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Arts and Entertainment The Grits Eaters - Chapter 7 (A Novel by Clarence Love Morrison, Jr.)
Arts and Entertainment The Grits Eaters - Chapter 7 (A Novel by Clarence Love Morrison, Jr.)
Written by Clarence Love Morrison, Jr. Friday, 23 December 2005 04:22
The Grits Eaters
A Novel
by Clarence Love Morrison, Jr.
A Novel
by Clarence Love Morrison, Jr.
CHAPTER 7
ON THE ROAD
ON THE ROAD
Time passed. Days became weeks and weeks became months as they slowly moved toward their first objective, which was Atlanta, Georgia. It was apparent that winter was fast approaching. Traveling was slow in their weakened condition.
Once a farmer who had given them a ride on his wagon asked if they would like to accompany him the short distance to his home. He had become quite friendly as they traveled and soon began to sympathize with them. He made the offer when they reached the road to his farm. "It's only a short distance up this road and you could lay over a few days and rest, " said the farmer. "We could feed you some good country rations and I suspect this, combined with rest would do you a lot of good and prepare you for the remainder of your trip."
After discussing the offer amongst themselves, it was accepted and they stayed several days, recuperating and enjoying the nourishing food the farmer's wife served them. They attempted to repay the couple by assisting with the chores and other tasks that needed to be done. Soon the couple quit starting new projects, only performing chores that were absolutely necessary. They knew the former prisoners should rest and regain their strength if they intended to walk the rest of the way to Florida, which was still several hundred miles away.
Presently, refreshed from the rest and the rehabilitating food, they resumed their journey. It was difficult to leave these kind people who had opened their home to them and provided the best treatment anyone had offered during their trip.
After what seemed like an eternity, they approached Atlanta. The terrible devastation and destruction they began to observe was both shocking and sickening. Much of the city had been destroyed and they soon realized that the troops under General Sherman had destroyed several large portions of the city which did not have any military value whatsoever. This was the fortunes of war. They soon realized that had the Confederate army been successful in their invasion of the northern cities, no doubt much of this same type of havoc would have been extended to any city that had attempted to stop the advance of a Confederate army. Sadly, much of the destruction appeared to have been unnecessary They now began to wonder if the remainder of the South had suffered the same terrible destruction they were observing here in Atlanta.
After looking about for a place, they chose a location near a corral. The Union army had established this some distance from habitation to provide a secure area in which to confine horses, mules and a few cattle which ran wild following General Sherman's infamous march through Atlanta and on to the sea. Here, they could be detained until some disposition could be made. Arch and his companions noted that only one Union soldier provided the security for the area and this post was changed only once each twenty-four hours. The guard change was made each afternoon around six o' clock. They speculated that this might provide the opportunity they needed to acquire transportation for them to reach home more quickly than walking the remaining distance. It would mean stealing at least three or four animals from those confined in the corral. Four would provide an animal for each man and a pack animal to carry the supplies they hoped to obtain. Before they gave the idea serious consideration, they would have to solve their most pressing problem of finding enough food for the remainder of their trip. When this problem had been solved, they would worry about the horses. Each day their thoughts returned to the confined animals. They hoped that no disposition of these animals would be made before they had the chance to steal a few.
The food problem was soon solved when a kindly old gentleman approached them with a proposition to furnish them food in exchange for work. This opportunity seemed too good to be passed up and they mutually agreed to work for seven days in exchange for adequate food to sustain them during their employment. When the seven days were up, he would give them the food they needed for their journey home. Each day they worked early morning until late in the afternoon and each afternoon the old man would give them a small amount of flour, salt, corn meal, cured meat and a little coffee. The seventh and final day, they completed the assigned work in the afternoon and when they arrived at the old gentleman's home they were met by a black women who they assumed was his maid or cook. She informed them that their employer had gone to Savannah, Georgia and wouldn't be returning for several months. When they asked if he had left anything for them she informed them he had not. Sorely disappointed and extremely angry, they left and returned to their camp.
As they prepared their afternoon meal they discussed the situation, cussing the old man constantly. Finally, after long hours of pondering over the matter, a decision was reached and a plan devised.
Each day when the old man had given them their food he had gone to a barn-like building in the rear of his home. After unlocking the door, he would go inside, leaving them to wait until he returned with the promised food. It was understood this building was the storehouse which contained his supply of food, so the old bastard would be surprised when he returned to discover they had collected their wages on their own. He had not intended to live up to the bargain they had agreed to originally, but they would see that his end of the agreement was kept that night.
Late in the night, after the moon had gone down, Arch and his companions approached the dark house. It appeared to be unoccupied. Going to the rear of the barn-like structure, they tried each window and door but found none of them open, so they pried loose several boards. They entered the interior of the building. Being careful not to make any noise, they soon found the barrels that contained the corn meal and flour and removed the amount they had been promised. Hanging in an area which was walled off to serve as a smoke house, they found hams, shoulders, and sides of cured meat. Nearby was a coffee mill and several lard cans of roasted coffee beans, along with cans of salt and sugar. When the amount of food they had been promised had been collected and placed in burlap bags they left, being careful to replace the boards they had removed. Unless someone looked very carefully, their intrusion would not be detected.
Arch told his companions, "I only wish I could run into the old bastard one more time. I think I would introduce him to Mrs. Sharp." Both of his companions knew he was referring to that long straight razor he always kept in his shirt pocket. Many times they had discussed that razor, wondering where Arch had acquired such an instrument, and how he kept it so sharp.
The next day they rested all morning, going over their plans to steal the four mules they had already picked out. They waited patiently until after the guard change that afternoon before making their move. They had asked several other Confederate soldiers who were camped nearby if they would gather at the end of the corral at the furthest point from the guard's station. They were to create a disturbance to divert the guard's attention. While this was going on, Arch and his two companions would slip up behind the unsuspecting guard and mug him. They had no intention of hurting the man, only render him incapable of sounding an alarm or interfering and preventing them from stealing the four mules.
Everything worked out exactly as had been planned. While Arch tied and gagged the guard, the other two caught the mules and began to saddle three after they had secured their supplies and other belongings on the fourth mule. When Arch returned, he was carrying the guard's gun, a 50 caliber rifle and the ammunition pouch, knowing full well that if he were caught he would be promptly hanged. His desire for the gun was worth the risk, and they had already committed enough offenses which would warrant their execution if caught. Arch told his companions, "What the hell? They cain't hang you but once, so what have we got to lose? If we are caught, I plan to send a few of the blue bellies to hell with this gun before I die."
As they were leaving they called to the other Confederates who were watching and told them, "Help yourselves." They knew full well that when the next guard change occurred not a single horse or mule would remain in the corral. All they would find was a tied up guard who would have suffered through the long period which would pass before he was discovered. The Union army would have many trails to follow after they discovered what had happened. Perhaps they wouldn't be pursued, but if they were, the trail would be many hours old.
Skirting the main parts of Atlanta, they were careful to avoid any route that might result in an encounter with the Union army patrols. By dawn the next morning, they were many miles south, and getting closer to home as each hour passed. While there were Union outposts in nearly every town of any size, they still found people who were sympathetic to their plight, and warned them when they were in danger of encountering the Union army patrols. Those people would hide them and feed them until the danger of being discovered had passed, and then would often serve as guides helping Arch and his companions avoid those roads which were constantly being patrolled. They would show them short cuts around towns and provide other information that might be helpful. Occasionally they would be required to hide in someone's barn for a day or two when efforts of the Union army were intensified. The further south they progressed, the stronger support they received from the populace and now it appeared they would soon be home. It had been so long since any of them had heard from home, and they constantly wondered what had happened to their families. Each anticipated a most joyous occasion when they reached their long sought destination. These thoughts were always on their minds and this fueled their eagerness to reach home as quickly as possible.
At night, when they camped in the woods away from the roads, they would sit around the fire and discuss the different battles they had participated in, sharing their experiences. In all of these discussions, no reference was ever made to the events that had occurred on the day they had been released from prison. It was like a bad dream which none of them had any desire to reflect upon. The terrible acts they had been forced to commit haunted them, but each handled his problems in his own way, never imposing his guilt on his companions.
Sometimes, Arch's companions noticed him sitting and staring into the fire, brooding and reliving events of the past. These memories were so horrible that he couldn't dismiss them from his mind. From the expressions flickering across his face, it appeared that he was reliving a battle and the actions he had performed. He would be transfixed, his face reflecting fear, joy, sorrow and anger. His companions never tried to talk to him during these times, for they, too, had their share of these moments.
Arch was always kind to his companions and only occasionally spoke to them in a harsh manner when something they did or said had irritated him. Both of his companions accepted him as their leader, and the relationship that evolved amongst them was something that is seldom achieved between individuals. It couldn't easily be explained, but it developed so strongly that it would continue throughout their lives, and no action by any of them would weaken this bond. Many years later an event would occur that would test the strength of this bond, and it would be found to be just as strong as when it evolved. The only thing that would terminate the connection between these three men would be their death.
The closer they came to their homes the stronger their desire became to see their loved ones. They constantly wondered how their families were living and how they were coping with the hardships they knew were facing them. Soon they became careless. Arch took it upon himself to once again remind them of the importance of always being watchful so as to avoid being captured by either a Union patrol or some of the local officials of the areas they were traveling through. These local officials were composed mostly of riff-raff, carpetbaggers, freed slaves and the traitors of the South who had refused to support the Confederate government. Such people would show them no mercy if they were caught. No doubt they would be hanged on the pretext they had either committed some crime or were attempting to commit some act against the local government. Their animals were branded with a big "U S" which indicated they were property of the Union army and probably stolen. This would be all the evidence such people would need to justify hanging them. Through contacts with some of the locals they had been able to trust, they had learned of terrible acts which had been committed against residents by some of these unscrupulous people. They knew they needed to move carefully, and only when they were sure they could avoid those who now controlled the local governments. Long ago they had agreed to resist as strenuously and fearlessly as possible if they should be approached by one of these groups, knowing that the one rifle was the only weapon they possessed.
Only once did Arch and his companions encounter any of these people, and the threat they posed was quickly dispelled when the intruders realized these three would not be easy prey. These had been only six in the group. They were on horses and being lead by an individual who apparently had never encountered any resistance. Unsure whether these three would surrender or fight, he had displayed indecisiveness. This indicated he was not sure of himself, and his questionable actions confirmed this.
Stopping some distance away , the men watched Arch and his two companions, and saw that they appeared to be armed and ready. From a safe distance, the group asked Arch and his fellow travelers if they would like to join them. When their offer was declined, they quietly rode away without giving them any problem or further trouble. The guns they thought they had seen had been only the one gun Arch had stolen from the guard, and two pine poles they had cut and fashioned to look like guns from a distance. The ploy had worked, and as the men rode away, Arch and his companions couldn't help but be amused by their own wit.
They came to an area near the Florida/Georgia border which Arch remembered as a child. This was where he had been born and raised the first few years of his life. His mother was buried at the little church, and he asked his companions to stop long enough for him to visit her grave. Neither had any objection, and both accompanied him to the grave site. Later they stopped at the house Arch had been born in. After conversing with the current residents he learned that some of the people he remembered from the area had moved and now also lived in Florida. One person who he specifically remembered was a man who he was told had settled in the part of Florida near where his father had located. He filed this information away, and planned to look this man up when he arrived home. This individual had been a staunch supporter of his family, even to the point of helping his father on several occasions when the old man couldn't accomplish certain tasks without help from someone else. Arch planned to offer to assist him in some of his work as repayment for the kindness he had shown his father.
Late the next afternoon they reached the outskirts of Tallahassee, the capitol of Florida, which really wasn't much of a town. They observed that it was absent of the signs of war being fought there. They later learned that this was the only state capitol east of the Mississippi River that the Union army failed to capture. They noticed Union soldiers patrolling the area, but were not approached or questioned. They decided the war hadn't reached this region as there were no signs of the devastation they had seen in Atlanta.
Shortly after they had passed through Tallahassee, Pit, Arch's companion from Jefferson County, decided to leave the group. His home was to the southeast, and to continue with Arch and Pat would be out of his way and only stand to make his trip longer. The decision to leave his companions who he had been with for all these years, the ones who had suffered with him during the many trying times, was a very difficult one to make. But his ever-growing need and intense desire to see his wife and children overrode his reluctance. After a final handshake and many promises had been made did he turn his mule in the direction which would be the most direct route home. The men parted with tears in their eyes.
The remainder of the trip was uneventful, and the two remaining travelers parted company later that afternoon near the county seat. It was a little community composed of nothing more than a wooden courthouse and a few dwellings, with two stores and a print shop. Again it was with sadness that these two parted company, and now Arch continued his quest to reach home and see his father.
Pat had offered to accommodate him for the night, but his desire to reach home and see Pa was too great for him to stop and delay their reunion. The few miles which faced him would be covered long before midnight. With tears in their eyes they said good-bye, and now Arch was alone. He prodded his mule, anxious to cover the remaining miles as quickly as possible, for he just couldn't wait to see Pa. It had been so long and now it appeared he would soon be home.
About the Author
 |
Clarence
Love Morrison, Jr. is a native of Wakulla County,
Florida. He was born in Sopchoppy, Florida on June 28, 1927, and
raised in Crawfordville, Florida. He now resides on Lake Ellen in
Medart, Florida. He is a true Wakulla County individual who has
lived in the county his entire life, except for a brief period during
the latter part of World War II when he served as a merchant
seaman. Following an accident which left him partially crippled,
he became an
employee of the State of Florida and retired after 35 years of
service. He is married to the former Wilhelmina White and they
are the parents
of three children, and the prould grandparents of 10 grandchildren. A natural storyteller, Morrison can entertain for hours with tales of his ancestors and the history of Wakulla County. This book is a work of fiction, but it is based on the life of Morrison's grandfather, Archibald Graham Morrison. |
This chapter originally published on December 22, 2005.
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