The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-02-18
BILKINS IN PHILADELPHIA.

Phliadelpnla-COm PhIladei-
phia and Charlotte, \. G.
Philadelphia. Pa, Feb. Is, 1909.
Correspondence of The Caucasian
Enterprise.
/ am now in Yankeedom. l tried
ter git inter the land ov Yankees
endurin' ov the war. But them blast
ed Yankees he'd too many men an
guns ter suit me. | met them at
Seven Pines an several other points
| in Virginia an me an General Bob
Lee an Stonewall Jackson give them
nifty warm time fer erbout four
years; in fack, we wore ourselves out
a-thrashin' them blue-coated fellers
an had ter give in an surrender rite
treated me nifty clever, an l guess
they won't be any shootin' goin' on
this time. But they had better not
git me riled, fer | hain't never got
over that hard four years that | put
through a-fightin' half ov the time
al oIdi VIII the lOlucI nail
| had hard work ter git erway
from Washington. | fell in love with
Preserdent an Mrs. Roosevelt. The
Preserdent wuz a bit sore because
black horse. But he jist tried ter kill
me with kindness. Before | left he
writ a lot ov letters fer me ter carry
with me ter interduce myself ter awl
the Kings an Queens an sich like
on the tother side Ov the sea, in
cludin' one ter Ii Hung Chang in
China When them Kings an Queens
see me waltzin' up ter the front door
ov their palaces they will be sur
priced, no doubt. But they will find
that | kin hold a full hand at most
any game they git up. I felt sorter
scared erbout mixin' up with big
folks till / spent some time with the
Preserdent. Hit iz sorter like havin'
a tooth pulled-awl rite when hit
quits hurtin'.
[ made Prserdent Roosevelt prom
ise ter send over a few warships in
case l git inter any trouble in them
foreign countries. He sed he'd send
the Alabama, the Missouri, the Ken
lucky, the Oregon, and the cruiser
North Carolina if he seed any signs
ov blood on the moon. yes" sez I,
"send more than that if me an the
Kings ov any ov them big countries
git ter havin' hot arguments" And
he sed he would, an that he'd speak
inter the White House.
I rode from Washington ter Balti-
more in day. The distance iZ er-
bout 40 miles. Hit wuZ not my in
tention ter spend much time in Bal
timore, fer they air still braggin' err
bout the big fire they had thar few
years ergo, an can't talk erbout any
thin else. But I thought I'd stop
an take a look at Druid Hill Park
an Electrick Park an "The Bridge"
They air awl purity lively places.
Baltimore hez a population ov err
bout 100000. Some ov them air
purity guide people, ov course an
some air not. The city hez a large
wholesale trade with the South an
Southwest, an they manufacture a
clothin' beer, whiskey, an other
stuff. nearly awl shoddy. But the
city goes dymakratick nearly awl the
time, an our Southern merchants pat
ronize Baltimore on that account. Hit
IL the center ov the oyster buZiness,
an leads in the fruit an cannin'
buziness, probably handling more
oranges an bananas in a wholesale
way than any city in the country.
Crate steamboats, come inter the city
loaded with fruits from Florida, Gu
ba an elsewhar almost daily. Take
erway the fruit trade ov Baltimore
an hit would be a dull town, though
large trade il done in other whole
sale lines. Hit liz awlso very wick
ed city, I am told, an that makes
hit popular tradin' place fer some
ov our Southern merchants who air
Sunday-school superintendents = at
home.
After a short stay in Baltimore l
| left fer Philadelphia, whar I landed
after nearly three days hard ridin'
through a nifty interestin' country
notice that we hev the best country
down in North Carolina. But we
amt fixed up like they air in Mary
land an Pennsylvania. The houses
barns an fields look very different
Yankee energy IL wonderful indeed
We have the best climate. the best
country, the best people in the South
But we air a hundred years behind
them Yankees in actual results. Still
the South IL comm ter the front pur
ty fast. The difference, I reckon, i,
that we tawk erbout what we all
"goin' ter do" while these blasted
Yankees air doin' hit.
Philadelphia il called the Quake
City" hit il located jist half wa!
between Baltimore and New York
Hit hez a population ov more than ;
million people, few ov whom al
Quakers. An, ov course, they al
very guide people. Hit il graf
manufacturin' city an turns out sub
stantial goods. Awlso hez a larg
wholesale trade in close territory an
in the South an West.
Erway back yonder before the Revo
lutionary War began, the sitizens o
Philadelphia helt a meetin' an de
clared their independence so far a
| I'm GLAND WIZ aonSarOnd That 10
ter the war between England an