USA > Kentucky > Livingston County > Chronicles of a Kentucky settlement > Part 30
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was joy a myth and life a failure? No, no ! The struggle had been a long and varied one ; there had been alternations of sunshine and storm, hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, smiles and tears ; but now ! the end was very near, the battle would soon be over, the victory won; tiresome labors would give place to a rest that was not inaction ; enfeebled age would soon put on an ever-abounding youth ; and they would rejoin their loved companions and comrades, who had exchanged their tents on the battle-fields of earth for an ever-abiding home in the " Land of Peace."
And old Elijah greatly desired that his old friend Tom should sleep beneath his roof that night ; and so, after dinner, Joseph Adair told his father that he would return home, but would come back for him the next day. That night the two old men sat up until a late hour, talked of other days, long gone by, of comrades gone before, and fought their battles o'er again. And the widow and her son sat by and listened. And the next morning the two old men, aided by the widow and her son, slowly and painfully climbed the moun- tain side until they stood by the undressed stones which marked the grave of Polly Wright. And the two old men, with dry eyes, knelt reverently beside the grave ; and the widow and her son, with streaming eyes, knelt near by, and a few minutes were spent in silent prayer. And soon the four came slowly down the mountain side : and in the afternoon Joseph and his father returned home, and, as they drove along, the old man seemed to have a heavy heart and spoke but little-for memory was busy.
Another week or two passed by, and a report reached Salem that James Wilson had been shot and killed ;
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that some one had, in broad, open day, approached near the house, and shot him as he sat in the porch in his great arm-chair, and that death had been instan- taneous. Joseph Adair at once mounted Ben Simon and rode rapidly to the scene, found that the report was true, and that a number of persons had collected, -among them Colonel Lovell and his wife. The widow and daughter had been nearly wild with grief, but were now more composed and resting quietly. The Colonel gave his quiet orders and superintended everything. And when, two days later, the body of James Wilson was laid beside that of his son Penn, Colonel Lovell, standing by the open grave, offered up a short and simple prayer, but one that went home to many hearts. And when the grave was filled, all slowly dispersed ; and the bereaved, sad-faced widow, and her sorrowing daughter left their gloomy home, and went to that of their kind friends, Colonel and Mrs. Lovell, where they remained for some time. Who the assassin was, was never positively ascer- tained. A " dreaded man " had been killed ; the law- abiding public breathed more freely ; and little or no effort was ever made to find out who was the perpe- trator of the bloody deed.
When George Duncan returned home and heard the sad news of Mr. Wilson's death, he was further told, by Joseph Adair, that Mr. Wilson had left a will, of very recent date, in which he, Duncan, was, in the event of his marriage to Catherine Wilson, appointed executor, without security, of his, Wilson's estate. And Duncan went at once to Colonel Lovell's to see the widow and her daughter. of mingled joy and sorrow.
The meeting was one The good Colonel said
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that matters pertaining to the estate required atten- tion, and that, considering all the circumstances, he thought the marriage should take place as soon as Miss Wilson's convenience would permit. And so it was arranged ; and when the day came the ceremony was performed at the residence of Colonel Lovell. And when George Duncan and Catherine Wilson stood before the officiating magistrate, Christopher Howard, to be made husband and wife, Joseph Adair and Laura Howard, not as groomsman and bridesmaid, but as their nearest and dearest friends, stood by their side. And all was well ! Two loving hearts were united, and the widow and her daughter had a good protector. James Wilson's estate proved to be even more valuable than was generally supposed, and was well and pru- dently managed.
A few days later, the usually quiet little town of Salem was in a state of unwonted excitement. A great horse race was to take place that day ; many had ridden from ten to twenty miles or more to witness it ; Brantley's sorrel mare was to run against the king of the Livingston County turf-Black Cub. Betting ran high, there was much drinking and some drunkenness, and consequently some rough-and-tumble fighting. The backers of Black Cub were not only sanguine, but had -- so a few of them said-" a shore thing of it "; and no one was more sanguine than Henry Rudolph. The " world " said he had made only a few, small " gentle- manly bets," but there were those who knew that he had betted largely. The excitement increased as the hour for the race drew near. The fences near the stand were lined, and trees here and there in the field were filled with boys. Men who had no money bet
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property ; there were bets of horses, mules, oxen, cows, and calves, and even some payable in tobacco, corn, etc.
Before the race, Brantley approached Adair and said quietly : " I don't want you to lose your money, and I beg you not to bet against the sorrel mare." Adair, in reply, told him he had not bet a dollar, and probably would not.
When the horses were being stripped for the start, the negroes, of whom there were many on the course, were even more excited than the whites ; Mingo was among them, and, stoical as he usually was, he rattled his money at first one and then another of his colored acquaintances.
" What, Mingo !" said his master, when he chanced to meet him, " are you betting on the race ? "
" Yes, Mahs Jo," was the answer, " I's jist backin' out some o' dese noisy niggers."
" And which horse are you betting on ? " the master asked.
" On the sorrel mar', sir," was the decided answer.
Soon the riders were up, and Henry Rudolph, pass- ing near Joseph Adair, said : "Twenty-five dollars, Adair, on Black Cub !"
"No," said Adair, "I am not betting on the race ; but if you are anxious, I'll find one in a minute whom I will guarantee to take your bet."
" Please do so," said Rudolph, with cynical courtesy.
Adair stepped back and, after speaking a few words in an undertone to Mingo, advanced to where Rudolph stood and said, " Done, Mr. Rudolph ! Twenty-five dollars cash."
And now all was ready ; and at the tap of the drum
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away the horses flew around the course-one measured mile. The pace was tremendous from the very jump. On the back stretch, at the half-mile post, the two were running abreast, Black Cub having the inside track ; thence they had to descend a gentle incline, and the more powerful horse could stand best the long strides and consequent great strain on the fore legs, and gained a full length on the mare ; next they shot across a narrow, level valley and the mare held her own ; but when they reached the hill the mare made a mighty rush, locked, then passed, and came on in magnificent style, winning by two lengths in one forty-one and a half-some said it was even one forty-one. For half an hour or more all was confusion and turmoil, whoop- ing, hallooing, yelling, laughing, crying, rejoicing, cursing ; men, ordinarily cool, were almost wild over their losses or their gains.
On the race course, Henry Rudolph handed Mr. Adair the twenty-five dollars he had lost on the race, which the latter handed over to Mingo, whose total winnings that day amounted to forty-three dollars.
After a few days, it " leaked out " that on a certain moonlight night the Black Cub party secretly took the sorrel mare from her stable and ran her against the horse, and he beat her. But there was another side to the story, which was talked about and laughed over for many a day. Brantley, who had received some inkling of the plot, prepared for it, and had his mare shod all round with extra heavy shoes ; and old "Sip" (Cipio), his negro trainer, witnessed the race by moonlight and was surprised and elated at the mare's performance.
On the day following the race Mr. Brantley requested Mr. Rudolph to come to his room that they might
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quietly arrange their bets on the race. Rudolph went. The amount was soon figured up, and it was so large that Rudolph declared that he could not pay cash, and that Mr. Brantley must take the larger portion in " cash notes." Then it was Brantley arose, went to the door, locked it, and put the key in his pocket. Rudolph observed the movement, turned pale, and haltingly asked for an explanation. Brantley coolly looked him in the face and told him -- told him about the robbery ; that he had seen him ; that he had been watched ; that he, Rudolph, had paid some of the iden- tical money stolen-notably some rare and marked gold coins,-to Warren Davidson, who, within an hour of receiving the same, had paid the gold coins to Mr. Adair.
"And now," said Brantley in conclusion, " add four hundred and sixty-two dollars, the amount you stole from me, to the amount due me as per that memoran- dum, and settle up at once-before you leave this room. If you have n't got the cash or good cash notes here with you, then give me your note due one day after date ; and, if that note is paid within forty-eight hours, I will, for the sake of your relatives and friends, spare you ; otherwise, I will land you in the penitentiary certain ! Furthermore, you must, within sixty days, leave this county and State."
And Henry Rudolph, coward as he was, sat pale and trembling ; great drops of cold sweat stood upon his forehead ; he begged and pleaded for mercy, and finally paid the entire amount by handing Brantley the note of Warren Davidson for eighteen hundred dollars, bearing interest at the rate of twelve per cent. per annum, some other cash notes, and a small amount in
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money. Furthermore, he agreed to leave the county and State within the sixty days, and begged that Mr. Brantley would never let the matters between them become known. And within the sixty days Rudolph sold his farm, and with his negroes left Salem to make his home "down South," in, as he said, a " more genial climate "; and but few persons ever did know why the "model young gentleman " and man of " resources " left Salem.
A few weeks after the race there was a grand wed- ding, and, this time, Squire Howard united in holy matrimony Jefferson Brantley and Emily Wilmot, the ceremony taking place at the residence of the bride's father. Joseph Adair and Horace Benton were the groomsmen, and Laura Howard and Ada Howard the bridesmaids. A young lady from Princeton was to have been one of the bridesmaids, but illness prevented her attendance, and Ada Howard took her place. The residence of Mr. Wilmot was too small to admit of dancing, but the company present had a merry time- the fun and frolic being kept up until a late hour. It was then the custom to "give" (hold) the infare at the residence of the groom's parents or some other near relative, but, as Mr. Brantley had no relatives in the county, his infare was held at the Brick Hotel in Salem, and great were the preparations made on the occasion-never had such an elegant and sumptuous table been spread in those "parts "; there were meats of many sorts, including barbacued pigs, and cakes, pastries, fruits, nuts, and wines and liquors in abun- dance. Silas Holman and Billy Wilmot were never in better trim, and their fiddles seemed the fountain of such ecstatic sounds as to set the nerves of old as well
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as young tingling with a pleasurable excitement which could only find its true expression in the quick and graceful movements of the dance. And dancing there was, and such dancing ! There was Bird McCoy, who could " cut the double shuffle,"-spring into the air, strike his feet together thrice before lighting, and not lose step to the music. And among the young ladies- many of them country girls whose lives in the open air made them as active as squirrels and as graceful as fawns-were many good dancers, but it was con- ceded that among them all the slight, sylph-like Ada Howard was the best-" the pick of the flock." And the mirth and fun grew "fast and furious," and the " dancers quick and quicker flew." Nor did the fun and frolic cease until faint streaks of light in the East heralded the coming morn. They almost literally
"Danced all night 'til broad daylight. And went home with the girls in the morning."
And yet, be it said that, while there was a good deal of drinking that night, there was no drunkenness, rowdyism, unseemly behavior, or ungentlemanly con- versation ; for woe to the young man who at such a time and place, when ladies were present, had violated the recognized rules of decorum !
It is certain, however, that several young persons came very near that night being "fiddled out of the church." There was one gay, good-humored, hearty country girl who, when " churched " for dancing that night, admitted that she was "on the floor with the so-called dancers" ; that she had a " partner," and took part in the movements ; but, she contended, that inasmuch as she had not crossed her feet, she had vio-
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lated no rule of the church. "What," she asked, " if I walk forward and backward and turn and bow with- out music, is that dancing ? And if I do the same when there is music, does that make it dancing ?" And the good old brethren, who were sitting in judg- ment, after mature deliberation, came to the conclusion that they were not " cl'ar on the p'int 'bout crossin' the feet." "And," said one, "if we err, let it be on the side o' marcy." "Yes," replied another, " but let the young sister onderstand that she must n't do it ag'in." And so the matter was settled.
CHAPTER XXX.
Adair Asks Squire Howard for the Hand of his Daughter-The Marriage of Joseph and Laura-Dan Adair and his Straw- berry Cousins-The Firm of Joseph and Daniel Adair- Mingo Loans them Money-Dan Loses his First Wife- Dan and Carrie Gilroy, his Second Wife-Closing Remarks about Characters Portrayed-Ben Simon, the Horse : a Strange but True Story-Livingston County Divided- Old Salem Left Desolate.
W HEN the autumn had passed and the winter came on, the old man, Tom Adair, suffered a good deal from an asthmatic affection. Then came March with its cold, blustering winds, and with it came word that Elijah Wright was very low-could not live many hours ; and Joseph Adair at once took his father down to see him ; and when the soul of Elijah Wright peacefully went up to meet his Polly and his God, old Tom Adair was holding the hand of his old comrade. And Joseph spoke such words of comfort as he could to the widowed daughter and her son. And when the day for the burial came, the Rev. Mr. Freeman was present, and all was done in solemnity and order. Many friends attended the funeral, and among them old Tom Adair and his son Joseph ; and they saw all that was mortal of the good and brave old pioneer laid
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to rest beside his Polly on Bizzell's Mount. Again they were united ; and some rude stones like those which marked her grave marked also his.
And when, a few weeks later, old Tom Adair came to leave Salem, to return to his home, many regretted to see him go, for he was a jovial, kind old man, could tell many good stories, and had a pleasant word for every one-old and young, bond and free. His son Dan, who after a short stay in Salem had been sent to Cumberland College, Princeton, came to see his father off. Joseph accompanied his father home, and renewed his acquaintance with, and his affection for, his half- brothers and sister, whom he hardly knew.
The spring had come and gone, summer had just begun, and the wheat was almost ready for the scythe, when one day Joseph Adair mounted Ben Simon and rode out to see Squire Howard. He found the Squire at home, and together they took a walk, and rested for a few minutes, sitting on the fence which surrounded the Squire's field of wheat. Then and there Joseph told the Squire that he had come to ask the hand of his daughter Laura in marriage.
The Squire looked up suddenly, then sprang to the ground, and, grasping a few heads of wheat in his hand, exclaimed : "I-wish I may be dashed, if I don't believe this wheat has got the rust !"
Adair got leisurely down from the fence, and, after examining a few stalks and heads of wheat, said : "No, Squire, I think not. But, Squire," he went on, " I suppose you understood the request I made, and if you do not say No, I will at least understand that you will raise no objections !"
But the only reply he got from the Squire was :
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" Dash it ! but I would hate, awful bad, to lose-to . lose my crop of wheat !"
When Adair returned to the house and told Laura and her mother of the answer he had received from the Squire, the mother laughed heartily and said : "I knew it ! I told you so !" And Laura smiled and blushed. Then Ada came in to know what the laugh- ing was about, and, when she had learned, she declared that her father was not the proper person to have asked ; that she was the one he, Mr. Adair, should have come to, as she was more deeply interested and immediately concerned than any one else. Then Mr. Adair made her a neat little speech ; and he was very humble, and promised to be a good boy, etc. And Judge Ada, at first grave and dignified, slowly relaxed, and then relented, and, finally, joining two hands together, said, " Bless you, my children !"
And in a few more weeks there was another wed- ding. And Duncan and his wife, and Brantley and his wife, and Colonel Lovell and his wife, and the widow Adair and the boy Dan, and ever so many more people were present. And when Joseph Adair and Laura Howard stood before the Rev. Richard Freeman to be made man and wife, Horace Benton and Ada Howard stood upon the one side, and William Howard (Laura's eldest unmarried brother) and Mira Gilroy upon the other. And there was a silence that was al- most breathless as the pale young minister spoke the momentous words that legalized and made public a union that bound together in holy matrimouy two lov- ing hearts, as true, the one to the other, as the needle to the pole. And " Well done ! well done !" was the unuttered exclamation upon the lips of all. And never
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did a wedded pair receive more earnest and sincere congratulations. The length and breadth and depth of Joseph's and Laura's happiness we would not attempt to measure.
And when Joseph Adair took his bride home with him, his sister and her three little daughters lived in a neat little cottage close by ; and the two-the sister and wife-were soon as loving sisters.
Joseph Adair before his marriage had resigned his office of Deputy Sheriff ; and, aided by a loan made him by his friend George Duncan, had begun mer- chandizing ; and by his strict attention to business, uprightness, and unassuming kindness and liberality, prospered, as he richly deserved to do.
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And time passed by, years came and went, and when the boy Dan, now almost a man, left Cumberland College, he went at once into his brother Joseph's store ; and Joseph used often to say that Dan was the best salesman, and talked less in effecting a sale, than any one he ever knew. "The fact is," so Joseph said, " Dan can in a few words come nearer making you believe that white is black, or black is white, than any one of his capacity I ever knew ; never, however, intending to deceive you, but simply because he be- lieves what he says." The fact is, Dan's was a cool, bold, intuitive mind, without possessing any brilliant or sparkling qualities. But Dan had one drawback, at least so his brother Joseph used to say, and that was in being " too fond of the girls." One illustration of this must suffice.
On one occasion, Joseph Adair had to send a consid- erable sum of money to a party living near Nashville,
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Tennessee, and he told Dan, who was then about twenty and clerking for him, that he must go and take the money. Dan was ready and willing. So Joseph furnished him with a fine horse, and told Dan that on his return he must call and see Mr. Morris and family, in Robinson County, but to be sure and be back in Salem by a certain day, for there was to be a regi- mental muster, and he would then be greatly needed. Dan got safely to the end of his journey, paid over the money, and, returning, called to see the Morrises, whom he had never seen before. All were alive whom Joseph had known, and welcomed Dan most heartily. There were two unmarried daughters, Mary and Ellen Morris, and they called Dan " Cousin Dan"; and they told him that wild strawberries grew in the old, uncul- tivated fields and other sunny spots, that they were just ripe ; and that he, Cousin Dan, must go with them and gather some; and Cousin Dan consented. and he liked it-liked the strawberries, and his new and beautiful cousins, particularly Cousin Ellen, the younger of the two, who was indeed a beauty, combin- ing the charming qualities of the honeysuckle and the strawberry. And Dan went again and kept going until he had "fooled away" so many days that he feared he could n't get back to Salem by the time his brother Joseph had told him he " must be " there ; but he determined to try, and so he " tore " himself away from his " new strawberry cousins," and didn't he go it ! And Dan did n't then know much about " horse- flesh," and he " over-did it," and when a mile or two from Salem his horse " laid down and died " ; but Dan was home in time. Such, in substance, was the tale he told, in his serious way, to " some of the boys" ; but
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it was several months before he told " brother Joseph " how many days he "fooled away " gathering wild strawberries with Mary and Ellen Morris, and of his " fast time " on the return trip.
" And when I did tell brother Joseph," Dan said, "he gave me a downright good scolding for riding his fine horse to death ; and I expected he'd charge me about fifty dollars for him-and he was worth that, -but he did n't."
When Daniel Adair was one and twenty years old he was admitted by his brother Joseph as a partner in the "store" and "tobacco factory," the business being carried on under the firm name of Adair Brothers. Daniel having the active control, for Joseph had a large farm a short distance from town to which he removed, and where he built a new house, close to his own, for his sister and her three daughters.
The slaves on Joseph Adair's farm-some twelve to fifteen in number-were generally under the imme- diate superintendence of Mingo. Viney's eyes, from the heat and glare of the log fires when cooking, had become somewhat inflamed ; and Mingo proposed to his " Mahs Jo" to hire Viney himself ; and his " Mahs Jo" let him have her very cheap. And so Mingo, with occasional aid from his fellow-slaves, erected, hermit-like, his cabin some half a mile from the other farm-houses : where he had his patch of ground to cul- tivate-mainly in tobacco, in which he worked of moon- light nights and Saturday afternoons, and occasionally on Sundays. But Mingo's pride was his long, heavy, silver-mounted rifle : and many of his Sundays were passed alone in the forest, and the crack of his almost . unerring rifle was known to nearly every neighbor.
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Many were the squirrels, rabbits, wild pigeons, ducks, turkeys, and deer that he brought to his cabin ; and liberal as he was in his presents of game to " Missus Laura," he would never take any pay excepting in the way of return presents of coffee, tea, and sugar to Viney. And Viney ! she had her garden and a great many chickens, and there was scarcely a day when she did not walk over to see "Miss Laura an' th' chil- uns'."
The first child of Joseph and Laura Adair, a son, died in infancy, but there was now another son with black eyes, and a baby daughter with eyes of blue ; and as time passed on other sons and daughters were born to them.
And just before Joseph Adair left Salem, and moved out to his farm, his aged father made him another visit and remained with him several months, and often dan- dled his little black-eyed grandson upon his knees. And the old man once told his "Joseph son " that Laura, " in her words and works " often reminded him of the gentle little Quakeress-Mary Harcourt, his first wife, and Joseph's mother. And Joseph, although he could scarce be said to have ever seen his mother, con- sidered that no higher compliment could have been paid his wife.
When the aged father, Tom Adair, returned home, his son Dan accompained him ; and a few weeks later, while his youngest son was yet with him, the old vet- eran laid down his arms ; he had "fought his last fight," and quietly and peacefully passed away.
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