The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-09-28

. into them Yanks with old Grant at their
head, in ragged shirt and patched
brooches as not. But, didn't like to go
up there and look worse than the rest of
| the boys SO I told my wife I'd stay at
| home and think it all over. and ask the
Lord to bless the big-hearted men and
women who are trying to give the old
soldiers all the pleasure they can, in their
| last days. And l did / prayed for all
| of them
General, there's one thing my wife told
| me to ask you, and that is, do you know
that man they call Jeter Pritchard, and
| if you do, what do you think of him?
don't get the papers often, and l can't
read much if l get them; for it takes a
one-legged' old soldier, who has to pillow
steer, all his time to make tongue and
buckle meet; an So, what little time l
have to spare, l spend it reading the
Bible. AS was going to say, hear that
that man, Jeter Pritchard, has had bill
put through Congress to pension all the
rascals who volunteered to fight for the
Confederacy, but, as soon as it got a
little hot, and rations began to be short,
they deserted and went over to the Yam
KEGS, and spent the balance OF the time
enduring of the war, trying to kill us.
O0e OF Ln6In IGIlOWS lives III my HdDOA~
hood as mean a man as a buzzard ever
flew over, and I've heard how he says
he was in a Yankee regiment at Gettys-
burg that killed and wounded ever so
many of the regiment l was in; and they
tell me he's bin heard to say he wouldn't
be surprised if he's the man that shot off
my leg; and he's one of the men that
Mr.. Pritchard has got Congress to put ON
no Si list General amt than
enuff to make me hate Radicals, and wish
l was a young man again, so l could
spend a whole life-t time hating of them?
1 have always thought that a traitor
was despised by all good men, and
i reckon they are; but Mr.. Pritchard don't
seem to belong to that class. Now that
he's got one traitor pension bill through
| Congress, my wife says she wouldn't be
| surprised if he tried to have. Congress
! pass a bill to pension the heirs of Judas
| Iscarot and Benedict Arnold for, she
! says they are just as much entitled to
| pension as those rascals that turned
| traitors to their own country and their
own nabors when we fellows were march
| ing and fighting to protect the lives of
our mothers, wives and daughters. And
my wife tells me that this same man,
Pritehard voted in the Legislature, be-
fore he went to Congress. against giving
we old soldiers cent of pension. She
says that she read about it in the papers,
and I want to know fits so. To be sure,
it can't be possible, that emmy man, in
the South would vote a pension to de-
serters and refuse to vote to give pit
lance to true men who were faithful to
their country.
My nabor, Jones, tells me that he's
! heard that Pritchard is trying to make
his old rotten party decent by getting
deserters from the Democratic party. So,
when he gets his new party fixed up it
will be composed of deserters from the
Confederate army, deserters from the
Democratic party (such as he can buy
up with postoffices and revenue places),
the old time moss-back Radicals; and
lastly and mostly the niggers. Won't
that be a party, the very scent of which
Will be enough to turn the stomach of
oole-cat?
General I'm so glad we've still got
genuine, unmixed white party, that's got
no deserters in it; party that is willing
to give we old Confeds something to help
US in our old age, and. after we are all
dead and gone, to lay flower of grateful
remembrance upon our graves.
I'm so thankful you all passed that
resolution at Greensboro about Pritch-
ards deserters' pension bill. But he is
so fond of deserters he's doing his best
, to get some decent white men to quit
white society and jine the mixed bloods.
He's going to be badly fooled if he thinks
he can cleanse his old party by getting
few white deserters in it. Instead OF
his deserters making his old party white,
his old mOngrel party will so color the
new deserters, that they'll all look alike
and smell alike, and be alike.
But, General, l don't think there are
many white boys whose fathers wore the
gray who will be bought up by man
who voted to pay out five millions of
dollars to deserters and traitors, but
would not vote a cent to help the old one
arm, one-leg, one-eye Confederate who
stood for all there was good in our South
land, for four years.
l trust that all the old boys will stand
true to the old flag, and to White SUI
premacy; and when the roll is called up
yonder, may they all be there; SO they'll
never more have to live in a land OF
deserters; nor any more see men who
were deserters and traitors-for such as
they can never enter the Kingdom of
Heaven, but with Judas Iscariot and such
| like, they'll have to take what they get.
Traitors may get a pension here,
The old Confeds may be turned down,
But traitors will be punished there,
The old Confeds will get their crown.
l couldn't help from making that verse,
General, for that's what l think about it.
Your obedient servant, with much love,
BILL SMITH. Co. b.
Public Schools in Watauga.