The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-04-23

tOIEA WQA w flt tttInttIs tHk&k .RuO
dog chat used ~ bark WAS dead. Jths
COW was gone, for Sherman's bnrner3
had Saken her, but there were g few.
potatoes In the hill aud - few chickens
left aud u little meal that had been
hidden from tue scouts. 1 bought the
only COW that was for sale in our coun-
ty, and size had been hid out in n cane
brake. gave $40 in gold for five
bushels OF corn away down in Alabama.
l had bidden IL at old Rowland Bry-
ANS. down the river, and he had 1t
ground at q nabcring mill by night
and brought Inc half u bushel at a time,
secreted under the seat of his old
buggy. There were six children then
We never thought OF meat or OF sugar
or coffee. Bread and milk and sor-
ghum was good enough for anybody.
But there was no rcpining. Tho
family was reunited at home and that
was the big thing. Poverty was moth
ing In comparison. The war was over
and our people were sad and they were
glad. 1t had been virtually over for
several months and tho soldiers knew
1t and had got somewhat reconciled,
and home and wife and children we're
on their hearts. Then, there were the
returning refugees whom Sherman
ndu uTlVou from Ine llnS Vi MS mafCn
to the sea. He shelled the woods be-
fore him and they fed. There were
none to flee but old men and women
and children. He burned their towns
and seized their stock and ordered
them to git" for he was going to
make war terrible, and he did it. Such
u desolated country for thirty miles in
width has not been seen in centuries.
And my wife looked away of dream
lily and said, /" Yes, it is pretty near
the anniversary of our runagee trip
from Rome. That was early in May,
1864, and you had u beautiful garden
then, and we had green peas for din
ner and Strawberries and cream for
supper" YES" said /, "and about
midnight, when we got the warming
and tumbled them into the little rock
away and went rolling down the street
towards the Etowah bridge to get
away from the shells that were sizzling
and twisting in the air. Then we got
tangled up with our ~retreating army
and H. vas almost daybreak before we
crossed the bridge. We hurried up
the long Hill by the light of the 90
stanaula bridge that was burning, and
away we on a long trot until we
got to Chambers mill, and stopped to
rest, and Tip-the faithful Tip-made
a fire on the side of the road and boil
ed us some coffee and we drank it and
gave the children some bread and
meat and away WI wen again, for 9l-
most every moment some stray horse
man would gallOp by us and say,
Hurry up T! Hurry up The Yankees
have got across the river and are com
ing on Oh, it was an awful time
| let her rest and ruminate awhile,
and then she said ut was almost as
bad when we iourneyed home, near the
close of the q never will forget
that evening when we drove down the
hill to Steel's bridge on the Canton
road and n of the littlo boys fell out
of the wagon and the hind wheel came
within an inch Of running over his
head, and when we got to the bridge
the floor was gone-not q plank was on
it nothing but the sleepers, and not a
soul ON Mr.. Steol's place, for they, too,
had run away. it was the only bridge
that was left on the long river, and
there wasn't II ferry for miles and
miles. | remember how helpless and
forlorn we felt until Mr.. Sanders over
took us there with his team, and you
and Tip and Mr.. Sanders and his
Transfers counted the old planks that
were scattered on the bank and saw
there were enough to cross, and all
hands went to work and laid Two rows,
end to end, just wide enough apart for
the wheels to run on, and then pulled
all the wagons and the rockaway over
by hand and Tip swan the mules and
horses across and you walked the plank
with the baby in your arms, and then
came back Tor me n the children,
and we all got over somehow, but /
wOnllnf trV ic aUain fOr a million dbl
lars"
You had got hardened to trouble
said l. You expected trouble all
those long and weary years and when
it came you faced it bravely. [ be-
lieve that the women Of the war en-
dured their trials with more courage
than the men,. -hey never surrender
ed nor asked for quarter, and if it had
been their fight they would have been
lighting yet. they may talk about
the daughters of the cd Revolution,
but they made no more sacrifices for
their country than our women did in
u unhappy struggle for Southern
rights.
And that night" said /, "we drove
about ten miles in the dark hunting
for a human habitation and found
none, for they had been burned, and
we camped in an old school-honse,
that had a fireplace but 10 floor, and
the ileas were awful. There was an
old log stable hy the school-house and
the two oldest boys tied the mules and
the horse in these and slept in the
trOughs with their loaded guns, for
there were still some lawless scouts
and deserters in the country whu
would rather steal u mule than to find
one astray. The next day we made
for home. We passed Cass station,
that had been burned, and the carcases
of dead horses were lying all round.
The buzzards had picked them to
their skin and bones. There were
some wrecks of wagons and caisons ly-
ing around, and iron tires and axles
were piled up all about. When we
reached Cashville we hardly knew
where VIC were, for the town was ut
teriy destroyed. There was nothing
left but chimneys and college wallis
not u human being nor IL domestic ami
mal-not Il dog o a cat nor " bird non
a rabbit"
A year before it was the most beau
tiful town in North Georgia. the sea,
of culture and schools and churches
and colleges. All the evening itsnow.
ed q blizzard, but we got home that
night about 3 o'clock and drove up tC
the front gate OF q relative who was
too old to run away and stayed tC
weather the horrors OF war. When |
knocked at thed DOR he came, and before
he unlocked and unbarred said i'm q
| no ,ftn,,a xNtna. 1 NUl.N 1t - -