The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1895-12-06
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
ENGLISH PEOPLE KNOW VERY
LITTLE ABOUT TIE SOUTH.
William Tells of Some Of Their Bad
Breaks.


not English and hence they do not disturb
their mliids about "nr psoplo or our country.
One Of our boys wa' over there last summer
aud was amazed 1T the ignorance of some OF
their educated people. HIS landlady had heard
of our civil war. bu. thought it was between
North America and South America. That was
tho only north and sonth sho knew of. iier
son, \ la OF fourteen, ask ii my sou il he had
Env boys ut homo.
eyes" said lie, 'I have four"
Are they hlack?' hc innuccntv inquired.
His mothor apologize d by saying he had
heard 30 much about the negrGc, over hers
mat ho thought most all tho people were
lack.
A very rcilacti and culturol English lady
diucd at onr homo some years ago and asked to
see our cook. vino had prepared such delight III
"ishcs. SO Aunt Ann WAS invited to her pres
:ncc "h" a+Ec hes many questions that were
iroper enough ami after she had retired the
:ady inquired how long Aunt Auu had been
rom Africa. My wife WAS smpr sod and said
'Shc nevor was in Africa. She was born hers
ant 20 were her parents and grandparents"
Ihc lady tn N express I'd her surprise. Why,
l Thought" said she, ''thi. they gradually
changed color iom The iniluenc, of climate and
ir two u: tiircc generations became aimos,
white"
We all smiled, Of course but she rallied to
her own defense AMI said. "Well. / saw some
down at tho hotel who are turning white"
'oid her that there were u few creo!es scattered
around over the country and then 1 managed to
chance the subject.
This reminds mo of nciGhbor Freeman who
fused at biS-mouth Bob for going to meeting
30 much on work days, and Bob said: s'Well
Ioss, we niggers tryin' to save our souls"
Freeman smiled and said: "Why, YOU old
fool don't YOU know that a niger hasent got
any soul? man up in Tennessee has written
II book about that and it's done proved that
nlgScr iasent rot any more soul than mon
key 90 what are you going to meeting for?"
:, Bob showed his pearly teeth aud laughed and
then came back ut him and said: "Look here,
boss. has mellatcr got any soul?"
This rcrp xei the nabor for moment and
he said: well tsuppnsc tina: muiatto has
got about half soul.
Bob laughed tumu'uously and said. .'WeN,
boss, dat's al right buS don't see how soul
can DC split in two"
Tho other day travelled in the car with an
Ohio farmer who was very ta'kative and friend
~ lie was cmpha lcally Il horny y-hanled son
OF toll, for his hands were scamy and cracked
and his s'Tnpy iinccrs looked like iron claws
IL, was on 1" bust, but Tor from drink. He had
bought cigar from the ncwsboy aud from the
way hc managed it knew hs was not used to
the article.
Going 10 the cxpo?" said l.
wall, yes said hc. "l'vc got SOME nabors
along. We sorter wanted to see the south now
that tn n:s arc Citing along peaceablc and
there wasent any danger. Mighty clever peo-
pledown here, seem like. Wo haven't seen any
disturbance"
L..
"Oh nothing much, but you soc it was pow
eifni long stretch from home and thcro are 20
many nigCcrs down here. and our folks where
live don't like nigGcrs. l stopped over day
IN Chatiunoo2n and saw lots OF niSgers and
they seemed tn DC pcaccablo enough and was
aav.n' moro finn ihan the white folk. so we
concluded to come on further down. NO want
to get acquainted with Won people and maybe
wc will Ike ono an ,ther hctt,r. Some of us
arc gittin tired of Six moaths winter and would
n shn r't AZ l. II
ing about it several wears. but some said
;ho wa wascnt over down here and some
sail tho climate was too hot and some
sand tho niSGors wou' ! perish US out all
our preacher said We would have TO turn
dem Gratis the first thing or leave the
country. I've got COOL farm OF us acres and
can sell 1t any day for SlGO0O 1t PAYS
good interest on that. l sold 500 worth of
back whca' last week and 800 bushels of apples
raise cattle and hogs and potatoes and hons
and wheat and com AMI fowls ami everything,
bnt my wife is runnin' down hill; she works loo
hard and the doc or says she would live longer
in warmer climate and SO I'm going to look
arnnnd for n farm afore go back"
lie talked fair and honoI and was a sample
copy of thousands Of those people who have
been for hai' century as ignoront about the
south as II we lived on another continent.
Now that man can buy our best farming land
For $50 an acre land that will produce every
thing that he grows in Ohio and cotton and
sweet potatoes besides and he would have ten
months 10 work i'll instead of six a:Ii 10 doubt
his wife wond live several years longer.
But 1t is nil right and has no doubt been
Blessing in disguise that the tide of immigra-
:'on went west instead OF south. As Mr.
LoomiS said. pnr people have preserved their
.imercanism
am no A. T. A., and never expect to be, but
1 do like To ming with our same sort of people;
what you call homogeneous people a people
who vaino good principles and truth and fair
nd
for woman.
But like that Ohio man travelled with. and
his sors would find welcome down here i'm Dixie
lo won!d have como long ago but no was
sf.-m. lie dident know anything about us *.
ccpt that We would fight. They all knew
that" he said.
But just consider those English. Even their
editors are nd .culously ignorant of our coun-
t'v. Only \ lew days ago London daily pub
;shcd br ct notes OF our exposition and To-
Gated it q. Atlantic CITY. 1t told of the Lib.
erty bell that was taken from the dome of the
cspi oil at Washington to open the exposition
~ Lh and that Professor Booker Washington
who was n lineal descendant of George Wash
inGton, the ii 1T American president. made the
opening address, and that one Of the novelties
wts %rovc OF cottonwood trees full of cotton
aud .hat the exp ,sitiOn Icilz al the Dire I'M of
Ihomas i. Gradv, ;hc father Of the solid south
IL Is HAT fDr blum lCrS? II looks like Il
JOKE. but 1t was rot. | knew an ErGs'man
who tod me he had bccn tauEh, that cotion
.cw on large trees and WAS gathered v using
l.,d r..
The ,ou.h has always been better acunaint-
e with the nOrjh ii.an ihu north has been with
us. Our Merchants used tu 20 month about
twice year to hmy tlcIr gool1, and Our rich
people VISITED their ciii : and Watering rla .cs
Cv ry summer. hu. tn rc wa, nothing for ia m
80 come down here Tor. Albion Tpur;:rc can"
down On Il fo,GS GRAND after the war and went
'hrk ana Wio'" that our people wCr- all born
politicians. Governor MtGcld said the other
day III his beautiful address that we were all
born orators. Mr.. Looms says we are native
born American patrlo's, and several speakers
said that hospitality was an Inborn southern
''aIt. IL IL really rcfrc ,hing TO read their
praises and comphm nts.
The other day caravan of wagons and peo-
Pile came through our toNn moving 10 lower
Georgia. One of the head mon was sick AMI