Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-03-27
MY Room-Mates In Texas.
BY q. D. BREWERToN


- sss- We were IN camp at Fort Mcintosh
50 near Loredo in South western Texas. [
aaa.ac had my quarters, as a soldier slodgings
ass are called, In a joeoG (which please pro-
. sslz nouaee ahQb dt}-a hut built OF slogs
81 - set upright In the ground with chinks
ss sa half daubed with clay, and a steep roof
80 matched with grass. took no heed
= of Its iH-hung door and solitary little
IL 500 six-pane window when I moved in but
. Z l-a was thankful to have a shelter for my
So head and even a row of logs between
me and the chill northors which sweep
with bitter force the broad VALLEY of the
Rio Grande.
e As for furniture, my new abode was
for frontier dwelling, really sump-
tuous IN its way. The mud floor was
always more or less sloppy in the rainy
season, needed no carpet. [ had an
old four-barrel for washstaDd, a
nckety table with at least two 9. game
legs, and a big wooden tub for bathing
purposes. A homemade, clumsily
built four-pest bedstead stood in the
cent1e OF my apartment, just under
huge beam which ran across the middle
of the unceiled room and helped to
support the roof. Here I lived quite
alone till an accident gave me the room-
mates of whose behavior and soc1able
ways I am about to tell you.
The first to arrive were Mr.. and Mrs.
Gopher aud the two little Gophers,-
now l don't mean the turtle by that
name, but a sort of ground squirrel
with bright, peery eyes and soft, mouse
like body, whose risky, funny ways
- g kept me busy watching them in spite
of myself. They called first, not SO.
= s. much out of regard for me-, but to pay
II their respects to my bath-tub of fresh,
81 - clear water: for, though the river was
4 piQ af tbol ,sy7,l IoT
to. permit of their reaching it without
sss aas some danger of slipping into the tide
= Z "a and beng swept away by It's rapid cur
rent. So one morning as | lay half
asleep upon my bed, I saw old Mr..
Gopher peeping knowingly in through
e.. the half-open door, and then withdraw
a-es@s - ing as he caught sight of me. Growing
-s==easa holder by degrees he entered, and, hay-.
q ! aas.sl ing apparently assured himself that |
.s was harmless, retreated to return i'm
medlately with Mrs. Gopher ana fam
sessss. lily, who trlpped daintily across my
80 eafthen floor 30 the trimming bath tub,
q where tney Went noslng round If
PSI they longed for taste of its limpid
a - contents; desire made. still more evil
saz dent by Mrs. Gopher, getting upon her
j. -. hind legs and licking a wet spot on the
ss side. 5s-.s.ssz &c.
ss.sss. After watching their vain endeavors
: f. fora while, [ determined to help my
little visitors to drink So stepping
$3.50 noiselessly out of bed, I found BIT OF
49, board, one end Of which placed on
- 81 the floor, while the other rested on she
- $ side OF the tub, forming gentle ascent
= - to the surface of the water within. In
s7 dong this however, dropped my
stick, frightening my visitors and cans
ing them to beat a speedy retreat. in
which old Mother Gopher led off while
Father Gopher, like gallant old gem
t1eman Gopher, was last in fight, COW
erlng their rear in true military
style. Thinking I had lost them I
- went to bed again, leaving the stick
leaning against the tub ;but before long
80 the little creatures came stealing in, and
after careful examination OF nv con-
trivance old Father Gopher mounted
and on reaching the top took his drink
4.z and then descended to the floor when
after some apparent. consultation the
remainder of the family followed his
example. From this tine the Gophers
visited me once or twice a day, our
friendship being cemented by sundry
bits Of eommlssary biscuit and other
= edible fragments which they finally
grew SO tame as to eat almost at my
a feet.
ssaasI Becoming weary at length of SO dis
tant an acquaiptanceship [ determined
: --z4 to cap6ure my guests and laid my plans
accordingly. I removed the board by
= which they had hitherto ascended to
drink, and in its stead placed stick so
nicely balanced that its upper extremity
extended over the surface of the water
sasas and only needed the weight of gopher
or two (tor latterly they had gone up in
IS + a sort OF procession instead of single as
at frst) to upset the little creatures into
u Z the tub, from whence I proposed to
sl. fish them out by their long tails as
they swan to and fro. It was, more
over, my intention to imprison my
captlyes IN certain large wooden bot
IS toned box the four sides which were
composed of glass while the top was
left open. OF these boxes we had
several as they had been made to pro-
asa-- .la44 a.s.-r