The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1899-03-02
The Peoples Journal.
PICkENS . G.
BILL ARP ON THE FREEZE
u,s OWN STORY AND OIhEtsS.
He Talks About tho Coid D"Js ei"y
Years Ago When He was " ""''
Roy and Came Near FreeZ'hE.


Vo,,. ago when He Was n Mail
Rnv and Came Near F'reeZ'nE'
remember-yes, | remember the
cold Friday and Saturday OF ~, when
was little male BOY mean mail
f,awrenceville to Roswell, twenty-four
miles and back in day. Friday WIS
nv day, rain or shine, cold or hot, and
nv mother cried when father helped
me TN the high dromedary horse that
morning; but | was bundled up good,
and had warm woOlcn socks over my
shoes and pair Of hOme-knit mittens
on my hands and d wOOlen comforter
crossed around my neck and ears. |
thought | could stand it, for | was
young and tough, and full OF bl Cd, and
had been raised TO work in the cold
and to chop wood and 60 to mill, and
my father always said that boys who
were raised easy would be no account
and die hard. | made my trip to SOs
well in good time, but it WAS growing |
colder aud colder, and the driZzling
rain had turned into sleet. For about
an hour l sat by the pOstmaStcr's fire |
and got thawed. He urged me TO stay
all night, and said would freeze to
death on the road but | knew my
mother would imagine l was some
where dead on the way and be dis
tressed, and SO the postmaster helped
mo on the old drOncdary and gave
him the reins for homo and held on to
traveller, and paced up hill and down
hill tho same. by the time got to
Gregg j'c bridg ) on the Chuttah, t. @ >,
| was pretty well clad in ice, and the
horses name WAS solid sheet and his
ears were full. stopped in the shelter
OF the covered bridge q few minutes
and found | was getting colder for the
Bleet had blown under me on the saddle
and got into my socks. A feeling of
alarm came over me, for my fingers
were numb and my feet, too. Dcspcra-
tely clucked to tho good horse. and
away he went, for there were yet six
teen miles to make, and tho blizzard
was on In earnest and it looked like
the darkness OF night had almost come.
Mile after mile was left behind, and |
1elt that we could make it; but all Of
sudden, when | got to Fairvicw
church, | realized that | had about
\ lost feeling. | couldent unc.utch nv
hand from tho horn OF the saddle and
didont know whether my feet were
IN the stirrups or not. | was only two
miles from homo and my good horse
paced on. They wore looking for me
my father aud mOthcr-and as the
horse rounded up to the back door |
almost fell into their arms, and my
hand was wrenchcd from its frozen
grip on the saddle. | remember that,
for 1t was the cold Friday, and the
next day was colder. | was rubbed
with turpcntinc and oil and trndcrly
nursed, and Ill fow days WAS ready
Tor another trip. We had no thcr.
mometers thcn, and there is no record
how cold 1T was, but | remember that
birds were frozen in tho woods and
chickens on the roost. | don't know
whether these thermometers arc uuy
advantage or not. Tho other morning
got up soon and made fire in two
rooms and then went out to the coal
mousse TO got more coal Tor upstairs |
noticed that the back hall Moor and the
steps and platform cracked strangely
as l walked on them, and felt that j.
was cold very cold-hut never hti,s.t
Ut Inc thermometer fnta,ui,~ .'Jokcd
and it was degrees :. III s,r Imiatlf an hour,
colder immediat"c.; uelow zero. got
seen tho merc"" Sly, for | had novu,
opinion Is - ufy that low before. My
10 aoout' r~vnat 10 degrees above zcr>
you rsfYhs cold rs 10 degrees below i
.S4ave no thermometer. cam
SSealize the difference, and that Is tn,
reason why our Northern brcthrcl
make 30 little fuss about weather 81
and 40 degrees below the mark. u Il
like the engineer who WAS called IN b,
railroad committee to give his opin
lon about speed. They asked HIM II i
was more dangerous TO run tiIty mile
an hour than forty. He said no. "Cal
you run sixty as safe as forty:H ayes,
said he. "HOw about seventy o
eighty ?" Just as safe as forty" h
said, "for II you jump tho track ~
forty you Will go to the devil, and thn
10 as far as you can go at 100 miles al
hour just 30 | don't car1 muci
where the mercury goes TO after it get
below 20.
Maine about the weather, and he sal,
he had suffered about rs much dow,
here as up thore, but didcnt suffer Ion,
Pt time-Only day or two but nj
there it was several long weary months
Who're l was raised" he said, "th,
mercury WAS far below zero for
month at u time, and remember on,
long weary night when it dropped t,
30 and then 35 and 10 There was al
oldfashioned box stove in the big room
1t WAS made Of thick mallcablc iroG
and on bitter nights VIC crowded il
wood and pine until it was red hot al
rouHu' on Inls particular niEnt We
boys had to turn round and round tC
keep from freezing on one sido while
we were scorching on the other. Abon,
midnight the mercury dropped to Is
and the house cracked and popped lik,
little guns. Father got alarmed, and
being an old-fashioned Christian man
! said, Come, children, let us all knee
\ down and pray After prayer ",
piled rore pine into tho heater.
Father said to mother 'Whcl
Elisha Kent Kane was in the arctics h.
said that he found that fatty matte
was better than fire and he madc hi
crew stuff themselves with whal
blubber and seal oil and grease and i
saved their lives. And so, mother
you had better bring us all the greas
In the pantry Mother turned us al
loose on her lard and butter and ia
meat and we crammcd 1t down and
did do us good. But the mercury KEEP
on dropping. Father had an old donke
that brayed necessarily all the fore
part OF the night, but about 3 o'cloc
5s he ceased and father said NV child