New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-04-19
JEFF THOMPSON TWENTY YEARS
AGO.

: Among the many dreary books the publ;
have been expected to read during the pas
year The Gllded Age" has appeared wit
the loudest flourish of trumpets. No on
who has enjoyed other writings of Mar
Twain and Dudley Warner can take up thi
BOOK without disappointment, and when b
lays It down Will never lift it again. TIL
result OF the combination of these two au
thors is similar to that generally obtained
by locking twelve sensible men up in iur,
box. The product is an unnatural seouenc,
OF evolution in single intellectual vacuum
But the book has photographed our frienC
Jen thompson as he appeared twenty O,
twenty-five years ago, when he was younge,
and more risky, but not more energetic and
active than he is now. He could talk then
as fast as'he does now, but he Is excelled in
voiubility by Colonel Sellers, speculative
dead beat dealer in castles in Spain that
nearly ruins all the rest of the dramar;s
persona. The Coionels description of jeff
is an excellent introduction to the reader:
! THE Salt Lick Pacific Extension ia po;no
to run through Stones Landing! The al.
mighty never laid out a cleaner niece of
level prairie Tor city; and it's the natural
| center OF all that region of hemp and
| tobacco" anu
I've talked with JEFF Thompson the
DIVISION engineer. He understands the
| wants OF Stones Landing, and the claims
| 9l the nhabltants-whO are to be there.
zen says that railroad is for the accommo-
dation OF the people. and not for the benefit
OF gophers; and if he. don't run this to
stones Landing he'll be damned Yon
| ought to know JEFF; he's one of the most
enthusiastic engineers in this Western conn
try; and one of the best fellows that ever
looked through the bottom of a glass"
And when the young spectators are in
troduced, they find
The recommendation was not undeserved
There was nothing that JEFF wouldn't do tn
accommodate friend, from sharing his last
dollar with him to winging him in a duel.
When he understood from Colonel Sellers
how the land lay at Stones Landing. he cor
daily shook hands with that gentleman. ask.
ca hlm to drink, and fairly roared out: why,
God bless my soul, Colonel, word from
one Virginia gentleman to another ia .nnf
ced, there's Stones Landing been waiting
Tor railroad more than 1000 wears. and
damme ii she shan't have it,"
JEFF appears frequently as a repository of
anecdotes, and
Told Philip that he once asked Senator
Atchison, then acting Vice President OF the
United States, about the possibility of ac-
climation. He thought the opinion of the
second officer OF our great government
would be valuable on this point. They
were sitting together on bench before a
country tavern, in the free converse per-
mitted by our Democratic habits.
II suppose, Senator, that you have be- |
come accimated to this country ?"
well" said the Vice President, crossing
bis legs. pulling his wide-awake down over
his forehead causing a passing chicken to |
hop quickly one side by the accuracy of his |
aim. and speaking with senatorial delibera-
ton, IL think / have. I've been here |
twenty-five years, and dash, dash my dash |
to dash if haven't entertained twenty five |
separate and distinct earthquakes-one a |
year. The niger is the only person who |
can stand the fever and ague OF this
region"
The scene in the camp displays our friend
in two characteristics. We are familiar
with one, but never heard him do the other:
A brisk gallop brought the rider in sight
OF the twinhling hght~pf the camp lust az
the stars came out. 1t lay in little hollow.
where small stream ran through sparse
grove of young white oaks. A half a dozen
tents were pitched under the trees, horses
and oxen were cOrraled at little distance,
and group OF men sat on camp stools or
lay on blankets about bright fire. The
wang of banjo became audible as thew
1rew nearer, and they saw couple of ne
yrces from some nelghboring plantation
breaking down juba in approved style
amid the ''hI, his" Of the spectators.
Mr.. JEFF Thompson, for it was the camp |
II this redoubtable engineer, gave the trav-
.lers hearty welcome; offered them ground
Dom in mis- own tent; ordered supper, and
vet out small jug, drop from which he
declared necessary Oh account of the chill !
If the evening.
Il never saw an Eastern man. said jeff.
who knew how to drink from Jug with ,
me hand It's as easy as lying. So He
,rasped the handle with the right hand,
brew the jug back upon his arm and ap- ;
lied his lips to the nozzle. 1t was an act
s graceful as it was simple Besides,
aid Mr.. Thompson, setting it down, ut
uts every man on his honor as to quantity"
Early to turn in was the rule OF the camp. :
nd by nine o'clock every bedy was under :
is blanket except JEFF himself, who worked :
while at his table over his field book, and '
hen arose, stepped outside the tent door =
nd sang, in strong and not unmelodious 6
9nOr, the 'Star Spangled Banner from be-
inning to end. 1t proved to be his nightly
ractice to let off the unexpended steam Of ,
is conversational powers in the words Of
lis stirring song. :
1t was long time before Philip got to 4
eep. He saw the fire light; he saw the
ear stars through the tree tops; he heard b
le gurgle OF the stream, the stamp Of the | g
orses, the occasional barking of the dog a
hlch followed the cooks wagon, the boot @
g OF an owl; and when these failed he saw
ii standing on battlement mid the rock a
Is red glare, and heard him sing, "Oh, Ii
", can you see!' 1t was was the first time ii
had ever slept on the ground.
To run the lines to accommodate the views Ii
Colonel Sellers was almost enough to baf ',
} even JEFF, but he at last ACCOMPLISHED it Il
this way:
They were making what is called a pre- q
nlnary survey, and the chief object of :,
survey was TO get I'D an excite -
ent about the road. to interest every town -
that part of the State in il, under the ~
llet'that the road would run drought it, -
q to get the aid OF every planter upon the g
aspect that station would be on his | %
nd.
Mr.. JEFF Thompson was the most popular -
gineer that could be found for this work. -,
} did not bother himself much about de. ~
Us or probabilities of location, but ran ~,
'rrlly along, sighting from the top of one VI
vide to the top of another, and striking 81 -,
lumb" every town site and big planta, =,
q within twenty or thirty miles of his =! :
ute: In his own language he Just went ~ -,
oming." u
They had not been in the field over two 80
eks when Harry wrote to his friend.
lionel Sellers that he'd better be on the ch
we, for the line was certain TO On N be
'ne's Landing. Any one who looked at the