Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1895-04-30
ARP'S FOUNDATIONS.
Tho Advent Of Spring Incites o
Relation of Hardships
And Recalls the Spring of 1865 and the
Scenes Attend nx 1.-THE Fools Con-
ductor and Passes Mrs. Arp rs
His Daughter.
was Eliminating about the return Of

was ruminating about the return Of
spring.
1t is a blessed pleasure to sit in the
piazza and look out upon nature that Is
now budding into beauty and putting
on her pantaletts and decking herself
with flowers like May Day queen.
Natures beauty costs nothing, and is
the loveliest of all. I like things that
cost nothing-no money, no labor nor
toil-but my wife likes some that re-
quire work and there's nobody hero but
me. She says that nature can't put on
new clothes until the old ones are re-
moved, and so l have TO. rake up the
leaves aud trash and haul them off in
the wheel-barrow, and the flower beds
had to be renewed and refertilized and
the old vines torn down from the trel-
lisses and the bulbs and verbenas and
geraniums brought out OF the green
houses and reset in their beds. When
get tird she says may swap work by
digging in the garden, and so she man
ages to keep me busy. and all get is a
little praise now and then. If 1t wasn't
for her don't reckon l would do much
Of anything but sit around and rumi-
nate.
I've got beautiful garden and am
proud Of it, for l am horny-banded son
Of toll. l have eight long rows of
strawberries that are full of fruit. We
thought it was cold enough last night
to make a frost, and 80, to save my
beans my daughter pasted lot of news
papers together in long roll, and then
l unrolled it over the bean rows and
fastened it down with few stones and
told the weather to frost ii it wanted to-
Newspapers are as good as blanket,
and it takes but little while to paste
them together. My wife says / am a
good worker when I get at it. That's
ell she says, but l know what she
means.
We were both ruminating about spring
and the time to decorate the graves, and
about the anniversary of the surrender,
for aboat this time thirty years ago
there was trouble in this country-this
southern country. The war was over,
but there was not very much peace
There was more fear than peace-fear
Of lawlessness at home and oppression
from our conquerors. And there was a
fear of suffering, for there was but little
corn and no meat from the last years
crop There were widows and children
all over the land, but there were no
cattle, no sheep, nor hogs, and but a
few chickens. The returning soldiers
brought back some sore-back mules, but
there was nothing to feed them on.
While the northern soldiers went home
in triumph, singing songs of victory
about marching through Georgia, the
Georgia boys were browsing the mules
on the coming grass and rigging up
their old plow stocks and patching the
gear with hickory bark. But the long
war was over, and that was enough. The
boys had got back to homo and fireside
and said they could eat roots and drink
branch water and be happy. Not all
the boys had got back, for there were
thousands in Federal prisons and it took
time and red tape to release them.
After they were discharged it took time
and charity to get them home, for they
had no money and had to beg or work
their way. On every road these return
ing soldiers came. 1t was picture too
big for a painter, or else it would have
been painted long ago. "The return Of
the boys in gray" unshaved. unwashed.
unkempt, they plodded along from day
to day, weary and hungry and footsOre.
but homeward bound, most Of them to
humble, country cottages, whore per-
haps there was a mother missing or q
sister or some loved member Of the
family. Even the dog that used to bark
was dead. The cow was gone, for Sher-
mans burners had taken her, but there
were few potatoes in the hill and q
few chickens left and little meal that
Had been hidden from the scouts. l
bought the only cow that was for sale In
our county, and she had been hid out
in . canebrake. 1 gave $40 in gold for
Eve bushels of corn away down In Ala
bama. had 1t hidden at old Rowland
Bryant's, down the river, and he had 1t
ground at a neighboring mill by night
and brought me half bushel ata time,
secreted under the seat of hts old buggy.
There were six children then at our
house, and they were hungry. We
never thought of meat or sugar or coffee.
Bread and milk and sorghum were good
enough for anybody. But there was no
repining. The family was reunited and
~ hame and that was the big thing.
Poverty was nothing in comparison.
The war was over and our people were
sad and they were glad. 1t had been
virtually over for several months and
the soldiers knew it and had got some
what reconciled, and home and wife
and children were on their hearts. Then
there were the returning refugees whom
Sherman had driven from the line OF
his march to the ses. He shelled the
woods before him and they fed. There
were mono to nee but old men and
women and children. He burned their
towns and seised their stock and ordered
them TO .'git," for he was going to make
war horrible, and he did it. Such .
deaolated country for thirty miles in
width hes not been seen in centuries.
Ant my wife looked away OF dresiuily
and said, eyes. it ID pretty near the an
o;vnpsarv NJ our runa0oA Nrip f.ono