Weekly miners' express. (DuBuque, Iowa) 184?-1849, 1848-12-19
THE LEFT HANDED FIDDLER.
BYeJERRY NoBs


Every body out here in the west has
either seen or heard OF Gov. l. 80 ----.,s
Black Bob," as he is famiiarly called BY
his constituents. He is the most famous
electioncerer in all Kentucky. His pop
ularity is unbounded, and believe he has
never sustained a defeat before the peo-
ple..r lie is a noble, generous fellow pos
sessing fine talents and an inexhaustable
fund Of humor. nao.Gtf. ana I'D ) ...Enr
1t would ''do you good,' hear one Of
his popular harangues. The blues Hy be-
fore the light Of his wit, as the mist be.
fore the sun. His career has not, how.
ever been without difficulty, and at times
he has been Sc pushed as 10 save himself
only by the "skin Of his teeth'' y5,al ~
we'll remember the celebrated Con-
grcssional canvass between Gov. T.
and Mr.. G.. In this instance the Cover
nor had a competitor "worthy of his steel,
Mr.. G was man of talent and tact, and
it required all the ingenuity of Gov L. 20
manage him. 1t was evident, from the
commencement Of the contest, that tho
race would be an unusually close one.
All depended upon the vote of one ofthc
mountain counties of the district whittier
both candidates directed their steps few
days before the election. They met at a
great barbecue, where nearly every citi-
zen Of the county had congregated. l
suppose Mr.. Blade, you have never been
present at western barbecue. Well
shall not now attempt to describe one.
Suffice it TO say that it is unlike any gath
ering you ever witnesse1in Yankee land.
Eating, drinking, "speechfying,'' and
dancing are the order Of the day The
dadce is carried on out Of doors, under
the shade Of the thick growing forests
not in heated close rooms, but where the
delig htlul breezes of heaven fan the brow,
and give elasticity and vigor to the limbs
fthe young and gay, as they strip it
on the light fantastic toe'' ID a..
swell, as before stated, it was at one
Of these Stree and casyn gathe rings. that
the two rivals met. On the stump. Mr..
&. couldn't ''hold GAMBLER to Black Bob.
He was literally inundated by the ready
wit and brilliant repartee Of his 'ssooly''
competitor. But he possessed an accom-,
plishment to which Gov. L. was al
most a stranger. He was fine musician;
and after the speaking was concluded,
Mr.. e. took violin in his hand, and
gently and sweetly drawing the bow a.
cross the strings, in moment the woods
were vocal with the merry laugh, and
the ground trembling beneath the dancing.
feet of the gay and happy throng. -
1t was plainly to be seem before the
lrst dance was over, that cat. gut was in
the asccndency, and that the friends Of
Gov. L.-were rapidly deserving him
Scarcely half an hour had elapsed, sere
the hitherto unconquerablc Black Bob
stood alone, gazing in melancholy
mood upon the triumph of his antagonist.
The ladies eyes sparkled brightly as Mr..
e. busliy piled the bow, while the men
expressed their admiration in loud and
repeated hurrahs. This was "a trying
m nlent for old Bob but his faithful gen
Jus was not long in inventing plan by
which to extricate himself from an un-9
pleasant dilemma. Calling Tom Buster
|-Iom was leader in that region, and
decidedly some was Tom Buster-he told
him that he had a confidential communi-
cation to make, but which he did not wish
to be mentioned to any one. Of course
Tom promised to keep dark, and the
Governor began:
ado you OBSERVE" said he, :thatG.--
plays the fiddle with his left hand?"
ayes do, but then he is lett handed"
''Not bit Of it. | know him we'll,
have heard him play thousand times,
and down in the valleys and among the
rich arlsocrats Of the town, he always
plays with his right hand, and most SPLEEN
dld music he makes, too; but he thinks
lett handed music good enough for you
mountain boys. IF you speak to him a.
bout it, of course he'll deny it, but | tell
you it is true. .. ... .s...f' ..l..s an 81
swell, cuss him, we'll have no more Of
his left handed musicale shall give US
some Of his best ticks. DRILL be--if he
shall stay in, these diggins," roared the
infatuated Tom 80 ,DhaJ ..al4a2gl5 d
Walking in front of Mr.. g., he seized
him by the ARM, told him, in loud and
commanding tones, to stop his left
handed work.. and give them touch Of
the right sort. In vain Mr.G. declared
he could not play with his right hand-in
vain heprotested and implored. The in I
dignant crowd, sympathising with Tom,
and wounded in their pride by the trick
ofthe aristocratic fiddler, gathered around
poor G. and cried aloud for right. handed
music. ,.,r. .r .y.llr.. =; ga. a(yis lai10mo
The storm Jwaxed louder, and the ex-
element swclled higher, until finally the
discounted fddlea, concluding pru-
dence was the better part of vaIor, beat
haasty retreat, leaving old Black Bobsole }
possessor Of the field. Thus was the bait
tie fought and the victory won. "A, the :
election a week later, nearly overy vote
in that county was cast for Gov.lL.lo sssu
How unce rtain are all human calcutta
tons! The very plans that promise the
brightest success often, as was the case
with the lelt7handed fiddler, becomes the
means Of our destruction. 'quq lass sG211sG
aggri e..zg9IL9 en-. Yankee Blade. xY|