The Anderson intelligencer. (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, September 27, 1905, Page 2, Image 2
WAR SI
tl?fa.e ??].^p erie noe of J",
liz.Searching for his 1
Jfforth Carolina A.?
Charleston S
>
Aft ec iorty ycave, Mr. H. Frank I
Ford v.iit*. told, through thc columna
oil the 0 htrleston Kevtfs and Courier
ia reitucg thc ?tory of the'proscrip
tioa ty loo ana1 subs?quent official
wurdee <a? ????nes ff i lier, a Confederate
soldier cc? then prisoner of Sherman's
army-C&e appalling experience of
Jack ?tribling, who went to the war
jct coarpxny ?, *.f ?rr's Et i fl es, from
old. Pict, ees County, and who was af
ter tv ?rd ? k7.inslV.rred to Iilaek s ca
tralry. (twas during his service in
Chis csvf-lry that ??-ck Stribliog was
eaptarei Ly Sherman's army in a
battle atec Fayetteville, North Caro
Kaa, wiiick occurred after Gen. Lee
bsd i;(?cree?ercd, io 18.M. Mr. Ford,
thc wr?<*er of ?the article mentioned,
and wivr *r-as one of thc unfortunate
eu ld ter* ti at were captured during
this battle, telle -feelingly of his re
rja?fitR?isa'ies cf the erperience of Jack
Stribltm?.
This cyouug cavalryman was one
?araag cweoty of the prisoners who
wera cotzepelied to draw lots against
death, oe tw-ii-crfy thc morbid ven
gcxnsc cf en implacable foe, but
escaped <drcwiog the fatal lot-which
fell ta {toar Jamen Miller-only to
meet <2c&th a few days later in a still
tizare ?cruel and 'Unwarrantable man
ner, hr.'e rivi and dolirious from
uLv Cst?gues and hardships of tho
WctMjcch, ho one night staggered
? ?aanr tho dead line of one of
.-n-uaaai*s "Bull Pens," and was shot
.??.rr. fejr .a Federal guard, who did
?ft> Nee?fL -aa remorselessly as he might
? tilted au animal with s cudgel.
Jtadt&e Jast that his comrades of the
Azarek erer "knew of him was that he
Stad received a mortal Wound and
Iradrkrjtc. loft to the caro of ?trang?re.
This knowledge Teaching the fom
Hy at some, and they in terrible
?uabt cc ?o whether -Tack were dead
tar still {ingering thero io the woods,
auad pec&aps without attention, nerv
ed bia younger brothor-who bad
S/usi reached home fros thc battle
fields of Virginia, tho only survivor
oEfearbrothers of the family, and of
sisxeea other boys from four families
of the ?eighborhoad-to sot out, fso
? ag eli t\ie fcardehips and dangers in
cide ct to ?the closing of a long and
?nrd-f?t<ight war, and while yet unre
.aspirated from the depressing effects
at hard service, to, asoortain the fate
slAsiast brother, or to give him tte
necess?Tir care and attention if found
Sreti alise.
It wes ia the latter part of April,
?805, that I reached home a ragged
?afilie* bay, half dead from hunger,
f&ttgae ?od melancholy over defeat
auad toa?; How vividly the Boone and
4M aeooations of the home-coming
ratasa to me -now as I write this,
swelling asay breast*with an emotion
Bka w&ioh there is nothing that
oonaes to the heart of mau iu times
of rt?ae *nd plenty! I trudged along
dava (he road leading to the old home
Sarto.? whence I,' with three elder
* jhxrt&er?? had gone forth three to four
Sexes before, and in the fullness and
xngor az young manhood to answer the
cesuand?Gg call of the Southland:
.-?Jknnsr Jli was alj ye.y familia^
t^'te/??\t was ail very dear to me, and
i CL was tat this that I clinched at my
b&afc* wthsa the rush bf feelings
zx&QpijiBvr jue ?,s I noared the old
d?Sos?tep. TT?h.Q fifia a?# contest was at
aa^esrdc* I (bat devastation /and desola
te ?w^hn?js our once beautiful and
l?rSfiipa?tfila ^Southland like the pall of
tav oasg&ty (gloom. And, as I then '
VKsaoeaiit, aJJ*r-allaeomed lost for the
Ttoys* jedi* ra CDC <?he ?grey, save their
. Attawr, "What ?a carnival of blood
Susi fe-amac -progresa for four long
' y?aos- Akad -ai I looked upon the
whieh waa at that midnight
.X-ooira?a?klug slowly toward the west
ant ^orison, it .seemed to bo going
d&wa io ? aaa of blood.. But baok
e&erain tho flowery valley a aud upon
?Ise%a?ttiifau hills of Virginia, whore
Cft? ?a&o -of warr kai howled and
g&wte? for four hell-rife years, and
?her ?mfkj ravens had croaked over
?arcag?, -?ejgned anea more tho white
({?toee? peace.
?L*tasrt>..\voj> "upon the door of tho
ojEufi feiaatur -awoke from their fiifal
(i?sa?&?ra father; mother, . young
ffa???iM?m_ jan d ais ter a, who came troop
*^''&r?wara to behoid, returned to
d?emt taste ad of the strong son aad
fSmdhcr who had once romped o?er
&3$?fittf dole In the vigor of young
mte&ao&i a ragged and haggard soldier
Tiers, F: told to the family the first
.-ataw*'' al Free's surrender; then came
tite ^ th? aoiioUB
ura&er: "Whore ia Jacky?" Tho
'<t'sier- seas ' were known to bo
m rc iii-sr str-obji the dead. Hut I had
. otfe a?eft #aek*^in OTcr three years and
ti??&lQsli .them:'ii'OtHi?g furthor than
/ Cfcit t;WAS known to have beeh^wlth
cavalry in Johnson's -army.
.Ret .. 5ev* {<!?? day's, .votarnio? . a?l';
ORIES.
J
C. Stribling, C. S. .A..,
brother, who Died in
:'ter the Surrender.
unday Newa.
diers from Johnson's army brought
the Hail ucws Jack Stribliog had
received a mortal wound iu the thigh,
even after the surrender of Lee, and
hud been left near Fayetteville, N.
C , in the banda of ?tranger?. I de
termined to go at once to North Caro
lina in search of my loat brother,
hoping that I might hod him still
living and that I might administer
to bia comfort and eventually bring
him home to delight the sorrow-scar
red household with hin oreseocc.
Tho problem of how I shou.d reach
Fayetteville at once suggested itself.
This v>i* a distance of MO to 100
m'les and through a country which
had been so recently devastated by
the firebrand march of Sherman's
terrible army, leaving nothing but
destruction and ruin on every hand.
Railroads and their trostlos had been
demolished; wagon bridges bad been
burned, along with noarly all of the
farm houses. Provisions for man, aa
well as food for beast, oould not bc
had along this route for love or
money. And had it been possible to
purchase transportation or food, there
was not to be had the money with
which to buy it, so utterly depicted
were our resources, a9 well as those of
our neighbors The entire Southern
country waa i*. the utmost confusion,
and marauding bands of raidera, rob
bers and foragers were still busy
looting every farm houso and robbing
every wayfarer.
But notwithstanding all these
things, the thought of my brother
lying there somewhere, wounded and
among strangers, nerved me to make
thc journey or to die in the attempt.
Upon thia resolution I set out on the
following day, driving an old gray
mare to a time-used, rattling old
buggy, from near what ia now Seneca
City, S. C., on my way into a strange
country, under difficulties more trying
and discouraging than anything
wbioh had confronted me during
all the years of battle which had
passed. Before leaving home, six
dollars and Of teen cents in silver,
representing all the current money
that could be gathered together
throughout the neighborhood, was
stitched inside of my coat collar and
the waist band of my trousers with I
the exception of a few small pieces j
whioh had been left in my pockets to J
delude would-be robbers.
I experienced no extraordinary I
trouble until I reached the Tiger j I
River, South Carolina, on the road to I
Chester. The streams were much
swollen from the reoent heavy raina, I
and not. a bridge spanned the water fl
oouraes. But the old gray mare, aa j i
well as her driver, was a good swim-j
mer, and the latter had learned well 11
in the army the art of swimming borso s j
through streams both turbulent and j
pacific So, when the dangerous J
Tiger River was reached, I guided' the
old meroin and well up tho stroan} |
before striking the main current, j
although the swift water waa even
thero move than 18 inches over the I
Beat of the buggy. After a heroic
struggle with the current, the old I i
paare reached a flat landing on the op-1 <
posite aide of the river, where a few J i
or tizona of the neighborhood greeted j j
me with cheers; and one man declared I ?
that he would not have taken the l i
risk for the beat plantation on Tiger 11
River. But suoh risks are not con
sidered when one ia going to help a I j
wounded, perhaps dying, brother. Il
fell within me the rigid determination
to ovevoomo any and every obstacle j.
that came in toy way. I
? When near Chester the faithful old j
groy mare was forced to give up the j
trip, being no longer able to draw the J
buggy after her. So I left her vito, j
a good farmer, and set but upon the.j
test of my journey afoot. When near I
the town limits of Chester I came I
upon a very -auspicious looking com- j
pany of men who were busily engaged j
in loading their guns. They eyed me j
oloQcly and their scrutiny waanot vary
comfortable to mo. Whether this J
mixed company con DIB tod of friends j
or enomiea I had no means of knowing J
nor 4?d ? stop to enquire, rather j
choosing to take cluocoo on develop*
menta. But I was not long kept in j
doubt aa to tho nature of the gather- j
i ng. Ita vi og entered the town andi
reached a. position just ir> front of the j
door of what wan then known aa tho j
Confederate commissary. I was all 1
at once startled by tho aound of a^big I
commotion inside of the building, and i
some ono threw put at the door a side j
of .bacon, which atruok me a fair j
j broadaidc and sent mo sprawling into j
the gutter. Following this came a
perfect shower of bacon,1 hams^ sank s
of flour, boita of cloth and various
other articles of. provisionv and cloth
ing material) all coming ; from thc 1
lower door, while hats, , boots abd
?hoes con^tilnti'd almost a deluge'
from the upper floor: and I a victim
of inc* s terni trying bard to extricate
myself from the vic*oily of danger, I
realized at once that this was a raid
upon the C. 8. A. conimisBurv. and as
no known commihsioned officer was at
hand to give orders, this soldier hoy,
recalliug the old negro's saying, "Foot
carry the bodyj" lit Out from auioug
thc missiles of tho hand fusillade and
took shelter behind a large culumn in
front uf a hotel near hy.
From this point of view I watched
wagons going by in every direction
aud at break-neck speed. Suddenly
a sharp Gght between the commissary
guard and the raiders took place.
Shotguns, revolvers and , rocks were
brought into service, and bullets and
other missiles flew io all directions,
and friend and foe were indistinguish
able in the melee that followed. It
is ueedless to say that I kept my
bomb-proof position behind the big
column, and could only yell with more
or less amusement at tin confused
situation of the participants: ''Hur
rah for our side!" though I could not
for the life of me tell which side was
"our side" until the odor of broiling
ham was wafted to my appreciative
nostrils from somowhere about tho ho
tel, and the source of this appetizing
odor proved, ?upon investigation, to
come from the the back yard of thc
hostelry.
Making my way there, I found a
vory liberal and jolly crowd of home
bound Confederate soldiors who were
enjoying a npendid feast by a camp
fire. At my approach these old com
rades, though personal strangors,
gave me a most hearty welcome and
invitod me to come up and help my
self; and it has not been written that
I refused this invitation.
Trains that were then running had
no schedule, and there was no means
of koowiog when 'to expect one. They
were made up of broken-down coach
es, box cars and flat cars; and these
trains were invariably loaded down
with belated soldiers, who were hang
ing on and clinging to each other like
the individuals of a swarm of bees
suspended from the branch of an ap
ple tree. Soldier;) were going both
ways, and they were allowed to ride
on theso trains as long as they could
stick on. So, ?by taking advantage of
these privileges, when opportunity
presented itself, and by walking,
oroasiog streams on pontoon bridges,
wading and swimming other watei
oourees, and making'my way over
long gaps of torn-up railroad track. I
finally oovered the distance, by a hard
struggle, from Chester, S. C., to New
hero, N. C., having come by way o?
Charlotte, Greensboro and Haleigh.
At Newbern I found myself in e
veritable hotbed of smallpox, then ?
groat epidemic. , I boarded a Yankee
military train bound for Wilmington,
N. C., from which place it was my in
tention to 90 np the Cape Fear Rtvei
at Fayetteville. But, alas, the old
groy uniform, though faded and andi)
oat of repair, at once spotted thc
rebel soldier boy to the conductor-1
Federal captain-as a subject for thc
greatest possible levy that the passen
ger's purse would stand.
But tho "Johnnie Rob." aa these
train guardo found it amusing to ca)
me, showed at once a detenu i potior
aeither to pay nor to get off of th?
train. And now came a most atron
uous game of hide-and-seek, tag oi
touch and go, fora long-distance dowi
that railroad. Fore and aft of tin
train I dodged, getting.off on om
side and'back on at the opposite side
leaving the train, at one end to eliml
aboard again at tho other, until th
conductor's annoyance reached th*
stage of exasperation. He final);
sailed a number of others to hi? aid
and their combined forces. served t
overcome me, and I was at last lites
ally thrown from tba train who:
within about eighty-five miles c
Fayetteville, the place of my destina
?ion, und where I hoped io find m
poor, wounded brother?
Tho six. days' rations, which his
constituted the stare of my haversack
were now about exhausted;trot the si
dollars sad fifteen cents in silvei
which bad beipa stitched into th
hands of my clothing, was still intno
With that unfaltering r?solu tic
whioh finds ita place in the breast <
the true and tried veteran, I ?gai
took up ray marah through the dec
woods, going in the direction, ts nea
ly aa ? could determino, of Faye it
ville .Ina few hours I esme in
what had Leen a broad stag^t?
leading from Fayetteville to Newfeer
but it was now deserted. T '^pj^
an satire day along tbi? desolate tr ai
fisherman's army, and ssw not o:
living human being, horse, cow, h
or the tr?ok of any of theso. Abo,
tho only creature left to be seta
tho domestic animal kind was sn c
carioca!, now half wild, lonesoi
looktog, famisbcd and lost dog, whi
would invariably slink ?way althea
preach of th?^si?a?go^'?hind''- soi
bUokeoed chimney, the only reraai
ing ohjedt to indicate .tbejspot whe
a few weeks .before had resided soi
struggling.family of women and cfc
dreni,: who were existing roiRorab.y
homo, while father or son, or bc
were/, away fighting for thc oause
tho South and trying to beat back t
invading, foe.
To feel;, to witness,; lo \resli^wl
id tho true meaning of tho term,
"Warfarc'? Devastations," one must
have passed through tho country
which I then traversed and at the
time of which I writo. During the
long day's march over this broad stage
road, now overgrown with weeds and
grass that had crept up through in
terstice}* between the poleH and boards
of the old 'Otting plank roadway, that
led through this boggy section in
stretches of miles in extent, 1 felt the
awful significance of the spectaclo
around me. On all Bides were to be
nccn thc charred remains of once hap
py homes, the blackened chimneys
standing like gloomy memorials,
pointing toward Heaven in silent but
intense supplication, calling upon
God to witness the devastated path
way of one of the most hell-inspired
armies that over traversed the boun
teous land of a civilized nation. At
places along this road were to be seen
the bones of mon and animals, min
gled with tho fragment? of thc bluo
and grey uniforms of both armies,
which told of the oarnage that had
taken place there but a few weeks
before, and where the vultures and
the ravens, and tho wild and hungry
dogs and other denizens of the swamps
had held high revel over the carcases
of ail, and torn to shveda the clothing
of both the blue and the.grey.
After traveling about tweuty miles
the first day, the friendly darkness of
night ahnt out from view the day'?
pageant of horror, and I sank upon
the ground and soon fell asleep,
peacefully, despite the knowledge
that the coming of another day must
renew to ?ny eyes the terrible scene
of the devastation around me. M j
fatigue was puuh that nothing dis
turbid my slumbers during the night,
except occasionally when a chorno ol
plaintive hooting from the swami
owls and the pitiful howling of tin
lost and famished dogs that had taker
shelter in the wilderness oame to nij
ears with especial clearness and in
sistcnoe.
I was awakened by a singular pull
ing at my haversack, now ab ou
empty/ whilo a sound of sniffing
reached my ears. I sat up, and tb i
sudden sign of lifo in a mistake!
corpse caused a lank, half-starvei
dog to flee for his life, while a flool
of ravens in a tree-top near by-whiol
had no doubt been feasting sump
tiously upon the late carnage of Sher
man's march to the sea-croaked thei
disappointment at this same sign 0
life in what had' promised ano the
feast for thom and their kind. Th
moroiog- was foggy and d&mp?. Th
heavy dew drops, falling from th
trees, seemed like tears of deep soi
row shed over the surrounding seen
of desolation. If Sherman had nc
himself said that "nar ia bell," oh
who runs might have read ' .ere i
crimson, cruel and awful .guag
and in the remorseless hwadwritin
of Sherman across the face of tb
country, To me, as I gazed aroun
me, tbe firing of the guns of an,ac
vaooing army would have been a we
como rel?' -if, for the feeling of do pref
sion whioh came upon me, and wbie
Was akin to a state of halting pref e
once between life and) death, almoi
overcame me.
But the thought of uJacky," ns
brother, lying there at Paye tte vii
and perhaps moaning for the.'?gi
and the help of a brother, ?ad
thought of the mother at homo no
waiting anxiously and amid the u
certainty of whether she would ey
see either of us again alive, nerved n
onward; and I again took up n
staff to try to shorten, thc sixty mil
that still lay between me and n
wounded hrotlier. .1 Tho' second day
tramp was mainly ? repetition of ..tl
firs!, with the exception that -t
mind, nauseated as it were by the co
tinuouo Bpootable of horror, bec at
still more depressed. ^ At sandow
after a weary walk of tw?uty-fi
miles, I "waa in reality a worn-out a
very :siek man fiji \p?y as well 'as
mind. ' ; ' Still, ??ring thli^flra
sooond day, hot the sight of a sipj
haman being had como to bless 1
tired eyes, v And aa I sank down
nightfall the fear that I mi?ht not
abie te arise inthe morai og and tl
hore I shon'd die unknown, uaet&ei
cd and unseent my hedy td beac
the prey of hangry vultures, rev?
and wild ?dogs, tbe only apparent ;
hibitftota of ibis desolate count
Was acythingolso buta comforti
thought to a atqk . and tired bra
Weak of limb and faint, I leaned
a few moments against the roots oj
tree, theo fell over upon a bed of j
cat leaves possibly to pass eboa i
what might ebano*, to bo my % 1
sleep.
But the awful stillness, tho do?
ly silenoe of the twilight was sudd
ly broken to my ears, end I has!
aroused my del C from ?be isuristenoi
slumber. ' A distant human-Hke vt
had broken the stillness of tho bc
^Smild\ it bayo been tho cry of ? j
ther of the swamps? A alight c
passed over me aa tho possible 8i?i
cauco of auch a cry sank inte
mind." Bat I sprang to my feet
; listened again. Tuen ; my bo:
; swelled, ned touts' came to my ej
Tho gladdening sound ?f a. worn;
, ^Ica came fclcaliRg nthworl the a\
my ear, soothing my brain gently
with thc aweetneea of its call, for it
was saying: "Sookey, sookey, sook!"
A woman's voice calling to her oow,
far away through the forest. It was
home like, it was touching to my soul,
and I turned my footsteps in the di*
rcction whence it came.
Keerdug in thia direction I soon
cane into an open pathway, and along
this I continued my way as rapidly aa
i my bodily Bullering would allow, arid
presently came upon a small cabin,
made of polea, from whose rude etaok
chimney waa rising a faint oolumn of
smoke, giving to the surroundings a
moat humble but home-like appear
ance. It proved to be the hiding
plaoe of a mother and daughter who
had fled from the wrath of Sherman's
army, leaving behind every comfort
and every luxury of a once splendid
mansion, and taking with them noth
ing but the simple food? necessary to
sustain Hie, together with a faithful
cow, which they had' concealed in tho
swamp. And in this manner they had
escaped the horrors of the firebrand
and the humiliations ond profanations
; whioh they might have suffered at the'
hands of Sherman's beastly soldiers?
It would be hard to say on which side
lay tho balance of gratification at thia
meeting, whether upon mine for the
sight of theeo lonely women of otho
Confederacy with their heavenly
' facen and their eyes that expressed
i the groat soul-deep sympathy of fel
j low creatures in affliction, or upon
I theirs for the sight of a lad who wore
the tom and tattered, but still de
voutly' loved, grey. Not siuoe thc
passing of Sherman's army had these
women of refinement seed the face ol
1 a human being besides their own, foi
it was from thia lone cabin : a hard
day's walk to the nearest standing
habitation of man.
. I did not fully realize how utterly
i ill I waa until I had told to these wo
men tho story of tho South's defeat,
the tale of my present mission inte
the country and had utterly oollapsec
j for a, time, us?ble to speak, fron
choking tears of emotion at my wei
cerco there and from my bodily weak
ness. And my own emotion was no
greater: than that of these two womei
who, with motherly kindness and Oar
on the part of one, and sisterly sym
patbv and attention on the part of th
other, were glad to administer to th
? comfort of the sick stranger, bu
! brother in affliction, who had bee
thus suddenly throat upon their bonn
! ty. And when I had given the a3
dress of a mother who waa waitin
back there in South Carolin A for th
return of her ,son, or sons, hoggin
that she should bo notifica, should rh
illness prove ty tal here, their sympi
thy kindled anew ?and with a nolie
essence, and no restraint was put upo
the tears whioh coursed down thos
gentle cheeks.
In the true apiiifc oS hospitality an
patriotism, nowhere erse so abundan tl
demonstrated as among* the noble wt
men of the Confederacy, these two &>
iled swamp angels nursed rae fchrou -:
out the night, adtaiaistering the simp]
rem?dier- at their command ; and tl
moaning found me very much improi
ed, though still weak'and worn out
and it has always appeared to mo th,
the gods of wai fin a momentary apir
of humanity, had spured these, ttl
guardian angela to succor those of tl
hard-fought battle* who had gone t
thom in such sore" need, as had bee
mine, when I found them there in it?
gloomy and dismal swamp, on my Wi
to the rescue^ i ? possible, of still a
other Buifcrcr, my brother..
Af ter a light breakfast, suchas the
two lone souls bad to offer, and with
heart again overflowing', I bade my be
efactresses an emotional farewell at
again set out, .this timo '.upon ray la
day's walle toward .-''Fayetteyi?e, tra
oling during;tHo day through the bi
tie ground of the, last day's fightii
of tho Confederate war, wh?oh had c
our red even ?after tho eurreader
Gen. Leo,' and during which my br o t
er had boen osptured..? reached t
ferry oa Cape Fear Uiver about so
dowb^ For my. passage across t
stream the ferryman deman^jljta^
got :^ft^en cental the only / intfe
which"; ? paid : eut during tba ?nt
ionrne^ to and from the town of Fi
ettev.lle.
^riving; ia tho town I found tl
my brother had/alas, died about
week or,tea day a before. But I lea
ed witt aatisfaction that he had bi
pSrsed.'andeared for until the last
a baud of noble woxnoo, heaven
epired and whom the wrath and ri
of all the diabolism of Sherman's
my bf d?vastation could not shs
from their loyalty to and veherat
for the1, boya who wore thc grey, i
whose hearts could not he ihttmidai
v ?t is now more than forty ye
since I mada this journey, and I
call it as the *soH trying espert?
of ray^hnre \fieeyicfevd^ 'j
years of tho war ; and when I go h
in tay thoughts to tho wonderful ?
in that fight for the loafc cause :wb
waB'piayet? by the women o?. tb<s ?
fedoraoy, there 'invariably oorhe? v\
?gt r/iind thc. picture of tho lone ea
\n tho wilder boss of S?orth ?a?olt
.and (\? the two ewamp- augels, a.
.s?sll ev?/r deem" them ; and I ?tu
minded that tbvr?,' '.<>.>, appeared.
iii? pr?celc*s"U}>cfu?ue*??i Uvat patri?
I uui]uenchsb!e womanly spirit that 1
ils placo only ia the heart of the Con
federate women. There ie that'vast
swamp, inhabited only by the wild
things of the woodland, ravens, vul
tures and domestic dogs frightened,
famished and gooe back to the habits
of wolves and hyenas, lived these two
women, far from any human belog be
sides themselves ; bat in their breasts
existed that characteristic nobility and
bravery whioh has had an equal in no :
other civilized land. Ah, men may go, .
and the sons,of Confederate eoldiera
may pasa' the tomba of their fathers
by unnoticed, the darkest days of po
litical adversity may spread over thia
beautiful Southland of ours like a
pall, threatening to shut out the light
of the noonday aun, but the noble wo
men and the daughters of the Confed
eracy will never" forget to do honor to
the ?am? of the boya who wore the
grey. And the remaining stragglers
of the once heroie army, who are still
Lei? to-day, trust that in writing his
tory of and erecting monuments to the
memory of the Confederate soldier,
the women of the war may not be
forgotten by their daughters and their
sona.
It has been a deep regret of my life
that I failed to preserve the names of
the two women who nnrsed me that
night in the wilderness of North Car
olina. But my physical and mental
oondition wae such at the time that I
somehow failed to do this. I intend
ed to again seek the cabin On ruy re
turn and renew the acquaintance btigun
under aueh peculiar ciro um G tances, but
my desire to hurry home onoe more, to
relieve the anxiety of the loved ones
there, caused mb to take a short route,
whioh led directly from Fayetteville
to Raleigh*. In thia latter city the
foot-sore boy in grey actually drew
three days'rations from a Yankee
I commissary, the first bit of 'kindness
I he had ever received at the hands of
bia enemies.
' Boarding the first, train that came
i along I "hoboed" the entire return
j trip, by Greensboro and Charlotte, to
Chester, S. C., where I found the old
grey mare and the rickety old buggy
a ti 1.1 waiting for me, having .been well
j cared for by the friend with whom I
i had left them. By walking up-hill
and riding down-hill, and after another
i weary journey over rough roads, I
once more reached the old home, There
I wa* welcomed as one returned from
the dead,, for I had been gone an en
tire month, and the journey had boen
tho moot trying and the hardest ser
vice I badi beon called upon to render
during the whole war. .', V- i
As I have said I made this trip on
an expenditure of only fifteen ceais?
Where, I ask, is the professional
"hobo-" of to-day who could go over
fcho oamc- ground, starting with aix dol
lars and fifteen cents, and returning
after a month's abeeace with six (lol
lara oft the original money still intact?
Among a people v?Hh thc uofalter
ing pstrictis- is?si?h : eh?raoterised
thoao off thal day, one need not be
rieh- It waa the old faded. Confede
rate, uniform which constituted the
passport, whew money V7onld not have
counted.
J. C. Stribbliog,- .
Orr'? Ri fie B,. later Rutledge Mounted
l?fLemen. andi Horae Art?ll?ry, Tren-.
. holm's Squadron ? closed , services, :
^with?tb?, C. cavalry.
! --i
[ One of ?< the witnesses called ; in a? j
Chicago divorcio cas? last year was- a, .
highly respected - clergyman in the
Windy Cifty. 'According to one of"
the counsel in the ease tho follow
ing conversation took place between. ?
the judge and tho minister. .Saldi bia
honor:
? .'t?^r. Blank, ii you were on . *ho
bench ia my stead, abd wore , aa-;
o^uainted vvith all tho oirc'unatancea of
thia caae^ would you grant, thia di
wroetf'
^Assuredly, I would, Yo^r Hon
or," replied the clergy m aa , withou t
S the least, hesitation; -
. ,>Buiy'' said the jadge, "ho?? do
coffee withonl
blended coffeo
counters wm't do.
airtuiscrupi
you reconcile this assertion * with the
injunction o? Scripture, 'Whom God
hath joined let no mau put asun
der* ?"
"Your Honor/' responded the min
ister, with convincing gravity, "I am
quite 'satisfied that the Almighty
never joined this couple."-Harper's
weekly._ _? "
How the Captain Caught a Thief.
A clingy steamer was plodding down
the Mississippi. A boy' sat in the
stern, vainly trolling for catfish ia
the muddy water. It was so hot that
all the other passe agers were, below
asleep.
The steamer suddenly whistled, a
town of gray frame houses hove in
eight, and a bot young man wish a
big telescope valise' hurried up . tho '
companion way.
"i'll get off here, captain," he
said.
"your ticket ain't for here," the
captain growled. '
"I know, but I've changed my .'.
mind," said the youth.
A fer mibvfee later he and his
'.telescope valise" were landed on the
worm eat en Old wharf of the tows of
Cicero, and the dingy steamer was
ploddiug down the river again.
She bad gone about a mile when
another young man trashed from bo -
ow wild-eyed.
"My telesoopef" he criad. ?'Some
ne has stolen my telescope. There
was $1,700 in it."
The captain started. He looked
baok at Cicero,, which how lay hid-,
den behind a bend of the. river. He
called the mate, and told him to
cover the bow wit!* some Meek tar
ilia, to move certain pieces pf
cargo aft, and to tie some white can
vas around the ataoke. staok. Then
he turned the steamer around, and she
began to move-upstream toward Cicero
again. She looked like a different
boat.
At Cicero she stopped. On the de
serted wharf there was one person
the young, man with the telesoape who
had been landed there. He ieapeo
aboard, now* the boat warped oat
into the stream, 'sud then the. captain
appeared.
"?ello," sei?V the captain.
"Whjij.iuia ie tho same boat I--?".
The young man trembled.
"It certainly is," said the captain "
"and this) I-.reckon, is tho valise ? we
camtank for." ? ? . "'
? _J A. ..i..-?Li ?_?iiL\
UV VJIQUCU' VUQ. vujr;truvf|/c, vuu wa??
in, ia-a wallet, lay'the atoleu money.
The. ownon-readily identified his b&
?osgia?fljw Tho thjef was put in irons?
in the engine room.-Chioago ?hron
icle. : ' ?? v ' V. ' t/ ' .
StteJlygoaater Ham.
. A friend of ; Snol?ygo?ster Ham*, R1*??>
Georgia leo^arer, says- that oevoral
monthe^ ago that fun maker waa in
Chicago and had the misfortune- to
na,ve- his purse stolen, leaving bins
stranded. Ham was known ot tho
hotel and managed to get the pro
prietor to etako him until he got a
cheek from the lecture bureau. .
Tb? SaollygoaSter was feeling sore
when be ambled into a restaurant and
eodered dinner, asking the?. ' w'a|i|t'^
what was 'teal.'
\tL >Teai, Sir; thfct's dock/ wa* tho
answer. v '' ;'\ .
|p|I>uck?M s
" '..Yes. sir."
"Got wings?"'
? "Yes.-'sir."
"And could it fly?"
?yes,;eir." '
"Well, I dont;'want any, then.
Anytbing, that had wings,. and could
hyland didn't % out; of this,piok
pooket town, I don't want to have
i??yihiugtodqwith."
- Ho who is chased by a dog is apt
to bark bis ehins.
- Solitary and atony a hotel riaad
lo|rd is a hosi in hitssetf.
i cannot sxiako a good cup,?f
Oirty, adulterated auft q?e<*fy
??0.US dealers ehoy^pv^r to^
grire, olean, n^urafc fb?nstite? \
??et e?
ter of a fcentury kaVbaon dsaljr
ea?3 I
t?s ts. i^m?0^ivm^?&S^q^t?
an t??.ni?riuta? brtrtfcr? a<a4ry???& '??
I-VM??Asa Of Ool?YfatOf, *?4 ?it;.;
:"i?jrateif. " ???.
(S. -?tfn?yfctlW. w^l'pa?^?p)^
???:' y ? .>
^M^.?ricv. co.: r.f?'cd^jp3K|J