The Empire County argus., 1856-08-02
LOVE, LUNACY AND r.ucE.; !;
Or, twenty Thousand Dollars On the Wag ot
an AlEGalor 6 .nail

an Alligator aaiL.
We have in cur time heard good many fsi So
res and among others that Of the strange fish,
recantly caught at Chicot Pass in this State which
appeared to be a cross between the aigatorgaT and
shark and had in his stomach So II in small change
together with stout bowie knife, revolving pistol
and other articles Of q fllibustering character.
That many OF these tales are mere plscatory nc
tons have always held since our arrival at mans
estate, and now, that truth is considerably stranger
than fiction, shall proceed with due soberntss, to
show.
A few wears ago, Jarvis Wright was one of lie
shrewdes and most successful Of the Graders in the
Chocaw Nation. In early life he had lett the gram
itc hills OF New England, and vended his way tow
ards the setting sun. His money making instincts
were pretty strongly developed and in his race fer
wealth he forgot the strong afect0nal wants Of his
nature and so, while growing rich he grew Old and
was known throughout the nation as 1.-The rich old
bachelor"
Now it 50 happened that in things theological, the
heart OF Jarvis, during his wanderings and money
gatherings became hardened and N all matters Cf
Religious faith he was voted heerodoX. In fact, he
was almost as heretical as the heathon Chocaw,
with whom it was his boast drive skiul "tradcs,
and for whose spiritual beuef missionaries nj
ont annually 10y the Heaven aiding Christians Of the
North.
Among the missionaries who visited the Choctaw
wids during the year 1885,, there was one who had Il
daughter whom he loved passing we'll Jarvis saw
her, and he too soon loved her with no common love
1t was, indeed, strange TO wtncss the effect Of the
tender passion on that hardened mbeliever. Time,
which was supposed to have b.unted and almost dead
ened all the finer sensibites OF his human organism
had been only concentrating their essential fires even
as the spirit III cider barrel is concentrated AMI
strengthened by the trosts which render its cXtorors
cold and icy. So the love of Jarvis in It's wild vc
hemence, was riddle to the men and mAidens of the
Choctaw tribe and even the traders wondered. JAR
Wis in love! So strange was the id2a as to be con-
sid9red ridiculous and most OF his old friends c0ncu
ded that his brain was getting turned And s0 as
the diverse fates too often have it, Jarvis angel
proved unkind. The richly ireightad bark OF his
hope was shipwrecked, and "rooted sorrow settled
on his soul. Fair daughter Of the missionary She
never for moment thought that her mission was to
wed the rough and heratical, though rich old bachc
lor while younger and more attractive galants were
sueiug for the favor smile. She refused him and he
became incontinontly crazed, aud moped and wander
ed, still talking but of her.
At length his friends concluded to bring him to
tits wayward city Of New Orleans, where several of
his relatives reside, and after spending few months
here the demented lover began to be in some mas
ure forgettu of hts griet. Occasionally, indeed, he
would be as sane as any man in existence, but with
tie changes Of an hour his fit Of love lunacy would
retura, and he would be as wild and wand ring as
ever.
As he was perfectly harmless, even when the fit
Was strongest on him. ne WIS transferred to planta-
ton at Terre Bpuf, where he was allowed the prvi-
lego of hunting And in dl9 time hunting ul!igators
among the bayous and lagoons became tn. fvorta
pastimo OF the Qveorn Jarvis, and it was hoped that
eventually he would wholly forget how unsuccessful
he hud been when hunting for a wife. But now a
news rlonomania seemed to seized him. OF killing
aigators he had become tired, but to catch ANA tam
one was his new id9a-the mission Of his life. lie
thought that ii he could only catch and tame live
alligator the star OF his fortune would again rise in
the ascendant, and in the amphib0us creature he
would find "guid9, phios >phor and friend
With all the method" OF his madness he set about
the relli2atondf his wild idea AMI one day, about
six weeks or So ago, he captured juvenile monster
OF tiiclaSs he sought, and comm2uc1d 1T once to cul
tvato with it kindly, social Intimacy. No more
did he visit the distant bayous 0r, to tie wants Of
his new found friend, lie devoted al his time and
attention Scarcely, indeed did he speak to any one
else, but when he did, it would be the same parrot
phrase: The man tiatS luckg cacugi 10 catrt anil
tame l.Ue alligator can dralr pr &c in tie Hay1Ha
lo.3ry" This he would r3pyat, not only to the p2o-
pie OF the house where lie resided. but TO his ara-
torsAip, thousand times, anl thousand times
again.
After several days consultation with his sca'y
FRIEND Jarvis determined one fine morning to visit the
city, buy lottery ticket, and prove his uc So he
pttocdSc IOf ulillS+l ana tlilSultG on tue
Mexican Gulf Railroad cars, and came. fer al
rving he went straightway to a mercantile house,
where his money is deposited drew $40 and CON-
m9nced his search around the city for ticket that
his saurian counselor would be satisfied with. Long
and weary was the search. To hundred shops the
the alligator was carried, and the wares Of hundred
ticket vendors were submitted to him before he man.
ifested his appreciation by an approving wag OF his
cauda appendages. As soon, however, as the ticket
with the mystic numbers was displayed, tha mySteri-
Gus reptiles eye Frightened, and his tail waggad
wisely And Jarvis interpreted the cabastic wac as
sign to buy AMI forthwith he bought the ticket and
went home rejoicing.
Two days atcrward the drawing tab'oar of the
Havana lottery arrived, and strange us il may ap-
pear the ticket selected by tie approving wag of the
alligators tail was down for the $4,000 prize The
story may appear improbable b1t it is no more
strange than true several respectable merchants Oh
Carond3et street. who are familiar with the tactr
and the members Of the commercial firm on Camp
street, where the money has since been deposited can
attest. Indeed We have the story from the lips Of
one nearly related to the un,ucky yet lucky jarvis.
Nor did the luck Of the alligator hunter end with the
drawing Of the prize. Recently, as is wei known,
exchange on Havana has been commanding a hand
soma premium, and Jarvis through one OF his rtla-
tves received for his ticket not only the $4,000 it
called for, but premium Of $3.50 basidos.
Who will hereafter say that the tail of an allira
tor is not thing of wisdAm With this pAilosophic
query our tale shall end-New Orleans Pcayune.