It's A Far Cry

TTQ A 1 1 o i BY ROBERT WATSON WINSTON NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY iCANAD. A, Q FQ p UNIVERSITY .- PRESS COPYRIGHT, IQ37, BY HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY, INC. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA THE AUTHOR From a Painting by William Steen CONTENTS BOOK ONE DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE CHAPTER PAGE I. OUR REFUGEE PLANTATION 3 II. GENTLE FOLK 1S HI. GOOD MORNING TO THE KING OF THE KU KLUX 25 IV. WINDSOR CASTLE ......... 34 V. THE BERSERKS OF BERTIE 46 VI. OLD MAN JIM AND HIS SCHOOL 59 VII. GIVE THE HEATHEN A CHANCE 75 VIII. UNDER THE DAVIE POPLAR 88 DC. DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE 100 X. LAW A JEALOUS MISTRESS Ill BOOK TWO ROOT HOG OR DIE XI. WELL, LAWYER, YOUVE LOST YOUR CLIENTS 121 XII. A CONVENIENT NEGRO WOMAN 138 Xm. PISTOLS CLICK AND ROCKS FLY ..... 153 XIV. WALTER PAGE AMUSES THE BRIGADIERS ... 169 XV. HOLD ON, BOYS, DONT HANG THE BRUTE . 181 XVI. I CANT VOTE FOR THAT RASCAL .... 195 XVII. NOR, NOTHIN WORTH RELATING ONLY THE CROWDS HUNG THAT NIGGER .... 209 XVIII. GAUDIUM CERTAMINIS 223 XIX. BEN AND LUCY 237 XX. GOD WILL NOT HOLD YOU GUILTLESS ... 252 v vi CONTENTS BOOK THREE BEAUTY FOR ASHES CHAPTER PAGE XXI. NEW PASTURES GREEN 273 XXH. SWITCHING FROM LAW TO LITERATURE . . 287 XXIII. HAVE YOU NO IDEALS 299 XXIV. A FRESHMAN AGAIN AT SIXTY 312 XXV. LEND ME A QUARTER 326 XXVI. WHO SHALL BELL THE CAT 339 XXVII. RECONCILIATION 350 XXVIH. OVERHEAD THE STARS 362 SOME NOTES TO CHAPTER XXVI 375 ILLUSTRATIONS The Author Frontispiece FACING PAGE Aunt Harriet 10 Lieutenant Colonel Byrd 16 Winston of Bertie Shepherd, His Jester and Lucy, His Faithful Slave 54 Chapel Hill The Well, the South Building and the Old West Building 88 Political Prophets William Jennings Bryan, Julian S. Carr, Josephus Danielsand Walter Clark 174 Class Cup Winner and the Hinton James of the Post-bellum University 200 Empire Builders I Washington Duke, James B. Duke, H. C. Branson and Seaman Knapp . . . . .224 Duke Universityand the Judges Who Saved Trinity Col lege, from Which It Developed 234 Empire Builders II Walter Hines Page, Charles B. Ay cock, Edwin A. Alderman and David Coker . . .252 The Church Militant Bishop Cheshire, the Authors Wife and Sister, and Julia with Her Children . . . .266 The Philosopher and His Pupil . . . . . .314 Brother George and Brother Pat 328 Bill McDade and His Friend 334 An American Enigma 34 Its a Far Cry Avoca and Windsor Castle . . . . 372 BOOK ONE DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE CHAPTER I OUR REFUGEE PLANTATION ONE afternoon, in the spring of 1865, two small boys might have been seen sitting on the stile, halfway between the Great House and the slave quarters. The older of the two, named Lundsay, was black and a slave, the other was the writer of these lines, Lundsays young master, his very young master in fact, being then but four years and eight months old. At the little railroad station called Durham less than fifty miles away General Johnston had just surrendered to General Sherman and the Confederacy had collapsed. For several days we had been expecting the triumphant Union troops to march through Springfield, our refugee plan tation, on their way north. Expectation was at tip-toe. Ever since Shermans easy victory over Johnston, at the last pitched battle of the war, known as Bentonville, the wildest rumors had been afloat. The grapevine telegraph told of a mighty Yankee host, in bright uniforms, with brass buttons and pockets bulging with real money. Finally the eventful dayhad arrived. In the distance, Lundsay and I could catch the rub-a-dub-dub of the kettledrum and the notes of the fife. Nearer came the sound of marching feet and soon our ten acre grove was alive with Blue Coats. Almost in a moment horses were unhitched and fed, tents, white and circus-like, arose and a little city sprang up. Soldiers by the hundreds began to wander through the slave quarters and around our dwelling...