The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1875-08-24
And That's the way He Felt.


a wooden leg, three fingers were gone
from the left hand, and he had to use 9
crutch In the dusk of the evening he
sat down on dry goods box on the
ground with his crutch, he exclaimed:
"Wall, old pard,the wars over9 Gin
nae your hand shake hard "
He shook the crutch with hearty goo6
will and continued:
"There's no more Rsb-no more
Yank! We're all. Americans and stand
| ing shoulder to shoulder-South Carroll
ma alongside Massachusetts-we car
lick the boots off'n any nation under The
sun" !"
He waited awhile and then went on.
"NO more skirmishes-no more fouts
UDcle Robert is dead, Grant wants peace
and they're melting up swords and bayo
nets to make cotton.mill machinery !
We're about through camping out, ole
pard, and we amt sorry-not bit !"
He leaned the crutch against the box
lifted his wooden leg, and said: s.
cost good leg up at Fredericks
burg when was under Barksdale, anG
Burnside thought he could whip old I'm
Gle Robert and Stonewall Jackson TO-
gether. Good Lord but wasn't it ho
that day, when the Yanks got up and
got for us And when we got up ant
got for them wasn't it red-hot!'
He stopped to ponder for awhile, ani
his voice was softer as he said:
"But forgive 'em. l took the chan
ces-and lost. I'm reaching out now to
shake hands with the Yank who shot me
and I'll divide my tobacco half and hal
with him! 1t twas big war. Yank ant
Reb stood right up and showed pluck
but it is time to forgive and forget
He cut chew off his plug. took of
his battered hat and looked at it,and con
tinued:
didn't we all come of the same
blood2 Hain't we the big American ma
ton? Isn't this here United States th,
biggest plantation on the river, and i
there nation in this world that dare.
knock the chip off of our shoulder?
| "MaryIanu, my ma 4. - .----.
Michigan my Michigan"
He put down his leg. looked at hi
crippled hand. and solilloqnized:
"I'm satisfied. Folks who go to wa
expect to feel bullets. We stood up t.
the Yanks-thev stood up to us-it wa
a fair fout, and we got licked. Two fin
gers hain't as good as five, but they ar
good enough to shake hands with. Com
up here, you Yanks. and grip me! W
raise cotton down here-you raise cor
up there-le.'s trade!.'
| He lifted his crutch, struck it dow
hard, and went on:
"Durn family who'll fight each 9th
er! We've got the biggest and. hes
country that ever laiG out doors. and
any foreign despot throws club at til
American eagle we'll shoulder arms an
shoot him in next week!'
| He sat and pondered while the shad
ows grew deeper,an by and by he said
"There's lot of graves down there
there's heaps O war orphans up north
I'm crippled up and half-sck, but II
going to get up and hit the ornerv Gus
who dares say word again either :
We've got through fighting-we're sh;
king hands now, and durn the man VIII
says word to interrupt the harmony
It's one family-old Uncle Sans boy
and gals and babies, and we're going
, live. in the same house, eat at the sam
table,and turn out bigger crops than an
other ranch on the globe!'
He rose up to go, raped on the bo
with his crutch, and continued:
"Resolued, That this glorious old fan
lily stick right together in the ol
homestead for the next million years t
come"