Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1921-01-19
Two Soldier Boys Come Home
From Appomattox.

| from AppOmatIOx.
= am going to tell about two boys
that were raised in a stones throw of
each other. One will call Ben and
the other Tom. Ben's father was a
large slave and land owner, and all
that Ben had to do. until he volun-
teered to defend the sacred honor OF
South Carolina, was to go to school all
the week and fish On the spring branch
on Saturday. His father did not give
him any lessons in agriculture. In
fact, his father did not know much
about that himself, but he kept a man
who did, called Mr.. Overseer, with
black-snake whip over his shoulder.
No, Ben didn't know thing about
what had to be done on farm. Toms
father was well-to-do farmer of the
I'D school. Always had plenty around
him. but he did, not own any slaves.
He taught Tom how to plow, hoe, reap
and NOW, feed the sheep and the hogs,
and milk the COWS. Yes; Tom was up
on all these things.
Ben and Tom volunteered in the
same company and went to Virginia.
Both made fine soldiers. 1t has been
said they were not afraid of Yankee
bullets. Each one was severely wound
ed twice. But when the army surren-
dered at Appomattox every one made
for home. Ben and Tom walked all
the way from Appomattox. After
resting few days from their long
walk, and eating hog jowl and turnips,
salted pot-fiquor and corn bread that
their good mothers cooked, Tom said,
"Well, I must go to work." and un-'
buttoning his old ragged jacket of
Gray, threw it on the wood pile, gath
cred hoe and began to cut down the
rank weeds, then hitched balaam to the
old wooden plow stock, drew the line
across the mules back and yelled out,
'tGet there, Eli" And Eli got there.
With sleeves rolled up, shirt collar
open, Tom began to sing, ''I'm Glad
I'm Back in Dixie" One could see
that through his veins were blood flow
ing like quick silver, singing to him
the sweet song of life.
Ben's picture is quite different to
that of Toms. He just didn't know
how to take hold of things-his father
did not show him how-yet both boys
displayed great courage in the army.
When Ben got home the overseer had
left, the black-snake whip was hang
ing up in the barn, the slaves were
free, mules in the lot and plenty Of
corn in the cribs. So he called up
Raze, Fed. Harry and Bill and offered
them one-half they made, he to furnish
the stock and feed. So the trade was
made with the darkies, and they went
to work on their own book. Ben pick
ed up his rod and reel and went fishing,
and he would ruin gray fox with dogs,
and hunt birds with gun, and ne kept
that thing up for years. Cutie did not
do much farming. Now Ben is an old
man, and without any visible means cf
support. On the other hand Tom has
his houses and lands, horses and mules,
sheep, cows and hogs galore. He Isl
away ahead of the dogs. This is the
fellow that threw his gray jacket on
the wood pile, pushed back his sleeves,
Opened his shirt collar, spit, on his
hands, and yelled out to his mule, get
there Eli. Now the State tells the
county board of honor that Tom has
plenty; he don't need thing from the
pension fund-he' been fortunate; but
to get him on the roll Of honor pay him
a dollar and sixteen and half cents a
month-in other words S14.50 year.
But Ben had hard, tuff luck all the
while. Fishing, hunting birds and run
ming gray fox has not proved profita-
bic to him. You must pay him atieast
$500 a year. Now that is the way
the cat has jumped. The sequel is just
this: Tom put into practice the duties
of life, and kept them up. Mems life
has been an absolute failure for the
lack of these principles, which his
father failed to teach him.
]. Russell WRIGHT.