The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-01-29

W
jolts and tumbles and @chills Of the
present.
We old men have to be very careful
of our afectionate demonstrations
upon the return from such journey,
but I can tell the young privately that
/ feel mighty loving to her when I
watch all her efforts tobripg mearound
from a tripthat was especially cyclonic.:
No matter how foolish I may be in
going on these idle trips, nor how
many foolish things l may do while
on the journey, upon my return she is
sure to cause me to remember how
much I should appreciate her:
Each,dsy thatscomes Iioye her more,
Each year she's dearer than before,
For after living dowhrtorage, -
She now looks back on memory's page
Without a blush.
She makes nosfoolish journey-she
does no foolish thing II, hope the
young people that read these lines
will strive to be like her, and
In after years,
When pressed with cares,
They look back Ger their youthful days,
And with sigh, ---Sa0 IL
Or tear-staiped eye,
They retrospect this way.
Then may 1t be,
s. ssThat j6yfpf glee,
Will alltSheir sorrows hush ,ess Fss
q sAEd theyscah:shy, Is gs
Tn all HES way
There's nothing brings blush.
n Drdinarilyssifoyou are mot caught
and twisted and bruised by q cyclone,
a trip to the mountains could be moth
ing but pleasant and healthful. The
mountain people know Brown and /,
and there is none Of that suspicion
shown toward us one reads Of as being
a part Of the mountain character. 4
They had no concealment from US,
but fed US upon homemade sausage,
chitterlipgs and sousemeat, and if we
had so disposed we could have come
in contact with the 'slittle brown jug, "
time and time again, but Brown said
s.no,n and 1 said "no," and We were
mighty glad we did say mo" as we
drew toward our homes and fellow
after. fellow remarked upon. our cy-
clonie appearance and congratulated
ussupon oursescape aud pitied oursdiS-
fgurements. sEs
Butt didsnot setsout to- write!what
I have; 4 rather rgintended 10 tell OF
matters On Che way andsof memories
revived by our journey. 81 s q
, We returned toss Atlanta by Big
Shanty," d place notorious during the
war as camp Of Instruction for Con.
federates, naturally set us to talking Of
the soldiers we knew. there.
When we paid visit to Big Shanty
in the Confederate army, we were in
clined to think that soldiers was quite
a picnic. The soldiers had good tents,
a plenty of bedding and everything
that was good to eat, They had moth.
ing to do but to. drill little and the
Balance esof ,theirAtime was spent in
sfrolic andsfnb.s They5looked fine and
walkedSproud ,fand the very best that
could be-had. at the homes was cooked,
boxed and sent to.thescamps.
ASH looked upon these proud boys
I thought it mighty foolish to be
grieving about them, but fourteen
months passed away and I paid visit
to the very same regiment.
These soldiers were at the "front'
Ion my last visit-they were in the
trenches nd'eyerything was so differ.
ent thatit hasimpressed mefrom that
day to this, and I ceased to wonder
why there should be grieving over
the boys that went away. AS | passed
over the hill and looked down into the
valley and my guide pointed out these
last camps I stopped stark still
took my breath, ,.the' contrast. Little
moldering fires were burning here and
there, seeming to struggle against the
misty rain that was falling. Dingy
brown blankets or little oilcloth was
stretched over bended bush under
which two men were expected to shell,
ter. These had taken the place Of the
roomy walled tents of Big Shauty, and
many did not have even these little
shelters-somei had only bushes be-
tween them and the clouds and but
plecious little clothing besides. There
was an absence of odor in cooking
yiands as passed down into the
camp. Here and there the feet
Of two soldiers cauld be seen just
peeping from under the, edge of s
blanket basking as best they could by
the smoldering fire. There might bt
a camp through the night to cook the
poor beef, if beef they had.
It did not take long for the news to
spread that i was in camp and thai
there were letters from home. They
crawled from under their blankets and
this regiment that I had witnessed al
Big Shanty with over thousand men
stood around me numbering about
seventy-all told.
had letters for some of them and
I never will forget the eagerness with
which they were taken, and how
quickly the soldier would be down on
his knees by the dim fire trying tc
read. There were some who got nc
letters. 2 These were the saddest, and
the young generation could not under.
stand how sad it was to get no letter
when others got them.
Perhaps the mothers and wives and
sisters and children feel something
akin to these soldiers as they felt upon
the absence Of letters when going to
reunions and missing their loved ones
there. God bless all such [ hope
there will be a great reunion some day
when none are missing and letters are
not needed.
Most any old veteran will squat down
and talk to you all day Of his battles,
of his chrages and the daring, but the
little things you will never hear and
the ''small things" if there be any
thing small, have much to do with the
sorrows of war.
Upon this night while I was shiver,
ing in the rain it struck me that moth
ing could be worse. While thus
thought bugle sounded and the re-
port came that the yankees were going
to attack. I knew nothing better to
do than to go with the crowd, for
had no guide and it was as dark as
Eorn+ r. vo7 hut the work of mo.