The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-08-07
SOME OF THE HARPIES THAT
HAVE BEEN CALLED HEROES
Rev. r. II. Whitaker Shuts His Eyes and Thinks
of the Last Dark Days of the
Civil War

put it in there to poison him, and he'll
De sure to burn your house" And
going out he walked by a pig pen, shot
down the old woman's Only hog and
went on his way, a hero indeed
Rev. Henry Hayes lived out Just
south of Raleigh, and when the Yam
KEGS were camped around the CITY
| they went in quest of plumber to his
house, as they did to all others. They
| took all his chickens save one rooster
md were chasing that when Mr..
Hayes went out and begged Sher-
mans chicken stealer not to take that
rooster as he was an old man and had
been used, all his life, to hearing
coasters crow for day. BY that time
| the rooster had been caught, and the
thief, who held him, told Mr. Hayes
ne would leave him the rooster if he
Mr.. Hayes, would give him dinner.
| Hhe rooster was put in the coop, while
the Yankee was eating, but as soon
rs the Yankee arose from the table he
| took the rooster from the coop and
| Nrung his head off; and then, with Il
| feather-bed on his back and a half
| dozen or more chickens in a bag taken
| from Mr.. Hayes, he walked off saying:
There's your old rooster; if you'll
stick his head on right, he'll do all the
growing you will want to hear, in the
| morning. Another hero!
| Some of Sherman'S heroes took an
| old man from his home, down the
hill, saying they were going to hang
| him, if he did not furnish them with
something to drink. Soon they came
| back by the house and seeing the aged
| Aife they sang out: 'Old woman,
you'll find the old man hanging by
grape vine down the hill there" But,
| turning her eyes down the hill she
| saw the husband coming. Another
| batch of soldiers coming down the
| hill, the other way, doubtless saved
| the old mans neck.
| Ny mother said she guessed that at
| least five hundred of Shermans
| thieves ransacked her bureau drawers
| in a single day; and at least half that
number cursed her; and not a few
| threatened to shoot her. book as
| big as Webster's Unabridged Diction-
arv would not be large enough to con-
| tain the accounts of raScality, robbery
and ruin, of which Sherman's men
| were guilty from the time they left
| Atlanta until they reached Raleigh.
The only commendable thing I
| heard of their doing was the hanging
of q man, down in Harnett county, by
the heels. He posed as a Union man
during the war, and when sherman S
army was approaching his house he
told them how glad he was to see
them; that he was one of them at
| heart and had been praying for them
4 to come. In short, he welcomed them
to his house, and told them to make
themselves at home. They took him
at his word, and soon cleaned out the
smoke house, the pantry, the poultry
yard. and turned their attention to the
sideboards and bureaus; and finally
took the rings from his wife'S fingers
and the bobS from her ears. AT length
he began to demonstrate; but, they
said to him: you are one of us and
you know you told us to make our
u selves at home" Finally, when about
to leave, they took him out and hung
him by the heels, and left him so
hanging, with placard pinned on his
back saying: "a man who Will not
stand for his own side is not fit to be
hung by the neck"
When l heard of that affair / was
almost inclined to forgive some other
things ShermanS men did. That fell
low was a member of the Legisla ture
in 1868, and although his home was
only 81 miles from Raleigh, he drew
a hundred and seven dollars mileage,
Whereupon his name was changed
from James Madison to James Mile
age"
B. the way that Legislature of 1868
was composed of negroes, ScalaWagS
and Carpet-Baggers. Scalawags were
men who had been Union SYM
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. and secret enemies
to the South, during the war. They
hated Zeb Vance worse than the devil
and rejoiced in the persecution of the
South by the radical measures of the
Il Yankee government. OF course they
were hail fellows well met with the
Carpet Baggers. who came down from
the North to plumber the old State
and felt complimented by being hon
ored with seats, side by side, with col
ored members. The equal of that Leg
I islature never sat before nor since
1868; and if the world stands thou
sand years, it will be impossible to
duplicate it.
The ingenuity of boys, in thanking
.WhippingS by mothers, is wonderful. |
overheard the following dialogue the
| other day. between a mother and a
boy she was about to catch up with.
The mother, in a very sharp tone of
voice that sounded very much like
| there was a hickory up her sleeve,
said to the criminal looking urchin
that stood before her:
/ Didn't | tell you not to go to that
pond?''
"Yes'm.'
''That if you did go Ia whip you? q
"Yes'm.'
"Come right here and take your
jacket off. I'll let you know that when
tell you not to go, you are not to
60"
The boys face frightened. An idea
had struck him, and with triumph in
his eyes, he said
Il clare to gracious L didn't go to
the pond!'
why, you story teller, I know you
were down there, for Bob Jones and
Bill Smith both told me so.
"Yesm: / was down there, but L
didn't GO down there
How did you get there, if you
| didn't go? Tell me that.
Il COME down there. I went in the
| old field to hunt black berries, jim
Davis and me, and we got lost, and
the first thing we knoWed we come
right down to the pond. I clare to
gracious 1 didn't go to the pond. You
can ask Bill Davis if [ did
Its we'll you didn't go, for [ GER
tninTV should have whipped YOU