The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-03-06

melancholy hootings Of the owl ali
night long. O"cc we thought we
heard the tramp Of horses and kept
very quiet. We staid there until
near noon the next day, when We eau
tiously approached the Newman road.
We had been in sight of the road but
short time chen We saw Pomp, one
of Mr.. Benefits negroes, now living
in Faycttc County, looking in all di.
rcctions, as if hunting for some one.
AS We did not wish to make any noise
we motioncd to him. When he saw
us he came running and greatly shock
ed US by halloing loud enough to be
heard a mile. Cum on, Marse Cam,
come on. have been huntin for
you all night. No Yankees dar; all
done gone. Captain, you hadn't
norc'n got outcn that corn path fore
Whcclcr's crittcr company run right
slap bang into en-; and them Yankees
fairly tore the earth up gittcn way
fun dar. Ole crippled Frand Tidwcll.
that niger shoemaker, wuz standing
up dar on the cote house square, and
when he seed dem Yankees comm
with Wheeler cr .tcr company right
atcr 'cm, be jist lit ou. frum der Ike
strcck of creased lightnin'. If dem
Yanks keep gwinc like dey started
dc's Il hundred miles frum here rite
now. Marse Cam, l didn't spec you
cum dis far Miss Emily told me
blccgcd to find ycI and captain.
looked all thrue dc woods. | hollo,
but cant git no dnsur, cepcn little
scrich owl cryin' and big owl hootin'.
One time semc like hcarn dot ole
pantur That stay down in that big
cane brake by lie Ole Mcintosh place.
When hear dat I sortcr fall back
little and git closer home. Itolc Miss
fmly mighty tired and hungry, and
spec better stay dar and take kccr Of
en- She say dcy's plenty niggcrs
dar now to tax kcer ov en-, and |
shan't have bite to eat till ind
Nlarsc Cam and the captain. Marsc
Cam, | didn't think you cum dis fur.
Captain, you amt no low coach; you
sholy is a good runner
We were hungry, thirsty, sleepy,
and | thought that my service with
the cavalry would not bring honor or
glory, and clearly showed that had
better stick to the infantry. Yet
there was nothing to do but go back
with Pomp to learn that the Yanks
left town about the same time We did.
Fayetteville has always been the
home Of refined, cultured and hospi-
table people. Brave men and beauti-
ful women from her borders have won
success and fame in nearly every pur-
suit of life. None hold dearer places
in my memory than the Blalocks, the
Camps, the Holidays, the Tidwells,
the Looneys, the Dorseys, Mr.. G. E,
Bennett (Marse Cam) and his excel
lent wife, Mrs. Emily Strickland Ben
nett (Nliss Emly), and their lovely
sons and daughters, who have always
treated me as they would son or
brother. Many of them have passed
from earth. Colonel Tidwell, Mars
Cam, Miss Emily, whose lives upliftcd
and blessed humanity, have gone.
Near them in tho old churchyard Ad-
jutant Strickland and John Blalock,
those lion-hearted soldiers, who gave
their lives TO the South, who were the
companions of my boyhood-all these,
with many more dear to me, are there
sleeping. A simple marble slab marks
the resting place Of my mother, where
as child one autumn evening in 1913
first stood in death shadow, and in
the darkening gloom saw the grave
close over her beloved form. The
south wind laden with the perfumes
of springtime and summer blows gent
ly above them; winters blasts and
singing tcmpests cannot reach them;
war 8 rude alarms do not disturb them.
Their bodies rest III silence and cter-
nal sleep-such spirits do not die;
they cannot perish, whether they quit
this mortal frame in times of peace or
leap from it amid the splcndors of bat
tie, they fly to glorious and immortal
homes.
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