The New York herald., 1872-09-25
The CIadiators Meet for the
Second Round.
Six Mortal Hours Of Stump
asqoos Speeches.
The Confederate Attacks Andy-Andy At
tacks the Narragansett- Mar.
''' ragansett Attacks Both.
What Andrew Thinks About Greeley
la and the Impeachment.

AAa dnu LILO lmpedCnln6nt.
c ~" BRISTOL, Tenn, Sept. %, 1872.
This town, straddled as 1t Is across the boundary
Hne Of West Virginia and Tennessee, is o comical
study to the stranger. l doubt II there be any
sther town in the country as curiousy disposed In
typographical way. The bulk of 1t, consisting
Of the main street, over half mile long, Is two
thirds In Tennessee and ne-third In Virginia, 80
that man sitting recumbently under his own
vine and fig tree at the east side OF the thorough
fare can kick his heels over the soil Of one State
ana swing his body over that OF the other. 1t is
about equally divided In population, num-
ber OF houses, churches, barber shops and beer
saloons. Every kind Of store at the Tennessee
side OF the street has its counterpart that
Of Virginia, and the street itself is not more than
thirty feet wide. The Virginia corner grocery has
bar of soap for every one in the Tennessee store
opposite, and Utce versa. There are two Mayors,
two sets Of town Ofilcers and two leading hotels;
but they are as one in federal head, or TAIL II you
like, who is the potential representative of the
United States Post Office. Here we have
another beautiful Illustration in miniature Of
our system Of "checks and balances"
Of unity in division and harmony between
the simple and the complex. If man appropriates
his neighbor's coat on the Virginia side he has
only to the street to Tennessee, wrap himself
In the stolen garment, and make faces at his out
ragged victim. The laws delay is about week
before q requisitiOn from the Governor of Virginia
reaches him of Tennessee and travels down for en-
l0rcement to the boundary line. 4s os t1t.
When the people fifty yards from where / am
writing have any Court business to perform they
20 fifteen miles, to the town Of Abingdon, in West
Virginia. while the folks here at the west side 60
eleven miles in an opposite direction, to the town
nf ntvyNn Tnnn In %hA lnkkn
IN election comes or the liquor stores at
this side are all closed through the day; but the
thirsty topers cross over the distance with hop,
skip and Jump into Virginia, drink to their hearts
content and return. The Virginia side claims
m PURE AND UNDEFILED DEMOCRACY;
the Tennessee mixed element Of white democrats,
negro republicans and Union nondescripts, who are
undecided what to do about such a candidate for
Congresses AnArew johnson. 1t is curious town
altogether, and all by reason OF its singular posi-.
tion. West Virginia has sent commissioners to Eng
land to hunt up and overhaul certain ancient maps
In the British Colonial ONCE, about which hear
tradition that therein may be found the original
boundary line, giving Virginia five miles more ter
riIory to the west than she now possesses. had
glance at q map in Lynchb urg over two hundred
years old, In which the Chesapeake Bay is put
down as the Virginia Sea; but this part OF the
country is left hopeessly undefne ed as the North
Pole. 1t will be well for this town when its d.
vided allegiance ceases and one OF the two States
claims it IN tOto For place of 5000 inhabitants,
with no grander commercial enterprise among
them than
FUGITIVE TRAFFIC IN BUTTER, EGGS, AND CHICKENS,
the burden ofkeeping two sets OF municipal officers
tS onerous. remarked to my friend George the
barber famous factor IN the chicken
Bristol looked remarkably quiet and peaceable for
He said in reply, "well, no, sab. Dey is always
lussn' and 1ghtn' bout dis yere ting OF de oder;
bout politics and dis and dat"
"By the way, George" inquired, "where are
your white republicans here f''
'.Well, sab, deys not many; but de few on 'em
~orsh men, and under don't a. scare scare e@" S'r0ne
George let me conhdentially into the secret that
bn hev naf DO oeen aVag %fb ae we he
said further he liked "a grit man. and loved to see
= man a man, man, &C., to the same effect: but he
round and taxln' poor niggahs TO- and five dollar
Q year for papers they never could in God
He referred to some of these oily newspaper
drummers. and political tract distributors who
nocent darkies discovered that the Virginia
side OF Bristol harbored only
THREE UNION MEN OF WHITE CUTICLEs
but west Of the border they reached round dozen
and controlled the darky vote completely. The
passions Of the war have Of course subsidized to
though the latter are not beyond rejecting with
acerbity on the obstinacy with which the former
the carpet.baggers. or the knights Of carpetbag-
dom II may be- said their numbers have
Seg wee e ns ssS0n asr
the war, but, as gentleman of the
Confederate persuasion remarked to me, they were
sunfortunate;' - not that they were Ku Kluxed, as
he hastened to explain, but the white people were
moody and resentful, and had no sympathy inter-
course or hospitality to lavish on this particular
class OF strangers.
There was Comparatively little suffering around
TINS place from the operations OF the armies. The
gallant Stoneman and the gentlemanly Burbridge
were the two principal federal raiders who secured
the country. They did their painful duty
with as much consideration as men under
IKE circumstances could exhibit. From here
70 Knoxville, however, was the most unhappy part
OF tennessee. 1t was the region OF purely inter-
necine strife as bitter and unrelenting that OF
the Covenanters and Catholics among the high
lands and lOwands Of Scotland.
THE POLITICAL CLASSES OF TENNESSEE
Incre were three classes of men in East Ten
ncssee The faithful Unionsts strong OF heart and
OenS nike the sn srsetes political
Of their idolatry-the Union; then there
were the secessionists, men OF fiery ways
the Yankees and all connected with them. The
third, and the compromise party, were the subms.
ei0nists, mostly 0dine whigs who had no admlra-
yet still clung to the Union. The secessionists
were the fire eaters-the men of loud, camorous
voices and ready knives and pistols. The subms-
sionists were the conservative element-respect-
able In habits and even strong In numbers. Re-
proaches and threatenings drove them into the
secession movements, and 1t soon became
Except exc perhaps Ss wa moTe ssts or
less the case. Secretary Seward was right in sus-
pecting there was wide Union sentiment con-
Cealed behind the line OF bayonets first formed by
ehe Confederacy; but he ought to have known
human nature better than to think that sentiment
could long remain neutral.
East tennessee experienced the
WORST FEATURES OF THE WAR
the Dl0ouy encounters OF near kindred-and these
truly were no rosewater collisions. Only the ALI
seeing eye ever knew all the horrible tragedies
enacted In the beautiful valleys and amid the hills