Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 191?-19??, 1914-06-04
BACK FROM JACKSONVILLE
Mr.. w. G.. HOlIOwelI Tells of His
Trip to the Confederate Reunion
In His Own Original Way.

Editor Argus: i am just back from
'"The Land by Orange Blossoms Shad-
ed where Summer ever fingers on the
air''-and l take this method of thank
ing my friends who generously con-
tributed the funds to give your Uncle
Bill' an outing. Thank you all.
/ boarded the train here Sunday
night, in the language of Bill Robin
son, Solus, Alone, for l believe l was
the only Goldsboro man that attended
the grandest reunion of United Con-
federate Veterans ever held, went to
Wilson and changed to the Shortcut,
and aboard of flyer shot through
without stops and arrived at Jackson
vile the next day at 2 o'clock. The
trip was a pleasant one, barring one
little incident that for the time did a
little upset me. 1t was in this wise:
When I got aboard l took a seat in a
coach marked white, filled, or par
TALLY so with white men. Pretty soon
I coiled up on the seat occupied by
me alone) and went to sleep. l did
not awake until next morning about
O'Clock, near Charleston. When l
awoke I found l was in a coach mark
ed "co1ored," and my only travelling
companion, was negro woman. Here
is where the mystery was, | knew it
was a white coach when l entered.
altogether white, not like Capt. Jack
Golfers train when a chalk mark
across the floor is all there is to dis
tinguish Jim Crow car from a first
class car for whites exclusively-I
was dumfounded for fact. 1 tell you
Joe, upon The honor of a man had
not touched drop. Well, l have al
ways contended that ghost sights and
other mysterious happenings only
needed to be investigated to clear them
up, and l resolved that l would ines
tigate. / called to the conductor (wno
happened to be passing through at the
time) and asked him what was the
matter, he seemed to be thunderstruck
at my question, asked SO seriously and
said, 'What do you mean 2? | told
him, 1 went to sleep in North Carolina
where every body believes that white
man is as good as a negro; even Col.
Baker used to say they were ii they
behaved themselves, and had walked
UP in South Carolina where I always
understood thai the same sentiment
prevailed. Even Cole Blease, the pres
ent Chief Magistrate, held to that be-
lief, for he said that no white man
should ever be moleated for killing
one who committed cet!aln crimes.
Ito which 1 said amen); although he
has nearly emptied the penitentiary by
pardon, pardoning negro convict ana
discharged the guard because the
negro raised his hat to the Governor
as he was passing, and the guard
f1ogged him for it-that in the space
of few hours, by some mysterious
Juggling, 1 had been turned to negro
placed in a Jim Grow car and given a
negro woman as sole travelling COM
panion and [ assured him l had not
touched a drop. Well, Joe, he ex-
planned it all just as nice, as the
Dutchman said, "as never wus.' He
said that at Florence it became nee
essary to have a first class Jim Grow
coach, so they covered the WORD
white with the word "cOlored"-
moved the white up car, and he sup
posed I was overlooked, being asleep
at the time. Now, Joe, this relieved
my mind, the explanation was all sat
isfactory, l thanked him, took my grip.
bid my companion good night and
moved up and joined the boys again.
We arrived at Charleston about sun
up We were backed into the depot
remained there very short time
pulled out and sped away towards Sa-
yannah. 1 did not see Charleston, OF
course, as we only went as far as the
depot, which is not strictly in the city
Where, So years ago, our command
changed cars for Coosahotchie Station
between Charleston and Savannah, on q
side track, with marshes all around
is now a manufacturing district, the
majority of which are fertilizer fac
tories I was anxious to see Old COOS
ahotchi Station and our camp OF 5z
years ago-it was there just as it was
then. only more so, as the Irishman
would say: the most God forsaken
looking place you ever saw, and L am
about ready to apply the same remarR
to the whole line from Charleston tc
Savannah, and even on to the suburbs
of Jacksonville-how people live along
the line l can't see. Where there used
to be large bodies of land covered
with long leaf pine, is now barren
waste. There is hardly pine poles
enough along the line to make stack
poles enough to hold the hay and fod-
der that could be raised on the same
quantity of good land here, and wha1
few there are, are boxed or cupped
for they use cups instead of cutting
the box in the tree as of old time
have to for they are not large enough
to cut a box in. Joe, they are trylne
to get turpentine out of trees so smal
that I would not cut one of them II
was out looking for tree to make
Roosevelt another big stick, too small
Now this is no joke, I saw trees boxeo
and being Clipped not as large as
Arnold Wright's leg, and in some
places they grow SO sparsely that
man would have to dip over mile
square to get bucket full. I thought
will this land ever be valuable again
hardly; especially so if the predictions
of some of the present day wiseacres
are to become true, that in such anc
.oxoa %irno in the neal