The railroad track had advanced considerably, and in the Fall of the
year, 1866, had reached Bartow, No. 11. My partner for some time had
taken charge of the team while I attended to the store. Once he came
home badly bunged up and a knife cut on his cheek. I said, What has
happened? He said he had some difficulty with the Agent and they double
teamed on him. So I remarked, Well, you can send Perry without you
going. I wrote to the agent asking him to deliver to the bearer, Perry,
a load of my merchandise then in his possession, to check off the same
and send me a list. We had at that time two car loads on the track for
the firm. When Perry returned he failed to bring the list, his wagon
being loaded with corn and every sack ripped more or less. I said, How
come you to accept merchandise in that condition. He answered, the sacks
were allright when I took them out of the car, it was after they were
loaded one of them fellows, a white man named Smith, run around the
wagon and cut the sacks and I spilled lots of corn. I picked up some of
it and put in that sack, indicating a sack ¾ full. I said, Do you know
the man; would you recognize him again if you were to meet him? Oh yes,
Marse Ike. Saturday morning I took charge of the team and my partner
remained at the store. I took dinner and fed my mules at my friends' Mr.
B. G. Smith, to whom I stated the facts as told to me. He said, be
careful, don't be too hasty. I said, Right is right and I don't want
anything but my rights, and those I am going to have before I return.
We arrived at our destination about four o'clock p. m. The Sherman
contingency had burned the warehouse as they did all the others along
their march. Consequently the railroad Company used passenger cars on
the side track to transact their office work, while freight cars served
as a warehouse until discharged of their contents. As I entered the
office car a young man met me. I remarked, Are you the agent? He said,
No, Mr. Mims is at Parson Johnson's house. What is your name? My name is
Smith. Then you are the scoundrel that mutilated my goods, and I
advanced. He run out of the door and slammed it to with such force that
he shattered the glass panel into fragments. When I came out to where
Perry was, he said, That's the fellow that cut the sacks, there he goes.
Well Perry build a little fire by the side of this car for here we will
camp until some one returns to deliver us the freight. The sun had set
below the horizon and it had begun to get night, when Mr. Tom Wells, an
acquaintance of mine, approached me. He was an employee of the railroad
company also. Well Ike, old fellow, how are you getting along? All right
Tom, how are you? I am all right. What brought you here, said he? I said
business, I have goods here if I can find an agent to deliver them. I
heard you came here for a difficulty, said he. I remarked, It seems I am
already in a difficulty, I can't get any one to deliver me my goods.
Well, I will tell you, Mr. Mims is a perfect gentleman. I am glad to
hear it. Do you know him? No, I have never seen him, but up to now I
can't have the same opinion of him that you have. I have not been
treated right and I came here for justice. He said, Well, let me tell
you; there are about forty employees here, hands and all, and they will
all stick to him, right or wrong. I said, I came here to see Mr. Mims
and I intend to stay here until I do see him, if it takes me a week.
Well Ike, if you promise me that you will not raise a difficulty I will
go after him and introduce you to each other. I said, Tom, there are
other ways to settle a difficulty without fighting if men want to do
right. Well I will go for him; I know Mr. Mims is going to do what is
right, and you too. Mr. Mims came presently, and a whole gang following
him. I said, Mr. Mims, it seems you and my partner had a difficulty. I
do not know the cause and I do not care to know. He said you fellows
double teamed on him and he got worsted in the fight. To avoid a
recurrence of the difficulty I sent my driver to you and a note. You
ignored my note and sent me a load of corn with all the sacks ripped
open, more or less, with a knife in the hands of one of your employees.
I berated my man for accepting goods in that condition and he stated to
me how all of it was done. I am now here to see what can be done about
it. I have never done you any injury to be treated in that manner. He
said, Mr. Hermann, I am sorry it happened. I will see that it will not
be done again. I said, Have you discharged the fellow who did it? He
answered, No, not yet. I said, Well, I demand that it be done now. And
what about the damage I sustained. He remarked that the road would run
to Tennille by next Wednesday, a distance of 25 miles, and he would
forward my two car loads of freight free of charge from Bartow to
Tennille. I said that was satisfactory. I wanted to load my wagon; he
said, we do not deliver goods at night. I answered that if he had been
at his post of duty on my arrival I would have had plenty of time to
load and be on my way back, and I wished to load up at once for the
morrow being Sunday I did not want to be on the road. He delivered the
merchandise and Perry and I passed Sunday with my friend B. G. Smith,
who was glad matters passed off as they did. Monday morning we took an
early start and by twelve o'clock I was at home. That was my last trip
as a wagoner, but not as a soldier, as the sequel will show.