The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-12-23
BILL ARP WALLS,
And all on Account Of the Beautiful Snow
Atlanta Constitution.

] AHlftG CONSTITUTION.
lam not calm and serene by no means.
We are passing through great tribulations
in these parts. I came home Saturday
night with a driving sIeet in my face,
but knew there was light in the win
dow for me aud so / endured it with
resignation and hope. Domestic love
and cheerful fire soon thawed me out
and we talked about the beautiful snow
aud ever and anon surveyed its myriads
of falling fakes from the windows aud
the children were happy. But am an
old coon about such things now, aud
wish 1 had Aladdin's lamp to lift us all
up and set US down in Florida for sea-
son. The fun is all over and the novelty
too. Sunday morning l waited patiently
for John. John makes the fires but
John didn't come to time. He lives
half mile away and when l rose forward
and looked out upon the face of nature,
[ saw that the beautiful snow was deep,
very deep, and it occurred to me that
John was showed under and wasn't
coming. The wood and the lightwood
was in the woodhouse and the drift was
two feet deep midway, and so had to
wa for fuel. I think there was less
fun in it than most anything ever un.
dertook; but in course of time I got
good fire made, aud was happy. There
was no lightwood split, and no ak; John
had carried the ak home with him-the
improvident scamp. Strange to say, l
found the long. handled shovel where it
belonged, and I began to use it. I work:
ed hard and fast, shoveliDg the beautiful
snow out of the pathway to the wood
house, and off the steps, and out of the
back piazza and down to the lot gate,
and from there to the stable gate, and
from there to the corn crib; and so forth,
and so on. Not q gate or door could
be opened until had cleared away, and
my feet were all wet and cold, and my
upper story all hot aud tired, and l had
to come to the house. and hunt up old
shoes and dry socks, and receive big lot
of-domestic sympathy. A good break.
fast and hot coffee restored me, and so
tackeled the beautiful snow again and
made walk 10 the spring, and fed the
stock and every few minutes | looked
up the road for John. In course of time
I got everything done that had to be
done, and was almost glad that had
nobody to help me. What comfort
there is in the reaction after you have
done q work of duty yourself. How
much easier it is to do a thing when you
know you have got it to do, and there is
no substitute to call upon. All day Sun
day felt manly and Honest as l swung
the big sticks of hickory wood upon my
patriarchal shoulder and waddled care.
fully and slowly up the steps and replen-
ished the genial fires. I got only one
fall, and the big stick went rolling one
way and 1 went sliding another. The
house shook with the shock, and my
female family thought it was an earth.
quake and ran to the rescue, but rallied
to my work and showed them what is
meant by the survival of the fttest.
There is no inocuous desuetude about
me when trouble comes. In about half
an hour I found that my ankle was
sprained, and couldent locomote, and l
began to look up the road again for
John. They bathed the swollen joint
with kerosene and camphor and mustang,
and I grunted arout d smarlly and got
better. I do love to grunt and take oa.
1t does me as much good as it does chill.
dren to cry, and always did believe in
letting children cry when they got hurt.
It is the best sort of medicine.
All day Sunday and Monday and Tues.
day there was not track in the big
road-no. q soul went by or came in
sight. There was some rabbit hunting
in the neighborhood, but it didn't last
long, for the hunters couldn't travel any
better than the rabbits. Rowland tried
it, but he soon fell in gully that was
deeper than his head in snow, and could
hardly get out I measured the general
average with an iron square and it was
sixteen inches. The like of 1t has never
been seen in this generation, and hope
will never be again. Enough of thing
is enough, and too much is the greatest
plenty. We can't so anywhere. My
wife said the lard was out and we would
have to send up to nabor Freeman's for
some. "Send who 2" though There's
nobody here to send but memo man, no
boy. I'm the only boy now, and | don't
gee how I can get to Nabor Freeman's.
1t will take me An hour to shovel the
snow away from the two gates. I can't
climb the fence for it is barbed wire and
1 will get caught on it and hang there
and there is nobody to come and unbang
me. It is quarter to Nabor Freeman's
and I'm duck. legged sort of man and
don't believe I can make it.
But sure enough Neighbor Freeman's
folks got out Of sugar and he rigged up q
sleigh and came down and we swapped
sugar for lard, and he brought it down.
His two big mules could hardly pull that
sleigh down grade. / tried it with a
buggy, and the wheels got solid and then
got oval and one.sided and twisted and
wobbled every way, and we had liked to
have not got home again.
Well, the next day I waded up to
Rowland's and borrowed an ak and
shoveled the drift off the woodpile and
cut some wood and some lightwood, and
about the time I got through and was
blowing for wind, I looked mp the road
and saw John coming with my ak on his
shoulder. I thought first that would
get my gun and shoot him, but didn't.
"What's been the matter, John," said J.
"Have you been sick" "No, sir; I
han't been sick, but I is had de worst
pains-de worst pains in my head and
my back and jintes to be sure, to be sure.
1 try to git here Sunday morning, but I
cave in fore I git fifty yards, ] did shore.
No, aint been sick, but sich pains, sich
pains. 1 knowd you want dis az, but l
lowed you'd git long somehow. know.
ed if any man get long you could, and l
tell my ole oman you is de shiftiest man
eber seed in all my life and de best
one."
The old sly coon knew my weakness
for a little Aattery and 80 he laid it on
thick. Well, We knew now what they
mean up North when they say showed
under," but we don't fix up for it like
they do. Our folks would perish or
freeze if the like of this would last q
month. Not half of our people keep
smokehouse like we used to before the
war. We kill hog at time at our
house. When we want cured ham we
buy one That is not farmerlike l know,
but we do it. We sell our wheat and buy
-four, and so when provisions get out and
we can't send to town we are in bad
fix too, for they get out of wood some.