Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1877-06-06
An Aipeniau Abroad.
CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK

eastern X. Il. for Nashville, Ienn.,
at which place we arrived at 5 P.
NJ. on the 18th. My room is No.
s Maxwell House. What strange
thoughts crowd upon me as my
mind goes out over the city and
revisits places made familiar during
the war, which / shall write you.
But this letter now has grown to
such proportion that | fear you
will get tired of reading before You
are half through, and then throw it
away as a great bore.
Ten o'clock P. MI have been
on the street all day and have suf-
fered fearfully from heat. The
Thermometer records 90o in the
shade. Let me here mention that
this hotel, now called the Maxwell
House, was erected before the war,
but not finished, and was then
called the Zollicoffer House. This
Is where the Union soldiers were
uuartered, Of which you have heard
me speak. l have forgotten how
many have been lodged here at one
time-but it was a vast number.
Directly opposite is where we had
our fruit and candy stand, still as
natural as life. Opposite the side
entrance is the old church that was
used for a hospital. / passed
along Front street and recognized
the old store where / first tried my
hand at actual bookkeeping. /
recognized the old place at once,
for the exterior has remained the
same. The interior, though, is
changed. AS ! pass by / call to
mind the cock fights we used to
have in the cellar, and the cotton
broker who was shot while sitting
in a chair at the front door with |
me checking the weights of the
bales as they were rolled in. OF
this you have heard me speak be-
fore. All this took place twelve
years ago. l shall walk around to-
morrow and try and give you de-
scription of other things of inter-
est. i would mention that coming
into the city on the st. Louis IL
Louisville r. R. you pass through
the National soldiers burial ground.
In the center is the soldiers monn-
ment, and there is a space allotted
each State. Each grave is marked
with a little white marble stone,
and it is strange sight-truly
city of the dead, for it covers sew
eral acres. You can better imag-
inc than | describe the sight, when
you think of the countless num-
bers gathered from the battle fields
of the Southwest and brought here
for a final resting place. Then
think of the other National bury
ing grounds at Stone River, Get
tysburg and other places, and of
the thousands who sleep in I'M
marked graves all over the land,
and you will realize the cost Of the
niger; for the Niger was the
cause of the war and its fruit, and
l cannot see that we secured any
thing else. Could the radical hot
heads of the North see the negro
in his native purity, and see what
a lazy, worthless race they are,
they would say that the war had
not bettered their condition, but
was hardship. 1t is the constant !,
thought of these "nigs" how they
shall get food without working for >,
I. ! think / get less friendly to- Fl
ward the mig" every day.
Sunday, P. MI thought / G
would attend the LIST Pres. church
his morn, but the heat is so great d
hat / concluded to remain outside. r.
This is the church used as a hos "
'ital during the war, and on the "
road stone steps, where once in
'alked with measured tread the d.
rmed sentinel, now stands the u
shers to welcome you to a seat in .,
he house of God, within which 81
nee rose the cry and groans of Al
le MANNED and bleeding soldier, at
now heard the grand tones of ca
gan and choir, peeling forth l
Peace on earth good will toward
an" What n strange constrast. ga
ut, Notwithstanding the heat, l ~,
ok a walk up Church street, past cir
e homestead Of James X. Polk, Gu
0 tenth President of the United AS
ates. Nestled back among the SCI
ee, inviting one to its quiet and IT.
itsde, stands the old homestead, ma
W with age. In front, and a lit ad,