River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-11-03
A PRESENT FROM GEN. SHERMAN
How Georgia woman was Paid for
Her Chickens.
salt LIKE Tribune


Governor Murray tells a laugnable
story of his experience in the Georgia
march to the sea, which is worth re-
peating:
Speaking of the famous march
through Georgia. said the Governor,
~ never shall forget the amount OF
money it cost us to keep an old woman
from crying to death. OF course we
were obliged to subsist off the country
as we went along, and we naturally
took about the best in sight. One day
we took possession of chicken ranch
kept by an old lady, who stood at the
front gate with broom and threatened
to lick all of Sherman's forces if they
did not move on. Now, chickens were
considered as officers meat, and as we
were Internally hungry we went for
those old hens pretty lively. When
she saw that her favorite fowls were
being caught and killed, she keeled
right over and began to cry. Presently
she began to scream, and finally you
could hear that woman's yells clear to
Atlanta. sent the surgeons to quiet
her, but they failed, and then all of the
officers took turns, but the more atten-
ton paid her the more she howled. /
then got pretty nervous over the infer
nal noise, because the whole army
would hear it, and they might suppose
that somebody was torturing the wo-
man. Finally Sherman rode up and
asked what was it all about, and when
we told him he said Give her bush
! ell of Confederate bonds for her hens,
/ and see if that won't stop her. Acting
on this hint / proceeded to business
We had captured Confederate train
the day before, with 100000 of Con-
! federate money, and ] hunted up the
train at once Well, l stuffed about
half a million dollars in an old carpet
sack and marched into the house.
Madam" said /, opening the sack,
'T'll give you $4,000 to quit this noise.
1t was still as death in a minute, and
then her face expanded in broad
smile. | laid the packages of money
on the table, and / never saw such q
delighted woman. The effect pleased
me, and | continued Gen. Sherman
presents his compliments and 800, 000.'
| never in my life saw such pleased
old woman, and | wound up by dump.
1 lIR LAI6 COul6Ilc Vi bl1S SdCk ilSub uOWU
on the floor, and telling her that when
it came to contributions to distressed
females | could not be outdone by any
man living.
.'She invited the officers to supper
and she cooked every chicken on the
ranch, and set out cider as free as wa,
ter. We were having pretty good
time ;shen a long, lank old coon came
in, and she said it WAS her husband
Pretty soon his eyes fell on the money
sarah, said he, where in blazcs did
you get all this darned truck?'
"A present from General Sherman,
said she.
""Tain't worth continental cent
they're kindling fires with it down a.
New Orleans
"The old woman rose up, her face az
white as your shirt-front, and her eye:
wasn't pleasant to meet.
$50 you are the blk that gave me
this, are your she called out, reaching
for the old broom.
"The entire mass rose and started
from that house. We never heard any
more other, and there wasn't man il
the crowd who would meet that olC
woman for all that Confederate money
if it would bring one hundred cents OF
the dollar at the treasury department
| Washington"