The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-12-13

ChrlStmaS-alWayS soHeoAipS SooN
lust ahead if we can only find it. l
preach this philosophy to Brown, but
he looks sour and spouts-
ssWith lavish hand
The great aud grand
Have favors thrust upon them.
You never seek
The low and meek
Unless it is due them."
Whenever my old friend gets in one
Of these sour moods there is nothing
that can stir him-we just let him
pant it out. The old mau has been
dunned considerably of late, but we
try to comfort him by telling him that
the Lord will provide, aud in this con-
nection have just related one of my
best Thanksgiving stories which fell
so fat upon his ears that I am con-
strained to give it here just to show
what kind Of a brute he is when he
tries to be.
twenty-five years ago, I think it
was upon the 28th day Of November,
1864, when the opening guns at Mis-
sionary Ridge proclaimed that a battle
was on. I don't know just how or
why, but anyway it became known
that the next day was to be the Yam
KEGS Thanksgiving. J. expect that
my memory serves me right upon
these dates, and that the Yankee
general-Grant-decided in his mind
that he would bring on the fight, take
Missionary Ridge and have something
great to be thankful over.
But my story is not Of the army or
Of that disastrous fight. At the foot
Of. the mountain, on the south side,
there remained what was left Of a
once prosperous home. The owner of
this home was soldier upon the
Confederate side and when the cannon
roared and the muskets ratified lone
" woman with. her four children
shuddered at the dreadful sound and
grieved in fear Of the husband and
father. Nothing was left for this
DOOR woman but to listen to the battle,
wiring her hands and stay with the
children who clung to her skirts.
Time and time again this little family
had knelt by the FIRE while the mother
prayed. 1t was a woman's prayer
that her husband might be spared in
the fight that was raging, and the
children, as small as they were, joined
with that mother and they have told
me since that they felt there upon
their knees that God would spare their
father.
Besides the whites there yet re-
mained two old negroes Of the family
-ssAunt Dilsy" and "Uncle Tom. !"
Dilsy had joined the whites in the
ssbig house,, but Tom was nowhere'to
be found. 1t was natural to suppose
that he had gone to the Yankees.
This was not true, and there comes
the story. When the first guns began
to sound old Tom knew that a fight
was on. He knew that his young
master was in it and he was fearful
lest that master should be killed or
wounded and fall into the hands of the
Yankees. With such thoughts in his
mind the old negro decided 5ogo upon
the field and do what he could in case
Of the master getting hurt. 10 make
this story short, the master was
wounded very severely, aud while the
folks at the home, especially "Aunt
Dilsy,'' were thinking hard Of Tom
for leaving them at such time, Tom
had arrived at the battlefield, found
his young master, took him upon his
back and was making speed as fast as
he could te keep from being captured
and to arrive safe at home. Fortu-
nately sorry old horse was picked up
in a short time and this relievedu the
negro and speeded them on their way.
The arrival of the master and Tom at
the home was entirely unexpected.
They peeped in upon the frightened
and praying group before they made
themselves known, and what occurred
when it was known can better be
imagined than described and we leave
them for few hours to 60 with Tom
and "Aunt Dilsy' to their negro
cabin, from where it was soon ascer-
tanned that the Confederates were in
full retreat and that the Yankees had
the Ridge.
The sun was getting low when old
Tom sailed forth and wended his way
over to the mountain road that some
of the army would have to travel
Tom was disappointed in seeing the