Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the many facets of Fool Killer lore. FOR PART ONE, INCLUDING THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CLICK HERE
PART TWO: The second surviving Fool Killer Letter. (See Part One for an explanation)
MARCH 10th, 1859: From “… the right side of the Richmond & Danville Railroad” – This letter from Jesse Holmes, the fictional Fool Killer to Charles Napoleon Bonaparte Evans, Editor of the Milton Chronicle, was, like the others, written by Evans himself as dark-humored political and social commentary.
The Fool Killer began this letter by stating he was abandoning his murderous campaign to help the citizens of Leasburg, NC in their Quixotic battle with the Postmaster General in Washington, DC. The people of Leasburg objected to the mail delivery schedule established by the Postmaster General. January of 1859 was when the relevant postal route contracts were awarded.
(My fellow geeks for 19th Century American history will recall that these routes – sometimes referred to as Star Routes because they were indicated by three stars on the route indexes – were often at the center of bidding scandals.)
The fictional Jesse Holmes stated he had decided to let the people of Leasburg fight their own postal battles. That was because the only way he could have rendered a decisive blow on their behalf would be to visit Washington, DC, and he feared having his own morals corrupted if he set foot in the District. (Hey, tell it to Billy Jack, Jesse!)
The Fool Killer instead decided to head to Raleigh, NC to force the adjournment of the notoriously corrupt Democrat-dominated legislature (The Fool Killer, like Editor Charles Evans, belonged to the dying Whig Party). Enroute he was distracted, as so often happens in the Fool Killer Letters.
In this case the distraction came in the form of “a venerable and mighty clever man” who asked Holmes to find out who had stolen his prize turkey. Armed as always with his club/ walking stick/ cudgel the Fool Killer began his investigation.
Presently he came across a parade of the Don Quixote Invincibles, a sort of southern, Raleigh-centered version of Mummers. The Invincibles would march in colorful, anachronistic costumes on special occasions.
Jesse spotted a DQI member wearing a colorful costume made of freshly-plucked turkey feathers and knew he had found his man. The Fool Killer struck down the turkey thief and was then attacked by the dead man’s fellow DQI marchers. Holmes wielded his weapon to deadly effect as usual, fighting off all of them (“Tarheel Fu” I guess). When a marcher costumed as a Chinaman was smacked down dead the other DQI’ers finally gave up their attack and fled the scene.
The Fool Killer then resumed his journey toward the state house to fulfill his plan to confront the crooked politicians of the General Assembly. Continue reading
FINAL FOUR: FIRST BERTH – The 6 seeds – the POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY SEA LIONS – took on the 3rd seeded QUEENS UNIVERSITY OF CHARLOTTE ROYALS. The Upset-minded Sea Lions were on top of the Royals by a healthy 40-29 at the Half, then squeezed out a little more separation after the break. The final score was Point Loma Nazarene University 87 Queens University of Charlotte 74. Preston Beverly and Daulton Hommes led the Sea Lions with 22 points each. 
FINAL FOUR: SECOND BERTH – In this game the 7th seeded UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN INDIANA SCREAMING EAGLES did battle with the 2 seeds – the WEST TEXAS A&M BUFFALOES. Another Upset was in the offing here as a 46-34 Halftime lead for the Screaming Eagles ultimately became a 94-84 victory. Alex Stein tossed in THIRTY-ONE points to lead the University of Southern Indiana. 
By reader request here is a blog post featuring a brief synopsis of the subject matter to each of the dozens of reviews I’ve written of ancient Greek comedies. Some of you indicated that you don’t like clicking on one with no idea what it will be about, so here we go. 
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – With last night’s NAIA title game in the books the only divisions left to report on are NCAA Division Two and AIHEC Division One. Yesterday the GEORGETOWN (KY) COLLEGE TIGERS did battle with the CARROLL COLLEGE (MT) FIGHTING SAINTS for the NAIA crown. 
However, since Evans was all about the written word, he used the Fool Killer as a much more active figure. Evans’ Fool Killer – claiming Jesse Holmes as his real name – roamed North Carolina and Virginia (which at the time still consisted of what would become West Virginia) looking for fools to kill with a club/ walking stick he always carried with him. The character would then send letters to Editor Evans explaining why he had chosen victims, defending his actions with puckish commentary. 
FIRST SEMIFINAL – The GEORGETOWN (KY) COLLEGE TIGERS and the WILLIAM CAREY UNIVERSITY CRUSADERS started things off. The Tigers seized control and by Halftime they were clobbering the Crusaders 42-24. From there Georgetown College simply had to keep WCU at arm’s length, which they did for a 94-83 triumph. Chris Coffey led the Tigers with his Double Double of THIRTY-TWO points and 12 rebounds. 
This blog post is not targeted at you if you are a rational person who simply doesn’t like President Trump. This is targeted ONLY at the Hillary-supporting loons who have been sniveling to me about the Russian Collusion fantasy for years. Watching the unhinged reaction of those fascists to the “No Collusion and No Obstruction” findings from their beloved Robert Mueller has been almost as much fun as Election Night 2016. 
CAREER CRIMINAL HILLARY CLINTON FAILS IN BID FOR WHITE HOUSE
VOTERS TO OBAMA: DROP DEAD
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The last two teams standing in this Tournament were the 3 seeds – the VINCENNES UNIVERSITY TRAILBLAZERS – and the Cinderella 8th seeded RANGER COLLEGE RANGERS. The Trailblazers had things firmly in hand with a 50-34 Halftime advantage over the Rangers, then coasted to an 87-77 triumph. Kevin Osawe led Vincennes University with a Double Double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. * THE TRAILBLAZERS ARE NJCAA CHAMPIONS * 
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The top seeded KIRKWOOD COLLEGE EAGLES took on the 2 seeds – the JOHNSON COUNTY COLLEGE CAVALIERS – for the NJCAA Division Two national title. The Eagles were on top of the Cavaliers 33-26 at the break. From there Johnson County College could only cut into Kirkwood’s lead by a fraction. The final score was Eagles 64 Cavaliers 58. Kirkwood College was led by Doug Wilson’s Double Double of THIRTY points and 15 rebounds. * THE EAGLES ARE CHAMPIONS OF NJCAA DIVISION TWO * 
FINAL FOUR: FIRST BERTH – In this game the WILLIAM CAREY UNIVERSITY CRUSADERS clashed with the UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & ARTS OF OKLAHOMA DROVERS. The Drovers were threatening an Upset at the midpoint with their 51-40 lead. The Crusaders came storming back from there to force Overtime with an 86-86 tie. In the extra session William Carey University emerged with a 102-98 victory. Twenty-one points from Javontae McDavid led the Crusaders. 
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