Cheraw chronicle. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1896-2005, 1922-01-19
CHAPTER I.

when Johnnie comes marching home
Hurrah! Hurrah!
Wen give him a hearty welcome then,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men with cheers, the boys with
The ladies they will all turn out.
And we'll all feel gay. when johnnie
comes marching home again!
The old man and the little boy, his
grandson, sat together in the shade or
the big walnut tree in the front yard,
watching the Decoration Day Pa
rade," as 1t passed up the long street !;
and when the last of the veterans was
out of sight the grandfather muir
INJURED the words of the tune that came
drifting back from the now distant
band at the head of the procession.
Did you, Grandpa?" the boy asked.
l"Did 1 whatF'
"Did you all feel gay when the army
got homer
1T didn't get home all at once, pre-
cisely," the grandfather explained.
when the war was over suppose we
felt relieved, more than anything else" }"
"You didn't feel so gay when the
war was, though, guess!" the boy
ventured.
81 guess we didn't"
"Were you scared, Grandpa? Were
you ever scared the Johnnies would
VIM"
mo. We weren't ever afraid of
that"
We'll, weren't you ever scared your
self, Grandpa? l mean when you were
in battle"
"Oh, yes; l was" The old man
laughed. Scared aplenty!"
al don't see why" the boy said
promptly. 81 wouldn't be scared in
battle"
Wouldn't you?"
"Course not! Grandpa, why don't
you march in the Decoration Day pa
rade? Wouldn't they let your
I'm not able to march any more.
Too short of breath and too shaky in
the legs and 100 blind"
II wouldn't care" said the boy. "I'd
. y
If I'd been in your place, Grandpa, and
they'd let me be in that parade, I'd
been right up by the band. Look,
Grandpa Watch me, Grandpa! This
is the way I'd be. Grandpa
| He rose from the garden bench
where they sat, and gave a complex
imitation of what had most appealed
TO him as the grandeurs Of the pro-
ceSSion, his prancing legs Stimulating
those of the horse of the grand mar
shal, while his upper parts rendered
The drums and bugleS of the band, as
well as the officers and privates of the
militia company which had been fea-
ture of the parade. The only thing
he left out was the detachment Of
veterans.
"Putty-bOOm! Putty-boOm! Putty
boom-boom-boom he vocifers ted, as
the drums-and then as the bugles:
"Ta Ia, ra, tara! He addressed his
restive legs: whoa, there, you
Whitley! Gee! Haw! Git up" Then,
waving an imaginary sword: Col
lumn right! Farwud march! Halt 3!
Garry harmsw He carried arms"
"Show-dler harmsw He "shouldered
arms" and returned to his seat.
"That'd be me, Grandpa. That's the
way I'd do" And as the grandfather
nodded, seeming to agree, thought
recently dismissed returned TO the
mind of the composite procession and
he asked:
"Well, why weren't you ever afraid
the Johnnies would whip the Unions,
Grandpa"
"Oh, we knew they couldn't"
81 guess So" The little boy laughed
disdainfully. thinking his question sat
isfactOrlly answered. Il guess those
ole Johnnies couldn't whipped flea
They didn't know how to fight any at
all, did they. Grandpa?'
"Oh, yes, they did,"
WHAT The boy was aStOunded
"Weren't they all just reglar ole cow
ards, Grandpa:"
NO" said the grandfather They
were pretty fine soldiers"
"They were? Well. they ran away
whichever YOU began shootn' at EN-
didn't they"
Sometimes they did, but most times
they didn't. Sometimes they fought
like wildcatS-and sometimes we were
the ones that ran away"
But the ,JohnnieS were bad men
weren't tLey, Grandpa:"
NO"
The Boys forehead. cu>tomarily va
cant showed some little yrrtica
shadows, produccd 10y struggle Il
think. "WclI. but" he began slowly
Listen, Grandpa. listen here, lo,
said-you said you never got scare'
the ole JohnnipS were goin' to win"
They did win pretty often" salt
the grandfather. They won goo
many battles
81 mean. you said YOU never go
scared they'd win the war
"No. we were never afraid of that.
"Well, but if they were good mel
and fought like wildcats, Grandpa
and KEEP winning battles and every
thing, how could that be? How coul'
you help bein' scared they'd win til
war;"
The grandfather's feeble eyes twin