
con County and introduced Christian
civilization and customs wheie only
savage life and customs hu'l prevail-
ed from away back beyond the his-
toric era. These sturdy pioneers

Hocked into this valley in 1820 only
seventy years ago, and yet I havi-
found it very difficult to get together
the leading facts of history for so
short a period. There ought to bo
in some county department a lOiri-
plete and official report of the com
missioners having the matter in hiuid
of the survey of the lands of the
county then ordered, the location
and survey of the county site (the
town of Franklin), and a report oi
the surveyor-in-chief giving a com-
plete dingratn of the lands surveyed.
The coramissionei's reported to the
State authorities and there are somi-
files in the Secretary's office, Xo
such record can be found in the
Register's office of Macon County.
Such record would, iiowever, make
an instructive and attractive- feature
in our county records and would in-
terest the student of history and the
lovers of antiquarian lore. A proud
spirited Board of Commissioners
ought to take steps to supply this
deficiency in our county records.

At'tfr what seemed at one tinte,
would prore to be a fruitless search,
I found the record of the organiza-
tion of the county, which took place

nine years after thi' survey <>t the
lands and the location of the site for
tlie town of Franklin. All hack of
Uiat is blank so far as any official
reeonl is concerned. And for other
valuable iiifonnation which I now
proceed to give I iiave hud lo ?"ely
mainly upon the 8tatemenis of the
few renininincj in<1ividuals who were
]iarticipants in the work of survey
and location referred to.

It has been a tnooleil question a.*'
to whether Macon County ever be-
longed to the territory of Jiuncombe
County. The facts show that it did
not, the Buncombe line never having
extended further west than the
Meigs an<l Freeman line. The ter-
ritory now eniV)raced in Macon and
a portiofi each ot the counties of
Jackson and Swain, was acquired by
treaty from the Cherokee Indians in
1817 — 19. During the summer and
fall of 1819 a few whites came a-
mongsl the Indians with a view io]iur-
chasiug when the lands should come
into market. Durmg that fall many
of the Indians moved west of the
Nantahala chain of mountains, but
the entire tribe did not leave the
Tennessee Valley until the fall of
1820. In the spring <»f 1820 the
State Commissioners, Jesse Franklin
and James Meabin in accord a n»^e
with the provisions of an act of the
(leneral Assembly, came to the Ten-
nessee Valley, now tln^ chief part of
Macon County and organized, for the
survey of lands, a corps of .surveyors
of vvboni Caj^t. Koberl Love, a son

oi (nil. riioma> Lo\e, wh<» setii< .
tlifc place at the bridge where Caj
T. M. Angel recently lived, w
chief. Kobert Love had been smi
honored and brave Captain in tl."
war of 1H12, was much respected ou
account of his patriotic devotion '•
American liberty, and wjis cons -
qiK'iitly a man of large influenc •

The work of survey wont rapid •
f.oward, as there were five or six
distinct companies in the fiehL Tl
commissioners tirst determined upc.-
the Watauga Plains where the laic
Mr. Watson lived for the county si^
for a court house and four bundn- >
acres (the amount appropriated I \-
the State for that purpose) was lo< ■
ted and surveyed. There was, bov
ever, a good deal of murmuring at >
jirotcst among the surveyors, esp*.
cially by Capt. Love, the chief, wb<i
favored the present site or the flat
ri<Ige whery Mrs. IL T. Sloan new
resides. To harmonize with their em-
ployes and to give more genenal s;-
isfaction the Conjmissioners, who h: ■
no j>ersonal interest in the raatt* v
proposed to call together the entii'
corps of surveyors and leave it to ri
majority vote of them.

This |)roposition was agre(-;
and the respective companies
surveyors were ordered to as.semb: .
On counting the vote the prese^ t
site of Franklin had a majori: .-,
This result was mainly broug '
about through the influence of Caf
Love, the chief of the corps,
compliance with their propv;-

terms a sin-vey was ordered by tJu^
commissioinM-s, the four hundred
acres were located and a portion of
it laid off into lots including the
court house square. I obtained a
few years ago the foregoing facts
from the late Rev. John McDowell
who was a member of Capt. Love\s
corps and a participant in the elec-
tion. I have been tbu? particular in
giving them in order t«> settle any
dispute thnt might hereafter arise as
to the location of the town of Frank-
lin. The work of survey as mapped \
oat by the Commissioners hftving I
been finished, a general auction sale |
of the lands to the highest bidder i
took place at Wayiusville in Si'j>t. ;

1S20. ' :

The settlement of the (.own of !
Franklin commenced at once. The !
first house built in Franklin was ;
built by Joshua Roberts on the lot '
now occupied by Mr. Jackson John-
ston. It was a small round log cabin. |
But the first house jjroper was one j
built of hewn logs, by Irad S. High- i
tower on the lot where Mr. N. G. |
Allman's hotel stands. It now con- |
stitutes a part of that building. That !
first house passed into the hands of
the late Capt. N. S. Jarrett, thence
to Gideon F. Morris, and from him
to John R, Allraan and then to the !
present owner, N . G. Allman. There
v» ere sevei al log cabins built about
that time, but the order in which it
was done and the claims to priority
I have been unable to ascertain.
Lindsey Fortune built a cabin on

j the lot where the Franklin Hoase, or

Jarrett Hotel now stands. Samitel

j Robinson built on the lot now occu-

j pied by Mrs. Robinson, Silas Mc-

j Dowell first built on the lot where

j stands the residence of T>. C. Cuu-

I niiigham. Dillard Love built the

i first bouse on Mr. Trotter's lot. N.

j S. Jarrett built on the lot owned and

I occupied by Sam L. Rogers. John

! F. DoV)son first improved the corner

lot now owned by C C Smith.

James K. Gray built the second house

made of hewn logs on the lot owned

by Mr... Dr. A. W. Bell. Jesse R.

Siler, one of tbe first sellers built the

house at the foot of th<' town hill

where Mr. Geo. A.Jones now resides.

He also built the second house on

the Gov. liobinson lot and the brick

store and dwelling owned at present,

by Capt. A. P. Munday. James W.

Guinn or Mr. Whitaker built the

house owned and occupied by M

Jackson Johnston.

I am indebted for much ^f this
information about the early settle-
ment of Franklin to the late James
K. Gray ai.d Silas McDowell.
There is one other fact worthy of
notice. John R. i '.^ an opened the
first hotel in Fran! . Shortly af-
ter tliis Jesse R. Siier opened his
hou.se at the "foot of the hill" and
these two houses furni.shed the hotel
acc.ommod!»tions here for many years.
These are the facts of history about
Franklin so far as they go. Though
meagre and unsatisfactory, they may
be interesting to future generations.

<»<N»^*^»»^MM^

.

I'Airr II

AftPr the land sale in Sf-ptenjber,
IJ^'20, at which a large part of the
fiurveyed land was disposed of to
the highest bidders, the Tennpssci-
Valley was settled quite rapidly, but
it was not until the spring of 1829
that a county g«^vorn)ncnt was or-
ganized. During this interim all the
If'gal bosinoss of the entire territory
west from the Turkaseige river to
the Tusquittee and Valley River
chain of inonn tains was transacted
by the county anthorities of Hay-
wood county and in the Superior
court for said county. I remember
distinctly the case of a man living
within the territory of the present
Smith's Bridge townshi;* who was
iried and convicted in the Superior
court for Haywood county for hog
stealing, and for tin's crime received
Iv.enty-ninc lashes at the public
whipping-post in the town of Waynes-
ville. This is the only case of the
kind that ever happened in the terri-
tory of Macon county. During this
interim the late Col. Joab L. Moore,
who resided ne r Franklin, held for
four years the position of Deputy
SherifY under Col. James McKee,
who was at that time Sheriff of Hay-
wood county. Col. Moore did all
the business pertaining to that oHice
in the new territory, and was regard-
ed as a very efficient and faithful
ofHcer. This transition covering the
formative period of our first popula-

tion finally crysiulized into tJ
ments f(>r self county govpniiiii"i
Hence, at the session of the Cencr*
Assembly for 1828-29 an act wa
pa.ssed fn create a :icw county an^
• he name of Macon was givi'u it i
honor of N;iflianiel Macon, wiio wa
a pure statesman and a p» rl<<-t ^d-.-c-
men of an old time Anieri<
triot and gentleman. The I«w 1 1'.;
ting the county ajipoinled thirty-thre
leading citizens to be (pnililied anu
to serve a-s the first Hoanl of Magi
trates. I here quote th»' niinut*--
showing the organizati
county :
'■'■^Il.nales of a Court for Maco

County, Held for Said County o .

the ith Monday in March, 182'.

Agreeable to an Act of the Genen

Assembly Made and Provided fc

Said County.

Present and organizing said coui.
ty, from the county of Haywood
Wm. Deaver, Esqr., who afipoinie
Joshua Roberts to administer tV
oath to the following Justices of \\ ■
Peace for said county, to-wit : Aaro
Pinson, Saul Smith, Jesse R. Sile
John Howard, Jaeob Siler, Joh.
Moore, John Cook, Enoa Shield
Jonathan Phillips, Bynum W. BhI .
Benjamin S. Brittain, Josei>h Welcl
Michael Wikle, Thomas Rogers, Wn
F, McKee, Andrew Cathey, Ceorg
Dickey, Edward L. Poindexter, Ira
S. Hightower, James Buchanan, Wn..

Tarin-ni, Wni. II. l^rvsoii, Matthew j in the administration of law cominj^
PrUlersoii, Bar.ik Norton, Wni. Wit- 1 wilhin tlieiv jurisdiction, thoy suffer
son, T1>0!*. Love, Jr., Mark Coleman, j nothing in comparison with the very
Hugh Gihhs, i\Haph Enloe, Kobert j best County Boards of Magistrates
nnireins, Jo'mi Wild, Henry Dry- | within the State Pt the present writ-
man and Joffcrs ;i Hryson, who, aftei [ ing. For public spirit, and patriotic
tnkii^g s.iid oath ajireeable to law, i lab(*r in the direction of county de-
procccded to appoint :\ clerk for said | veiopment and in building and kecj>-
countv. After balloting for said ap- j ing in repair public roads for public
p«nntment, it appeared to the satis*- , comfort and convciuence, they liavc
faction of the court that Natlvm R. ' not had their equal in the county for
Hyatt was duly elected clerk.' :ie Last half century. If we take

The court having thus been duly the Scriptural axiom .as true that the
organized, consisting; of thirty-three ■■ "tree is known by its fniii", then rlie
magiijitrates, they pro<('eded, by bal- 1 deterioration of our public roads
lot, to e!»'ct al! the county officers — | does not place the present population
the election continuing from day to in an enviable light when compared
'l:.s. .John ]>ob!Jon, father *)f our ! with the population of Mac<>n Ooun-
lountyman, Capi. J. W. Dobyon, ; ty fifty years ago. This comparison
was elected first County Register, ; stands out with special )irominetice
Bynum W. Beli first Shei-iff, Mont- ! when we consider ihe present unac-
ravillc Pa.tton first County Solicitor, countable disinclination of our popu-
Jacob Siler first County Surveyor, | lation to render even a day's laJjf.r
Michael Wikle first County Trustee, on repairs to say nothing of the more
Nathan Smith first Coroner, Robert needed ini[iro\ enieiits on our public
Huggins fir-^t County Ranger and ' roads. T'l tell ,1 plain historic truth
James K. Gray, lirst Standard Keep- 1 in plain Luigaage, our fat.her^, from
er. James I\)teeL was the first Con- ' patriotic motives and with a sense of
stable appointed by the new court, i public and pei-sonal comfort and con-
Oft h;:t first Board of Magistrates I i venience, and luompied by county
knew nearly .all personally. Some- 1 pride, built our county roads, and
thing over sixty-two years have the present generation is too irifliug
passed away since tiiat first l^oard of j to keep them up. As an illustration '
Magiift.rates was organized into a ; of the spirit of the men who first
court. Of the whole number there ; settled M.acon County, it was .agreed
is but one now living, the venerable that the county sh')uld build a road
William H. Bryson, who resides in ' leading from Franklin down the
Jackson county. Taken as a body, j Tennessee River to the mouth of the
for general intelligence, integrity of j Tuckaseige River to connect with a
character and fortitude and fidelity : turn-pike for which Joseph Weich

hud 11 charter to ihe TeniH'Ssef State I tied iiitu three 8ft'lii)n8 with Jetbe
line. Accordingly the court appoin-!R. Siler, Juseph Weloh and James
ted a Jury to lay off and mark the Whitaker as the overseers of the re-
way for said road ooramencing at the I spective sections with sptcis! Iiandu

junction of the Tennessee and Tuck-
aseige rivers and to divide it into
lots at« near equal ap their liniiled
means would enable them lo do.
The jury, laid and marked off seven
lots, Xo, 1 commencing at thcTucka-
seige Ford and No. 7 terminating not
far from the Shallow Ford on Ten-

assigned them. Lot No. 7 had Wm.
Bryson as overseer. This lot fell to
Capt. Wilson's oompany. This lot
terminated some whert' ahoiil the
Shallow Ford, the road from Frtuik-
lin having been somewhat worke«l
oat to that point. The foregoing
lots v\ ere worked out by respeotive

nessee river. There was some sort | companies — the hands forming them-
of lottery in assigning this work to j selves mto messes, taking wagons to
the respective captains' militia com- , haul their provisions, tools, camp-
panies. I suppose there was draw-
ing of straws or perhaps numbers on
slips of paper. The record reads on
the iippointmeni of the respective
overseers: "This lot falls to Capt.
Love's company" &c. &c. to the end
of the chapter. It seems that there
were six militia companies at that
time in the county. It may be well
to mention here the overseers of the
respective lots, and the Captain's
company assigned to each lot, as the
building of this road furnishes an
int^-resting and instructive chapter
in the history of Macon County.
Henry Addington No. I, Capt. Love's
company ; Lot No. 2, Robert Johnson,
Capt. Johnson's company ; Lot No.
3, Benjamin S. Brittain, Capt. Mc-
Kee's company; Lot No. 4, Jacob
Palmer, Capt. Smith's compatiy, —
now Smith's Bridge Township; Lot
No. f), Joshua Amraons, Capt,
Gtjorge's company. Lot No. 6 being
regarded as a very hard lot was divi-

fixtures ike. The Smith's Bridge
company had the lot which lay be-
tween the IS and 19 mile-post*». The
mess consisting of my brothers anl
Kome neighbors took me along is
cook and camp-boy. There I saw
the men taking rock from the river
with the water breast deep t<j aid in
building wharves. They remaitied
until the work was finished. Thi«
work was done without compensation
and for the public good. It illus-
trates the sort of stuff of which our
fathers were made — the spirit of pa-
triotism that prompted a noble race
of men to sacrifice and work for
their country's good. This work
done they returned home, feeling
that they had rendered a iCfervice
ihat was to benefit their e.ounty and
their posterity.

The overseers of the roads gener-
ally, of that time, were of the best
men in the county. That first
Board of Masistratos did not l)elieve

J

'. any class distinction in their tle-
r.'.'id.s for public service. I find in
(1^ recorJs of thnt first court an or-
ler appointing Joshua Rol)erl8 the
.nost prominent memVier of our local
)«r iho overseer of one of our roads.
Phis record set me to thinking,
riiere is ;\ vvho|« lot of lawyers in
Western (Jaroliiui, whd ave not the
leers of Joshua Roberts for re»pee-
iibiiity and legal attainments who
might be utilized by oui- county au-
horities i y malcing road overseers
)f tueia and thereby causing them to
•ender some good, honest service to
hea- country. It would at least be

a liealthy exercise ur . ,.;,.. , ;•
would bring the rebellious spirit -..i
our young American patriots against
road duty to proper verms. At ali
events it might prevent, the- l).)a>tfnl
young men of the present time troin
fighting their over.seers when thev
den;and reasonable and legal service
of them. Try it^ Esquires, and let
us see if there is any blood of onr
noble fiires in che present generation
— any pride of character — any love
of the gene?'al brotherhood wlu'ch
binds together the people of a <.*ounty
and vvithoiit which its good name
and prosperity canriol long continue.

PART HI.

The Courts of Pleas and Quarter ;
Sessions of that day as they were j
ialied, were regular jury courts, and
. give the nameA of the first venire
■lUmmoned to serve as jurors, for the
Tune term following :

1 Wymer Siler,

2 Jonathan Whiteside,
a Jacob Hice,

4 Wm. Oochrara,

5 Iknjamin Johnston,
b Wm. McLure,

7 Peter Led ford,

8 Martin Norton,

9 John Lamm,

10 John Addington,

1 1 Matthew Dnvi.s,
)2 James Whitaker,

13 Henry Addington,
14Micheul Wikle,

15 Wm. Welch, Sr.,

16 Samuel Smith,
n Geo. T. Ledford.

18 Ebenezor Newiou,

19 Joseph Welch,

20 Luke Barnard,

21 George Dickey,

22 Zachariah Cube,
28 Mark Coleman,

24 Lewis Vandyke,

25 Thomas Love, Sr.,

26 March -Iddingion,

27 Jacob Trammel,

28 John Dobson,
2i> Andrew Pat ton,
30 George Black,

) Idixuc. Miinnoy,

■ •■J. Joliti IM. Angel,

33 John Gillespif,

84 Ju!se[tli ChamlxTs,

35 John Tloward,

3() Jhi-oh Siler.

This venire was composed of typ-
ical and rcpivseiiUtive men i>f the
early population of Macon County.
It would he hard to find an abler
hody of jiinjrs, even now, in any
county in ihe State. It i." inu- they
were a style of men different from
the present edition. They werv. men
of sound minds, of X}]}- strictest in-
tegrity, picifoundly impressed with
the ohiitrations of l.nv and ju.stice
and for old fashioned courtly deport-
ment one towards another, and for
manly bearing in the dischari,'e of
their duties u.s conservniors of pu'dic
j>eace and justice, they have no su-
periors at the present day. Many
of them came to the years of man-
hood in and about the close (»f the
lievolutionary war which achieved
An:erican independence — at a time
and under conditions that "tried
men's souls'' and when "the survival
of the fittest" gave to us a race of
men brave, true and thoroughly
impregnated with a love for those
rights and that justice which cost
so greut a price of blood, 'i'hat love
was. quickened and intensified by
the war ot 1812 when the mother
'ountry, for the second time, attemp-
ted, to enslave freemen and levy un-
just tribute upon this grand and
)>roduclivf country of ours-. Is it

any wonder that men raised in such
times and familiar with ih*- heroeM
wht) slaked their aU on the struggle
against opj»rcs-iiou .ind injustice
should be cminf'utly fpjalitifd to try
all legal disputes bfiwcm their com-
peers and mete out justi
vii»latei*8 t>f the code?

I have a distinct recoliecti«>n o5
many of thr members of that jury.
They would compare favorably with
any similar l)ody of men, then or
now. In stature they were al)Ove
the ordinary juryman and were de-
cidedly maidy in a]>pearance with a
bearing expressive of finnnoss and
a will to do the ri<rhl. They Mere
verv affable gentlemen ;ifid well
read for men of their limes. In fact,
they constituted a brotherhood of pa-
triots who loved and labored for
their country's honor and their coun-
try's good. Tiiis constitutes the
highest type of citizenship for a
commonwealth. Such obedience to
law and order — such devotion to the
public good — such fidelity to public
trust and such unity of action and
purpose in behalf of the well-being
of the whole as characterized those
men furnish a guarantee of a pros-
perous and happy people.

At that first court for Macon (^oini
ty the court appointed the* following
named persons commissioners whose
du'iy it shfudd be to draft plans and
specifications for a court house and
jail for the county of Macon and di-
recting them to advertise the letting
out the same to the lowest bidder at

the no\i tiTin (It the i-oiirt June fol- , \\"' iii- iiwiiicr i 'nMiilcil ot tLo
lowinp:, viz: ''Jcssv U. Sik-r, Thorn- j tinios an»l |)>Uiii)tio c.haracit'r of the
;is' Kiinsi'v, T.uke IJarnard, Mnrk j envly" spttlcrs. m rh(' i.i:iniH-r lin^l
* ..mMii, James Whitnker, Aaron j i^]iii-it with u-liicij ih('\- scrwd thf
)'in?<oii, John Brvson, Sr.'* I find j piihlic interest. I tin*! in .the ^-J/in.
lu ihv ''Jf 1)1 ifte.'C' of the June tertn j «<e.s-" for Marcli torni 18*29. with a
',.f rliH (oiiit for IS'JJ) that the oon- j court lioiiso and jail to l.nil.l, this
iract for huildins: the conrt house ! order : "Ordered l>y the Court, thit
was fuvarded to Col. Dnvi \ Colen^ui ; the Statt tax be 20 i-ents. ami fifty
"at three thousand :ind eight hun- j eents on tlio poll — for jdihlii Imild-
dred dollars" with Cen. Thomas j ins:s 12^ eonls on eaeh i>olL for to

Lf)ve and Zaehariah Cahe as securities I defray county charge.s 5 ..-enfs for

for the faithftd iierforniance of the i weij^hts and measure'* on each oOO
oontrnct. At the same time the eon- 1 dollars value of land equal to one
tr;iet for buildini? the jail was award- , poll.'' Th'K order is rather luiione
ed to Coi. Benjamin S. I>rittain for j in style, l)ut it hrisjors to O'lr knowl-
"iwenty jnne hundred and nyiety : edi>;e the rate of taxation. The wide
five dollars," who ga\e u<-' securities ; difference between the raxes of 1829
for the ])erfonnarce of the contract, j and 1891 is indeed worth v of our se-
Jo8eph Welch, Jeremiah R. Pace ' rious consideration. The present
and John Hall. The masons who ! population complain most bitterlv
undertook the brick work of the , of the heavy burden of tttxation un-
court house were Samuel Lyle 'and der which they drag out their ucnry
Dr. T. T. Young, of VVa.sliiugton 1 lives. I believe that in the main
county, Tennessee. They were good i they lay this sin at the door {;f rin^s-
houest workmen in their line. The i men'^awJ the extravagance of officials,
brick they matiufacture-l were of j Let us see how this is. Our fathers
excellent quality and the house they | believed that they owed a debt to
built would 'have stood for n half | good government — to the fairhful
ceniury longer. But in style and j adrfiiniatration of law and the con-
capacity it wa.-s wholly inadequate to gervation of public peace and moral-
the needs of the present population | ity, and they patriotically undertook
and from sheer necL'Ssity gave; way j to perform' the public service with-
to t-he substantial and commodious | out compensation. 1 (an well re-
new one which now occupies the j member the good eheor which pre-
site of the old one. For the new j vailed when the people gathered tn
and much needed court house the , the quarterly courts to transact the
public arc mainly indebted to u few county business and such other buoi-
public spirited and patriotic surviving I Iness as came within the jurisdiction
sons of the fathers of the county. of a qiarterly court jury. It seemc"!

J I)

to bf ;i 6ort of ovaliou when they
could moot aud con^ervji tlio pabiic
interest. ]iut the laSt third of a cen-
tury has develoj)ed ne« idea« and
juethods for tlie public service. In-
deed it may be said of ihiss genera-
tion as Robert Borns said of the
Scotch youth in his day :

"That beardless liuldies
^1' "'i'^ rliiiik they belf.er were inform'd

Thau their auld daddies."

Losiiij^ that patriotic spirit which
prompted thoir riohle fathers to
the performance of a public ser-
vice without a pecuniary reward,
they commenced to murmur about
the hardships of the public ser-
vice without a/7er diem compensation.
Nor did they ceatii^ this howl for a
paltry sum until they secured the
coveted piize. Then of course came
taxation in order to raise the funds
to meet the demand. It presents, in
fact, the odd spectacle of a people
tHxing thenoselves that they might
get it back in a draft upon the coun-
ty treasury. It is the necessity of
this self imposed new order of things
that makes the difference between
the taxes of the prese/)t and sixty
two years ago. It has created and
fostered a mercenary spirit in the
conduct of all public affairs, tlian
whicii there is no i^reater bane to all
civil and political purity. This mer-j
cepaVy spirit is a poison that works j
imperoepiibly but none the less sure- 1
\ ly. It h :s coHt kii'.gs their crowns:
.; and rep'iblics their liberty and per- i
1 liPtnitv. ft. is especially insidio\is in

public affairs, and there can be little
doubt that it has been a potent agent
in weakening public virtue. It has,
indeed, been a fruitful source of the
perjury and bribery lh.it now disgra-
ces our civilization — that corrupts
our public otficials — that defeats th-
adniinislration of justice and threat-
ens the pormaneucy of our noble prin-
ciples of government. It had its be-
ginning in little matters but has
grown to dangerous proportions, an<l
lh<^ end is not yet. Perhaps the rea-
der will <Mnsider this an unpardona-
ble digression. While I admit that
it is not ■narrfitioe I claim that it is
nevertheless hiatorji and as such com-
mends itself to the sober considera-
tion of all.

l,.ittlo as mankind may tidnk ahou'.
it one generation impresses itself up-
on another. And singularly enough,
the further removed, as a general
rule, each generation is from the
original stock the feebler becomes the
imiM-cssion of the original type. This
is the history of nations and com-
monwealths. I mean this to apply,
not to mere condili()n«« of luxury and
style under which lie a vast amomit
of moral obliquity, but to those no-
bler traits of heart and brain which
constitute real worth of character
and qualify men to beai up the pil-
lars ot goOil government and a sound
public morality. Let the candid rea-
der compare the prevalent disincli-
nation of the populace of to-day to
perform any public service only from
mercenary considerations — the gen-

11

oral spirit of insuhor<lin:iti(»!i to law
and .■ujt.hority Nvlieiievor it conflicts
with their private prejudices and
personal whims, with the ready and
cheerful compliance with the public
demands for the pul>iic good, reti-
dered l;y our fathers of sixty years
ago, and he must he convinced of the
truth of this axiom. This chapter is
written not in a spirit of vindictive-
ness or the mere love of complaint,

but w ith a view to awakening the pub-
lic Diind to a sense of a prevalent evil,
and with a hope thereby to induce a
return to healthier methods and a
more loyal and patriotic course in the
eonducL of jiublic affairs. Should
this result in stirring up a spirit of em-
ulation of the noble men who subdu-
ed the wilds of Macon county to the
arts of Christian civilization, I will
havci gained the coveted reward.

PART IV.

The manneis and customs of a
people usually form a fair index to
their leading traits of character. By
this rule I propose to speak of some
of the customs of the people of Ma-
con coutity from sixty to seventy
years ago. While the customs of s')-
ciety were not then so airish as now
there was among the more promi-
nent families a quiet unobtrusive na-
tive dignity and sense of propriety
expressive of true man and , woman-
hood upon which the arts of fashion
have not made any improvement.
The matter of courting among young
people was done in different style
from the present, yet it ha<l the mer-
it of being honest and straight. And
although, incidents in some of the
courtships of those days furnished
matter for amusement and laughter,
the resulting marriages were usually
happy and prosperous. A regular
dude could not have got in his work

of nonsense an<l deception amongst
those people. There were no dukes
nor }>rinces to delude the giddy and
foolish with high sounding titles
without merit, and less capacity for
conjugal happiness. Merit then con-
sisted in sound native brains, honest
industry, sobriety and frugality.
Whatever of goodness and usefulness
there is in the present generation
has come from such source. What-
ever education teaches or results in
idleness, deteriorates manhood and
womanhood. The old classic adase
is as true of woman as it it is of man:
"An idle man's brain is the devil's
work-shop." Nor does refinement,
so called, alter or modify this verdict.
It was the custom in those early
days not to rely for help exclusively
upon hired labor. In harvesting small
grain crops the sickle was mostly
used. When a crop was ripe the
neighbors were notified and gathered

12

in to reap and shock uj* the prop.
The manner was for a dozen or toure
men to cut through the field, then
bang their sickles over their stouU
ders and bind back. The boys gath-
ered the sheaves together and the old
men shocked them uj*. The curii
crops were usually gathrrod in and
thrown in great heaps alongside of
the cribs. The neighbors were invi-
ted and whole days and into the
nights were often spent in husking
out a single crop. I have seen as
many as eighty or ninety men at a
time around my father's corn heap.
If a house or barn or stable was lo
be raised the neighbors were on hand
.'iiid the building was soon under
roof. Likewise if a man had a heavy
clearing, it was no trouble to havt;
an ample force to handle and put in
herps the heaviest logs. It was no
unusual thing for a man to need one
or two thous;it)d rails foi' fencing.
All be had to do was to proclaitn
that he would have a '■'■rail mauling'''
ori a given day, and bright and ear-
ly the neighbors were on tiic ground
aid the rails were made before sun-
■ iown. This custom of mutual aid,
•ultivatfcd a feeling of mutual depen-
dence and brothefhood, and re8uit..(l
in the roost friendly and neighborly
int^rc<mrse. Indeed, each man
eeinevl to be oh the lookout for his
iieighbors' comfort and welfare as
well ae. his own. It made a commu-
nity of broad, liberal minded people,
who despite the t jngue of gossip and
an occasional fisticuff in hot blood.

liverl in peace and good wii! .,»». i,>.
ward another. There w:is then l«h»»
selfisliDesH and cold formality than
now. Thi.»< differcnee is not for the
want of an) naurr:il disposition or
good impulses, but as a result of tbc
forco of custom aiid habit. Indeed
our social and moral tcn»pers are
very much tlie result of our hal»iis
and customs. Any method which
discards the habit of neighborly in-
terchange <>f good deeds and UKitua!
helpfulness, breeds and fosters self-
ishness. This leads legitimately to
the withdraw d «)f each family into a
sort of community of its own, uncoa
cerned for the comfort and welfare
of others. This, in its turn, affeet.s
the manners of a people. It fieczcb
out that warmth and good cheer 8i»
characteristic of our fathers of sev-
enty years ago, and brings upon the
stage a set of cavaliers in deport-
ment whose good offices are ren<lered
on the basis of pecuniary benefit.
Such is the change from the primi-
tive customs here referred to, to the
new method.s, and I leave the candid
reader to judge of the result. I am
free to admit that there has been im-
provement along some lines, such for
instance an that of education, the
building of church houses, style of
dress etc., but I am •»ure that there has
been none in tiie (>tern< r trails of
character, generosity, niaidiness, j)a-
Iriotism, integrity .and piiT)lic ^piri!..
There was another custom in those
bygone days which t<> the present
generation seems cxtrenjely juiniiti; e

13

and rude, but Which when analyzed j all sorts of boasts and banters. The
shows a strong sense of honor and , truth is he had coine to carry off the
manliness of eharneter. To settle | ))ek for manhood. The very boys in
minor disputes? and differences \vhet!i- j the street were roused to hot blood
(•)• for ima<rinfiry or veal jiersonal i in bt-half of what they regarded as
wrongs there were occasional fisti- the honor of their county and state,
cuffs. Then it sometimes occurred One of our first Board of Magistrates,
in affairs of this* kind that whole Edward L. Poindexler, was known to
neighbor!) )ods and communities took
an interest. I have known county
arravi^d against county, and state

be a man of great physical powers.
Fie was a North Carolinean of the
old type, and no doubt, partly promjjt-
against stale, for the belt in cham{>i- j ed by state pride, he made up his

onship, for manhood and skill in a
hand-to-hand tussel between local
bullies. When these contests took
place, the custom was for the parties

mind to tackle the Tennessee bully.
The result was that after a long and
manly strtiggle the Tennescean went
away next day all bruised and sore

to go into the ring. The ciowd of j with his game feathers fallen and
spectators demanded fairness and drooping all around him. This cus-
honor. If any one was disposed to j tom illustrates the times, and I have
■s,hQ\s foul flay he was withheld or in ! introduced it more for the sake of
the attempt promjitly chastised by I contrast than a desire to parade it
some bystander. Then again, if ei-' before the public,
ther party in the tight resorted to any 1 How marked the difference be-
weapon whatever other than his I tween then and now. The custom
physical appendages, he was at once ; now is to tight with all kinds of dead-
hrande<I and denounced as a coward,^ Xy weapons, knives, razors, pistols,
and was avoided bv his former asso-land in fact with any and every kind
ciates. While this custom was hru- j of weapons that corqes to hand,
tal in its practice there was a bold ! From the mere stripling who js a
outcropping of character in it, for I novice in crime to the old offcnd^M-
such affairs were ccuiducted upon the: who has grown gray in iniquity, a
most punctilious poiiits of Aowor. i large number of men now carry pit-
Remember this, young man, to theliols. In defense of the habit, it is
day of your death. I reniv^mber thtit I usual to j)!ead personal protection
on one occasion, 1 think it was a | and changed conditions. Analysis
court week, a man by ihe name of i of the real cause for this habit, to-
Kean came from Tennessee to Frank- gether with a long series of observa-
lin. lie had quite a reputation in tions, shows that it grows out of
his state as a locrd bully. He parad-| about three conditions, viz; coward-
ed up and down the street making! ice, a thirst for blood, or a cojipcious-

i ;

ni'ss of guilt for ponie ot'fenot' and
consequent fear of arrest and puriinh-
Mipiit for it. The most corunion of
.\>o>i(' ilirce sjiccilications is, no doubt,
«•;•.. ad. ce. The young man, espe-
cially, who stuffs a pistol into his
I'ockei betrays a sinister purpose not
to oI>s(.'rve the proprieties of a gentle-
man, and not to confine himself to
good company, and his cowardice
prompts him to arm himself with a
liftol. As a rule it is the coward
.vhi) first uses his pistol and is almost
uniformly first fo shoot. Conscious!
of havitiij violated the proprieties of
a genlloman, or o^ having wronged a
fellow being, with the first intima-
tion that he will be required to ac-
count for it, and prom])ted by a cra-
ven spirit he whips out his pistol and
commences shooting. It would per-
haps bo a great mercy to a certain
cla«s of young men, were they sent
to the pei:ilentiary for the act of
carrying a pistol before their coward-
ly souls are stained ■with innocent
blood.

There is anotlier class — a sort of
nondescript — vviio cany pistols.
They can give no valid reason why
they carry them other than a mere
desire to do so. This class is most-
ly of small menial caliber. They
possess a strange sort of vanity — are
'^ -iiled with the idea that they are
'•iijects of both fear and admira-
"un an^orig timid people, i can
■ K->'{ illustrate this senseless vanity
ly relating an incident in the life of
'U E;\al Tennessean, who in the ol-

deo times used to carry Itoni loa<l»
of Hour, bacon and iron down todtmi-
ter's Landing in Alabama. lie
would anchor his boat and spend a
month or two in selling <»ut his car-
go to the newly settled people. It
happened, that or)e night he went
out to a country frolic. Being a li\e-
ly old buck he took a full band with
them. There wan ono girl i'l the
crowd who was a little belter dressed
than the others, having a big tb>unce
or ruffle around the skirt of her dress.
She had not taken .'my part in the
dance. So my fritmd li. concluded
to bring her out. She had a large
roasted potato in her hand at the
lime, and stepping in front of her
with a very low and courle«ufi bow,
he said ; "Miss, won't you be so very
kind as to lake a reel with me?" She
whirled about and said : "Here mamy,
bold my 'later till I dance with this
fellow." Dashing into the center of
the room with arms swinging right
and left and tossing her head into the
air with a gyration of the neck, she
shouted ; "Clear the way here you
common sort and let border-tail come
out!" And my friend B. said he
found the 'most ample test for his
powers for endurance. Now, here
is a portraiture of the young man of
this class with a pistol in his pocket,
and when I meet one «>f them I al-
ways think of my old friend B. and
his Alabama girl : and, as for that
matte'r I find a great many places
for the application. Before dieraiss-
ing this class let me lell you a secret

15

upon them. The very presence of a
pistol in the pocket of one of them

the age. With the pistol has come
an avalanche — an inundation of rob-

creates a desire to use it. The more bers. They bear the ear-marks of
he thinks Jibout it the stronger the pistol paternity. It is the revolver

desire becomes, until it deadens the
moral sensibilities and as a final re-
sult developes a new fledged enniiiiftl.

that arrests the railway train, goes
through the express and mail cars,
appropriating their contents, and ri-

Yo»in<i' nian, if you should ever have fles the pockets of innocent passen-
a lucid moment of reason, I beg of I gers without regard to age, sex, or
you to throw your pistol into the mill condition. It is the chief reliance of
pond and b« a man among men. I the assassin. It st«^als into the apart-
There is also the blood thirsty villian | ments of decrepitude and old age at

who by nat'ire or habit is insensible
to all the nobler impulses of our
common humanity, and to whom

the still hour of midnight and leaves
them stripped of their valuables and
occupied l>y death. The imprints of

nothing is sweeter than human gore. | Colt and Wesson figure in most ca-
When he is armed with a pistol he j ses of suicide. By the way, the pis-
becomes a very scourge to society, ml age is the age of suicides. Sin-
He seeks every possible pretext to I gularly enough the presence of the
satiate his corn)orant appetite for j pistol begets in the human mind all
blood, and that too without regard manner of evil thoughts and intent,
to age or condition. And as to the j Indeed, it seems to be a fruitful
old hardened criminal from wbasc i source of the mania for self-destruo-

soui and heart crime has obliterated
all sympathy for the good elements

tion. Nor does it rogard age or sex.
Now cast up in your mind the im-

it is not so straiige that he carries a
revolver, because ho expects to meet

at every turn either the stern hand j the innocent and httlpless on its ac-
of jasticfr! or retribution and conse- count — the sad weeds of widowhood

quently he prepares to sell his life at

and orphanage, with which the once

of human society and deadened every ; mense dcstrnctioti of human Jife in
lie that binds man to his fellow man ! which the pi:?tol has been the most

potent instrument — the woe and ;.ti-
guish that have settled down upoi

the 'learest possible price. What I happy domestic altar has been
think you of the contrast between i shrouded, and the many school-house
yht'. piist and the present ? j doors which have been thereby closed

I' is, dear reader, an open ques-t against helpless orphans, .and tell m<^
tiou as to whether Colt, Wesson and | what this infant industry has done
others with their patented inventions i for the nation. It seetns to me that
and manufacture of pistols have not | a little prohibition along this line
been the greatest national scourge of | might do the nation some good.

,^