Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1891-03-12
Frnm tha Ole nominion

EuItOT HerGtQ. ms Is the south,
and will be south for some years to
come. But changes are coming over
it gradually. Northern people and
northern capital are coming in, and
the change viii come. One thing
they like, northern get up, northern
spirit, northern ways of doing bust
ness, and the northern capital. but
northern politics they do not like
Bye and bye they will melt.
Big Stone Gap has now in its en-
brace some thirty-fve or forty peo-
pie from different parts of Kansas
From PhIllipsburg came Cap. HUFF,
Simmons, Baker, Charles and Bert.
Tracy. AL Baker, and 10. Simmons.
Billy Bickford came in yesterday,
and Ed. johnson is expected to-day.
1 started on the fifth of November,
as I waited until could cast my re-
publican vote, then I took the cars
for Virginia. Everything went very
we'll and I felt that freedom was all
right politically, even down through
Missouri and Arkansas, but when we
got into Memphis, we came into the
Old South, everything is southern,
you hear the word '.nigger'. We
were compelled to stay in Memphis
five hours, that is the southern way
of connection. And 1t does seem to
me that if I was democrat, and was
obliged to stay in Memphis five or
six hours, I would swear I would
never vote the democratic ticket
again.
Well, we started in the afternoon
for Virginia, and as we struck our old
trail that we travelled over in '64
things came back so wildly. We
came to the Tennessee River, Bridge
port, and under and over the hills to
Lookout, and our minds went back
to the times when we marched through
mud and slush to get there. Then
how many of our boys lay in Chatta-
nooga's cemetery. And all along
down to Atlanta, how many we laid
away; tears came into our eyes, we
could not help it. We thought why
was we spared, and why Is it that
such things must be.
When I reached this place I found
my old comrades and friends all well,
but everything pretty dull, money
scarce, and people waiting for north
ern capital. II rained every other
day, sometimes twice a day, but
things are revlving, some northern
money is coming, so does the rain.
A letter from home informed me
that the G. A r. and w. R. G. at
Phillipsburg were going to recognize
Washington's birthday, and to show
the boys that we had not forgotten
them. and that we had viewed a part
of the ground where we had fought,
and seen our comrades burned with
out even coffin, simply rolled up IN
blanket, and so far as we could laid
tenderly away, and others manned
for life. Cap. Huff saw Just the
ground where he captured and taken
to that pleasant resort Andersonville.
I say when We heard what they were
going to do, we thought we would
send the Phillipsburg boys some re-
mInder of US, so we got mistletoe,
holly, laurel, curtain moss, and whit
ergreen, and put them in a box. Now
this was nothing, it cost but a trifle.
Cap. done 1t up and put it in the post
Office. as he was packing it, he looked
up to me and said "won't the boys
recognize these, especially the moss"
and tears stood in his eyes and I
turned and went out but before I
went I said ''Mack will give US
send off, SO all the boys, If they are
not there, will know that we have
not forgotten them," SO yesterday
when the Dispatch came and not one
word in it, Caps lip dropped, and he
said: Perhaps they have so much
To look after; there is the Kirwin
scandal, card parties and Dagne's
fiddle, he could not get it in" And
1 told him that if we could only have
got some Of those roses that grew
near that pond at Keokuk, and make
a boquet he would have seen some
beauty in them and mentioned it,
Cap. received a grand letter from
Comrade Smith.
vvour friend,
CHARLES TRACY.