The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-08-22

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They don't need any monument after
they are dead. Their sleep is just as
sweet here as it would be in the beau
tiful city cemetery" Frank James
pinched q twig from the great, green
pine tree and walked away. "The
marvel to me" he said to me, "is that
| am not sleeping in place like this.
What have been spared for when SO
many of my comrades were taken
Two men shall be working in field;
one shall be taken and the other left.
That's Scripture-you know my father
was Baptist preacher-a q good man
and good preacher-it's Scripture,
and it's life, too"
A brief stay was made at the farm
house Of William II. Jennings. Mr..
Jennings helped bury the Federal
dead the day after the battle. He
could not remember the number, but
there we're several wagonloads. II
felt sorry for one poor boy, hardly
more than II years old, who had
almost reached the woods in an at
tempt to escape. All the Fcderals, !"
continued Mr.. Jennings, chad been
shot in the head SO uncrring was
the craftsmanship Of the bush whack
crs that frequently we would find no
wound on the soldiers bodies until we
would turn back the eyelid or look in
to an ear, and there would be tie single
little hole t'lat brought death" When
the old man closed his story the party
turned to go. "Well,' said Mr.. Jen-
nings, 81 hope we'll meet in better
world than this 81 hope So, said
Mr., James, where there is no fight
ing"
"Whcn great, big, grown men with
full possession Of all their faculties,
refer to that battle as the Centralia
Massacre, | think they are pleading
the baby act. We did not seek the
fight. johnson foolishly came out to
hunt US, and he found us. Then we
killed him and his men. Wouldn't he
have killed every one Of us if he had
had chance? What is war for il it
isn't to kill people for a principle?
The Yankee soldiers tried to kill every
one of the Southern soldiers, and the
soldiers from the South tried to kill all
the Yanks, and that's all there is to it.
"We were just out there in the
bush, not molesting anybody, when
johnson and his men came out after
US. We never took prisoners. We
couldn't do it. How could we carry
them around with US? We either
killed them Or turned them loose. AS
for the Centralia fight, it reminds me
Of Macbeth: Never shake thy gory
locks at me-; Thou canst not say did
it,
"We didn't make war on women
and children. They are the only peo-
pie whom l sympathize with during
war. Men ought to be in the fight on
one side or the other. Nor did we
fight the citizens, except when they
played the informer. I understand
one citizen was killed in Centralia in
drunken row. That ought not to
have been done. The Yankees killed
many more nonoombatants than We
did,"
When the old soldier spoke. of the
E,;ssreasIeaS of the South there was.
q grim, set look about his mouth. and,
q cold glitter in his. eyes. Bush
whaokers did some bad things, but
they never devastated and ruined, the
country
There was order No. ll-E@ing'a
I am glad General Brigham put that
on immortal canvass. That is pic.
tuze that talks. Vhat order simpl9
ruined hundreds Of peaceful homes in,
Western Missouri. Z know ono man
up. in jackson County who. made a
fortune going around picking up oas-
tie that had been abandoned, q high
toned cattle thief"
II think I know all the trees and
shrubs in Missouri and what they are
good For. have had to use ehera for
food and medicine sometimes, you
know. Occasionally sheY fool me in
ShaM's Garden, in So. Louis, with the
trees and plants from other countries,
but with nothing from Missouri"
A bsight-looking boy, about IL
years Of age, shook bands with Mr..
James. ''My namo," be said, sis
Marquette Richards. My grand
father, John Marquette, was the last
man killed in the fight James
looked kindly at tho manly little fell
y III