State

high noon. Ihcn worked until six in the evening. The workers brought their lunches, ate them under trees or on the sidewalks outside. Some of them ate at little cafes on the banks of the road to Elk Mountain or Burnsville hill road. A popular eating place was "Mag's and Jigg's Beanery." It perched pre¬ cariously on the big bank between the two roadways. Everybody liked Jiggs and Mag was a magnificent cook. She fed an army of "regular boarders." They ate in a big room in a lean-to at the rear, screened oil from the others. She set a big table "country style" and everybody ate at it. She brought in big bowls of delicious food and you ate what you wanted of it. We got to cat there with them. We'll never forget her macaroni and cheese dishes; she used big white macaroni with lots of hoop cheese melted in it. You dug a big spoon full out of one of those hot bowls and the milk ran out as you lifted it. We ate dish after dish of it. Duffy is Back We never thought we'd cat like that again until a year or so ago we hap¬ pened into a restaurant on the old Ashevillc-Hendersonvillc highway just out of Biltmore. John J. Duffy, proprietor of Forest Manor Restaurant and his wife. Sarah, live at 26 Forest Road in Biltmore Forest. They are charming, well-edu¬ cated people who are doing what they want to do — running a cafe. The busi¬ ness is sort of a hobby with them. They retired once, but weren't happy, so now they're back in business. They work as a team. Mrs. Duffy watches over the kitchen while her husband looks after things up front. "We've always specialized in roast foods." Duffy told us. "Wc serve home-style cooking like people prepare for themselves. It's rather hard now to get the quality of food wc used to get. We send a lot of things back to the wholesalers, even to the best ones." Mrs. Duffy took us on a tour of the kitchen and wc met the cooks, the real reason for the success of the restaurant. A whole colony of regulars cat with them — tourists come, come again, and return the next season. Folks drive a lone way to cat with them. "We prepare our food from scratch." Mrs. Duffy told us. "We’re old-fashioned cooks. Good food is prepared with love and butter. That's the way wc do it." She’s our queen of the mountains! THE STATE, FCORUARY 1973 The Sharpshooter By LOUISE It. BOOKER «from “Historical & Traditional Tar Hcd Stories”» The Confederate fortification at Fort Branch, better known to the residents of Martin County as Rainbow Banks, sits upon a high bluff which overlooks the Roanoke River from the south be¬ tween Williamston and Hamilton, about two miles down stream from the latter. The earthworks were con¬ structed by men too old for active service and loyal slaves. Thirteen of the fort's cannons faced the land approaches while five others stood sentry over traffic on the river. The I Oth North Carolina Regiment originally staffed Fort Branch, but this force was replaced by four companies of the First Junior Reserve. A William¬ ston man (George L. Whitley), enlist¬ ing at the age of 17. was stationed at the fort as a sharpshooter. In March 1863, a group of Federal ships came gliding down the Roanoke on their way to the Federal base at Plymouth. They were spotted upon their approach by the young man. He became very excited and opened fire. He picked out the captain of the lead boat as a special target and mortally wounded him. The Federals quickly spotted the source of fire. According to local tradition, the young man dashed behind an embankment and then quickly put his hat on the bayonet of his gun and raised it into view of the enemy. Immediately, a shell whizzed by and tore the man's hat to bits. Like Bro’ Rabbit of plantation lore, the young man lay low. With the captain of the lead boat dead and all the other men being un¬ familiar with the treacherous waters of the Roanoke River, the flotilla re¬ turned to Hamilton. Many years afterwards, says Miss Mariana Whitley of Williamston. daughter of the sharpshooter, her brother was visiting his aunt in New Jersey. While engaged in a discussion of incidents of the War. he heard one young Yankee brag. "One thing sure, my father killed one Rebel sharp¬ shooter" and related the Fort Branch story. Afterwards the visitor from Wil¬ liamston said. "I beg your pardon, you are sadly mistaken. My father was the sharpshooter and still lives today." Reminded of Civil Wor oction thot florcd of Fori Branch, these ore ihrec connon salvaged lost year from fhe Roonoke River oiler 107 yeors under woler. A group ol men Irom Alobomo mode fhc re¬ covery, following which Ihey hove been locing courl charges involving salvage wiihoul permit ond ownership of the guns. Meoniimc, responsibility for the guns has been in the honds of the N. C. DcpT. of Archives ond History ond The Fort Bronch Battlefield Commission, which hos proposed using them to roise funds to restore the fort site ot Rainbow Bonks, ncor Homilton. The largest of the three guns hos о 6.4 inch bore ond fired о 32 pound projectile. It weighs more thon 9,000 pounds and wos manufactured in 1849. It is 125 inches long. The second gun hos a 5 68 inch bore, fired о 24 pound shell, ond is marked with the dote "1828." The third gun hos о four-inch bare ond oppeors to be о Confederotc rifle type. — (Photo courtesy "Williamston Enter¬ prise."» 25