Houma Ceres. [volume] (Houma, Parish of Terrebonne, La.) 1855-18??, 1855-07-19
The Value of a Vote.
INCIDENT OF ARKANSAS LIFE.

IN Arkansas. Is copied iron the Spirit OF
the Times, for which paper it was written
by one of its numerous tacetious cores
pondents. 1t is, as the newspapers say.
IS too good to be lost ="
About the year 1910 politics ran very
high in Arkansas. Col. A. II. Sewer
was candidate for the office of delegate
to Congress, and Ben Desha was his op-
ponent.
Judge Andrew Scott was a warm friend
of Desha, and bitterly hostile to SEWER
He had neighbor living about fifteen
miles from him, on the far side of Galley
Creek, named Logan, commonly called
''stuttering Jim Logan who was exactly
'wice wersey" in his politics and SO fire.
quent had been his encounters. that the
two neighbors had come to cordially hate
each other.
One pleasant morning in Spring, when
the sun shone out warmly, and all nature
was green and fresh after heavy rain of
two or three days. duration, Logan went
down from his house, the little strip OF
bottom, to the bank Of the creek, and sat
himself down on click log" musing as
Col. Jack Mccarthy once said, son the
evanethenthe of all these thubludary
things" E-sslt4i7.r5 II .tznIe
The creek was about twenty yards
wide, and the rain had raised it so that it
was swimming, covered with foam, and
running like mill race with full head
of water. Where the road crossed, at
the edge Of which Logan was sitting, was
the only opening in the woods, which
fringed the stream on each side. Above
and below the trees leaned over and their
branches hung gracefully in the, water,
and swung to and fro in the swift cur
rent. ,..t ..
After Logan had sat there little while
Judge Scott came riding down the road
on the other side, but halted when he
reached. the waters edge, and looked
across without saying anything, but look
ed as if he thought !" "Dern you, if it's
swimming, why don't you say so Lo.
gan took out his jack-knife, split piece
off from the lick log, and commenced
whiting it, looking steadily across to-
wards Scott all the while. 49,. -.i.....,.
Logan was large, stout, heavy-look-
ing man; Scott small, wiry, passionate,
petulant, and as brave as bulldog.
After waiting moment-for each hated
the other tdo much to speak-Scott tight
ened the reins and rode. into the water.
His horse had not taken more that six
steps before he plunged in kerchung over
head and ears. Ina moment more Scott
was washed from his back; the rider
went one way, the horse another, and the
|saddlebags third. The horse turned to-
wards the side on which he went in, and
got ashore some little way below ; the
saddlebags floated on downstream and
Scott managed to reach Logan's side of
the creek, and caught hold Of the swing
ing branch of sycamore which dipped in.
to the water. ,ssasf,,,a..rs4 fl6 s. sl,as
Help, Logan ~ cried Scott. 81 shall
be drowned! Help"
"S-s.s.say you'll v-v.vote for Sewer !"
bawled Logans sssstise9 9l fsIsas e' in.
"Help, Logan, help! shall drown =
"S-s.s-say you'll y-y-vote for Sewer y
again bawled Logan, not rising from the
lick log. a, lasetssli,s4E.s 4 : .sa5a s. u
Just then the sycamore limb snapped,
and the same moment Scott sung out
"I'll see you d--d first, you Internal
old rascal!'' and away he swept round the
tree and out Of sight below, eddying round
in the concavity at the upper edge Of a
sand bar, upon which Scott was flung and
scrambled out. He walked up the bank
and towards Logan, suffering with rage
and streaming with water. Luckily, he
had no weapon but a pistol, and that was,
Of course, unfit for service /; and Logan
was too big to be whipped by him in
fair fist fight. u ...s.a.' s.sa.ssl IN 4s.liI
You old villain p cried Scott, as he
got pretty near him, ssdo you stop to ask
2 man how he's going to vote before you
save him from drowning - i= SD so
Logan never stopped whiting, but look.
ing composedly up. slowly said !: III
h Every gentleman has q right to Wv
vote as he likes, and d.d.drown when he
likes; and ! don't suppose anybody's
bound to dive into the creek to f.lish out a
v.v.yote to k.kill his own"