Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1865-10-12
From the Louisville sunday Journal
Bill Arp to Altemus Ward.
ROME, GA, Sept. l, 1865.

hoME, pa.i sept l, Ico1.
Mr.. ARTEMUs WARD, .Shopmaa--. .Sur.
The resun write to you in pertiklcr are be-
kau>e you are about the only man | know in
all God country" so coiled. For sum
several weeks | have been wantin tn say
soInethln. For sum several weeks we rebs.
So ealteti, but now late of said country de-
ceased, have been tryin nifty hard to do
somethin. We didn't quite do it, and now
1t very painful, L assure you, to dry up all
of a sudden and make out like we wasn't
thar
My frend I want to say somethin.
suppose there is no law agin thnkin, bu,
thlnkin don't hel me. 1t don't let down
generally 50 as to FEEL better. You see I'm
tryin to harmonic. I'm tryin to soften down
my teelns, I'm endeavoring to subiugate
myself to the level of surroundia circum
stances, so coNed But | can do it until
| am allowed to say sumthin. | want to
quarrel with somebody, and then make
friends. | aint no giant killer. aint no
Norwegian bar. | aint no boarconstricter,
but III be hornswugged if the talkin and
the wrltin and the slanderin has all got To
be done on one side any longer. Sum OF
your folks have got to dry up or turn our
folks loose. It's blamed outrage, so called
Aint you editors got nuthin else to do but
to peck at US, and squib at us, and crow
over us? Is every man what kan write a
paragraf to consider us as bars in cage,
and be always a jobbin at us to hear u
growl? Now you see, my friend, that
what's disharmonious, and do you just tell
EN-, one and all, pluribus unum, 50 calied,
that if they don't stop il at once or turn us
loose to say what we please, why we rebs,
so called, have unanimously and Jointly and
severally resolved toto think very hard OF
it-if not harder
That the way to talk it. aint agwine
to commit myself know when to put on
the brakes. | aint agwine TO say MI think,
like MIR, Etheridge, or .ur. ,Astderi,ige, SO
cnVed. Nary tine. No sir. But I'll just
tell you, Artemus, and you may tell it to
your show: If we aint allowed to express
our sentiments, we take it out in hatin, and
hatin runs heavy in my family. sure. !
hated man so bad once that all the hair
cum off my head, and the man drowned
himself in hog waller that night. | kould
do it agin, but you see | m tryin to harmo-
nize, TO acquiesse, 10 becum kahn and screen.
Now suppose that, POLITICALLY speakin,
"In DiXie's fall
We sinned all"
But talkin the way | see it, big fellel
and little feller, so called, got into fite,
and they fout and fout and tout long time,
and everybody all round KEEP hollerin hands
off, but KEEP helpin the big feller until finally
the little feler caved in and hollered enut.
He make bully fte | tell you. Selah.-
Well, what did the big feller do? take him
by the hand and help him up, and brush
the dirt off his clothes Nary time No,
sur But he kicked him arter he was down,
and throwd mud on him and drug him
about and rubbed sand in his eyes, and now
he's gwine about huntin up his poor little
property. Wants to confscate it, so called.
Blame my jacket if it aint enuf to make
your head swim.
But Tn q good Union man--so called. =
aint agwine to fite no more shan
vote for the next war. | aint no guerrilla,
I've done took the oath, and I'm gwine to
keep it, but as for my bein subiugated, and
humilyated, and amalgamated, and ener-
waited, as Mr.. Chase says, it aint so--nary
time. aint ashamed of nothin neither
aint repentn, aint akin for no one horse,
short -winded pardon. Nobody needn't be
playin priest around me. aint got twenty
thousand dollars. Wish had; I'd give it
to the poor widers and orfns. Id tatten
my own numerous and interestin offsprings