The et cetera chronicles – vol. 122 – Wilco edition

THE VINE OF DEATH – In the spring in Georgia, one can see the yellow-flowered Jessamine vines scattered throughout the woods. But wait, before you smell or even place them up to your mouth, think again.  These beautiful plants can be extremely deadly. That tragedy has happened over and over again. It was never so tragic as in March 1886 in Irwinton. Two boys, ages 6 and 7, were out playing in the yard of Cumming Lindsey with their friend, a son of Milton Beall. The trio began to eat the buds off the vine. The boys fell into a strong sickness before they returned home. Mrs. Lindsey said her son was in distress and ran to him. She cuddled her child and began to kiss his lips to make the boy feel better. Two of the boys fell dead.  Mrs. Lindsey and her son were barely alive at the end of the day.  The Livingston, Alabama Journal, March 25, 1886.

SIXTY MILLION DOLLARS SHORT AND 10 YEARS LATE – In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there were many published stories which asked any heirs of wealthy individuals come forward and claim there inheritiance. Some were scams, while others were unbelievably real. William Potts, of Irwinton, Ga., was said to be a poor but honest man. A communication was sent out that Potts owned a share of $60 million in English gold. Well, bad luck strikes often and this was one of those times. Turns out that Potts died 10 years before his benefactor and inhertied not even a farthing from his wealthy ancestor.  Shenondoah Herald, Woodstock, Va.  Feb. 26, 1886.

SIAMESE PINES – In the 19th Century on the road from Irwinton to Ball’s Ferry stood two pines, their bases being four feet apart. At an altitude of 40 feet, the trees grew together to form one trunk. At 44 feet, the trees split once again and then reunited to form one tree to its top.  Quad City Times, Davenport, Iowa, April 6, 1886.

SUBSTITUTE DAD – Back in the year 1889, in Irwinton, a hen’s nest complete with her eggs was abandoned by the hen. Enter a male partridge who flew in and sat on the nest until the chicks hatched.  Rock Island Argus, Ill..,  August 22, 1889. 

NEVER GIVE UP – It seemed that a three-year-old child wandered away from the house in the middle of July 1882 near Irwinton, Ga. When the child’s parents discovered their child was missing, a massive hunt went out in all directions from their home. With hopes fading and darkness enveloping the neighborhood, hopes of finding the child were fading.  Casear Kemp, a friend of the family, thought that he would come down and make yet more try to find the wandering infant. Kemp heard the faint strange sound coming from a field of oats. Kemp investigated and found an emaciated child who couldn’t bring himself to speak.  The rescuer turned and saw that near where the boy was found, there was a newly dug hole designed to fit a casket. The child was returned to his parents still in a spell of muteness.  Brooklyn, N.Y. Daily Eagle, July 16, 1882.

FLEE FLEAS! – Two enterprising young Wilkinson County planters set out to grow and harvest many bushels of potatoes. The men thought it would be a good idea to put dry dirt into the planting holes instead of buying expensive guano fertilizer. So the boys went to an old house and dug out an ample load of dry sand. Just as soon as the first hole was prepared, an army of fleas hopped out of the hole.  For almost four yards in each direction from the hole, the fleas turned the ground to black. The pair escaped from the fleas, but not without a multitude of stinging bite marks all over their bodies.  The Daily Bee, Sacramento, Calif., May 13, 1889.

NO MORE! – During the latter third of the 19th Century in Georgia, those imprisoned were forced to work in virtual slavery for large farms and railroads. One  Ira Taylor was sentenced to pay a fine of $35 or work or endure a jail sentence of eight months for an alleged $19.42 debt. His lawyer, Thomas T. Purdom of Wilkinson County,  took the indigent man’s case to the United States Supreme Court. The high court ruled eight to zero to reverse the lower courts of the South and ruled the 1903 Georgia law blatantly unconstitutional, as under the 13th Amendment. Justice James Byrnes, a staunch South Carolina Democrat, called the law repugnant.  Arkansas State Press, Jan. 23, 1942.