Owyhee semi-weekly tidal wave. [volume] (Silver City, Owyhee County, Idaho Territory) 1868-1869, 1869-06-22
Letter from Joe.
MAY 20. 1869.
COMPARISONS

IOhfAAiSONS
are said to be Odious, hence will
indulge in few. My last batch of
scribbling was something about what
! saw and heard on two weeks run
in Dixie. Something is the word,
perhaps, for | could fill your paper
for six weeks with curious conyersa-
tons had with ex-rebels, slaves and
scalawags (the latter is the name
used down there for Southern Union
ists.) If Andy Johnson had really
wanted to make 90 treason odious, -"
he could not have succeeded better
than by comparisons but he didn't
want to do anything of the kind-he
knew his own heart best, and con-
cluded that he must gloss it over for
his own sake.
Well, what am ] trying to get at.
is the universal disposition to talk
politics south OF Mason-Dixon's line,
in contrast with what | have heard
on this side-speeially among the
farmers and laboring people North.
No matter hardly what the Southern
man may be doing which is gene
rally little enough he is ready to
tell his story, show his scars, or tell
you that it is the special mission of
the South to hate the North forever
and ever-to teach his children and
grand children to do so, &c, &c.
You hear it in the cars, on the street
corners anywhere, everywhere. ~
On the other hand, up here in Ohio,
Illinois, etc, you are in luck to get
an ey-soldier to take time to tell you
that he ever was in the war, or that
there had ever been such war as
the Great Rebellion. If he ever
does allude TO it, it is either incident
ally or by accident. Scores OF
young fellows among the farmers,
mechanics and store-keepers, that |
knew ''twenty years ago, dear Tom,
and who have each and all had sew
eral years experience as soldiers
will not alluda TO the fact unless yor
insist upon il, or as it may have in
terfered with their business at home
for the time being. In this respect
the contrast between the Northerners
and Southerners is perfectly start
ling. And so far as anything like
" hatred " toward the South
is concerned, there is scarcely thu
least concern expressed for tb'
South in any respect. These North
ern soldiers go along making money
building railroads, cutting dow
trees or breaking prairie, as if the.
had never heard of the South, tn
d" Fifteenth Amendment, or any
thing else past or present every
thing goes for the future, and
7 JOHNNY Reb or Johnny Bull gets il
! their way again, they will be kfcke'
e ont again. and nothing more will b
/ thought about it. This universe
! absorption of the fighting soldier
into the industrial pursuits is tn
I hest evidence of the permanence {
this American institution for, wer
it not the disposition of the Norther
mind to make money. the system
government that breeds such a
: immense army of politicians woul
soon run il into monarchy or some
thing else-into the ground, guess
There seems to have been at lea'
as much greed as glory about tn
war just over, among all hands
, the successful section; for do b'
lieve that nine-tenths of the farmt
boys, ETC., saved almost all the
wages as volunteers and had it
commence actual business with
J. .ho olosa of tho war. The idea I