The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-05-14
GnEErED BY. FARMERS AND Me-
GROEs ON ROADS.
|, BY WILL r. sHEEHAN.

sBY WILL II. SHEEHAN.
Greenviiie, May 13.--tSpecial)-I
Does everybody in South Alabama read
The Advertiser? After two days on the
roads and an observation in that time
Of q surprising popular interest. no
matter where we go in The Advertiser
party's walking trip we prepare to be-
ifeve that everybody including the ne
groes on the plantations, daily read
the paper and discuss its contents
Nowhere we have gone have we gone
unknowqn. Wherever we meet a man In
the roads, he knows instantly who we
are and starts conversation about
the trip; farmers in their fields hurry
over to the road to say a word and
wish US luck, the section foreman
waves genially at us when we pass and
asks about the roads In the towns APP
pareLtly everybody is expecting the
walkers and the people vie with each
other in courtesy. The trip has Its
pleasures all right. I'll
And incidentally. every man tells
us II was folly to walk twenty-five
miles before IL O'Clock on the first day
the which we have found out to our
cost. One of the eight knees In the
party has protested as q result and we
are Just now getting over the tired
feeling which followed rushing down
the travelled roads of Montgomery
Vanishing Leteehatchie.
The amount of information and
misfortunes we get about distances
and locations is simply astonishing.
This was particularly impressed upon
US IN the first ten miles of our journey
In Lowndes County. There may be
some parts of North Alabama as rough
and as billy as the section of Lowndes
through which we travelled. but we re-
serve the right to doubt IL.
There is a local story afioat, as to
the experience of Dallas County
drummer in the hilly lime rock country
OF Lowndes. NAfter struggling with the
washed and rough roads for a day he
met a native at a fork OF two roads
and asked him quite earnestly:
my friend. can you tell me which
one Of these dod gasted gullies is the
way to Benton?" :
The negro enjoys a happy ignorance
OF distance and places On that first
day we spent in Lowndes the town OF
Letohatchie got farter and farther
away from us. no matter haw fast we
walked According to one negro it was
only i've miles away. another was
quite positive that 1t was seven miles.
after we had walked another mile.
And at last. tired hot and longing for
rest at that dear Letohatchie we came
10 a plantation. cabin under the oaks
UGEktQ
we knew, would not-lie 20 tell us, In
the name of mercy. how far It was to
Letohatiche When we last head of the
town Ii was only six miles away. The
negro looked at us and said sincerely:
Boss, / wouldn't tell you lie It's
eight miles from here"
Al this distressing. information, one
at his forehead and exclaimed broken
":
Eight miles, eight miles, prithee
old man please do not say those cruel
words" a
But at last we reached Letohatchie
to be cordially welcomed and to be
given touch of Lowndee county hos
pitality of which, / am the Authority
for the statement that there is none
better. :
shine in Society.
There came very near being q cool
ness and division in the party, be-
cause of this same hospitality. how
ever. Spangler and. sent Frank and
Charlie ahead of us to make accomo-
dations for the night, to have every
thing in readiness for a great rest.
And asj Spangler and I walked along
we pictured rest already provided for
us and waiting a little farther down
the road. But we were shocked-we
were astonished to ind that the two
younger fellows had betrayed their
trust The cause of 1t was a charming
young woman whom they had met in
Montgomery. She had heard of their
coming and as soon as they reached
Letohatchie In the middle Of the af-
1ernoon tan invitatien was waiting
them for a drive about the country.
They threw their knapsacks into the
street, leaped into the buggy and drove
arohnd the stown asking each other
the insane question;
do you believe buggy ride would
hurt your feet?"
We were quite put out with them
and withdrew from them our recogni-
tion and support
Charlie and Frank fell into the hands
OF Captain Charles P. Rogers and were
excellently entertained. Spangler and
I. no less fortunate. enjoyed the hos
pitality of James Mitchell, Jr.
We made the start on the second
day ats o'clock in the morning. The
weather, like all that we have so far
encountered, was ideal. cool. bracing
and yet spring like. There are far
young in spring and walking along
tree-lined road on a perfect May
morning. Nor did we exert ourselves
and when the dew berries were spread
by the roadside, we were sufficiently
generous with our time to gather them
until we had all we wanted
It was slower walking than we had
yet done, and still 1t was more en-
joyable. BY the dirt road we went and
1t took US over Big Swamp, the famous
old landmark of Lowndes. An Alaba-
ma swamp where the ROAD pierces 1t
lifted up by ga high embankment af-
fords on a May morning. a splendid
Z display of the verdure and the beauty
OF nature. The green trees we're fresh
and restful, and we stood upon the
bridge in the swamp to watch a pro-
eession of red birds circling and dart
ing through the green foliage and to