Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1891-12-03

TWO HORSES WE'RE REINED IN CLOSE BY.
"Hit's a mighty pleasant day, boys
We agreed with him promptly, and
Bell, with a view to getting into the
good graces of the band, said:
"This is pouahful promisin country
you uns has got down bout heah."
Eyes, responded the old man, and the
cold gray eyes were searching US, .'we
uns allows ez how this is jest ez fine a
country ez his outdoahs, and that's WY
we uns is id perticklar who comes
var"
The others nodded and grunted their
approval, but Bell understood the men
and he proceeded to win their regard in
u way wei caFculatetl 10 bssnsy on. - 1lsglst
outside Of those hills. He informed the
old man and his five friends that he con-
sidered them 'the doggondest everlastin
lot of fools and lunl1headsn he had seen
for an age. IF you uns had sense enough
to git undah kiver whin hit rains, he
went on in the same animated and reck-
lessly personal way, ''you uns would see
us amt no d-d tax in kind men, but old
Blue Ridgers, jest ez good men ez any
Of the crowd har, even if we uns hez
been in the Confederacy army and is
now a maxim bee line fob home"
He then told the old story and explain
ed that the reason we had gone ont Of
our way to restawhile in old Habersham
was because a good friend Of ours named
Sim Sleigh, who helped US out of a
mighty bad hole back at GAINESVILLE,
told us if we would hunt up his folks
across the Tallulah that they'd treat us
like white men and keep US as long as
we wanted to stay. 'Now," said Bell,
in conclusion, fsyou uns amt actin to we
uns ez if you mout be any kin to Sim
Sleigh, foh hit amt III him to condemn
a stranger without giving him a show to
explain"
Instead of exciting the mountaineers
this speech seemed to have soothing
effect The old man told us that his
name was Bowman and that Sim Sleigh's
mother was his sister and that the homes
of all were close by. He questioned us
as to Sims looks and where and how he
was wounded, all of which we answered
satisfactorily, and to prove our faith we
offered to give up our carbines. The
men whispered apart for some minutes,
then Mr.. Bowman came back, shook
hands with us and presented three Of the
men as his sons; the other two were
brothers named Bennett, but all looked
so much alike that any two OF them
might have passed for twins.
! These mountaineers had q reputation
for hospitality, and the old man, wish
| ing to set himself right in this matter,
explained his conduct by saying that
/ the hills We're being overrun by squads
4 Of cavalry out hunting deserters, aud by
Wagons out collecting the obnoxious tax
in kind They regarded the conduct Of
the Confederate authorities as highway
robbery, and to resist it they had formed
an organization. The country was well
picketed by the mountaineers, and when
the wagons or the cavalry were too
strong to be resisted they went into hid
ing, taking care that their corn, pigs and
cattle were kept out Of reach.
We broke down all the barriers of sus-
picion by producing the whisky given us
by ST Kyle, which neither of us had
/ touched. We told Of our experience with
the distiller and Of his great kindness,
and after the six men had emptied the
bottle we became friends. With our
new formed allies we resumed our march
to the west. | walked beside Mr.. Bow
man, and to my great delight ] found
him to be an out and out Union man,
and he declared with an oath that he did
not care who knew it. He had been ia
the Creek and Seminole wars and An
drew jackson was his idol. He assured
me that the mountains were full of
Union men, and on my expressing sur
prise that they did not organize and
fight, he explained that if they did SO
they would have to get out of thu hills
and leave their families unprovidsd for
"And then," he added, 1.-THE young men
don't feel auout the wah like we uns ez
hez fit and voted fo' Ole Hickory. All.
hits blazin pity that they amt got nc
men like him now, but | reckon thar
wasn't stuff enough Of the same kind
left ovah."
After marching about an hour, three
of the men left US on The summit Of a
treelees ridge that commanded splen-
did view of the mountains towering
about US on every side. Patches of EN-
erald corn and brown pasture land fal
below us. and pillars Of blue smoke rising
frctn behind the woods sar off and be
meath US, told of settlement that ap
peared to be walled in from the rest Of
the world
Down thar's whar Sims folks lives,
said Mr.. Bowman, and up the Golt
Crik valley, ez you uns can't see from