Memoir 1, Page 115, Terrapins

"They thought this conscript law fully carried into effect would make the 'tarripins walk.'"

The terrapin is a small species of turtle native to the United States with particular density throughout the South. Terrapins were used by nineteenth-century Americans as a metaphor for slow-moving or stubborn objects. In other examples of this metaphor from the time period, the terrapin in question is commonly poked with something such as a hot brand as a means of moving it along. In this particular example, Woods is equating the poorer classes of the South to terrapins, in need of a prod to get them moving.