Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1856-04-08
THE OLD WEST.


The Rev. Mr. Milburs, the blind preacher
IN his last lecture upon :" western mind, humo
and eloquence,' relates the following auecdote
illustrating pioneer life in the west
The early men of the west were strenuou,
men. Trained as they We're in peril, their gen.
eral demeanor was perhaps some what grave anc
saturine. Their usual demeanor was character
lied by composure and self-possession. Still
they had a keen sense and enjoyment of humo,
and fun but even this was marked bv some.
thing direct and practical.
There ia story told of negro, who in com.
pany with a band of whites, was pursuing :
party of Indians-for the negro fought side bv
side with the whites. They at length came in
sight of the Indians when tie leader of the
whites, perceiving that his company was fan
outnumbered, gave the signal 10 fall back All
obeyed except one wLite man and black Sam
who crept cautiously from tree to tree towards
the savages. Sam at last caught sight of the
head Of an Indian lust raised above a log tc
watch the proceedings of the enemy. In mo.
ment the rifle eff the black man was at his
shoulder ard. It's contents We're discharged into
the brain OF the Indian, with the words Oar
take dat to remember Sam, the black white
man."
The grim sententiousness of this humor ot
these western men, was not unlike the few
good things said by the Indians. Of these the
best that has come under my notice is recorded
by Col. Thorpe, the keenest delineator among
us of southwestern humor-It belongs to the
time Of the great earthquake of IS11-l2, which
| dpStrQVn1 Mad Il oh
in the Mississippi country An Indian was OBJ
served by white man, with arms folded and
gazing at the devastation
We'll, Indian asked the white man, q what
do you think all this means ?"
" Great Spirit, whiskey too much," replied
the Indian laconically
The reply was uttered in solemn tone as
though the red man was convinced that with a
Manitou given to whiskey, there was an end to
all the worlds hopes. This theory seemed to
him perfectly adequate on any other terrible
phenomena
Still another example of the practical fun of
the southwest, is related by my friend Judge
Longstreet, of Georgia. He was once riding
past thicket in " dark country" when he
heard sounds which denoted that terrible fight
was going on. He could see no one, but voices
were audible enough. Come on, I'll show you
who is the best man You can lick me. kin
you z" Yes l kin" "You try it then :"
And then ensued sounds as of fierce and hot
ly conte sted fight, with cries for fair-plav,
shouts Ind halloes from the spectators At last,
one voice exclaimed, g Nuff-you've gouged my
ewes out y By this time the Judge had reach
ed the scene of action. Instead of the crowd of
spectators and the bleeding victim, he only per-
ceived stout lad of eighteen sinking away.
and the only signs of fight We're couple of
holes in the ground Here, come bach. -
shouted the Judge, "and help me to take care
of this poor fellow whose eyes are gouged out
and who is manned for life"
+" You needn; be fast old hoss," replied
the lad, 'I was only jess seein how I would
a-fawt eff I'd a-been down to the court house. :"
And so it was. There had been no fighting, no
gouging-except of the two holes in Tie ground
1t was private theatrical performance, in which
the young gentleman aforesaid bad borne all
the characters, spectators included