The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1865-11-07
BILL ARP ADDRESSES ARTEMUs
WARD.
ROME, GA. Sent. /. 1865.

country. so called For sum several weeks
hav been wantiG tn say sumthin. For sum sew
eral years we rebs socaUcd, but now late of said
country deceased, have been tryin nifty hard to
do sumthin. We DIDN'T quite do it, and now
it's very painful, assure you, to dry up all of
sudden and make out like We wasn't thar.
| Nv friend, l want to say sumthin. I suppose
there is no law aein thinkin, but thinkin don't
help me. 1t don't let down my thermometer.
better. You see I'm tryin to harmonize. I'm
tryin to soften down my feelings. I'm endeav
oring to subjugae myself to the level Of sur
| rounding circumstances, so-caUed But can't
do it until I am allowed to say somethin. l.
want to quarrel with somebody and then make
friends l aiat no giant=kil I amt no Nor
weyian bar amt no boar constrikter; but I'll
be hornswaggled if the talkin and the writin and
the slanderin has got to be all done on one side
any longer. Sum of your folks have got to dry
up or turn our folks loose. It's blamed out
else to do but to peck at US, and squb at US, and
crow over us? Is every man what kan write a
psragraf to consider US as bars in a cage, and be
always jobbin at US to hear US growl? Now
| you see, my friend, that's what's disharmouious,
and do you jest tell EN-, one ana all, pluribus
unum socdhed >that if they don't stop it at once,
or turn US loose to say what We please. Why we
rebs, so-calied, have unanimously and jointly
and severally lved-to-te-to-think very
hard of tiff not harder.
That's the way to talk it. I amt agwine to
commit myself I know when to put on the
brakes. | amt agwine to say all think, like
Mr. Etheridge, or Mr. Adderig, so-caHed Nary
time. No. sir. But I'll jest tell you, Arteuus,
and you may tell it to your show: If We Amt
| allowed to express sentiments, we can take
hot, hafin hoou
family, sure. hated man SO bad once that
all the hair cum off my lead, and the man
drowned himself in hog waller that night |
kould do it agn, but you see I'm tryin to har.
monte, to acquiesce, to bekum kahn and screen.
Now suppose that, poetikally speakin,
ain Dixie's fall We snned ALL"
But takin the way I see it, a big felIer and
little Teller, so-caled, got into fife, and they
fout and fout and fout long time, and every
body all round kept hollerin hands off, but kept
pin the big feller, until finally the little Teller
caved in and hollered eruf. He made bully
| fte, tell you, Selah. WE'LL what did the big
up, and brush the dirt off his clothes? Nary
time! No, sir! But he kicked him arter he was
,, saccwn. and throwed mud on him, and drug him
about ant, dubbed sand in his eyes, and now he's !
gwine about hunting up his poor little PROPERTY.
Wants 10 confskate it, so-caUed-Blame my
jacket if it Amt enuf to make your head swim.
But Tn, good Union man-so-caNed. !
Amt agwine to fife [ shan't vote for
the next war. l amt no gurilla. I've done tux
the oath, and I'm gwine to keep it, but as for !
my bein subjugated, and humilyated, and ANAL
gamated, and enervated, as Mr. Chase says, it |
| aint so-nary time | amt ashamed of nuthin
| neither-ain't repentin-ain't asking for one
horse, short-wnded pardon. Nobody needn't
l.. IL
| twenty thousand dollars. Wish had; I'd give
| it to these poor widers and orfus. I'd fatten
my own numerous and interesting offspring in
| about two nini-s and a half They should'n
| eat roots and drink branch water no longer
Poor, unfortunate things! to cum into this sub
loonary world at SIGH time. There's four or
| five Of 'em that never sirkus nor a monkey
show-neyer had pocket knife, nor piece of
| cheese, nor reesin. There is Bull Run Arp,
and Harper's Ferry Arp, and Chickahominy
Arp, that never seed the picters in spelling
book tell you, my friend, we are the poorest
people on the face of the earth-but we are
poor and proud. We made bully fife, Selah
and the whole Amerikin nation ought to feel
proud of it. 1t shows what Amerikins can do
when they think they are imposed on-"so-
called" Didnt our four fathers fife, bleed and
die about a little tax tea, when not one in a
| thousand drunk it? Bekaus they suksee6ed,
wasent it glory? But if they hadcnt suppose it
would have been treason, and they would have
been bowling and scrapin round King George
for pardon So it goes, Artemus, and to my.
mind, if the whole thing was stewed down. it
would make about half plat of humbug.-
We had good men, great men, Christian men,
who thought we was right and many of 'em
have gone to the undiscovered country, and have
got pardon as is pardon. When I die, I'm
nifty wllin to risk myself under the shadow of
their wings, whether the climate be hot or cold.
So mote it be- Selah! -
Well, maybe I've said enuf. But don't feel
easy yit. I'm good Union man, sertin and
sure. I've had my brooches died blue, and I've
got Lue bucket, and / very often feel blue, and
about twice in a while 90 to the doggery and
git blue and then l look up at the Llue serulean
heavens and sing the melancholy choryus of the
Blue tailed fly. I'm doin my durndest to har-
monte, and think [ could sucsecd if it was mt
for sum things. When see black guard 60
in around the streets with gun on his shout
der, why right then, for few minutes, I hate
the whole Yanky nation. Jerusalem, how my
! blood biles. The institution what was handed
down to US by the heavenly kingdom of Massa-
cEusetts now put over us With powder and ball!
I Harmonic the devil! Amt We human beings?
Amt got eyes and ears and feelin and think
in? Why the whole of Afriky has come to
town, women and children and babies and bah
oons and ALL man can tell how fur it is to
the city by the smell better than the mile post.
They won't work for US and they won't work for
themselves, and they'll perish to death this win
ter as shore the devil is hog, so called
| Thy now baskin in the summers sun, Twin
on roastin ears and freedom, with nary idee that
| the winter will come apiD or that castor oil and