The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-11-08
you came Ito school. YouIalways had
your dinner bucket and had something

YOU came . to school. Youialways had
your dinner bucket and had something
good to eat-fried sausage and boiled
eggs, and little bottle of molasses, and
some cheese and cake. Do you remem>
the three Lintons, and three Hendricks
boys, and two Gouldings, and two Holts.
and two Harris boys, and two Allans !?
Are they all dead?" I could hardly
answer him fast enough. "Don't you
remember that hickory tree that had
such great big nuts and how you was un'
der it one day hulling out some and one
of the boys threw rock up in the tree,
and it came down on your bare head and
laid open the skull and you ran yelling
to my room and ne fixed you up. Yes,
see the same old scar-its mighty plain
now since that new ground has been
cleared. And Old Pat is dead. he was
the best old man in the world-don't you
remember low he used to preach out of
one side of his mouth when bis heart got
overly tender. And Jim Baldwin is he
dead too? You know be made bet of
FIVE dollars that he would 60 down in the
rocky field that night by himself and
stick stick in that old grave that the
sassafras bushes had grown up around,
and Thad Holt was going to slip down
there first and hide the rock pile and say
"that's my grave" and scare Jim and see
him run, and Jim Linton slipped around
another way and hid in the sassatras
bushes to scare Thad and just as Thad had
snuatted behind the rock pile Linton
groaned and flashed some powder with
sulpher match and Thad liked to have
killed himself getting away. Jim Bald;
win was coming just then, but ne turned
Gail and run back with Thad and it was
nip and tuck between them, and the
other boys jumped up out Of the corners
of the fence as they passed and yelled
and laughed 30 loud that old Pat and all
his family came running out to see what
was the matter. And where is DaVy
Jones and old friend Mathews. Davy
used to go to see the girls and play grin
ming Jake, and how they did wallop him.
And don't you remember Cannady Jar.
rett and Pete Poyle and Bob Hender.
son."
NV friend has good memory and got
warmed up in his talk and our chairs got
closer together, and nothing stopped US
bat the dinner bell.
They are good solid, uppretending
people ia and around Hope. Unlike Ma.
con there are FIVE times as many white
as negroes, and they want it to stay so.
Blessed are the people who are content
with their land, their region and their
surroundings.
On my return I came through Decatur,
that ill.starred town that has been so
rudely nipped in the bud, and all her
bright prospects laid low. It looked like
a city of the dead for the living were not
to be seen. Before we reached the sr:
burbs the car windows were all closed
and the doors locked and we glided
through noiseless and still and solemn as
funeral. 4 saw two negroes and one
white man digging q grave in the GENE.
terry. I saw some little darkies sitting
on the steps of cabin. saw one man
approach the train and throw g letter on
the platform and the conductor showed 8
newspaper out of the window and shut
down the sash quickly. What an awful
thing It is to be imprisoned with the
plague in town or city-no where to 60
and find welcome; no friends to come
and minister to you and comfort you no
letters with kind words and tender mes.
sages. Nonothing, but to be face to face
by day and by night with the pitiless
angel Of death. The conductor told me
that one of their engineers had lost 9
brother and q sister, and he had passed
in sight of their dwelling almost every
day, but was not allowed to visit them
nor shed tear at their graves. This is
the dark side of our humanity. But
there is brighter one, thank the good
Lord for bis mercies.