Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 211, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 September 1918 — HENRY P. CHILDERS WRITES OF SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY. [ARTICLE]

HENRY P. CHILDERS WRITES OF SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY.

Camp Shelby, Miss. Sept. 2, 1918. Dear Parents:—/ I will write a few lines this evening and tell you of my trip and the sights that I saw last Saturday and •Sunday at Gulfport, Miss. Gulfport is a very nite city situated on that part of the Gulf of Mexico known as Mississippi Sound. The sound is protected from the breakers by a chain of islands about twelve or fourteen miles out from the mainland. The Elks’ Home in Gulfport has been rented'and is being used as a club for the entertainment of the soldiers and sailors visiting the city. Every Saturday night there is a dance for the boys, chaperoned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. On Sundays the boys are invited to the various churches, and I attended the -First Methodist church, South, with a young lady, a Miss Carr, being invited by her and her cousin, from Georgia. Just before train time Sunday afternoon 'a lunch of somee kind js served to the boys. The hospitality of the Southern ladies has long been known to history, and I wish to say that the accounts have not been exaggerated in the least.

Sunday afternoon I went to the old home of Jefferson Davis where he lived and died after the war. A large number of people are of the impression, that Mr. Davis built the home. He did not, being the third owner of “Beauvoir,” as it is called. The house was started in 1852 and finished in 1853. Four years ago, an inmate at the home was one of the men who helped build the house from start to finish. - Today “Beauvoir” is used as a Soldiers’ Home, for all old Confederate veterans and widows, and is maintained by the state of Mississippi. I saw the bed, wash stand, dresser and writing table used by Mr. Davis. His daughter’s piano is still in use at the home. Several of Miss Winnie’s bedroom articles are still intact, but not used. AH of Mr. Davis’ books are just as he left them, in fact, nothing has been changed except to recover some old seats in the hallway, and the sword he carried in the Mexican war is there.

An old soldier, a Mr. Clark, who was bqrn in North Carolina, resided in Kentucky and fought with the Louisiana troops, was kind enough to show me around the home and grounds. The water supply is furnished by an artesian well 900 feet deep, and with pressure enough for a fire department that is maintained at tee home. The home is situated on the gulf and the salt breezes make it a fine place for the old soldiers and their widows to spend their last days on this earth. A full length portrait of Mr. Davis hangs in the old parlor, and is a good likeness of tee Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, of Illinois. I next visited the U. S. Naval Training station near Gulfport, and the grounds are beautiful. Most of the buildings have been erected by 'the state of Mississippi for tee celebration of their centennial. Anybody desiring to visit the station must have a guide, and the two sailors take delight in showing the visitors around. They live just as if on board ship except from the roll of a vessel. The trip is one of interest for a Eerson from the North, and especialj for the boys in the uniform from any place in the U. S. A. As I cannot think of anything else to write about I will close for this time. Write soon. Your loving son,

HENRY P. CHILLERS.

Wag. 137th E. A. Sup. Co., Camp Shelby, Mississippi.