The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-03-13
BILL ARp,S LETTER.
The "Shycoon" Discussed-His Effort to
Console, Etc.

Gbs
The "shycoon" Discussed-His Effort to
Console, Etc.
.dtlanta Constitution.
| reckon the elements are satisfied now
and will let US alone for season. We've
got nothing to complain of at my house
and much to be grateful for, nevertheless
one of my props have been knocked from
under, for I've been saying and thinking
for seven years that these bills ard
mountains that surround US were
like Notifications against storms and
tempests and cyclones and simoons and
tornadoes and all those sort of things. l
thought that the high peaks and ridges
broke them to pieces when they come
and we were in no danger, but the other
day we could look out at our windows
and see the raging balloon on its wind
ing way tearing up things and paying no
respect to houses or trees or man or beast.
It lifted up the roof off of Nabor Nun
ford's nice dwelling like the shingles were
feathers, and then took hold OF his big
two.story barn and twisted it it all to
pieces, and then dropped the fragments
about on nine mules aud two horses
and carriage and all sorts of machines,
and nine niggers to boot that we're inside
the building. No, those darkeys were
not in. They saw the cyclone fooling
round the dwelling house and they run
out of the barn just as the suburbs of the
monster got there.
Says !, "John what did those darkeys
do then?"
"Good gracious, boss, tell you-dem
niggers Just frow demselves down on de
groun', sir and holler 'Oh, Lordy-good
Lord hab mercy on poor nigger. Neb'
Der be bad niger any more, oh, Lordy
good Lordy'-and de old slycoon pay
no 'tentiou at all, but jes' lif 'em up and
twis' 'em all roun' and roun' and toss 'em,
ober de fence into de red mud and Gim,
my soul / wish you could hab seen Gin,
for as he was gwine ober de fence he
struck posts dat was stickin up, and
he gethered it with both arms and held
on aud hollered wus than eber, oh,
Lordy-oh, my good Lord. Bless de
Lord, hab mercy on poor nigger;' aud
about that time the old slycoon twis he
tail sroun' and lif Gins feet way up
over he's head and his holt broke and he
bounced off on the groun' and den took
anoder bounce into de mud hold, and
dar de consarn lef him.
"Atter de slycoon gone clean away l
run up to Gin, and says I, Gin, is you
dead or no. Gin lyin' dar in de mud
hole wid muffin but his head out. Gin
neber spoke nary word, and his eyes was
walled like dead steer, and so says l
agin, Il say, Gin, is you done gone clean
dead for you see I thought if Gin dead
no use in my wadiDg in de mud after him,
and Gim he grunt aud wall one eye at
me and whisper, 'whar is he.' 'Whar's
who,' said I. DE debbil, said he. Done
gone said I-'gone clean away. Git up
from dar-git up say Gin glib groan
and say, L can't. I'm done dead Git
up I tell you,' said |, but Gin neber
move. Bymeby I frow up my bands and
look down de big road and say my good
Lord Almighty, eff dat ole slycoon amt
comm right back here Neber see
dead niger come to life like Gin. He
bounce outen dat mud hole and start off
up de road runnin' and hollerin' for
quarter OF mile. White folks come
along and stop him and look all ober him
and neber find a scratch. When he got
back we was all cuttin' away de timbers
ffbm often de mules, and it was half
an hour before we could git Gin to strike
ary lick. Tell you what, boss, was all
mighty bad skeered, but 1 neber see a
nigger as onready for judgment as dat
same niger, Gin. When de old debil
do git him he raise rumpus down in dem
settlements shore"
Didn't the cyclone take off the roof
of your cabin, John 2"
"Of course be did boss. He take de
roof off all along Everywhere he 60. Look
like ebery house he come to he dip down
and say take your hat of, don't. you see
me comm, aint you got no manners, and
zip he strike 'em and take it off hisself.
He take de roof often de colored school
and often de white school all de same.
He no respeckter of pussons, bless God.
Tell you boss, what l tink about dis old
slycoon. I tink he muffin but de old
debil on a scurscion. Yah, yah, YAH"
and John cackled at his own ideas.
Well, l was mighty sorry for Nabor
Munford, for it tore him up awfully, but
it left him his wife and his pretty little
children and his good old mother and all,
and he is thankful for that and said to
me that his gratitude would be complete
if his shade trees had been left, for he
cuuldent replace them. 1t was only
few days ago and now you could hardly
tell that the storm had been there. In
twenty. four hours he had IS hands at
work repairing the damages for he just
called for the hands at the mines close
by and they came, and it was lively
times there for a few days, and now every.
thing is as good or better than before.
l wish all the sufferers could do
that way, but alas, there are hundred
families who have lost treasures that
money could not replace-treasures of
the heart and home that will never re.
turn. What a terrible death. Verify
these cyclones seem like things of life, or
instruments of yengence in the hands OF
the gods we read about in old mythology.
All that ancient romance has recorded
of Ajax and Hercules and Jupiter, or
all that the Arabian Knights tell us of
the genii does not surpass the power and
grandeur aud desolation of the modern
cyclone. 1t humbles US more than
prayers or preaching. 1t takes US una
wares. 1t is the constant dread of the
timid and defenceless, and now it takes
all my philosophy to keep my household
calm and serene. There is the base.
ment," said l, "and we could all run
down stairs and be beneath the track of
the cyclone, for it never was known to
attack a basement that was below the