Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1853-11-18
"0hl Kentucky,
The hunters Of Kentucky. - Hestern Song.

| Some years since left Pittsburg in a first
| rate steamer, on my way to New Orleans. l
was bound up on rare trip Of pleasure, and, full
of health and the excitement consequent upon
/ it, was alive to every scene around and every
| character about me. And the characters upon
| our western waters, fifteen years ago, had more
| character in them; just as the scenes around
one had more Of nature in them than now, in
| as much as art had not displayed as much Of
| her power there as she has since; power
which, with enlightened laws and republican
institutions, is destined, as / believe, to make
the west the mode land of the world.
| One day, think it was the day after we left
Pittsburg, we saw white man. with black
| boy beside him, evidently designing to take
| passage, as the boy was waving, with might
and main, large handkerchief on the end of a
stick. Impatient that the steamboat, by her
! movements indicated no notice, on the part of
| her officers, of the signal aforesaid, the white
| man took the stick, which proved to be ram
| road from the hand of the negro, and, leaning
! on rifle which he held in his hand, waved it.
| with good deal of emphasis in his manner,
while we could hear his stcntorian voice lit
| was indeed stentorian, to reach us at that dis
tancc,) exclaiming-" Helo!"
| "Hello!" replied q voice from the upper deck
of our steamer, the Fort Adams.
"Its Samson" exclaimed the captain, who
was standing on the guards beside crowd of
| us "round to-"
No sooner said than DONE AS the boat ap-
preached the parties, Samson exclaimed
"Why, you are blind as horsebanket-
blind as your boat. / don'testand so low that
you can't see me, do Ia l! stand six feet
| four inches in my stocking feet, and | waved
this handkerchief as many feet over my head
besides"
"Who do you think is looking out for you
from the wheelhouse replied the pilot
"You're big enough to look out for yourself, and
you're big enough to be a snag, old felow-but
I'd rather see you on the shore than in the
river But | am keeping a sharp lookout
ahead, here-we hit snag somewhere about
here last time. How would you like to hire
out to Uncle Sam for lighthouse? A little
more liquor and your face would go without
any other light
"Ha, Rogers, is that you, you thief, you?
That's q Joe Miller-you stole it from old Fal
staff in the play, about that chap whose nose
lit him up the hill at night. hope you don't
extend your thieveries to other matters"
"1t's no thievery Kentuck," replied Rog-
ers, "it's only like parsons text, which any
body has the right to apply--well applied, |
l drawed the inference, old boy"
"Yes," replied old Kentuck, as he was
called, "you'll have bee line drawed upon you
some of these days. in consequence of that
tongue of yours; everybody that knows you,
knows that yours is no SANDER; but never
| mind you'll meet with stranger, some of these
short days. and that will be like snag to your
| boat By this time our yawl had received old
Kentuck, and / saw the black boy deposit the
travellers trunk in it, while that individual de-
posited piece Of silver in his hand, which gilt
/. ~. ! +bo H. l. aI
occasion.
"Take care of yourself Pomp, and mind
what told you.'
ayes, Master Samson, you pend pom me;
there's no mistake in this niger"
"That's tall man." said to the captain, as
Old Kentuck sprang upon the deck, rifle in
hand.
"Tall," rejoined the captain; "well, he's tall
in q good many ways; he's what we call
'case.' He's pilot going down to New Or
leans to bring the Emperor up, as he wrote me.
I've been expecting to find him somewhere
along shore here"
Soon the Kentuckian was up stairs, shaking
the captain by the hand in the most cordial
manner Old Kentuck was certainly char
acter. He wore pair of pants, with enor-
nous stripes in them; a most preposterous pat
tern his vest was Of rich silk, of a gorgeous
fashion, while around his neck he had cross
barred neckcloth of black and red, tied in
curious kind Of knot, in which he seemed to
pride himself A loose frock-coat, brown, and
with brown velvet collar thrown back, covered
his body, while his head was adorned with a
huge foxskin cap, with the tail OF Reynard fan
tastically curled about it. But the face of the
stranger was certainly attractive. Across the
abroad Atlantic of his countenance," as some
one said of Charles James Fox, there played a
continued sunshine of cheerfulness and good
nature; at the same time that his clear blue eye
and the occasional compression of his well-de-
fined lips, showed q nature that might be walked
up to desperate deeds.
"Samson, does that Pomp belong to you?"
ayes, sir-ee-why2"
~ want hand"
"Well, you can take him, and give me what's
right-hal hal Capting, do you know Pomp's
father old Dave2"
"Yes." ...
"Well, the old rascal has turned Mormon; he
sees sights and has visions, and talks about an
other book Of Mormon. He's great on fore
knowledge. The other day Dave comes to me
with the most awful face you ever saw ngger
carry, and said he wished to spake to me apart.
Apart went with him, and after G glanclng
around fearfully and with an ominous look, he
conscience to tell YOU Whats that, Dave?'
Why, master, you don't believe in the book Of
Mormon and visions, but my duty to You is
nevertheless my duty That's good, Dave
replied; there's Christianity in that ! Master,
there's Mormon in it, and the truth is, I've had
a dream now for the third night in secession
and being, rs you always have been, o good
master to me, aud kind, thought l ought to
tell you that, according to them three dreams,
dreamed three nights in secession, | shall die
next Sunday night, and see Joe Smith to a
certainty well, Dave says /, Il am very
much obliged to you-seeing that your ends SO
near, it's qualification for me to know that
have been good master to you-a great graft
fication, as you are near your end; and being,
Dave, as, you know, you cost me six hundred
dollars, and can't afford to lose you, as it is
agoing to please the Lord to take you on Sun