The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-04-12
An Unfortunate Individual.

/ OH riudy, IOr am ll6 .HiOSt uhiuNh9 Ai4f'i'
now living in old Pike. Well, the fact Is,
! amt bad any luck since you left thar, and
how in the thunder I'm alive now is more n
can tell. About the end OF December, the
old man told me to take eight bales OF cot
! ton to Montgomery and sell 1t, and II
wanted to get any little traps for myself, TO
do it, Well, took the cotton to Mouhtgom-
cry, and sold it fur ten cents pound, and
'twant two hours after that met Joe Sparks,
/ who had sold fourteen bales of wuss cotton
than mine, fur 'leven cents poand-ef he
! didn't I'll be derned Well, stayed around
about Montgomery for tv days a seem the
! sights, and at last me and Joe meets up with
] Ben Westcott. AS we were agoln to leave
! fur home next morning, we thought as how
/ we would have good time that night, so
went to rnstyrant, or whatever s the name
of it, to have good bait of su' thin to eat.
! 4 tall feller, with a sheet tied on in front,
I come into the stall where We was settin',
and commenced bowin', and serapin and
I grinnin and handed Ben programme
/ Ben handed it to me, cause Ben can't read,
4 and made out to read "shad, right at the
| top of it, Now, Jake, you needn't laugh,
for | never seed shad in all my life till
! then, and j alters took up the idec that
/ SudQ WcIG d uSu dUOub luC olLC VI SClShJ
/ and know could eat half dozen p yerch
any time, and reconed Joe and Ben could
! do the same, and so just told the feller to
! bring along eighteen shad and have EN- fried
brown at that.
Well, we sot thar and talked, and talked,
and the shad didn't cum, till bimeby Joe
started to call the feller. when he met three
niggers comm, and each nigger had a tray
: r.fl, ,IaI - Ia Tal-n at
! the httilest Of them shad acasnt a foot long, I
,eish I mag be derned! Says l.,
"Look here, stranger, what do you call
them ere7'
"Shad," says he, "and fine ones too first
of the season, sir.
g What's the tax on EN- says |.
Three dollars apiece, says he.
Jake, was you ever kicked by mule? If
| you was you mought know about how
relt. Says |, "boys I'll pay for the fish,
but If eat any of EN- hope they may choke
me / give the feller fifty-four dollars
outen the old mans money; and rs | was
agoin out, he hallowed at me and told me to
give him a call next time | come back to
| Montgomery. Jake, you know I'm not
very stout man, but rekoned some up in
! Pike, an if he'd been thar instead OF in
!
| have disfggered that face o his u.
Well, left Ben and Joe settn' thar,
and went to the hotel and got into bed
That night, somebody busted open the door
while | was asleep and tuck all the old
mans money There was Jake, with no
money and no breeches, and what to do
| didt know. ! was afraid to go home with
out the money; the old man would never
have got over me. sent for Ben Wescott
and borryed twenty five dollars and a pair
of breeches from him. and tuck the fust boat
for Mobile, and be darned if Id stont this
side of Texas if could helpit. When we
got down TO Selmy, it was night, and went
ashore while they was taken on cotton
Just as tho boat was startinn feller
steps up and ses he, "mister, wish you'd
give me half dollar for two quarters
give him the half, tuck the two quarters
and the boat started. looked at the quar-
ters as seon as got into the cabin OF the
bont, and Jake, be dogonn'd d if they WASH {
both fve dollar gold piecesl | didn't say II
word TO nobody but reckon | struck a
line for my state-room about us fast as any
thing you ever see, for fear some one would
come aud claim the money. Next morning,
so0n went 10 the bar and tuck drink
By the l'y, Jake, they keep nifty nice lilSer
on the Duat. drunk the whisky and
slapped down one OF my gold pieces and
told him | had no smaller change. The
teller locked at the money sharp and looked
at me sharper, aud bimeby he says, sorter
savageous like:
Look'ee here, stranger where'd you git
that
Well, wus afraid TO tell him how | got
10 I !,
gomery.
"Well, it's counterfeit" says he " it isn't
worth azcent.
l run my hand in my pocket and tuck out
t'other gold piece and showed it TO him, aud
| wish be dsrhed, jake if they want both
counterfeit!
1t was no use talkin know d | wus in
nocent, but then there wus two counterteis
and they swore ! wus trying to pass spurius
money They run to my state-room to
sarch my baggage, and they Jist swore |
wusnt all right, for, they said, q man as is
all right and squar don't ginerally travel all
the way from Pike county to Texas without
some baggage. The bar-keeper and the mate
and the captain and the cook, all rared and
charged, and got the passengers together
and they held a confab, finally agreed to be
easy on me- They wouldn't take me to Mo-
bile and put me in Jail, but they jist run the
boat up agin the bank run out plank, and
told me to make talagraph time in gittin
off. Jake, | know'd | wus innocent, and
told EN- so, but 'twan't no use. reckon
got off tLat boat littil quicker than | got
on to it.
The place whar they put me cut was &
regular cane brake, and the mud was about
two feet deep. | got out after while and
walked two miles before | got to any house
and when the derned niggers seed me they
sikt the dog ON me, and tired as was, there
wasn't one of en- could ketch me. Well,
wandered about from place to place, till al
last | got down here to Mobile. had
little money left from payin my passage a
Montgomery, and got me some common
clothes. Waitin' round here to see if | could
find any body that knowed me, and would
help me Oh TO Texas the guards took me VI
: as suspicious character, found the same
dern gold pieces in my pocket when they
searched me, and kept me in the guardhoust
till they could find out somethin about me
and Id u been thar yit if hadn't thought
of you aud tole 'em you knowed me. You IT
a trump, Jake, and | reckon III take you
4 A. IL. Il