The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. NationNation, Carry Amelia
History
The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation
Nation, Carry Amelia
Nation, Carry Amelia, 1846-1911; Social reformers -- United States -- Biography; Temperance -- United States
There were two political factions in Richmond at this time, one called
the "Jaybirds" and the other "Peckerwoods". The latter were people
that were in favor of the negro holding offices. This party had control of
the country for some time. The head of this party was Garvey, the
sheriff. The head of the former was Henry Frost, a saloon-keeper, and
to this belonged nearly all the young men of Richmond.
Mr. Nation was correspondent for the Houston Post and he wrote
a letter speaking of the bad-influence and conduct of these young men the
night before; screaming about the streets and disturbing the peace generally.
He went down to meet the trains about twelve o'clock at night. The
next night after the article appeared in the Post, he came in and woke
me up saying: "Wife get up; I have been beaten almost to death;"
and lighting a lamp, I found that his body was covered with bruises.
I bathed him in cold water and otherwise tried to relieve him. He
was too faint to tell me the trouble, only the boys had beaten him. I knelt
down by the window to pray to God. I began by calling on God to send a
punishment on people that would do such a mean, cowardly act. I prayed
until I received perfect deliverance from that kind of a spirit, and when I
got up from off my knees, it was four o'clock in the morning.
In this crowd was a family of Gibson boys, whose father was an
infidel, and encouraged his sons in this matter and in all their bad ways.
There were also other boys, Peason, Little, Winston; twenty-one in all.
A man by the name of Henry George asked Mr. Nation to come and sit
on a bale of cotton on the depot platform, and talk with him; another one
of these boys came up and threw Mr. Nation backwards on the platform.
Then each one gave him a hit with a stick, or a cane. I don't think there
are but two or three of those boys living now. After moving to Kansas,
a few months after this I returned to Texas for a visit. I then looked,
upon the graves of four of the Gibsons. "Truly, vengeance is mine, I will
repay," saith the Lord.
Mr. Nation was very unpopular with the "Jaybird" faction, because
they said no Republican should stay in Fort Bend County. The bitterness
between these two factions broke out in a war. Garvey and Frost with
three others were killed. Before this animosity between them arose, Richmond
was a very pleasant place to live. A great deal of sociability existed
among the people, but from this time business and social relations were
almost entirely ruined.
I visited Richmond in 1902, and I never saw such a difference. The
Galveston storm greatly damaged many of the houses, and the ruins were
still there. A pall of death seemed to be over the whole place, and one
coming into the town would feel a desire to leave it as quickly as possible,
if there was not some interest independent of the town. God said: "They
shall eat the fruit of their own doing." Still in Richmond God has those
who have not bowed their knees to Baal.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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