Worcester daily spy., 1861-05-22
0NOrtester 4ailp Spp.
COL. BOWIE AND HIS KNIFE.

Detter Keep on tile lookout, and pat my Valu'
ables i'll my money belt, if "toted" such a
thing But the individual who most attracted
my attention, besides the negro deck hands,
who kept making faces at the captain behind
his back, was smooth faced, quiet, placid
looking man, whom in England should have
set down at once as respectable druggist, or
a country town haberdasher with good con-
nection but here, in the slave states, pre-
sunled him to be a small cotton planter, W. III
some dozen slaves, which he turned out TO be.
He was neatly dressed in black wrapper and
wide-awake black "pants," of course and
wore a little gold bell at his buttOn-hole, to in.
drate his unsIiaken devotion to Mr.. Bell of
Tennessee, the presidential candidate, and his
determination, at all hazards, to maintain the
Union.
In every thing the Beland Breckenridge
man looked orderly and respectable, except
that his lower p was much swollen and cut
on the right side, and that he had a bar Of
black plaster on it, which his hand kept ner-
vously touching. | noticed this the more be-
cause slight gloom over his face, coupled
with this pouting lip, gave Bell,and Brecken.
ridge an expression OF sullenness that seemed
to indicate some recent misfortune.
"Perhaps," | thought, "as we all come from
New Orleans, Belland Breckenridge has been
tampering with the green cloth tables OF that
seductive city. Perhaps lie has been drinking
too many OF those whisky skins or 'Calaw-
ba cobblers,' and has been robbed of lis
money"
1t needed not the slightest effort, found,
to extract the whole story of his misfortune.
1t was unnecessary even to bait the converse.
tiona trap. He had been sitting in the bar
room Of the St. Charles Hotel at New Orleans,
when notorious bully of the city came up
to him, quite drunk, and without word or par
ley, or curse or threat, struck him a tremen
dous blow on the mouth. Before a second
could be struck, the bystanders rushed in and
separated them.
81 followed the villain about for several
days AFTER" said Bell and Brecke enridge, sui
lenly touching his lip, as if to keep alive the
recollection of his wrong "and l found him
at last in police court where he was being
fined seventeen dollars for striking another
gentleman" (Americans never call any one Il
man unless when they wish 10 insult him)
"And did not that give you extreme salts
faction % said | innocently, so often accus-
toned i'll England to see emollient Lank-nOtes
applied as the best plasters tor such wounds
OF honor.
"Thunder !'' said Bell and Breckinridge,
touching his lip for the thousandth time, to
stir up the burntdown Goals of hatred in his
heart. "If I'd only had my little penknite !!
but Id left it behind on my mantlepiece at
home, and lad nothing"
"But as it was" | said pacifically, rather
exuliing in the bloodessness OF the rcncontre
"Sure as there's cotton in Cairo I'd have
killed him if I'd met him !! said Bell-and-
Breckenridge, following OFT his old blood
hound trail of thought. What dreadful, quiet
persistency there was in that mans voice
"Thunder ii I'd only had my little five
shooter with me, I'd have made the taleSt
dead body, stranger, OF that rowdy as ever you
saw -
1t was some days before we left that dread
full uinsurable vessel but never, whether at
dirty breakfast at dirty dinner, at expectUrat-
ing circle round the stove, or high up in the
glass pilot house. did l ever see Bel-and.
Neutrality-suspicious. by torchlight or day
light, never-but he rubbed his swo en- lip
and glowed, Thunder if I'd only had my
little five shooter, I'd have made the talIeSt
dead body, stranger, OF that darned rowdy-
yes, sir.
think, eventually, the sternest Roman of
us all got out at night at some wood-landng,
and SO disa peared, like v,ngeful and erring
ghost, from our confine Tut have no doubt
III the world that lie strobe up the steep bank,
lit by our niggers' blazing pine-brands, still eX-
His meeting again with his wife and FIVE
shooter must have been quite affecting.
Ii was only a lew days after this that, walk.
Ing on the pretty, breezy sea-terrace at Charles.
ton, watching a steamer trying tussily to back
off sand bar at the mouth OF the harbor, Just
within the forts, fell into conversation with a
dapper, backeyed young French Canadian,
who, l soon touud was the bookeeper and
manager in a fashionable druggists store in
Charles Street, New Orleans. He was hand
some young coxcomb, and in torgivable way
not unconscious of his clear brown skin and
large lustr' us eyes he was on his lettering
way home to Quebec, after double attack of
ddngue and an acclimating seasoning OF yellow
fever.
He had at first lived at Chicago, he said vi.
vaciously, and with gay good nature, that
wonderful city of yesterday"
"And left the aguish Michigan shore" said
/, with surprise, "and the teeming life Of Wis
consin, for perpetual fever and sluggish sem
eual death i'll lite OF New Orleans and the
south"
The civil Absalom explained to me that a
slight difficulty had led to his leaving Chica
go.
"Indeed p replied, with a look that ex-
pressed a curiosity not rudely hungry, but
sill willing to be fed.
The slight difficulty was this. On first Wis
itng Chicago, he had formed the acquaintance
OF man whom he afterwards had TO avoid,
discovering him 10 be a professional gambler
One night, as he (AbsaloI) and a friend, the
son of a magistrate, were playing at billiards
at the Richmond House Hotel, the gambler,
flushed with drink, came in, and seeing him
at one of the tables, went up to him and struck
him across the mouth, exclaiming, $50 you'll
cut me again, will you?"
"Ot course you knocked him down." said
/, hot with the insult, as il had myself receiv.
ed the blow.
II wouldn't dirty my hands with such fel
low said Absalom, whiting out a scented
handkerchief with a fashionable air 81 Dire "
out my revolver, and shot him through the
shoulder"
weren't you glad you didn't hit him in a
vital part?" said l, to try the young blood
sucker.
Not l." replied Absalom, switching his
wild grape cane II wanted to shoot him, and
l didn', care where the ball went that was
his lookout. knew the fellow was coward
for / saw his face turn white when l put my
hand behind for my revolver. How he groan
ed and roared when lie thought I'd killed him
He did so. Yes"
"And what followed 2"
II Instantly gave myself up TO my friends
father, who luckily happened 10 be magis
trate. was tried and acquitted, because
proved the man struck me first But left
Chicago, because thought the rowdy's friends
might make a uss, and do me some harm al
night, particularly as l was Lincoln man"
A severe punishment, | thought, for small
ofense. But then / am one of an unchval
rous nation, and do not generally carry arms
especially at home.
Only the lowest of the low use their fists,
said an Irish American gentlemen to me, al
we discussed this question in another far diff
ferent place, namely, the great hall of stalag
mite pillars in the Mammoth Cave of Ken
lucky. "We hold il brutal tn nsn tho e.