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SOUTA CAROLINA WRITERS' ROJCT
LIFE HI5TORY
DID HE LOV.r.:ADVa:r2'..712.
Date of First Writing March 9, 1939
Nam of Person Interviewed Ned Harvin
Fictitious Name William McAlister
Street Address 1707 Hollywood 'Drive
Place Uolumuia, 3. u.
Occupation Wreck :iervicer
Name of Writer Nettie T. Jones
Name of Reviser state Office
"William licAlis:er was run over by the mail train in Sumter
and his left log cut off; Wa3 tne ahocking news Lhat went flying
about the little town of Manning, South Carolina, forty-four years
ago. The next day, this useful and influential citien died, lev-
ing an aged mother and four little cLildrentywho wore dependent on
him. The youngest, Villiam Jr., was three years old, and his
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mother had died only three months prior to this accident. Left
Without parents or home, he went to live with his uncle, who owned a
home between the Congaree and Wateree Rimers, near their j
nctibn.
About thirty years later, the newspapers contained a story about
William McAlister, the facts of which ran something like this: Due to
very heavy rains, the Broad River was in flood stage. A fellow named
Watson and his two boys went out in a small boat to rescue a coop of
chickens for a neighbor. Their motor was drowned, and they were strand-
ed more than a half mile from land. Mrs. Watson, who had taken them
to the swamp in their car, waited anxiously all night for their return.
When morning came, disappointed and frantic, she carried tee news to
Columbia. Just as soon as William McAlister heard about this, he got
three otherfalen together and started for the swamp.
In desperation the men had clung to staunch swamp trees, around
which swirling waters raced from Friday afternoon till 3aturday after-
noon. The eater was still raging when the McAlister party reached the
scene. Only the tops of telephone poles could be seen. Rut they started
out, not knowing what the result would be. For a time it seemed a hope-
less task; however, obstacle after obstacle was overcome. They were
within a few feet of the frightened men, when they found they could not
move another foot. Watson saw their predicament, however, dropped into
the raging water, caught hold of a. drift log that was wedged in the tree
they had climbed, and made his way, hand over hand, to the boat. William
and Joe followed their father, and in little more than an hour after the
rescue party had left the swamp, all seven men were safe on the bank again.
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It ',Cal Faeruury, anA rIn I faIlea steall1;! for euveral laye.
ilquippod with urabrella and rctiscoat, I wont epen4 an eveeng with the
;IcAlist;ers, wso lived wily Uoch
Lt -s. McAlister, a perfect blonde, was lovely in a -slue shirtdaist
drais that evenThg. :;estle in ealur i, the is aleo
,4:
"7;e 're so gial you've coAe over. -7e ../an -1, to have gine 1::i,30
chezkors," Mrs.
"Looks al If we're golng to
"We art 30 tired of The rain."
angtner flood," I suggested. "Ant
to r.aeue sem() more folks, -allioral"
"-Tell, I'm no uinti:i o eeo any'Jely in di3tre4s. I'd gludly go
after them again, I am expecting to be called out any minute to pull
somebody out 01 the mud. These etr As are mesa where they're paviag.
I wae Just laugning about an experience I had in the flood of 1908.
I an a sort of swamp bird by nature, you se Uncle Ben hl a 1500 -acre
plantation, and 500 of it woe on an island, Buckhead, about two 7Al's
from the house This was pasture land, and Uncle Ben raised liveetol k
on that island horses, cows, sheep, goats, hogs, and everything.
Well, sir, when those rains descended and the floods cant) that 3eptember,
even luckhead :as covered with water, the first and only time that thing
has ever happened.
"About 3 o'clock one afternoon, Uncle Ben called to ne,
the river has risen a foot in the last hour. Get up a srowd of Negroes,
and bring ever thing up to the house quick as you can.'
"I was about sixteen and had plenty of the don't -give -a -darn
spirit. I took some Negroesand went Put in a flzt with an outboard
motor to haul in the sheep, goats, and hogs. The horses and cows had
to swim, and occasionally a cow would give out. Then we'd have to tie
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a rope around her horns and tie her head to a tree, trying to keep hor
head above the water. One of the cows gave plum out, and I called out,
'Boy Nilson, jump out the boat and get that cow. eheis drowning. Tie
her head up quick.'
"Hell, no. I ain't gittin' outer no boat to -night, gap'n. Iat
water too black an' col', an' I scared, Boss. 'Clare to God, 4: ----1
'With that I hauled away and knocked him overboard. Instead of
going to the cow, he went to the bottom and didn't come ui-- only some
bubbles on the water. I sat there scared half to death. I grabbed a
pipe pole we had in the boat and run it down whore he went over.
Finally, after whet seemed hours to me, up came Balc He had fallen
in a well, the curb of which had been washed away, and he had an awful
time getting out. But I've always had a warn place in my hot for
Negroes. 'Course we used to fight, an' all that. Uncle 3en always told
me if I ever let a Negro whip me, he'd give me another one when he heard
about it. One time I was sure I was in for two whippings.
"The cook's boy was named Bull -0x, and we just had to fight every
now and then. But he could just about handle me. One day we were chop-
ping cotton, and Bull -Ox called me a liar. waded in on him, Be wal-
lowed me in that dirt, over and over; he liked to beat no to death. So
Uncle Ben gave me three days to beat Bull -Ox.
"As luck would have it, the next day we were dipping guano out of
the same sack with two condensed milk cans and putting it in buckets
to be carried to the distributor. This time Bull -Ox called me a darn'
liar, an' I lit in on him proper ;at time. It was the worst fight
110.•
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I ever had in my life. And all the time I was remembering that I was
to get another beating if I let him whip me. rinally I got him dawn
and tied his hands behind his back. Then I picked up the sack, which
was about empty, pulled it over his head, tied it under his chin, and
hit the ball to the house. 'All right, Uncle Ben, I've whipped that
damn nigger at last. Come on, lemme snow you.'"
"Don't cuss, sill. I'll whip you for that:' Uncle Ben said.
He followed me to the field, took the sack off the Negroe's head, and
thought he'd sneeze himself to death. But I had beat the nigger, and
after that he was careful what he said to me.
"Those were groat days for me. I fished and hunted, morning,
noon, and night. Uncle Ben planted acres and acres of peas, and it was
no unconmon thing to see thirty coveys of birds in one afternoon. I
had two dogs, Burt and Lottie, and, for my twelfth birthday, Uncle Ben
gave ma a gun. Pretty soon, one November day just before Thanksgiving,
I was hunting in a broom sedge field. Lattie flushed the birds. I
knew she sensed danger. Her bushy hair stood on ends; her left leg
shook as she held it up in the air. I moved towards her and saw a
rattlesnake coiled and ready to strike. I shot away without taking aim.
must have blown it into fifty pieces. It had twelve rattles and one
button, which I put in my little trunk and kept for years. I've killed
dozens of snakes, but never have I been so thrilled over killing one.
The 'phone rang. "The corner of Blanding and Marion? Okay, I'll
be right up, old boy." -,.-"Ruth, somebody's had a wreck. Jon't think
I'll have to he gone long. Good -by.
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"Bill does love to talk about his life on the farm, end now, since
he's losing his hearing, he likes it even more' Mrs• McAlister re-
marked. "He's always loved people a lot, and he miest-s the joy of con-
versation terribly. He thinks the noise of motors had something to do
with his deafness; but I'm not sure of thet He has a brother who is
stone deaf, and we both fear he'll grow worse as he grows older. He and
Nell are real pals. I wish he could persuade her to go out with him
more. She is too studious and ambitious for her own good."
Nell, a lovely teen-age girl, had been n3ading French and had
taken little interest in the talking back and forth. "Mumsie, darling,
it's about time for me to go. You've come to a poor subject now. No,
really, I can't stud quite as well here, and I'm going to my room.
Good -night to you both."
"I found her reading parallel this morning et 3:.;(:)," Lire. McAlister
continued. "She's been doing extra practicing for the county usic
contests, and now she has the State one to look forward to. Love her
music? I should 3 ay she does. I don't know how many medals and
certificates she has won. She won a schoL.rship to the Northfleet
School of Altaic in New York last year, but she was not a high school
graduate and couldn't go. We hope she can go this next year, though.
"Tell me somothing about Rebecca," I asked. "When I 'not hoard of
her, she was a charming debutante, &mein:), sin4in;, and roadin; at
ever; social function in Columbia."
"She's still singing, but it's lullabies thr5se days. It WEIS a
great disappointment to us that Beck fell so in love with Bob Nerdin
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that nothing else but a marriage mould satisfy her. We had high hopes
of a real career for her after the year's study with Madame SGhunann
in New "fork. But I'm beginning to feel that, after all, perhaps the
making of a home is more important than a ct;reer. They heve e darling
baby, and are very happy in their new apartment in Beaufort, where Bob
has a good job. Did you see my hyacinths? I've had a birthday recently,
and Bill always likes to bring me flowers to accorTany the check.
'Hyacinths to fed the soul; his card read.'
Nr. ReAhleter returned from his trip to the wreck. "Nobody hurt,
-Ruth. get the care in tomorrow and adjust the insurance. Those
fellow* told me the six prisoners have been reprieved. I haven t rd
the Record today. Have you seen about it?"
"No. I hadn't even heard it, but I'm glad. You know talA and I do
not agree on the subject of capital punishment."
"Well, if we can't control crime with it, what would we de it out
it, I'm wondering. I not only belie;e in it with nil !”1, so!)1, but I
think every men sho.Jd see one execution, at lc_st. I've seer thme,
and it should teach a valuable lesson, Pm telling you."
"Oh, I see. That accounts for my having such an ieol
dose it? may have to change ry rind about electrocutions yet, eh?"
"Well, I wouldn't say just that alone. All those floggif,gs I ot
'ben was a boy ]nist hve ad ad a little somirL to rl rtako-up.
They started back in that one -room school hue !.r. the sandhille. If
the rabbit hunt ended on ti, I was always there for roll :-t111 if not,
it was too bad.
"hen when high school eta the order, I hod to be on time, or I
led the Job at carrying these tventyefivo cm thirty ides back and forth
to &Mover every day. That bugle fe uncle eeve Mg with the blood
foam the SpanieWneriesa ear ot it, called them out to "battle" every
morning, end I get I big thrill out of the sueeteeire. What grade vas 1 in?
Lord, I don't know. 1 tte supposed to be it the eiht1T or einth, but I reckon
really yes in the third.
"The next year, Miele Ben sent me to Prof. Aril Re Banks. I stayed
there one-year, then vent to the university. Nathine et the ueiversity
interested Be, except football. That year Careline
et C V:40r
helped do it. Bet, vhen the season eas evert I ',ituated.'
in fez' ireetIinc Ketches and etnr eboet werythine.
"MOney hadr't been ale .:oesideretion to
went
to tlet time. My
father had three houses le Mannine d the rent or ter; hed about id
exeenses. Uncle Ben und Aunt Nellie ha- been strict -s the. eischief
with ma, and I hadn't had .yt7 ne to throw to. birds. Bow the Creeorye
Condor *tor Company offered me a job and fepeid rea six dollars s week,
three of iUo1 I paid for ecterd. They kept reisine mo till I Lot
misty dollar, a month. Got rerried on that eeler:,."
"Bill, do let me tell Martha about our covrteip," lire. McAlister
cut ir. Ma lived about wee :Ales in the cotintr:- end on nether,
grandfather and I came to Colurbia to open_ th ea: with the Garners,
drivif:6 Lord Iolanda our bay lorse, At the table, Mr: Garrer teetered
to eend sore one to teke usto ri,ea eer. -t was in 1911.
.H4 sent Bill."
"And I old a Buick and boueht re a rife, th beet esiress
I over diderejoitutd Bill. HI took en Oaklerd first, but the bees told
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ma to ooll the Buick, if possible. 3o I loosened a spark plug, and that
Oakland Skipped and bucked were than a mule. lo they fell for the Buick.
The price was $1,750, und Ws-. Burns sold three of hr beat hordes and gave
me a check.
"The next probleyi WU3 to get 3010 one to teach all tooe good looking
girls to. drive. After a weak, I told the boss they -4ere the bone-
headedest crowd I had ever seen, and it would tale me ut least another
week. You know the rest. 14 went to the Methodiet parsonage on hot
afternoon July 13, 1913, and the knot was tied. We moved all our poaaeee
*ions a forty -dollar wood stove, an electelo iron, and a cow to our
little brown house, which'valon't paid for, of course. But we both worked
mighty herd and saved every penny. Ruth, you remember the first co- we
bought? Phid ten dollars for it, an old Busch. luei, while you held the
lantern, overhauled it at night and sold it for oixty dollars.
"How long have I ieen interested in machinery? tver 3iTICO I can
remember. I used to collect tin cans, pieces of iron, old p ows and
hoes, and everything could find and build ginhou2es and saurlills, with
real honent-to-goodness smokestacks and boilers. It's a wonder hadn't
got blowed up or burnt up.
"I grew tired of working for the other fellow and wanted to work for
myself, so I rented a storeroom for a hundred and twenty-five dollars
a month and paid in advance. 'Then I Jae cleaning it up, got a blister
on this riht hand. Infection. I was laid up for aix weoks or more.
Then soon as I got to work again, the wv.r wial on, and it looked like
I'd be put in the second class and shot straight to France. But I
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got forth class and never was called.
*Price, shot up, and insaado some money. I remember one day Ruth
oans to the shop and saidatlill, I want four hundred dollars.' I thought
6he had lost her mind. Alt I happened to have it in the bank, and, of
*cures, abevent hone with a shook. Later, I was discussing buying a
$10,0004,10t, and she said, can furnish $7,000 of it.' This time, I
knew the had lest hsr mind. But I b. -dog if she didn't fish it out of
balks, aattrossos, and -ivory a/mask and crevice till she counted the
amount. Taught ne a valuable liaison in saving, too. Then we mortgaged
the little brown house for 22050 and made the first payment on this one.
That Vas Friday, ths 13th of February, and we moved in on Friday, the
12th 6f March."
"Ara you folks Just plain superstitious or good Presbyterians and
helium/ in predestination?" I asked.
ileth, I guess.. $ill's been a damson in our church for ten years,
and tit, rest of us try to be good as we can," Mrs. McAlister said, as
.sho laughed.
"Ths claret of my success, if I've had any," Bill MbAlister told
us, as he lit another cigarette, "lies in the fact that I try to be
thoroughly honest in all my dealings with people. Then the volume of
business I do, I think, has something to do with it. I employ eleven
'On, end we're all kept busy all the time, day and night, if we're needed.
am out a lot of tho time, appraising and adjusting insurance premiums
on wrecked cars, for which I an paid twenty-five dollars a day.
"I had a thrilling experience several years ago. A man's car fell
U.
ever an embankment into water a hundred feet deep. A week passed, and
nobody had located it. The owner wired from Charleston for e diver ..nd
his assistant, and 109 went to pull it out for him. Soon as reached
Vey alas., I noticed bubbles of oil coning up every now and then on the
water. Bight sow I said, 'That's where you'll find the car.' W. roved
to the spot, widths diver vent dawn. He telephoned#2Buick. Gable
tied securely to car. Coming up.' We pulled her out, and I repaired
the aar for a hundred and seventy-five dollars.
*Bat I think if had my life to live over, I'd go in for professional
athletics. Those fellows make a lot of money. When I was married, I
had in my pocket a signed registration certificate to go into automobile
rasing, at a salary of one hundred dollars a race. But this little lady
put an sad to that, in short order. And I'm glad she did, for that's
dangerouwi business, rei telling you. Then I raced boats for a time.
Now that's a Ibing that thrills. But I had one experience that came so
near being serious, I promised my wife and the children I wouldn't go
in any more, even for a $500 prize. ant I haven't quit loving adventure.
And neither have I quit loving a good joke and a hearty laugh.
"Several years ago, on a night about like this one, when ghosts
milk around and spooks are behind every bush, Manigault, the Negro
embitImer, called as about 1100 o'clock,
"IMr. McAlister, I've got a hearse stuck in the Wateree swamp.
They vent over to Sumter to take a dead man, and can't pull out, r want
you to go after him. Can you go right away?'
"Oh, yes, Manigault. I think I can get him out all right. Wad;
is, I will get him out. But I will be glad if you'll send a man over
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to go with as, if you1,04; got one round there.'
"ftss, you ain't scared to go by yourself, are your
"'Na, Vinigault. I thought you know I wasn't scared of the devil,
_much less ghosts. But it's been raining mighty hard, and I understand
that swamp's in ;5mighty bad condition. So think I may need some help.'
"Oh, all right, sir. I got a man here, and send him right
over.'
*SO we got started pretty soon. I. saw the hearse about ten miles
from Columbia, and all lights were still burning. I couldn't resist
having some fun; so I said, 'George, drive the truck quietly as you can
right on by the hearse, we've get to turn around anyway.' ?then we
were some distance beyond* I told him, Mow you go up to the hettrse,
I'll go with you, and you shake it as hard as you can, saying in a
deep, hoarse voice, 'This is Bike. This is Nike. I done corn. back to
life. I done coke back to life. Let as in.'
"There were two Negroes in the hearse, and they were both ftst
asleep. The little Negro went Straight through the glass doors, without
even a broken skin, and was followed by the big one. They i)oth ran through
mud, jumped over logs, and straight through puidles of water. When we
did finally stop them, they were at least a quarter of a mile away.
Scared? BY soul, I never sow anybody so scaled. thought we'd never
get'em quiet enough to drive the hearse back to Columbia. Fact is,
George had to ride back with 'ea.*