The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1865-1866, 1866-03-16

to Dekatur with some fifty conskripts
who we're all in mournin, excepin their
clothes. I never seed sech pihfI set
in my life. I talked with EN- all, and
thar was nary one but what he had the
dyspe1,sy or the swinny or the runlatics
or the blind staggers or the heaves or
the humps or sumthin. Well, there
want none of us discharged, for there
was bran new orders callin for every
body for thirty days to 60 to the ditch
es. AS I couldent walk that fur, l was
ordered to Andersonville to guard the
prisoners. At Makon I met an old &C
waintance, who was powerful big Of
fieer, and he had me transferred to his
department and put in charge Of his
ordinance. Theirs where 1 handled
guns, Bill, and slept on my arms:
Whole boxes of muskets was around
me, and I didn't no more mind takin q
snooze on a gunbox than if it had been
couch of feathery down. Its all in
gittin used to it, Bin-al in the use.
"Jest so," sed I, ''that's the way |
see exactly so, my frend. Proseed." :"
'Its blamed lucky, Bill, that I did
ent go to Andersonville. They wonld
have had me alongside Of Wirz, either
as principle or witness or sumthin, and
some lyin Yank would hav had swear
or two at me about shootin him on the
dead line. Before this, my carkass
would nave been eat up by worms or
cut up BY dokturs, and my pikter spred
all over a whole side Of Harpers Week
ly as monster of deth.
'Well, I kept handlin guns and bay
onets and dangerous weepins, until one
day I got furlo to 60 to Rome. Sher-
man was playin base around about At
lanta, and so I had to circumference
around by the way of Selma, and the
very day I got there, eTerlastin blast
EN-, the Wilson raiders got there too.
T wasent no more loolin for them Yam
KEGS in Selma thanI were lookin for
old BeeIebub, and both of them was
all the same to me. Bland if they was
ent shootin at me before I knowd they
was in the State. How in the dickens
the missed me don't know, for their min
ny balls sung yanlzy doodleaall around
me and over me and under me and be-
twiXt Inc.
"I tell you, Bill, I run like q mad
turkel, lookin ahead of me at every
step to find IL easy place to fall when 1
was plugged. An old woman overlook
me, and I axcd her to take my watch
and my money. She took them i'll a
hurry and put them i'll her boozom.
Well, 1 found gully at last, and roll
ed in kerslosh, for it was about two or
three feet deep i'll mud and water. The.
Intervals found nc there jest at night
and got me out at the pint Of the bay
net. They marched me to the wolf pen
and there I stayed till the fuss was
over.
"Right here, Bill, I want to make an
observation. There was feller with
me when I was cotch'd, and I seed i'm
make a sorter of a sign to the captain,
and they turned him loose in two min
it's, and he jest went about anywhere
as material as king, while I had
cross-eyed dutchman standin over me
with a baynet GRIMM from mornin till
night. There was some Free Masonry
about that: Bill, and if another one Of
these fool wars come along, I'll jine em
if They'll let me.
"But Pm at homo now for good. I'm
gwine 70 stay here like a sine die. I'm
agin all wars and fghtins. Pm oppos-
cd to all rows and rumpusses and riots.
I don't keer nigh as much about dog
fight as I used to. Now if one could
always see the eend of a thing in adj
vance, and tile eend Oas all right, I
wouldent mind a big fuss, but then you
know a mans foresights aint as good
as his hindsiglts. If they was, this war
wouldent have broke out, and I would
ent hav lost my steer, nor my watch.
I never seed that woman before nor
since, and I wouldent know her from
any other woman that walks the yearth
if I'm certain whether she is
white or black. Bill, how is your off
springs"
Hungry as usual, I thank you, my
friend," sed I.
elbows Mrs. Arp?"
"Rebellious, John, very; but 1 think
shell be harmonized-atter while-at-
ter pohile"
Mr.. Editur, I will not relate further
Of these trying adventures at this time.
Big John are now entirely harmonious,
and I suppose his future career will be
all screen. Yours as ever.
BILL ARP.
P. S.-Mrs Arp wants you to git back
the letters I writ her when she were
sweet sixteen. Them officers have cot
EN-, and I suppose have laughed all the
funny part away by this time. They
contained some fool tlinps that boys