The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1866-02-07
Bill Arp, the Roman Runagee

Atlanta Co,yeolerdcy, now defunct,
but as it is necessary prelude to an
original one now in our hands from
"Bill Arp" we give it, the better to
: enable our readers to appreciate and
understand the communication which
will appear in our next issue. The
subjoined letter refers to character
well known in Georgia as ''Big John, ~
who is, to use a familiar but express
sive phrase, "a regular trump" The
original letter which, as we stated,
shall appear in the next number of
the Record, will refer more ut length
to this celebrated individual, and also
relates how "Bill Arp" returned to
Rome, his experience and that of the
Arp family on the way, and what he
saw and did when he arrived in "the
Eternal City"
Ne,c York Metropolitan Record
ATLANTA, May %, 1864.
Mr.. ED1TUR :-"Remote, onfrend-
ed, melancholy, Slow as somebody
sed, am now seeking log in some
vast wilderness, lonely roost in some
Okeefeenokee swamp. where the fowl
invaders cannot travel, nor their pom
toon bridges phloat. If Mr.. Shake
speere were correct when he writ
''sweet are the juices of adversely, I"
then it are reasonabul to suppose that
me and my foaks and many others
must have some sweetnin to spare.
When man is aroused in the ded of
night, and smells the approach of the
fowl invader when he feels konstrain-
ed to change his base and bekum q
runagee from his home, leaving be-
hind him all thoso nessasary things
which hold body and soul together !;
when he looks, perhaps the last time,
upon his lovely home, where he has
been for many delightful years raisin
children and chickens, strawberries
and peas, lie soap and inguns, and
all sich luxuries of, this sublunary
life when he imagines every onusual
sound to be the crack of his earthly
doom when from SIGH influences he
begins dignifed retreat, but soon is
konstrained to leave the dignity be-
hind, and git away without regard to
the order Of his going-if there is any
sweet juice in the like of that. I
haven't been able to see it. No, Mr..
Editur, sich scenes never happened
in Bill Shakespeere's day, or he
wouldent have writ that line.
dent know that the lovely inhabi-
tants of your butiful City need any
fourwarning to make EN- avoid the
breakers upon which our vessel
wrecked but for fear they should
some day shake their cory locks at
me, I will make publik brief allu-
sion to some of the painful sirkum-
stances which lately okkurred in the
regions of the eternal City.
Not many days ago, the everlastin
Yankees (may they live al Ways when
the devil gifts emf made a violent
assault upon the City of the hills
the eternal City, where a hundred
years the Injun rivers have been
blendln divers waters peacefully TO-
gether-where the Chocktaw children
built their hutter mills, and toyed with
frogs and tadpoles. while these ma
jestic streams were but little spring
branches, babblin along their sandy
beds. For 3 days and nights our
vallyunt troops had beat bak the fowl
invader, and saved our pullets from
their devourin jaws For GAYS and
nights we bade farewell to every fear,
luxnriating upon the triumph of our
arms, and the sweet juices of our
strawberries and cream! For DAYS
and nights fresh troops from the South
poured into orr streets with shouts
that made the welkin ring, and the
turkey bumps rise all over the flesh
of our people. We felt that Rome
was safe-sekure against the assaults
of the world, the flesh and the devil,
which last individual are supposed to
be that horde of fowl invaders, who
are seekin to phlank us ont of bread
and existence.
But alas for human hopes! Man
that is born Of woman land there are
no other sort that L know of has but
few days that amt full Of trouble
A!tho the troops did shont, altho
their brass bound musk welled upon
the gale, altho the turkey bumps
rose as the wellkin rung, altho the
commanding General assured us that
Rome was to be held at every hazard.
and that on tomorrow the big battul
was to be fought, and the fowl inva-
ders hurled all bleedin and howlino
on the shores of the Ohio, yet it did
transpire somehow that on Tuesday
night the military evakuation of our