The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1899-04-14
LETTER FROM BILL ARP.
COLD DAYS OF SIXTY YEARS
AGO CALLED TO MIND.
WILLIAM WAS A MAIL BOY THEN.

Atlanta Constitution.
| remcmber-yeS, | remember the
cold Friday and Saturday of 80, when
| was little male boy-I mean a mail
boy-and had to ride The mail from
Lawrcncevilc to Roswell. twcnty-f0ur
miles and back in day. Friday was
my day. rain or shine, cold or hot,
and my mother cried when my father
helped me on the high dromedary
horse that morning: but | was bundled
up good, and had warm wooden socks
over my shoes, and pair Of home knit
mittcns on my hands, Il wuolen COM
fortcr crossed around my neck and
ears. thought could stand it, for
was young and tough. and full Of
blood. and had been raised to work in
the cold and to chop wood and 90 to
mill, and my father always said that
boys who were raised easy would be
no account and die hard | made the
trip to Roswell in good time, but it
was growing colder and colder, and
the drizzling rain had turned into
slcct.
For about an Eour | sat by the post
masters fire and got thawed. He urg-
ed me to stay all night and said |
would freeze to death on the road, but
| knew my mother would imagine
was somewhere dead on the way and
be distressed. and so the postmaster
helped me On the old dromedary and
! gave him the reinS for home and
held on to the horn of the saddle. He
was Il fine traveller, and paced up hill
and down all the same. BY the time
| got to Gregory's bridge, on the Chat
tahoochec, was pretty well clad in
ice, and the horses main was a solid
sheet and his ears were full. | stop
ped in the shelter Of the covered
bridge few minutes and found | was
getting colder, for the Sleet had blown
under me on the saddle and got into
my socks.
A feeling of alarm came over me, fol
my fingers were numb and my feet. too
Desperately l clutched to the Hpoo
horse, and away he went, for there
were yet sixteen miles to make, and
the blizzard was on in earnest and il
looked like the darkness of night hat
almost come. Mile after mile was left
behind, and ] felt that we could make
: it, but all of Il sudden when | got tt
Fairview church realized that haC
almost lost feeling, for l couldn't un
cluth my hand from the horn of tn,
saddle and | didn't know whether my
feet were IN the stirrups or not. wa
only two miles from home and my goot
horse paced on. They were lookins
for me-my father and mother--ant
as the horse rounded up to the bacl
door ] almost fell into their arms, aut
my hand was wrenched from its fr0zel
, grip on the saddle. | remember that
for it was the cold Friday, and TIL
next day was colder. / was ruhbe,
i. with turpentine and oil and ten
$ derly nursed and In few days wa
$ ready for another trip.
We had no thermometers then, ar
n there Is no record how cold 1t was, bu
:, l remember birds were frozen 10 tn
s woods and chickens on the r0Ust.
don't know whether these thermomt
ters are any advantage or not. tn
other morning got up soon and mad
a fire In two rooms aud then went on
to the coal.house toget more coal 10
: upstairs. l noticed that the back nal
. floor and the steps and platform crack
!. cd strangely rs l walked on them an'
I felt that It was cold-very cold-ou
I never looked at the thermometer 10
;. half an hour, and II was 7 degrees be
low Zero got colder Immediately
!. for had never seen the mercury tina
A low before.