The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-07-02
BILE ARp's LETTER.
Ho pesor,bos 4 Storm I'm tho Countr,

Ho Describos Storm I'm the Country.
The weather Is little cyclonish. Just
enough for uB to enjoy it's solemn grand
eur. Broad fields are In front Of US, and
the blue hills just beyond encircling the
valley South and West, and through this
valley runs Pettits creek. When the
black clouds begin to loom up from
l behind the hills and the low rumbliug
thunder Is heard we look aud watch and
listen. Will the storm go round US or
will it come. By and by the western
sky 10 all darkened. The sun is hidden,
and we catch the roar Of wind and watch
| for the frat sight Of rain on the crest of
the pine covered ridges If 1t crosses
the mountain 1t will most surely como
and water the valley in front of Us, and
it most always comes with wind. We
look and wonder aud admire as long as
We can, fori 1t is grand display of natures
power, but soon It reaches our very doors,
| and then we have to leave the piazza
and take in the chairs and close the door
| and let down the windows and wall its
pleasure and its perils. The treotops
wave and bend furiously about, the toll
| corn Is bowed low, the grape leaves arc
turned wrong side outwards, the driving
| storm has obscured all the valley and tho
mountains beyond, the lightning flashes
necessarily and the thunder shakes the
ground and jars the windows. There is
@ golenln stiffness in the family room.
| "Don't cit 80 near the sewing machine,
Jessie keep away from the hearth, Carl"
says Mira. Arp. The driving rain dashes
| against the window glass, and creaps in
at every crack. There is leak over the
piano-a leak that have promised Mrs.
Arp dozen times to FIX, but I can't FIX
it In such storm as this, and when the
storm is over put it off for O more con.
| venient season. It is 60 easy to put of O
thing, especially thing that requires a
man to get on top of house. I don't
| like elevators nor elevations now-too
old and stiff. Ihave passed the meridian |;
have just seen my sixtieth birthday
and was Kissed oil round, and had good
and the children, and the spring chickens
were sacrificed, and there was cherry pie
without tho seed and raspberries and
various good things all raised at home.
A storm in the country 10 worth some.
thing to see. We can look out and afar
off and we can see the lightning flash
and zigzag and corruscate, and have no
fear-it Is grand, but not fearful--not
alarming. The trees are all around us
and have never been struck. Thoy are
our lightning rods, our insulators.
Lightning will strike one lonely tree, but
it rarely strikes In groTe Or forest. It
has struck twice in our cotton field and
killed the cotton, but these trees all
around US scatter 1t and keep 1t from con.
centrating. Nabor Freeman says that
lightning has liking for wagon with
one steer, for he passed one on the road
day before yesterday while there was @
storm on hand and the lightning struck.
the little one steer wagon and tore it all
to pieces, and the steer just went on With
nothing but one shaft hitched to him.
There was no driver, for the steer had
just been turned loose to 60 homo by
himself. Cobe says he never did undeE.
stand this thunder and lightning bust.
ness, nohow, "for," says he, "some folks
some say it's the thunder, but he has
noticed one thing, and that is that when.
ever anything is struck they both come
right smack together and 1t looks like 1t
takes 'em both to do the work."
We have had good deal of country
life of late and have no idea of chang.
ing base. I had rather live poor In the
country than rich In town. We have
been harvesting wheat and oats and rye.
We went to sec q millpond drawn OF,
and had big time wading in and grab.
bing the fish under the moss and In the
hollow stumps, aud trying to hold the
slickery cells. 60 with the children
after mulberries and dewberries and
huckleberries. I've hived six swarms of
bees and got stung only twice. The
children have pulled out the peacocks'
tails for fybrushes. The peacock is a
dude. I used to think the peahen ought
to have the fine clothes, but don't now,
for 1t would most kill her to give them
up. The beautiful feathers weve intend.
ed for the use of man, and ii Is all right
TO strip the vain bird Of bis ornaments
and let him feel like common stock.
There is right good fishing In our big
spring branch, and every spring some
nice trout run up from the creek and
Ing them and trying to catch them, but
bait, and 80 the other day I set out
al;nnow and got over the fence and
watched the pole, aud sure enough big
fat follow grabbed 1t and hung himself,
and was cavorting and splRshing around,
and had to go over six plank fence,
and I couldn't do It in the old time way,
and just fell over on my hands aud feet
and ! galloped on alifours to the pole
just 10 time to pull him out aud save
him, for he fell OFF the hook on the grass
and had liked to have Airted back In the
water. Mrs. Arp had fish for supper
that evening. She Is fond Of fsh-aris.
tocratic fish, and when we get trout 1t
Is always for her. They say that fish is
brain food and gives folks sense, aud I
reckon the finer the 6sh the finer the
brain, and that Is the reason folks who
ICED on aa; trout ;ras have 80 much Judgment
is the reason why folks who eat them
are so game. wish I had some trout.
May be wouldn't be as meek and hum
bic as am. g
| BILL ARP.
| - Rev. Sam Jones continues to sur.
prise his hearers by his plain talk.
"some of yon little sinners,n he said the
other day, care sitting around here wait.