The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1889-02-08
;CRANTON, MISSISSIPPI, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY g. 1889

/ - '''@' ~ VI Di.N II d7 We pre-
terred. SO your pa wrote him a
NICE letter anC thanked him for his
good intentions and asked hIm to
ship II back by express for il was a
birthday present, but we never
heard from him again, He didn't
| feel as bad about stealing it as he
thought he did. He was written
to again, but he played possum and
made out he was dead. He had
better not die il he knows what is
good for him. Tho:e Yankees cot
lots Of nice things from US, and
they lived high off Of our smoke
house and pantry. There were
thirty nice large hams hanging
away up in The top Of the smoke
house, besides the shoulders and
middIngs and two large cans of
leal lard and barrel Of soap"
"WhY, mamma, what made YOU
leave all those things. Couldn't
yon have taken them in a wagon ~
"Why children we had no wagon
and no time to get one. We didn't
know that we had to 20 uutil about
midnight. The town and the su.
burbs was full of soldiers, enough
we thought TO whip The whole
Yankee nation. We had company
10 supper that night, and lots OF
strawberries and cream. We had
nj been in bed long before We were
told TO gel up for Gen Johnston
was falling back and our troops
were all leaving Rome and the
everlasting Yankees were coming
right in. Just then they began to
throw their surging, sizzIng shells
over the town To scare MS up and
make us move around lively, and
we did. | never thought about
furniture, nor anything else but
getting my children ont Of danger.
| haven't cot over II and never Will.
We got tangled mp in The street
among the soldiers and the artil-
lery and couldn't move for two
hours. The shells kept coming
and by and by The up town bridge
was set on fire to keep the Yank
ees back, until we could get away
across the other river aud then
burn that bridge, too. Oh, it was
an awful night, a long, long miser-
bic night. But we wont talk about
that. | had raihertelI You how glad
we were TO get back home again
after eight long months Of exile.
Eight m0nIhs CT running around
with half a dozen children who
were about half naked and always
hungry. Your pa was on duty in
Macon most Of the time, holding a
court with Judge Nesbil TO Try
spies and traitors and had to bum
around from place to place and
impose on kindred and friends
who were scared too. l tell you |
was happy when we got back home,
desOlale as it was. We lived hard
and rough for awhile until we GOT
our bale of sheetlng. That helped
us out wonderfully. We sold sheet
ing for chairs and tables and bed
ding and potatoes and sorghum"
Where did you get the sheet
ing, mamma ~
"Well, Just before old Sherman
run us away your pa managed to
get a bale OF wide-yard sheetng
and he had 1t in the smoke-house.
Confederate money had got so bad
that nobody wanted it. 1t would.
MT buy anything. Salt was a great
deal better than money and so was
sugar aud tobacco and shirling or
any kind of g0ods that would make
clothes Shoes were very scarce.
Your pa had two little calf skins
that had never been tanned, so he
half tanned them with ashes and
got about half the hair of and had
an old cobbler 10 make shoes all
round for my children, and you
never saw such things IN your life.
but they were a good deal better
than no shoes. The night we ran
away that bale Of sheeting was put
on a wagon that belonged to a friend |
who was running away too, and it
was left several miles away with a
good woman who set it up in the
corner of her room and put val
lance over it and a looking glass on
top like il was dressing table, |
and so The Yankees didn't find it.
When we came home we had the
bale brought in and went to trad !
ing on it for it was better than any
kind of money. There wasn't !
much to buy in all that region
no corn or -four or cattle. Your |
pa went down TO Alabama and GOT |
ten bushels of corn and hid it out |
in the country and had only half |
buShel ground at time.n
"What for, mammal What was |
he afraid OFF,
The outlaws and robbers and |
deseriers who we're prowling all /
over the country. They robbed I
everybody who had anything. |
They were worse than The Yank- /
ees. They robbed old man Quinn /
ore night and he made such a fuss |
that poor Mr.. Omberg ran over 10 |
see what was the matter and they /
shot him and killed him for com
ing. They hung men up by the |
neck TO make them tell where |
their money was, for there were l
some who had gold hid away and |
they kept il an during the war.
One night they hung little Dutch /
man and as his toes just touched /
the ground he screamed out: /