Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-05-21


breaks from his wnter-baked sarcophagus of
Mississippi mud. The oyster,saoon, the
wranglng bar-room, the noisy s'ave-anction,
the possum-hunt, the bear-chase, were to
know him now no more He arrayed himself
in laurel crown, and started by $40 express
train to New Orleans, punctual Decius pre-
pared 10 die for a not unworthy country.
In some temporary reverse of the American
arms, Bowie and mere handful of soldiers
were surrounded in mountain fort-a mere
breastwork of stones that could not hold out
long against the swarning multitude of Greas-
ers, hungry for Yankee lives. The place was
at length stormed, after desperate lland-to-
hand, inch by-inch resistance. Through hur,
ricanes of grape and sweeping storms of mus
ket bullets the Mexcans poured up the breach.
Col. Bowie at the time was off guard wearIed
by long marches and hard fighting, he was
sleeping, i'll his room, his knife besides his pill
low. The bayoncts poured in through the
door, shlvered by blows of the musket; but
the grim man in moment was on his legs"
raging wolf The curtains torn down and roll
ed round his left arm served for buckler.
10 work went the terrible knife-down went
the thin black haired men like sheep before a
Christmas butcher. There was terrible
whooping and scramble, a cursing, a tumble
OF chairs and tables, some groans, some shots,
and the brave colonel lay dead, surrounded by
nine Of his Mexican enemies, half of them with
gaping stabs, with room enough for dozen
lives 10 flood tout, the rest with skulls clean
cloyen by the heavy knife
No wonder, then, that the colones grateful
southern countrymen have since ''toted" such
knives in all times of pcril-during slave in
surreCtGns and Indian wars That quiet New
York gentlemen often carried revovers under
their coats, and that New York hackney coach
men carried lie preServerS under their cuSll-
ions, to subdue refractory passengers, had
only been assured by reliable witnesses and
natives of the country but that southern men,
not merely bullies by profession slave over |
seers but quiet tradesnen, who might be sup
posed to be, by age and profession, Of pacific
temperament, did the same, l had long ago |
learned, beyond all doubt, from the evidence
OF my own eyes. | had seen the long sheath |
down thigh and down the back, used to con-
ceal weapons L had seen the small pistol for |
the wastcoat pocket, and the little pistol that,
In close struggles, was to be fired from the
coat sleeve. OF such and such things indeed,
spoke Hiram Peabody to me, as | weighed his
gIittering knives, like a reluctant juggler in.
tent on new trick and rather afraid OF his
implements; and | went home to my hotel to
see if, by reading the Daily Avalanche, l could
ascertain Tor myself ii the bowie knife was still
an article most IN request among highly civ
ilized people. lmpartally, and with all love
and admiration for the finer chivalry of our
American brothers, can not conceal the fact
that found, in the Avalanche many, quite
too many, indications that Col Bowie and his
terrible invention were far from being forgot
ten. Among dismal paragraphs, careIessy
related without sympathy and comment, Of
negro oyerseers chopped To pieces by negroes,
OF steamers burst and burnt up, of deadly du
els and revengetul murders, l found too often
such narratives as the following. The place
and name carefully suppress.
"a Fuss in Curthage.-fhere were lively
times in this place last week, writes our cor.
respondent, Col. Horatio Otis, from this place
On Tuesday last, Major Jones, coming TO the
bar OF the Monongaiela Hotel tor a glass of
Roman puLch, became irritated at the bar
Keepers first helping "A colored man to bran.
dy cocktail, which he had just ordered.
Words ensued, when the MAJOR, drawing out
bowie knife, exclaimed, 'Ph see if darned
Niger is to be helped before white man.
and stabbed the colored man in the stomach
The unfortunate victim OF the majors hasty
temper died the same night"
In subsequent Avalanche l read that the
major was found guilty OF a mild form Qf man
efid9e Spoiled children) and forth again
into a Niger hating world, doubtless 10 rip up
other colored men. and generally advance
Christian civilization.
A little further on would read boller, less
fatal use OF the knife of Bowe-to wit, how
one Ezra Giraud, at an election tumult in st.
Louis, being a good deal nudged ami ebowed,
his somewhat choleric temper being rather rul-
fled by Bell and Everett, and other political
and antagonistic demonstrations, had drawn
out his bowie knife, and scored and slashed all
he could meet, till some American Hercules
knocked this small Python on the head, and
Quoted him by a mild form of concusslon OF
the brain.
In the third place found young man OF
New Orleans boldly planting his Knife in the
breast of an election bully who had interrupted
pro Douglas speaker doing it with all the
energy and calm self approval of Cassius when
he stabbed Caesar, ard maniftsting such self
command, that he even walked off from the
election room, and tried to elude the police by
bold denials OF the-must we write lt?-mur'
der.
But let me, before passing my moral YER
dict tell story which will still more strongly
illustrate the Americans principle OF taking
dreadful and deadly vengeance for small Of
fences, that we shonld punish with quick
blow, and then forget 1t will need further
stories to evidence the American indifference
for lite and the almost Indian revenge, by
duel that the American thinks himself justi-
fed in taking
was on the Alabama river, on four days
tedious floating by rckety card-hOuse OF
steamer that piled between Mobile-tlat den
OF IeVer-lo montgomery, the pretty capital vi
Alabama state 1t was painful progression,
alternating between running on sand'bars,
blowing up, and setting on fire. The boat was
so irailly built that the three tiers of decks vi
brated with every pulse of the high-pressure |
engines The drunken pilot and the sloven-
ly captain spent the night in swearing at each
other, and discussing whereabouts they were,
neither of them ever knowing the spot within
some dozen miles. The stove that lit the |
dirty cabin was generally red hot; and to in
crease our chances of reaching land in safety, |
the mutinous negro crew kept running about
over the cotton bales that slrcwed the deck
with swinging cressets full OF blazing pine
knots.
Concluded to morrow
11 ~ ~ 4.