South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1835-02-28

you say let 1t be what it will but
cant help telling you what ] think a.
bout it.
My rule is never to throw good mo-
ney after bad. And Pm kinder think
ing if them felers amt honest enough
to pay for the wine we might az well
let em 60, for / dom. believe We shall
get any thing out Of them if we go toI
making reprisals upon EN-. At that
time the Gineral began to grow little
wrathy, and says he, Sargent Joel, ]
thought you had more sense before,
what's all that to the purpose 7 Is that
any reason why should submit to q.
ny thing wrongs Very well, says /,
Gineral, Pm ready to do any thing you
say about it. Well then, off coat, says
he, and we'll have brush but what
we'll have our pay. So we took off our
great coats and laid EN- on the hand.
sled, and took after EN- full chisel. We
soon got In among EN-, for they didn't
seem to try to keep on. of our way al
ny; and the Gineral told 'em if they
was a mind to pay for that wine it was
we'll and good, if not he should take his
pay pretty quick. Some of em laugh
ed, and some Of EN- swore little, some
said they guessed they'd pay for i,
some of these day, and some said they
found the wine and had right TO it,
and would never pay cent of it, and
if we wanted any pay we might take it
where we could catch il.
At this the Gineral rared right up,
and says he Sargen, Joel, there's Moth
ing else for US TO do but to make re-
prsals upon these feilers, so 60 ahead.
They've got two or three hand sleds
among 'em and an axe OF two, and
some biscuit and cheese, and one no.
ton and another, let us take what we
can catch.-So he pulled foot after one
of the felers that had a sled, and / af-
ter another. We got hold of EN-, and
all the other fellers came round aud be.
gun TO kick up row.-As the gineral
was Juggling away at one Of the sleds, a
Teller came up behind him and knock.
ed his hat off and catched it and run.
AT this / took after him to try to gel
the gineral's hat again and bucklsd to
it so sharp that fell down and the
wind blew my hat of, and before l
could get TO it, aloag came another
chap and catched my hat and rum
Then the gineral dropt the sled that he |
was scrambling after and come to help
me, but before we could get up with
them that had the hats, they all got
pretty near together, and were swing.
ing their axes and their sleds round at
SIGH rate, that l didn't think il was
safe to 60 near EN-. And I told the
glneral that thought they were too
many for US, and we better retreat. II
No, says he, Sargent Joel, that's what
| never do. ! tell you that will never
submit to what is wrong. And while
we were parleying about it, we hap
pened to look away over to the shore
where we had left our sled, and there
was one of the chaps that had SLED
way off while we were tussling about
the hats, and was pulling foo. down
the river with our hand sled as fast as
horse could run.
Now, says I, GineraI, we are nicely
dished, for there goes our hand sled,
great coats Sc all. We both sprung to
it, and pulled after him spell, but
he'd got such start at US, we found
he would get clear to Alexandria be-
fore we could overtake him, and SO we
gave up that chase and when we came
to turn back after 'tother chaps, for the
Gineral declared he'd have il out oil
some of'em, they had cleared out and
had got ashore and were out of sight.
And then We stopt and stood and
looked in each others faces as much as
five minutes, and never said word.
1t was bitter cold, and there we we're
number of miles down the river, and
no hats nor great coats. AT last the |
Gineral put on queer kind of pucke.
~ look, and says he, Sargent Joel,
what do you think is best to be done ?
Well says l, Gineral, if you wan, my
opinion about it, the best advice can
give, is TO tie our pocket handkerchiels |
over our heads and make our way
home as fast as we can, for / believe
IFS getting to be towards morning, and |
Pm sure should feel ashamed to be
seen going up through Washington this
cold morning bare headed and without
any great coat on.
The Gineral stood about minute
considerin, at last says he, Sargent Jo-
Ell, don't know but you are about RICH.