The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1900-09-13
BILL ARP'S LETTER
He Gets Forty-0ne Copies Of an
Old Poem That He Asked For.
"AND STILL THEY COME" SAYS BILL.
In Many Cases Letters Accompanied the
precious Verses" and Proved Very
Comforting To Barlow Man.

ancients Gkened it to bird that had
wings, and so did We half a century
ago. But wings will not do for
smile now. Time has been condensed
steam and electricity have almost
anniLilated both time and distance. !
was Illuminating about this because in
last Sundays paper I published a re-
quest for q copy of the poem, "Tell
Ne, Ye Winged Winds" I thought
that perhaps might, during the week,
be favored with one or two copies from
some kind, cultured frierds-some
lady or ladies who had long years ago
pasted the poem in a scrapbook, like
my wife did this one, but some yankee
thieves came along and stole hers (may
they live always when the devil gets
them.) When Monday mornings mail
came it brought me six copies from
Atlanta friends and one from Jackson,
which is seventy miles below.
! Monday nights mail brought me six
more, and Tuesdays mail increased
the number up to twenty-five, and
Wednesdays to thirty, and the cry
is, "still they come" 1 have now
forty-one, and am grateful to all my
friends. 1 am glad that I made the
request, for these numerous responses
are the best evidence of the culture
and literary taste of our people-most
of them are from the gentler sex, for
women are the salt of the earth. They
preserve things. And that reminds me
to say to some of my fair correspond
ents who wish to know who is that
heroic person referred to in my scrip
tural enigma. She was Lots wife, of
course. Her body never saw corrup-
ton, and Der name is never spoken.
| What it was before she looked back we
cannot tell, but after that | reckon ii
was "Sal," for Sal means salt.
But he letters that inclosed the
copies of the poem were very comfort
Ing to me, for there were kind words
in every one. am just human, and like
words of praise, of ommendation-I
want them while l live. AS Eugenie
Smith says in her beautiful poem, eli
[ Should Die Tonight"
''Keep not your kisses for my cold, dead
| brow,
The way is lonely-let me feel them now"
Epitaphs and obituaries are for the
living mourners: but we do not know
that Cur departed spirits will heed
them or need them. Solomon says
that "a living dog is better than
dead lion"
Yesterday received by mail neat
little book of POO pages illustrated,
that has provoked my earnest atten'
ton, for it is the history of the acts
and deeds of the First Louisiana cav
airy during the civil war. 1t is we'll
written and as entertaining as a ro-
nance and abounds in interesting
facts and anecdotes. Only one who
was part of it could have written it,
and that one was Lieutenant Howell
Carter, of company E. note that our
Colonel Morrison's Georgia regiment
was part of the same brigade, and
fought side by side with Colonel Scott's
in many conflicts. The author does
not stint his praise of Colonel Morri-
sons command. What attracted my
attention is the complete muster roll
in the close of the book, and the
deaths, designations and promotions
of every officer and the present where
abouts of every survivor. Now
where did Lieutenant Carter get all
this-and why have not our Georgia
regiments got such historian? Why
did they not choose one long ago aad
put him to work? Why is there not a
record somewhere of every soldiers
name, company and regiment who was
in service2 Colonel Byrd, our adiutant
| general, told me the other day that he
had no muster rolls in his office, and
knew not where they could be procur-
ed. He did not know of Colonel
Avary's valuable catalogue of the Off
GERS in his history of Georgia goo to
'8l). The generals, the colonies and
their staff and all the captains are
there, but this record fails to tell what
became of them. Captain Twigg's
company, OF Augusta, had nine diner
ent captains during the four years,
service, and the record ought to tell
what became of them. Are any OF
them living now besides Captain
Twiggs? Who knows? This cat
alogue shows that of the fifty-one regi-
ments that went out in '61-62, only
one brought back the same colonel it
took out-some of them made six
changes. The Eighth Georgia, that
was first commanded by Colonel Bar
tow, made five changes, and the last,
| Colonel Towers, of Marietta, is the
only survivor.
1t seems to me that systematic eff
fort should be made by the state to
complete the records and file them. l
was talking to an old weather-beaten
| veteran the other day. Walter Young
Craddock, of Captain Selman's COM
pany, in the Twelfth Alabama. He is
| on charity; was shot all to pieces at
Seven Pines in 1862; is paralyzed in
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