The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1866-02-15
Bill Arp Addresses Artemus
ward.
ROME, Ca, september /, 1865.

4aO"E, o3', A1S II SHiSSi - ASS1'
Mr.. Ar,emus Ward, .Shopman-,Sw ::
The resun write to you in partickler, are
bekars you are about all the man | know
in "God's country" SO called. For sum sew
eral weeks bav been waitin tn say sunni hin.
For sum several years we rebs, socalcd,
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 pain,
full, 1 assure you, to dry up all of sudden
and make ont like We wasn't thar.
Ny friend, / want to say sumthiu. l
suppose there is no law agiu thinkin, but
thinkin don't help me. 1t don't let down
my Thermometer. must explode myself
generally so as to feel better. You see I'm
tryin to harmonize. I'm tryin to soften
down my feelius. I'm endeavorin to sub
jugate myself to the level OF surroundin
circumstances, so.cdlled. But | can't do
it until am allowed to say sumthin. l
want to quarrel with somebody and then
make friends amt no giant killer.
aint no Norwegian bar. aint no boar
constrikter; but III be horuswaggled 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 outrage
so.calied. Aint your editors got nothin to
do but peck at us, and squib at us, and
crow over us Is every man what can
write paragraf to consider US bars in a
cage, and be always jobbin at us to hear
us growl? Now you see, my friend, that's
what's disharmonious, and do you jest tell
EN-, one and all, pluribus unu'n, so called,
that if they don't stop it at oLce, or turn us
loose to say what we please, why we rebs,
so called, have unanimously and jointly and
scverally resolved to-to-to-think very
hard of it, if not harder.
That's the way to talk it. aint agwinc
to commit myself 1 know when to put on
the brakes aint agwinc to say all think,
like Mr.. Etheridgc, or Mr.. Addcug, so
called. Nary time. No, sir. But I'll jest
tell you, Artemus, aud you may tell it to
your show; If we aint allowed to express
our sentiments, We can take it out in hatin
and hatin runs heavy in my family, sure.
/ hated q man SO bad once that all the hair
cum off my head, and the man drowned
himselfin hog waller that night. kould
do it agin, but you see I'm tryn to harmon.
ize, to acquicsce, to become kalu. and Sc
reen.
Now 1 suppose that, pOctikally spcakin,
'.In Dixie's fall
We sinned all"
But talkin the way l see it, big feller
and little feller, so.cailed, got into fite.
and they fout and fout and fout long time,
and everybody all round kept hollcriu hands
off, but KEEP hclpin the big fellcr, until fin
ally the little feller caved in and holercd
enuf. He made 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 throwed 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 confs-
kate it, so.colled. Blame my jacket if it
aint enuf to make your head swim
But I'm n good Union man--so called.
l aint agwine to fite no more. l shant vote
for the next war. / aint no gurila I've
done TUX the oath, and Pm gwinc to keep
it, but as for my bein subjugatcd, and hu.
milyated. and amalgamatcd, and enervatcd,
ms Mr.. Chase says, it aint so.--nary time, |
aint ashamed of nuthin neither-aint re-
pentin--aint akin for no one horse, short
winded pardon. Nobody needn't be playin
priest around me. l amt got no twenty
thousand dollars. Wish had I'd give it
to these poor widers and orfns. I'd fatten
my own numerous and intercstin offspring
in about two minutes and a half. They
shouldn't eat roots and drink branch water
no longer. Poor, unfortunate things to
cum into this subloonary world at sich
time. There's four or FIVE of 'em that never
saw sirkus nor monkey show-never
had pocket knife, nor piece of cheese,
nor o reesin. There is Bull Run Arp, and
Harper's Ferry Arp, and Chickahominy
Arp, that never seed the pikters in spellin
book. l tell you, my frend, we are the
poorest people on the face OF the earth
but We are poor and proud. We made
bully fite, Selah and the whole Amerikin
patton ought to feel proud of it. 1t shows
what Amerikins can do when they think