The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-01-18
Our big Scarc.
From inc iIayfweii Sum.


| We do not profess to be recklessly brave.
nor yet so very cowa,dly. We went
through the major part of the war-hsve
ncafu The cannon's roar, the shells shrill
shtieE, the swish of grape and canister,
anu the whistle of the minnie ball have
oech wounded: made prisoner of war. but
YET we We're never 80 badly, so hopelessly
scared in our life rs we were at our native
Town Just at the close of the war But we
will tell you how ii was.
Just before the collapse Of the Confedcra.
cy we were fortunate enough TO be one of
tiIs ne very few to receive 'iurlough OF in
| uulGence, which we don't mind telling
you was awarded us for gallant and meri.
| torious conduct't') and which we spent at
| our bone AT Anderson, S. Z. Wien our
| iirlouGh expired We started back to our
regiment: the "a :. G. Rifles, with Lees
army. when, we got to Newberry we
learned the sad news that Lee and Johnston
had both surrendered and SO there was
! hotiiing ,ett us but TO return home
! AS The people Of Anderson and lIartwel
! nave Sood reason TO remember q horde OF
| rnooerS under command of Col Brown,
disicsardng the fact that peace had been
Proclaimed, raiied through this section Of
Carolina and Georgia. and under guisc OF
authority riundcrcl our homes-not even
! sparlnE the negro Cabns-und killing iii
| co!u blood some of our best citizens But
we VIII not dwell on the vandalism of that
.'c."c VI 'ut-tnFoatS, hut VIII proceed to
'cil You how we ''got scared"
browns regiment camped in dense
tHlckct on the Grcenyille road about a
imlie from the courthouse at Anderson.
we resided, not far irOm the camp, on the
fendleton road. Just here il is important
| TO state that the Yankees had taken every
thlng III the shape of firearms from the peo-
pie, and either appropriated them TO their
own use or broke them SO they could not
he used
On the night the Yankees departed they
leit at thc!r camp many good horses and
mules which were only fugged out. and
which had been replaced by the horses Of
our people. After they had all gone, as we
thought we wen: up to the camp and Sc
cured tirst-rate horse which we took
home and hitched in the yard. We then
concluded to return to get sack of corn
and saddle which we saw they had left,
but had not thought to put on our horse.
AS we said before the thicket was dense.
and the campfire had communicated itself
10 bed Of leaves and Was burning brightly.
We were standing by the fire alone, and u
person back III the woods could see us as
PLAIN as day, while We could see nothing
out III The Egyptian. darkness. We were
busily engaged in picking up the articles
startled by tile sharp "click-click" of a
rifle and hoare. angry voice:
What in the h-ll arc you doing
there?"
AS soon as VIC heard the clicking of the
grn we knew that one or more Yankees
were still in the woods, and would have
very little scruples in sending US to the
camp-tires beyond. The cold chills PLAYED
up and down our spinal column, aud our
hair raised our hat an inch above our head
ut the horrible thought of being thus igno-
Ininiously shot down without IL chance of
defending oursclf Therefore we answered
in our most polite and suave manner:
Nothing, sir; just picking up some lit.
tie things left by the troops"
"The h-ll you are! Don't YOU know
that is against orders"
NO, sir" We replied humbly.
"Drop. them little things now, d-n
you, git"
We started Off in an opposite direction
with alacrity, but before we had gone two
steps lie yelled:
Halt! About face !--conc here, sirr
We obeyed with great reluctance, seeing
there WAS no possible chance to escape.
But We had only gone few steps when lie
commanded:
"1altw
We stopped instantly.
MARX time ~
We realized that the Yankee was drunk,
but instinctively began to mark in COM
mon time when he yelled in O threatening
voice:
MARK time double quick, you d-n
rehel!'
We began the double quick step, but re-
nizing the extremely ludicrous feat the
drunken Yankee was forcing us to perform,
were OH the point of making bold dash
for the friendly darkness of the forest, re-
gardless OF consequences, when the YAM
kee burst out into All uncomfortable peal
Of laughter, fell down on the ground, and
rolled over and oyer in a paroXysm of
mirth until he came in full sight, when We
discovered that tho Yankee was no other
than one of our old schoolmatcs, 'Bub"
McCully!
1t is hardly possible TO give an adequate
idea of how mad we were but after awhile
tho righteousness OF The figure %e cut
dawned upon us, and we joined Bubs up
roarous merrimcnt.
Bub had gone up to the camp upon like
GRAND rs ourself and had picked up an old
lock IN stdtn YuD, and observing us in the
bright glare Of the burning leaves, and
knowing we could not see him, determined
to Perpetrate the huge joke on US.
My, but we were scared! Napoleon was
right when he said, every man has his hour
OF fear.
We implored Bub not TO tell on us, and
he faithfully promised not to do so /; but
the joke was too good to keep, and for fear
he would betray us we went down town
early the next morning and told the joke
ourself.
We will merely add as O climax, that
when we got home with the saddle and
corn the immediate necessity for them had
departed-that is, some base scoundrel had
entered the yard and atolen our horse des-
pite the earnest protest Of tho female mem.
bers Of the family J. II. McGILL.