The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1889-01-18
BILL ARP'S RECENT VISIT
TO MOBILE.
SAMMY South -.

Shlhy oOuhh'
Forty.twO years ago | visited
Mobile, one OF the oldest cities in
the South. Ii is there yet, but not
much changed. recognized some
of the same venerable buildings,
and spotted the very place where
| bought a mule from wagner
mule that | was 20 ride one hun.
dred and twenty five miles TO my
destinalIoni in Mississippi. | mount
ed the ambiguous brute and polite
ly invited him TO go on, bat he
would not. He did not feel inclin-
ed TO leave his companions in the
team, and the more | urged him,
the more he declined. In fact, he
did more reccding than proceeding
and the clerks in the stores took a
lively inl crest i'll my welfare, and
advised me TO whip him on the
hairy side and TO turn him round
and let him advance backwards,
and so forth. | could have whip
ped any Two of them anC wanted
to do it, but my father had told me
10 keep my temper and have no
fuss with anybody. A gOod-heart-
ed man can up to me and sym
pal hized and said | had better get
down and buy a PAIR of spurs for
that mule and 1 did. He held the
animal and helped me TO put on
the spurs. / rnweled them into the
mules fanks and he departed
those coasts with alacnly, aud l
and my friend parted forever. |
hope we will meet in heaven and
recognize each other, bnt if those
dev;lish boys are there | reckon
they will know me and apologize /;
| reckon they will. Young men-
you boys l mean, be careful how
you make sport of Il stranger. You
don't know how lonesome he feels.
For forly-iwo years have had bad
feelings towards those Mobile
clerks. They may be dead-they
may be in The chaingang-they
may have suffered all sorts of trou-
BILE and mIsforl une, but | am not
reconclled. Irode forty miles that
day-iOrty miles through piney
woods and over corduroy roads,
and | stopped at night in a shsnty
that had a dirt floor and a pile OF
straw in The corner. a table made
of split pine boards and We had
nothing but roasted potatoes for
supper. The man was clever and
his wife was kind and they apollo
gized for the scanty fare. The
man had hunted all the afternoon
he SAID, add didn't find nary squir
rel. nor nary deer" A pet fawn
laId down by me on The straw and
we slept well for | was tired.
Just think OF it--43 years years
ago l took stage at gainesville and
rode on top all night on my way 10
Montgomery - the great United
States mail was carried in the front
boot of that coach. There were
four coaches with fourhOrse teams
to each, and most of them were
full of passengers-theTe was no
railroad from atlanta TO Mont GONE
ry aud no stage line, 50 had to go
TO Barnesville, which was then the
center of space. From Monlgome-
~ | travelled 10 Mobile by boat on
the beautiful new steamer, the
OrIine ST. John" Before | re-
turned she was burned, and many
passengers perished in the flames.
Here Is John Taylor, the barber in
my town, who was on that boat,
and who boasts that he followed
Henry r. Jackson 10 Mexico, and
has shaved Judge Law and John
Mcpherson, Berrien and all the
notable people Of that day. But |
am of my Train Of thought. Mo-
bile is a good old town, aud always
will be. Her people are not pro-
gressive like the people Of inland