The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-03-20
auaersaas yutelligesleer.
. LETTER FROM BETSY HAMILTON.

ALETTER FROM BETSY HAMILTON.
TIE LOG ROLLLN'.
Atlanta Constitution.
DEAR COUSIN have told you about
the candy pullin' at Aunt Mahaly,s, and
the quiltin' at Miss Gooden's but l halnt
nevei told you about the log rollin' at old
man Hashers. Pap lows, them as never
has tried to clear thick timbered new
ground mought think it was easy as
whittlin' of q stick or takin' chaw to.
bacco : and it is, when they set of and
watch t'other folks do it, but jes let 'em
Law holt and hep while if they want to
know what its cracked up to be; and one
man needn't think he can do it all by
hisself; he is obleege to ak hands to help
him.
The Hashers had little strip Of new.
Ground twix them and the Prices, that
thew was a fxin' to cleer and plant in
corn. They cut down all the under
bresh and the trees, 'cept a few whoppln,,
bie'ns, here and yan, and they chopped
around them when the sap was up and
deadened 'em. They split big chance
of rails out'n the trees that was httln', !,
and them that wasn't fttin for nothln,
hadito be- got sont'n the way OF the ploW.
They had done all they could do oy
theyselves, so they turned in an axed
hands to log rollin', and the women
folks had auiltin' the same day.
Old Miss flasher lowed her rule alters
wast st.work fust and play afterwards" gitt
the ground cleered and the quilt out. and
then frolic tother "sadifaction," and she
was plum willin' to feed 'em If they
Could eat sich vittles as she had, and
they was more'n welcome. -
We knowed in reason thar was gWlne
to be a big crowd, bekase we seed 'em
gwine by in gangs BY time it was light
that morning.
The Bates boys went by wish tner
hounds like they was gwlne huntln.,
and pap lowed if they was fool enough
!. to carry ther dogs no wasn't gVine to
take his'n. it was too dangersom1e. they
was shore to run in the way Of big log
and git kilt or crippled. You see they
are nosin' around for rabbits, ard they
think.ycu are tnrnin' over the logs to git
Fem. and YOU can't skasely beat 'ern out'n
4 the way. Nav she fastened up old
"Scrougejy snd ssssTige," ," TO keep 'em from
follerin' Of us, she lowed she'd ruther
they'd howl all day as to git kilt; and
shore enough Tom Bates old "Bulger"
pot run over and kilt, and Cap 1Dewber-
ry,s little beach.leg fee got crippled. .
Malindy Jane 3and Ann Eliza and
Caledony was longer we'uns, and we all
went by the newground TO see 'em at
work. Pap and buddy was already thar;
they are both brag hands at log rollin':
Buddy's exile can't be found, fur as liftin'
is consarned. It was gin up thar that
fiay that he could beat airy two on the
ground. Most all the settlement boys
was thar. Jake Lofts, Ky Robertson,
Cap Dewberry, Lnm Gabriel, Jim Wig
gins, and all that gang, and tell you
they was cleerin' that land in a hurry.
Some was pilin' bresh, some rollin' logs,
some piiin 'emsin heaps, sore gwine
along firm, and the blaze was high and
red, and the smoke retched the sky. All
4 of 'em had off ther coats, and ther faces
looked like the blood would pop out, 'cept
few that was black with pine smoke.
Malindy Jane, hollered at Jake Lofts !:
aHey Jake, what makes your face so
black 2" .'Kaze smoke follows pretty
folks,n says Jake, then they all. followed
and laughed bekase Jake is monstrous
ugly. They was all maxim powerful
: fuss, hollerin', whoopin', laughin, and
singin' loud as they could bawl; and
haVin' fund runnin' rigs and jokes on one
another, and they had tormented one
Door fel!er tell he was most ready to cry,
and pap lowed the fust one said another
word to him he'd slap the life outn him,
{ so they let him alone quick, for when
pap epeaks:th know he means what he
z says.
They wasn't skase of whisky, but it
tuck. 'em 8 time gittin' of it. They sent
feller with q jug after it, and he stayed
so long they sent another feller after him,
!. and that,n, stayed so long they sent the
third man fore they got any whisky, and
5 he found 'em both tight, and by the
time he got, back with the jug he was
drunk'n airy one. Some of 'em most
kilt .theyselyess tryin' to prove they was
as strong as Bud Hamilton, and some was
sharp enough to let t'others do the liftin'
and they do the gruntin'. Old Miss
flasher was as proud to git them ashes as
old flasher was to git his ground cleer.
ed; she KEEP a gwine on about them good
hickry and blackjack ashes, what strong
I've they make, and how she was gwine
tomake her soap in the light of the moon
in March, and stir it:with sastack stick
and not low nobody else to tech it, and
turn it back'ards. We gals wheeled in
and soon got the quilt out. After while
the men folks come to ther dinner; they
stopped at the branch and washed fore
they got to the house. The Hashers had
Jest Ver'thing for dinner you could name,
and as par, says, "the whole face of the
yeth was kivered with pumkin pies, ~ and
I dobelieye pap wouldn't have though
it was log rollin' without them pumkin
pies. He calls it "wood pile desert."
bekase you can take pie in your hand
and set on the wood pile and eat it, and
that's the way they done over thar that
day; some of 'em stood around the table
and ct but the most of 'em tuck ther Wit
ties in ther hands and sot on the fence,
and on the wood pile and ct it-them as
wasn't too drunk ito eat-and they all
peared to have sight of fun, Jes let
y -