Volume XIII
Number 33
January 12
1946
THE STATE
A Weekly Survey of North Carolina
Entered at tccond-clatt matter. June 1, 1933. at the Pottofflee at Raleigh. North Carolina, under the Act of March 3. 1679.
The Humor of Vance
\oi only was lie a groat solilior and a groat
statesman, lint ho liail a sense off humor
which made him a big favorite with all
whom he came in contact.
К »/
WILLIAM A. ALLIIWILS
ZEBULON Baird Vance is re¬
membered as a great gover¬
nor. soldier and statesman:
but he also possessed a rare sense
of humor which helped to make
him a popular and outstanding
figure during the period of the War
Between the States. His jokes and
witty remarks are still being re¬
peated. especially in the mountain
region of North Carolina.
Vance was born in the Rcems
Creek section of Buncombe
County. May 13. 1830. His career
was unusually brilliant, leading
from student to lawyer and then
from legislator and Congressman
to Confederate army officer, gover¬
nor of North Carolina and United
States senator.
In his boyhood, Vance often fell
heir to clothes which had been
made over from his father's old
suits. The recollection of this prac¬
tice furnished the inspiration for
one of his early literary produc¬
tions. written during his later
school days. It was a parody on
"The Old Oaken Bucket." and
demonstrated that he. like his
brother Robert, possessed a con¬
siderable amount of poetic ability:
How dear to my heart are the
pants of my childhood,
When fond recollection presents
them to view;
The pants that I wore in the deep
tangled wildwood.
And likewise the groves where the
crab-apples grew.
The wide-spreading seat with its
little square patches,
The pockets that bulged with my
luncheon for noon,
And also the marbles and fish-
worms and matches.
And gum-drops and kite strings
from March until June.
BA L EK-BL YTII L
MARRIAGE
In Mr. Ft. C. Lawrence's
article, "Monuments of Caro¬
lina." which appeared in the
December 8. 1945. issue of
"The State.” this sentence
appeared:
“Rachel Blythe was a beau¬
tiful Indian maiden of whom
A. (1. Bauer, a prominent
architect, became enamored.
Difference of race prevented
their marriage, but tbeir love
persisted. . . .”
Mr. Lawrence was in error
in making that statement.
The records show that Rachel
Blythe and A. G. Bauer were
duly and properly married
outside the Stale of North
Carolina. Chapter 119, Pub¬
lic Laws of 1897. ratified the
9th of March. 1897, validated
the marriage of the couple in
this state. The act is set out
on Page 603, Public Laws of
1897. and is as follows:
"The General Assembly of
North Carolina do enact: Sec¬
tion 1. That the marriage of
A. G. Bauer and Rachel
Blythe which was solemnized
and celebrated in the city of
Washington. D. C\. in June.
1895. be and the same is here¬
by declared to be in all re¬
spects legal and valid. . . ."
The little patched trousers, the
made-over trousers.
The high-water trousers that fit
me too soon.
Had a Habit of Cussing
When he was a small boy. Vance
attended school at Flat Creek in
Buncombe County, a few miles
from his home. The teacher of this
rural institution was a man known
as M. Woodson, esq., who under¬
took to break Zeb from swearing
a habit he picked up from the
colored servants on his father's
plantation. To punish him. the
schoolmaster made him sit by a
certain crack in the schoolhouse
floor and watch for a rat to appear.
He was armed with a pair of tongs
and given orders to keep quiet
and kill the rat when and if it
chanced to make an appearance.
For a long time there was not
a sound from Vance, and the
teacher and pupils had almost for¬
gotten that he was in the room.
Then suddenly Zeb shouted in a
loud, excited voice. ‘Damned if I
didn't catch him!”
Went to College
At the age of twelve Zeb Vance
entered Washington College in
Tennessee, but before the year was
out he was called back home by
the serious illness of his father.
His father, Captain David Vance,
died soon afterward, and Zeb did
not return to the Tennessee institu¬
tion. Sometime later, however, he
entered the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Upon his arrival at the univer-
(Confi7«ued on page 22 >
THE STATE. January 12 1946
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