The Tupelo journal., 1906-06-01


imperial Southland, its sweet
scenes sit, fair skies, its onrollina
rivers, its hills and valleys bloom
ing with health and green with
verdure, even surprising the
wonderful land Of Italy; and
then threw upon the canvas free
dom's pinions, waving in peace,
while science cast her pearls
around and religion lifted hel
sacred dome above, and the fail
maidens bloomed like sylvan
flowers. having hearts as pure
as crystal, and in the closing
verse, burst forth in these patri
otic strains:
"Land Of the South imperial land-
Then here's health to thee
Long as thy mountain barriers stand,
! May'st thou be blest and free!
May dark dssension's banner ne'er
Wave Ger thy fertile loan, -
But should it come, there's one Will die
F, To save his native home!'
And that one, touched the
heart of the young husband, and
decided his mind for his native
land rather than to stay at home
with his young wife; and that
ore, spread like wild fire through
out old Itawamba, and went in
to every nook and corner of Mis-
sissippi, bringing forth magnifi.
cent soldiers; that one, came
leaping down from the Dark
and Bloody Ground of old Ken
lucky, with it's legions, ready for
the conflict; that one, spread from
the vine-clad hills and beautiful
valleys of Tennessee toward the
center of the Confederacy, like
a snow ball, gathering strength
and power as it came; that one,
swan the mighty Mississippi
from Missouri, with Gen. Price
and landed his hosts for home
and native land; that one, took
the Arkansas Tooth-Picks from
the Savannas of that wonderful
land and distributed them from
Texas to Virginia; that one, kiss
ed the outstretching prairies of
the Lone Star State of Texas, and
they btoomed like the rose of
Sharon, and multiplied like their
own wild flowers, bringing forth
Rangers and Cowboys for the
defense of our homes and our
! firesides; that one, turned loose
the Tigers and Zouaves Of Lou
isiana to prey upon the enemies
Of their country; that one, cross
ed the Alabama, rot to rest
there, but to take from her hills
and wales, coves and mountains,
sWamps and canebrakes, the men
of action and renown who held
high the banner during the war;
that one, flew like a screaming
eagle over Georgia from Resacca
to Savannah gathering up the
stay and strength Of our armies;
that one, reached for the orange
and the magnolia of Florida, and
spread their beauty and fra
GRANGE over all the land; that
one, shifted the breeze, and heard
the moan of the pines, and the
rustic Of the rushes, Of the Car
olinas, and the moan of their
pines and the rustic of their rush
es were transformed into plaid
ed warriors arm'd for strife,
worthy to stand with Pickett at
Gettysburg, and fall by his side
in that memorable charge; and
that one, gathered round Lee
and Jackson from old Virginia,
valley men and mountaineers,
whose breasts were ever toward
the enemy and their hearts to-
ward the homeland; and when
that one, and this one, and the
other ones, had all concentered
under their different leaders, the
one, became mighty host in
deed, SO mighty and powerful
that nov, after forty years, the
pensioners from our bullets and
otaer casualties incident to the
war, drawing pay from the treas
ury of the government, are more
numerous than the army we had
in the field, besides the killed
and those who died from wounds
and sickness.
And so it was, that while these
hosts were assembling at their
different places Of rendezvous,
the young husband, with an un-
married brother, stood at the
threshold of his fathers home to
bid farewell to father and moth
er and his young wife, just four
months to a day from the day he
gave his promise at the altar, in
order to enter the service of his
country. | paint you the pic
ture with my pen, not because of
the prominence of the parties,
nor of any great reputation the
parties may have made, but when
! I have flashed the picture upon
the canvas, and you have looked
upon the scene, you shall have
beheld the condition Of the South
| in the long ago years Of 1861 and
1862. The young husband had
taken his sorroWing young wife