The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1900-06-14
BILL APPS LETTER
Barlow Mans Better Half Visits
Friends In Rome.
HER PRESENCE Is GREATLY MISSED.
Bill Is Reminded to Write Interestingly
of the North Georgia City and
It's People.

asking about The Confederate Vete-
ran that am constrained to answer
through the press. 1t is a monthly
published in Nashville by Captain s.
A. Cunningham.
This reminds me to say that Sam
Davis is not the only hero Of his kind.
William NJ. Formby writes me from
Lewisville, Ark, that there is in Lit
tie Rock the grave of David G. Dodd,
who when only eighteen years OF age
was arrested near there as a spy and
important papers found on his person.
General Steel was in command Of that
post and offered him a pardon if he
would disclose the names of those
from whom he got the information.
Like Sam Davis, he refused and said
he would die first and he did die. He
wrote a letter to his mother, who then
lived in Atlanta, Cass county, Texas,
telling her of his untimely fate. My
friend says he has copy of that let
ter and has seen the grave in Little
Rock, which some friends have mark
ed with plain white shaft. 1 have
written to him to send copy OF the
letter to The Veteran and il possible
photograph of the marble shaft. Such
loyalty and fidelity must be preserved
and put on record.
We are all demoralized at our house
and home, for the maternal ancestor
has gone off on a trip to Rome and
will stay there, reckon, until I write
to her that Jessie or her little children
or some other member of the family is
sick. Then she will come on the first
train. She has got kindred and friends
over there, lots of them, and they will
keep her until she goes the grand
rounds, for she lived there 81 years.
She and / were among the pioneers OF
the Hill City. In fact, we are the only
living persons who were living in Rome
when we moved there so years ago.
just think of it and ponder it. How
surely and stealthily population
passes away. How insidious is Time,
the unrelenting old rascal. Only 80
years, and not man or woman left
but my wife and l. There were then
about 1900 people in Rome and now
there are ten times that number. Ev-
cry old settler is dead save Colonel
I. W. Alexander, and he came three
years after did. Every lawyer, every
doctor, every preacher and teacher,
every merchant and mechanic are
dead.
Old Judge Underwood, J. W. 81.
Underwood, Judge Wright, General
Black, Alexander, Sloan, Shorter, DIR.
Battey, DR.. Underwood, all strong
and notable men. I could write a
book about each of them. And then
there was Old Jake Herndon and Big
John, the Munchausens of the town,
who were ready to swear that when
they first settled there away back in
the thirties the Coosa river was lit
tie spring branch. Old Jake declared
he had seen a freshet that rose to the
gum tree on courthouse hill, and the
thermometer was 240 in the shade.
He always said thermometer and ac-
cented the frsy syllable. My little
boy had an old-fashioned rubber ball,
and showed it to Uncle Jake and he
remarked that he once had ball made
out of "shore enuff injun-rubber,"
and it would bounce out of sight, and
one day he bounced it uncommon hard
and it never come down till next day,
and then his little dog grabbed it and
it rebounded and took the dog up with
il and he had never seen dog or ball
since.
Old Jake believed his own lies.
heard him say once that when hog
killing time came round he heated
rocks on each side of his millpond and
threw them in and drove the hogs
through aud they came out clean
on the other side. Big John kept
the only saloon in town. A saloon
was called a grocery then and Big
Johns grocery was a landmark-the
loafing place-for he kept comforta-
BILE bench on each side of the front
door. They were outside on the side
walk and were generally occupied.
Old Jake Herndon could be found
there half the day and Big john gave
him his whiskey free as an attraction.
He was a drawing card and drew the
thirsty men like molasses draws flies.
Sometimes I wonder where they are
now and what they are doing, for
Swedenburg says that folks will pur-
sue the same occupations in the next
world that they do in this, but with
greater diligence and to greater perfec-
ton.
My venerable friend, Major Aver,
lives on Howard street, the Peachtree
of Rome. 1t extends from Broad
street to the bridge and was thickly
settled thirty-fye years ago, and is
yet, but this is the only family that
lived there thirty-two years ago, when
he built his house. Think of it. All
gone within thirty-two years. Rome
is thirty miles distant from Carriers
Vile and the river lands are all occu-
pied by farmers, but not one of them
lived along the line before the civil
war, and the river still sings as it