Despite his other interests, Small retained an "obsession for politics," and near the end of his life he boasted of having "clasped hands with every president from James Buchanan to Herbert Hoover.

"[6] Small contributed to the Atlanta Constitution a series of dialect sketches under the persona of an old black man, "Old Si," stories that gained him a national reputation.

[7] Unfortunately, Small had by this time descended into alcoholism, and when he was unable to continue, editor Evan Howell asked Joel Chandler Harris to try his hand at similar material.

[8] In September 1885, while working as a court stenographer and freelance reporter, Small covered a revival meeting of evangelist Sam Jones in Cartersville, Georgia.

[9] Nevertheless, four days after visiting Cartersville, Small "pleaded with Christ that he would let me cling to his cross, lay down all my burdens and sins there, and be rescued and saved by his compassion."

[18] In a florid address to the Anti-Saloon League's 1917 convention in Washington, DC, Small told the cheering crowd that if the United States enacted prohibition, "then you and I may proudly expect to see this America of ours, victorious and Christianized, become not only the savior but the model and the monitor of the reconstructed civilization of the world in the future.