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Show THE MIDVALE .JOURNAL Page Eight Friday, November 23, 1928 S. J. Levy Is a Real Booster of Aviation • • ttnon the < " 8. J. Levy, World wa1· veterHn who. served in the army air service 1917-19 as a radio Instructor and flight officer, beside his autopl:me in which he is making a tour of· the United States to boost aviation. He is the inventor or this type of plane, also of tl•e multiphone and the tel-auto sign. ·' Liner Vestris Sinks; 115 Lives Lost Indian War Dance • By ELMO SCOTT WATSON ,.._,""t'l '1' SEEMS to be one of the I failings of human nature for a nation to create a popular idol about every so often and indulge in an orgy of hero worship. Conversely it seem~ necessary for it also to re· quire a popular scapegoat upon whose pnrtiully-deserv· ing and partially-undeRen·ing head it may pour out the vials of its blinu anu unreasoning l1atred. In that respect the American people are no different from those of uuy other nation. We have a choice gala:'l:y of "scoun(lrels," whose names, if not actually the proverbial "hiss· 1ng words," at least kindle in our minds an active feeling of resentment whenever they are mentioned. Nor do the passing of the years seem to soften the harshness of our judgment, for as Robert W. Chambers, In writing Of certain Revolutionary war chantcters, says, "The faint-hearted whu failed are judged by us as though they failed befot·e the nation yesterday ; . • . the traitor, to us, is no grotesque Guy Fawkes, but a ltving Judas of today." There was a time when the Amer· lean frontier had its own particular villain, and he has been made the :,sub ject of a new biography, "Simon Girty. the White Savage," written by Thomas Boyd f1Dd published recently by l\tin· ton, Balch and Company. In writing of this "backiYoods ronghnecl{," as Mr. Boyd calls him, he sa.vs. ''While it would be fatal to defend him it may be interesting to see how far he can be explained." and in his first chapter, "Girty's Name and !~arne" he sets about bls task as follows: 1---11 or all the men remembered from those years Simon Girty, who has been called the anomaly of western history was perhaps the most widely and deeply hated. Pioneer mothers in lonely cabin,. used to scare their children into obedience by threatening them with the appearance of the dreaded Girty, And afterward it was said of him that "no other c;ountry or age ever produced perhap,., so brutal, depraved, and Wicke~ o. wretch." Another called him a mon*ter. No famished tiger ever sought the blood of a victim with more unrelenting rapacity than Girty sought the blood of a white man. He couH laugh, in fiendish mockery, at the agonies ot a captive, burning and writhing at the stake. He could witness unmoved the sacrifice of unoffendlng women and chIldren. No scene of to1·ture or of bloodshed was sufficient· Jy horrible to excite compassion in hi;; bosom." And In "The Ron ance of Western History" It is told that he wa~ "a wretched miscreant" who bad fled from the abode of civilized men: ht became a savage in manners and in principle, and spent his whole life In the perpetration of a demoniac venge· ance against his countrymen. Lincoln Reprieved Turkey One year, a f~w weeks befort; Tllanl;sgiving, a friend sent a floe live turkey to the \Yhite House, with the request that It be served for President Lincoln's din'lleL Tad, the President's son, who wt~s the life of the White l.ouse, took a great fancy to the biru, naming it Jack and feed· lng and pPtting it. He et'.!n tuuf(ht U to follow him about. •h•<~t hM'<•"II 'l'bnnksgll'lng. while the It was with such embellishments as these that Simon Girty's name waa l1anded down from generation to gen era tiGn of men who had come to Jlye 1n thP. land ot the Indian. He w:~~ loolted on as a monster, and local his torians treated him as one. They \>an him killed a s they believed he ought to have been killed. . . . As a matter of fact Girtv survived his own death noti ce by mapy years. 'When he died 1• was from a prosaic illness. . . That the early pioneers had cause to hate him there is no doubt Nor is there any douut that they hyst e rically exa ggerated his numerous cruel ties. But that wan to be expected For at least twice in his career he ·,tood in the light cast by his own former countrymen burning at the ~take; and once he commanded a hordP r>f Wyandot warriors who galloped Into an American army which they were foremost ln butchering. However, this "wretched miscreant," than whom no country or age ever produced a "monster so brutal, de· j.Jraved and wicked," had a disconcerting way of showing feelings that would have been praiseworthy even In men more humane than any that ever fought in a border war. Those frontiersmen were not noted for their gentleness. Neither was Simon Girty. Yet a number of times, and nearly always at the risk of offending the Indian chiefs and warriors, he pleaded or demanded tha_t the lives of white prisoners be spared • • , That he often did successfully intercede for former countrymen of his who had been taken and condPmned by the Ind1ans Is proved hy records • • • In •hort, Gii"tY displayed too much humanity not to have champions among the tender-hearted. And one of tht>~e. far from believing that Glrty'a "hellish arts surpas~ed the red man's far;• c11me to his rescue with U1e following linPs: "Oh, great-souledchlef,so long maligned, By bold calumniators; The world shall not be alway:, blind, Nor all men bt> thy haters. rr ever on the field of blood, l\1en's valor mer1ts glory, The n Girty's name and Girty's fame Shall shine ln song and story." That optimistic prophecy, made many vears ago, has not yet been fultllled. No r is this book an attempt to do so Stubborn, bull-necked, proud of hi~ strength, murderous yet merciful, Glrty the traitor can't be whitewashed. But some credit should be given to the memory of a man who Bpent twenty vears in the closest contact with tht' Shawanese, Miamis and Wyandots, rose to a posltion of tr-ust among them and was, In fact, the only whit<! person to sit as one of them In their tribal war councils. Simon Girty's career began at Cham· ber's Mill, near Harrisburg, Pa., where he was born in 1741, one of four sons of Simon Girty, senior, an lrisb im· migrant and a packhorse driver In thP ln•lian trade. After the death of the elder Glrty at the hands of a drunken Indian, ll!rs. Girty man·led a man named John· Turner who took the family faJ·ther west. During the French and Indian war the family was cap· tured by the Indians, Turner was tortured and killed and the other mem~rs divided up among various tribes President was discussing Important business with a cabinet officer Tad t·uslled Into the room, sobbing with anger. The turkey was about to be killed! And Tad had flown to the President to lay the case before hlm and save Jack. "But,'' said the President, "Jack was sent here to be killed and eaten." "I cun't help It," blubbered Tad hetween sobs. "He Is a good turlr~y and I don't want him killed!" The President of the United Stutes listened gravely, and then taking a as prisoners. Young Simon was given to the Senecas and with these leaden In the famous confederacy of the Long House he lived for three years Although he was returned to hh people at the close of the war, the lite among the Indians had left a deep im· print upon his mind. He began t(l earn tis own living as an interpreter for traders among the Indians and b:y the time he was.. thirty he was a man of considerable influence both among the members of the garrison at Fort Pitt and among the Indians. During the Dunmore war of 1774 be served as an Interpreter for Dunmore who was so pleased with his work that he commissioned Girty a second lieuten. ant in the Virginia militia. At the outhreak of the Revolution he took up the patriot cause and helped enlist meu for the Continental army, For this service he expected to be rewarded with a captaincy, but the reward was not forthcoming. Disappointed by this and other evidences of the -fact that his possible value to the Continental cause was overlookeu, he "ith Alexander !'tleKee and Matthew Elliot decided to go to Detroit and offer their services to Gen. Henry Hamilton, the British coiDmanuer, later notorious as the "Hair Buyer General." Hamilton was quick to realize the value of Girty's influence over the Indians and immediately placed him In command of a force of Indians which made repeated raids on the settlements in Kentucky, For five years Girty continued In this work, during which time be gained the title of "White Indian" and, as ''Simon Girty, the Renegad-e," built up for himself such a monument of hatred as to survive to this day. Although be saved his old friend. Simon Kenton, from the stake, when that renowned scout and Indian fight· er was captured by th.e Shawanees, I-e is said to have consented to the torture of Col. William Crawford, whose capture by the Delawares and death at their hands Is one of the most tragic Incidents In border his· tory. By the time the Revolution was over Girty was so loathPd in Ohio. Pennsylvania and Kentucl{y that ref· uge among the Imlinns und British in Canada was his only safety and there he made his home. Still a leat:ler among the Indians he fought beside the famous 1\Iohnwk chief, Joseph Brant when Harmar's army was defeated and St. Clair's army was overwhelmed during the war with the Northwestern tribes. But the fate of the tribes. who were try· log in vain to resist the oncoming wave of white settlement was senl('d when "Mad Anthony" Wayne came into the Northwest to retrieve tbe Harmar and St. Clair disasters. Ano1 Simon Girty fought bls last tlght against his countrymen in the !ttmous battle of Fallen Timbers where Wayne won his qnlek and derisive victory over the confederated tribes. He wal' too old and orolten by harrlshlps and excessive use of liquor to have a part In the War of 1812. The end came one bitterly cold February day in 1818. A fever brought on by exposure as he was returnll)g to his cahio from a tavern at Amherstburg, l'anada. did what many an American pioneer would have loved to have done tong beforeIt killed Simon Girty, the "White Sav· age." card wrote an order of reprieve. Tad seized the card and rushed a way. The turkey's lite was sa ved.-Our Dumt Animals. Governors-Presidents Seven Pres! dents had been stat g-overnors for one or more terms .Johnson, Bayes, Cleveiand, McKinley, Roosevelt, Wilson and Coolidge. Two, Roosevelt ana Coolidge, had been Vlc1 Presldents.-Kansas Cit:y Star Criticism Is easy, an<t art dliDcult The steamship Vestris of the Lampert & Holt line which sank about 250 miles off the Virginia capes with a Joss of 115 live'i. Tl1e rest of the passengers and crew, 213 in number, were picked up by vessels summoned by radio. NEW SENATOR ,. New Yorker Unveils His Own Tomb "Smil;ng Sam"' 'l'ichner, well known In New York, as he unveiled his own tomb in Mount Carmel cemetery. Bon. Aa1·on J. Levy, left, spoke the eulogy. Biggest Golf Tee in the World John G. To1vnsend, Republicun, for· mer governor of Delaware, wt.o was elected to represent that !"tate in the United States senate. He defeated Senator Thomas F. Bayard, Democrat. FIRST HOOVER MEDAL • Here is the world's biggest golf tee, on the Dallas (Ore.) Country club's course. It is a pinnacle of lava roclt that stands 150 feet above the fairway. Golfers must climb a stairway rut in the rock. .. Three Ruths Elected to Congress I• • The first commemorative medal of the Presidential election which was struck In silver for Mr. and 1\lrs. Rer bert Eloover and sent to them by air mail from New York. Good-Luc:k Beliefs Various kiuds of wood, and espe· cially oak, were sacred !n pagan days; and It Ia still usual to touch wood as a protection against the evil eye when a boast ls made or when something Is said which might arouse admiration. The wearing of precious stones wn~> alwnys likely to attract the evil eye, and some people therefore took the pre· ~nut ion of wenriug only such stones as were undrr the protection of the '~Pi'!, , ~ nf the months ln which they Wt' ·~~ hu'""P. ... • I In the next congress there will be three Ruths. They are, left to right, Mrs. Ruth Bryan Owen. daughter of the late "Commoner," elected on the Democnttic ticket In Florida; Mrs. Rutb Pra•tt of New York, Republican, and !\Irs. Huth Hanna McCormick, Republlca.n, elected congressruan-ut-iarge llllno!s. tr~ .. |