The Republican journal., 1875-08-19
7I7777771------
How He Felt.
[Vicksburg (Miss.l Herald

lie had wooden leg, three fingers were
gone from the left hand, and he had to use
| crutch. In the dusk of evening he sat
down on q dry-goods box on the street
corner, and, striking the ground with his
| crutch. he exclaimed:
'Well, old pard, the wars over. Gim-
me your hand-shake hard"'
lie shook the crutch with hearty good
will, and continued:
"Ihere's no more Reb-no more Yank
We're all American, and standing shoul-
der to shouder-SouthC Carolina alongside
Massachusetts-we can lick the boots off''n
any nation under the sun,'
lie waited awhile, and then went on:
mo more skirmshes-no more fouts :
Uncle Robert is dead, General Grant wants
peace, and they're melting up swords and
bayonets to make cotton-mill machinery I,
We're about through camping out, old
pard and we hain't soTy-not bit.'
lie leaned the crutch against the box
lifted his wooden LEG, and said:
Lost good leg up at Fredericksburg,
when was under Barksdale, and Burn
side thought he could whip old Uncle
Robert and Stonewall jackson together I.
Good Lord but wasn't it hot that day.
when the Yanks laid their pontoons and
got up and got for US! And when we cot
up and got for them, wasn't it rea hot p"
lie stopped to ponder for q while, and
his voice was soft us he said
"But forgive 'em / took the chances
and lost I'm reaching out now to
shake hands with the Yank who shot me,
and III divide my tobacco half and half
with him 1t was a bic war. Yank and
Reb stood right up and showed pluck, but
lts time to forgive and forget"
He cut u chew oft his plug. took off his
battered hat and looked 1T it, and contin-
ued:
"Didn't we all come of one blood .
llain't we the big American nation? Isn't
this here United States the biggest planta-
ton on the river and is there a nation in
the world that darcs knock the chip oft
our shoulder?
Maryland, my Maryland,
Michigan, my Michigan"
lie put down his lee, looked at his Grip
pied hand, and soliloquized:
''lhree fingers gone-hand used up,
but I'm satisfied Folks who 60 20 war
expect to feel bullets We stood up 10 The
lanks-thcy stood up to us-it was a fair
lout, and we got licked Two fingers
han't as good a, five, but they are good
enough to shake hands with Come up
here, YOU Yanks, ana grip me We raise
cotton down here ~ YOU raise corn up
there-Iess trade +"
He lifted his crutch, struck it down hard
and went on
"Durn family who'll fight each other .
We've got the biggest and best country
that ever laid out doors, and il any for
elgn dcspot throws a club at the Ameri-
can eagle wen shoulder arms and shoot
him into the middle OF next week :"
He sat and pondcred while the shadows
grew deeper, and by-and-by he said .--
"There's lots of graves down here -
there's heaps o'war orphans up North I'm
crippled up and half sick, but I'm going
to git up and hit the ornely cuss who
dares say a word ag'in either We've got
through fighting we're shaking hands
now, and durn the man who SAYS word
to interrupt the harmony It's one tamil
ly-old Uncle Sans boys and gals and
babies; and we're going to live in the
same house, eat at the same table, and
turn out better crops than any other ranch
on the globe"
lie rose up to 90, raped on the box
with his crutch and continued :-
"ReSolvcd, that this glorious old family
stick right together in the Old homestead
ior the next million years to come