, it is probable that he would have
to give bond for the proper performance of his trust, and it is
sometimes stated that Willie and Allen Jones went on his bond for five
hundred pounds--just the sum required of the Executors, by the way. It
is also singular, in view of this will leaving property to his
grandmother, that the Louden whom Mr. Buell knew--and who is said to
have died in New Orleans 1887--should have been so mistaken in his
statements; but on this point the evidence of the will is absolutely
conclusive.

IX. Paul Jones Never a Man of Wealth

Colonel Buell claims that John Paul Jones had riches and influence in
Virginia after the death of his brother, but the claim is not tenable
according to an exhaustive review of his book in the _Virginia
Historical Magazine_. In the face of the present exhibit, and in the
view of the fact that Jones himself spoke of living for two years in
Virginia on fifty pounds, the story of his wealth cannot be credited.
It is therefore entirely in harmony with the facts to accept the North
Carolina tradition, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary.
The direct statement coming to us in one instance through but one
generation is entitled to respect. As a matter of fact both Colonel
Buell's version of the matter and my own story rest upon tradition
alone, with this difference--the evidence submitted absolutely excluded
one of the accounts; the other, therefore, logically comes to the fore.

And thus, I think, I have contributed to clear up one mooted point in
American history.

[1] My reason for including in this volume a paper on this great sailor
whose career has already been discussed in "Revolutionary Fights and
Fighters" (q. v.) is because this present article contains a new and
original contribution to history, never before published in book form,
which absolutely and finally settles one phase of the much mooted
question as to why John Paul assumed the surname Jones, as will be seen
hereafter.

[2] Of which he (General Taliaferro) had become the owner.

{301}

V

In the Caverns of the Pitt

A Story of a Forgotten Fight with the Indians

One of the most distinguished of the minor soldiers of the Civil War,
minor in the sense of being surpassed only by men of the stature of
Grant, Sherman, Sheridan and Thomas, was George Crook. His exploits in
the valley of the Shenandoah were brilliant, and his whole career was
replete with instances of abil