Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1866-02-03

Bill Arp to His Old Friend.


unburthenin my sorrowful reflections. For
the last few years you have travelled round
right smart and must ha, made a heap of lu-
minous observations. sL,hear you are now liviu
In Nashville where you can see all sides Of ev-
. erything and read all the papers-whcre you
eau study Paradise lost without book, and
see the devil and his angels, without drawin
on the imagination, and / tho't may be you
might assist me in my troubled feelings. |
have always, Mr. Happy, endeavored to see
the bright side of every pikter if it had any,
but there are one or two subjects about which
. l had nifty nigh gin it up.
/ want you to tell me if you can, about what
time are the black republicans goin to Quit
persecutin our people? What are they SO ev-
erlastin mad with us about? Old Skcwball
says its for treason that we've gone and done,
and that [ am the slowest perseevin man he
ever seed not to have found it out. @
Now Treeson is mighty bad thing, and
any man found guilty Of treason ought to be
talked to by a preacher right under gallus,
and then be allowed to stand on nothin for
few hours by the clock. Shore enuff treeson
lISmean. Treeson where man slips round on
the sly in time of war, and takes sides agin his
country. Just as though for instance, should
have worked ,agin my sovrin State after she
had seeded, and hid stole her powder or de-
serted her in tinietof peril, while she was de-
fondin herself against the combined assaults
of the world, the flesh and the devil would
not have blamed pobody for hangin me for the
like, would you? But Skewball says we amt
got no suvreen States-tlrat the war had set
tied the question agin us on thatp pint l don't
think SO my friend. i admit that VIC amt
nothin in partikler now, but we did hav suv-
rren States before the war, and the sword amt
settled nor unsettled no great principles.
There amt no trial of right or wrong by wager
of battle nowadays. For nifty nigh hun
dred years this country haye been big deba-
tin society on these questions. From the fjme
OF: Hamilton and Jefferson down to 1861, the
right Of State to dissolve her own partner
ship hav been argued by powerful minded
men, and there has been more for it than agin
it. J. More Presidents, moro Senators, more
Statesmen, more Judges, more people. Mas
sachusetts and Connecticut were for it at one
time, and bellercd round and paved dirt anna
Yin to git out, but they found out Barcus WI
willin and they didn't go. l believe, howev
er, that old Nutmeg did stay out about two
hours and half
Well the South went out nifty unwilingly,
80. AA"PPy,l 90 Jou htoW. 'olic liau Decn
mighty nigh kicked out for a long time, and
there was big party that wanted us to 90 out
and stay out. Everybody knows VIC didn't
git along in peace, SO VIC concluded to do like
Abraham and his brother, -:n-law; to separate
our household. What they wanted to keep us
for [ never could see and can't see yit I
wouldn't have a!nigger or a dog to stay round
me that didn't wantto. Some say they want
ed us to strengthen en- agin their enemies in
case of furrin war. Does any man in his
senses expect us to help the black republicans
to whip anybody? Have We got any worse
enemies than they are? They can't make us
fight [ reckon if we dopt want to. We've
tout enuff and made nothin By it but glory,
Sand we aint goin to iine in another war to
gretify other people. Dodds says before he ID
pull trigger for Thad. Stevens, he'd have his
soul transmigrated to u bench leg'd fec, and
bark at his daddy's mules 5000 years. Iwon-
der if the experience of the last four years
,ant satisfied these fellows that our boys are a
!. dangerous set to be turned loose in time of war
4 Wouldent you think that as matter of poll
cy they would soft solder us little, and quit
their slandcrin. If we do fight for 'cm, there
will be one condition certain they mout be
put where David put Uriah, and our bows
mout consent to make charge or two behind
EN- at the pint of the bagnet. ..aa
ButyI want to tell you, John, if am right
about the history Of this business. 1T amt
long story and I'll tell it in the way sec it.
Old Pewrytan wont off one day with some
ships, and took few beads and luce harps and