Z. B. VANCE, SOLDIER, POLITICIAN, AND STUMP ORATOR.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 694, 30 June 1870, Page 4

Z. B. VANCE, SOLDIER, POLITICIAN, AND STUMP ORATOR.

[BY DAVID MACRAE, IN GLASGOW WEEKLY HERALD.] In the busy little city of Charlotte, in the heart of North. Carolina, I met Zebulon Bi. ! Vajicey • one of the most famous stump orators of that State. Vance, who ia novf a- lawyer in Charlotte, was Governor of his State during the war, and, to, his honqrrbe it said, was one of the loudest in his demand for inquiry into the alleged treatment of Federal prisoners at Andersonville/and in his condemnation of such treatment should it tarn out to be as reported. Vance is a great favorite with the people, and has almost always held office* of some kind in the State, though not always without a struggle. On one occasion he wa3 stumping the State against. Colonel C .In one of the western counties, at a meeting in the open air, the Colonel appeared on the ground with a keg of whiskey, which produced such a strong, diversion in his favor that Vance was soon left speaking to a mere handful. Seeing that something must be done, he stopped his speech, said, he, felt stiff, and challenged those around him to a jump. The Americans have all a love of the grotesque and the very absurdity of the proposal made it the more acceptable. A line was drawn, and Vance and his handful of supporters were soon busily engaged in trying who could take the longest jump— a game in which Tance, being something of an athlete, excelled. This singular proceeding attracted the attention of some in the adjoining crowd, who, after a moment's hesitation, came over to see what the fun was. This drew the eyes of others,, and presently of more, till in a few minutes almost the whole, body of electors were .crowding round to\ see the sport, leaving the' Colonel with no auditory but his empty keg. There was no xesourcsibnt to follow the people and try to get them back. ' ' Clear the way for the Colonel," cried some of them, when he made his appearance. " Room, for the Colonel ; he's going to. jump." "On the contrary,'* said the Colonel, "I consider this a most undignified proceeding." Undignified !— '•when some oE the free and enlightened had just been at it. This was an unfortunate remark. . "If you air too proud to jump with us," cried one, M I reckon you air too proud to suit this here county." " Oh, I didn't mean that," said, the Colonel. "I'll jump if the electors wish it." A_way was_at once cleared for him, and some* one, "amidst loud applause, proposed that they should yote for the Candidate^ tfhp jumpefd ifarthest.^ : This sealed the Colonel's fate.- Tall, *sciff,- and unused to this kind of exercise, he had no chance against his supple opponent, and Vance came in at the head of the poll. He refers to it himself as the time he "jumped" into office, i ' On another occasion his re-election was vehemently opposed on the ground that 'he had neglected ihisi official ditties. His opponent, whose foiie lay in vituperation, i compared Vance' to the unfruitful tree, fit only to be cut down and cast into the fire, land-'wouhd up with a torrent of coarse invective. Vance replied that his opponent "had forgotten the rest of his Gospel story, for when the lord of the vineyard Wanted 'the -unfruitful tree cut down, the wise gar dener advised him to let it stand another year, till he had digged about it and dunged it. " Now," said Vance, making •his only allusion to his opponent's coarseness, " last year I hod the other candidate digging about me, and thisyear I have tins candidate dunging about me. Let me stand another year -till we 'see the result." They thought it a 'good idea, and let him stands :;>■ ''-■. ihTM i^ ■,;?: ,j | My first meeting with Vance was in! a friend's office, in rear! of a large: hardware store. The ex-Governor, with that disregard of conventional forms iwhich continually surprises and amuses a stranger 'in America, was 'sitting astride of a rough wooden chair with his face the wrong - way, and .» while ;he talked to Jus friend who kept the store, and was also an (insurance agent arid medical practitioner, he was amusing himself by carving the corner^ lof the ichairi with his .whittlii|g knife. He is a tall, powerful man, with -hard head and lurid gleaming eyes, of peculiar intensity. In manner he is exceedingly easy and frank, and his conversation is full of funny experiences and anecdotes. , Speaking of his , military ei(Periences, „fojr he> commanded a.refcfel regiment during the war, he said that He and. hjs tiqops Jeft phs ptoce.. with , q baggage' train a mile long,' and caoie back i; with, nothing but what £hey had upon theitbacks; and 1 ndt much, there* "Only some, few," he said " who expected prd- : motion, had retained an extra shirt." ■Some, of the ;i Door ; ;fell^ws,^hadfn,oW^qt $|ir* clotheaifi^i^^ Wll HI 1 ! 1 1** *

tirae, and swarmed with vermin. JEven officers had sometimes to content themselves with a " dry wash "—that is taking off their woollen shirts, and flapping them against the saddle to shake the vermin out. In camp you would often see men holding their shirts up and examining them in the light. This was called "skirmish drill," or "reading linen." In answer to a remark I made about the absence of forms and ceremonies in the States, Vance said, " Oh, we have some great sticklers for forms. In one of our courts a soldier, who had been battered a good deal in the war, was brought in as ; a witness. The judge told him to hold up his right hand. ' Can't do it, sir,' said the man. ' Why not V l Got a Bhot in that arm, sir.' ' Then hold up your left.' ' Got a shot in that arm, too, sir.' ' Then,' said the judge sternly. ' You must hold up your leg. No man can be sworn, sir, in this court by law unless he holds up something !' " ! 1 attended a political meeting held in Charlotte that evening, where Vance was one of the speakers. He had not been' advertised to appear, but the people saw that he was present, and when the first speaker finished there were continued cries of " Vance ! Vance !" which at last compelled him to take the platform. His power over the audience was astonishing. The first half dozen words he uttered— "Fellow-citizens, I once heard of an Irishman" — excited a roar of laughter before any one knew what the story was. He kept the people laughing and cheering almost from beginning to end. When he came to speak of Southern grievances he soon lashed himself into a state of excitement, .and strode up and down the platform gesticulating with such energy that the chairman had to back his seat moire than once, to get out of danger. Vance's power of satire is very great. One picture he drew of a political opponent paddling out in mid-ocean on a single plank arid warning a frigate to clear the way, elicited tumultuous applause, and caused great laughter at the expense of the person satirised. The speech was rather a snecessidri of happy hits than a continued argument. Vance said himself, in. conversation afterwards, that stump speaking spoiled a man .for deliberative assemblies. "On the striirip," he said, ."you have to'confine yourself to what every nian with a ragged | shirt and one suspender can understand!." His own rule, if a lengthy argument became indispensable, was to watch His audience, and as soon as he saw any one whittling or shifting his position, to" fling in an anecdote. "The man brightens up at that,* "said Vance^ "and you gain ten minutes for the rest of yonr argument. " ? He thought, however, that all true" oratory was addressed to the audience before you ; and that the newspapers and the telegraph, which made the speaker think of another audience that' 'should get his speech mihvs himself and "read it in cold blood," was putting oratory to death. . , ; , ;