Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1866-02-02
+, [From the Metropolitan Record.
BILL ARP, THE ROMAN RUNAGEE.

Ihe following letter, as It's date indicates, was
published before in the Atlanta Confectionery, now
defunct, but as it necessary prelude to an orig
inal 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 re-
fers to character well known in Georgia as s'Big
John" who is, to use familiar but expressive
phrase, "a regular trump" The original letter
which, as we stated shall appear in the next num-
Der of the RECORD, will refer more at length to
this celebrated individual, and also relate 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. "-ED. RECORD.
m ~ ATLANTA, May % 1864.
Mr.. EDIrUR: Remote, onfrended, mel
ankolly, Slow as somebody sed, | am now
seekin log in some vast wilderness, lone
ly roost in some Okeefeenokee swamp, where
the fowl invaders cannot travel, nor their
pontoon bridges phloat. IfMr. Shakespeare
were correct when he writ that .ssswect are
the juices ofadversity," then it are reasona-
bull to suppose chat me and my foaks and many
others must have some sweetnin to spare
When a man is aroused in the ded Of night,
and smells the approach Of the fowl invader;
when he feels constrained to change his base
and bekum runagee from his home, leavin
behind him all those nessary 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
raisinchildren and chickens, Strawberries and
peas, lie soap and inyuns, ind all SIGH luxurics
Of this sublunary life; when he imagiues every
unusual sound to be the crack Of his earthly
doom when from SIGH influences lie begins
dignifed retreat, but soon is constrained
to leave the dignity behind I and git away
without regard to the order Of bis going If
there is any sweet juice in the like of that, I
haven't been able to see it,. No, Mr.. Editur,
SIGH scenes never happened in Bill Shake
speer's day, or he wouldcat have writ that
line.
[ don't know that the lovely inhabitants
Of your butiful sity need any fourw;Nnins to
make 'em avoid the bIeakers upon which our
vessel wrecked; but for fear they should some
day shake their CORY locks at me, will make
publik brief allusion 10 some of the painful
circumstances which lately okkurred in the
regions Of the eternal .snty
Not many days ago. the. everlastin Yam
KEGS (may they live always when the devil
gifts EN-, made violent. assault upon the
sitty of the hills the etergal sitty, where q
hundred years the .Injut riversf have been
blendin their waters peacefully together
where the Chocktaw children built their flut-
ter mills, and toyed with frogs and tadpoles,
while these majestick streams were but little
spring branches, babblin along their sandy
beds. For days and nights our valyunt
troops had beat bak the fowl invader, and
saved our pullets from their devourin jaws.
For 3 days and nights we babe farewell to
every fear, Illustrating upon the triumph Of
our arms, and the sweet juices Of our straw
berries and cream. For days and nights
fresh troops from the South poured into our
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
-sckured against the assaults Of Che world,
the flesh, and the devil, which last individu-
al are supposed to be that horde Of fowl in
vaders, who are scekin to phlank us out OF
both bread and existence.
But alas for human hopes! Man that is
born Of women (and there are no other sort
that I know of has but few days that amt
full Of trouble. Altho the troops did shout,
altho their brass bound musk swellcd upon
the gale, altho the turkey bumps rose as the
welkin rung, altho the commanding General
assured us that Rome waste be held at every
hazard, and that on tomorrow the big bat
tul was to be fought, and the fowl invaders
hurled all blcedin and bowling to the shores
Of the Ohio, yet it did transpire somehow
that on Tuesday night the military evakua-
ton Of our sitty were peremptorily ordered
No note ofSwarnin-no whisper Of alarm
no hint of the morrow came from the mnz-
zled lips of him who had lifted our hopes SO
high. Calmly and cody we smoked our
killy kinick, and surveyed the cmbarkation
of troops, konstruin it to be some grand ma
hoover ofmilitary strategy. About o o'clock
we retired to rest to dream Of to-morrow's
yiktory. Sleep soon orerpowered us like the
fog that kivercd the earth, but nary bright
dream had kun, nary vision Of freedom and
glory. On the kontrary, our rest were I'M
easy strawberries and cream seemed to be
holdin secession mectins within our corpo-
rate limits, when suddenly in the twinklin Of
an eye friend aroused us from our slumber
and put new faze upon the situation p
Gen Johnston was retrcatin, and the blue
nosed Yankees were to pollute our sakred
soil the next mornin. Then came the Jug Of
war. With hot and feverish haste we started
out in search Of transportation, but nary
transport could be had. Time honored
friendship, past favors shown, everlastin
gratitood, numerous small and luvely chill
dren, kunfederate currency, new isshoes,
bank bills, black bottles, all all influences
were urged and used to seizure a korner in q
kar, but nary korner-too late too late the
pressure for time was fearful and TREMENDOUS
the steady clock moved on-no Joshua
about to lenghthen out the night, no rollir
stock, no steer, no mule. With rcluktant
and hasty steps we prepared to make good
our exit by that overland line which Rail
Roads do not control, nor A @ Ms impress.
With cur families and little clothing We
crossed the Etowah bridge aboutthe broke Of
- w oaJ,xr tho 17+L n NJ 1904