The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-09-02
WAS SHE A BOYq
AHOOSIER MOSAIC.
RYMAuRIcE THnMPsoN.

BY MAURICE THOMPSON.
No matter what business or what pleasure
took me, once, not long ago, went to Col
fax. Whisper it not to each other that l
was seeking a foreign appointment through
my fellow Hoosier, the late Vice president
of the United States. o no, / didn't 90 to
the Hon. Schuyler CoIfax at all; but wont
to Colfax, simply. which is little dingy
town, in Clinton county, that was formerly
called Midway, because it is half way bet
ween Lafayette and Indianapolis. 1t was
and is place of some three hundred in
habitants, ekng out an aguish subsist-
ence, maintaining a swampy, melarious
aspect, keeping up bilious, nay, an atra-
| bilious color, the year round, by sucking
like an attenuted leech at the junction, or
| rather, the crossing of the I. G. q L., and
the l.. @. & s. w. railroads. IL lay mould
ering, like something lost and forgotten,
slowly rotting in the swamp.
/ do not mean to attack the Inhabitants OF
Colfax, for they were good people, and de-
served a better fate than the eternal rafting
| the ague took them through from years end
to years end. Why, they had had the ague
so long that they had no respect for it at all.
| I've seen a woman in Colfax shaking with
| chill, spanking baby that had chill, and
scolding husband who had a chill. all at
once-and 1 had dreadful ague upon me at
the same time! But, as have said, they
still. They go quietly about the usual busi-
ness of dead towns. They have "stores" in
which they offer for sale calico, OF the big
| figured, orange and red sort, surprisingly
cheap. They smoke those little Cuba skies
at a half cent apiece, and call them cigars;
they hang round the depot, and trade jack
knives and lottery watches on the afternoons
OF lazy Sundays; they make harmless sport
of the incoming and outgoing country folk;
and, in a word, keep pretty busy at one
thing, or another, and above all they
shake,
IA Colfax the chief sources of exciting
amusement are dog fights and an occasional
row at Sheehan's saloon, doggery OF the
regular old-fashioned drink, gamble, rob
and fight sort-a low place, known to all the
hard bats in the state.
As you pass through the town you VIII not
fail to notice big, sign outhanging from the
front of the largest building on the prlncl-
pal street, which reads: Union Hotel, 1861"
From the muddy suburbs of the place, In
every direction, stretch black muck swamps,
for the most part heavily timbeTed Wild
variety of oaks, interspersed with syca-
| mores, ash, and elms. In the damp, shady
labyrinths of these boggy woods millions of
| lively, wide awake, tuneful mosquitoes are
daily manufactured: and out from decaying
| logs and piles of fermenting leaves, from the
green pools and sluggish ditch streams,
creeps noxious gas, known in that region
| forty boss power quintessentisl of the ager!"
So, at least, L was told by the landlord OF the
Union Hotel, and his skin had the color of
one who knew.
Notwithstanding what have said, Collax,
| in the summer, is not wholly without at
fractions OF a certain kind. 1t has some
yellow dogs and some brindie ones; is has
! some cattle and some swine; it has some
| swallows and some spotted pigeons; II has
cool, fresh smelling winds, and, alter the
water has sufficiently dried out. the woods
are really glorious with wild pinks, violets,
turkey-pea blossoms, and wild roses. But
| to my story.
! was sitting on the long veranda of the
Union Hotel. when rough bat kindly
voice said TO me:
"Mornin', stranger; g. me light, will
ye?"
| L looked up from the miserable dime
novel at which 1 had been tugglng for the
last hour, and saw before me q corpulent
man OF, perhaps, forty-five years OF age, who
stood quite ready to thrust the charred end
of cigar stump into the bowl OF my
meerschaum. i gave him match, and
would fin have returned 10 Angelina
st. Fortescue, the heroine of the
novel, whom l had left standing
on the extreme giddy verge OF a
sheer Alpine precipic9, known, by actual
triangulation, to be Just seven thousand
| feet high, swearing she would leap of If
Donald Gougerizeout, the robbsr, persisted
| further in his rough addresses; but my new
/ friend, the corpulent smoker, seemed bent
or 2 little bit of conversation.
"Thankee, sir. Fine mornin', sir, a'n's it?'
beautiful replied, raising my head.
eleyating my arms, by kind OF a
yawn, taking deep draught of the
| fresh spring weather, absorbing it, as.
similating it, Till, like a wave of re-
| tarded electricity, il set my nerves
in tune for enjoying the bird songs, and
1 y
health and youth. j, no doubT, Just then
felt the burden of life much less than did
the big yellow dog at my feet, who snapped
/ lazIly at the flies.
'Yes, yes, this 'ere's a fac nornin'-juli-
cious, sir, iulicious, indeed; but le' me tell
We, sir, this ere winds mighty 6eceitful-
for a fact it is, sir, jst as full of ager as a
acorn is of meat. It's BLOWN right oh7n
| ponds, and Is loaded chOck down with the
miasm-for fact it is, sir"
| While delivering this speech the fat man
sst down on the bench beside me there in the
| veranda. by this time had my thumbs in
| the arm holes ofmy vest, and my chest eX-
banded TO its Utmost-my lungs going like
a steam bellows, which is way / have in
fine weather.
"Monstrous set o. respiratory organs,
them o. your'n." he said, cycling my ma
neuvers, Just then I discovered that be
was physician of the steam doctor sort,
for, glancing down at my feet, l espied bis
! we'll worn leather medicine sgs. L i'm
medistely grew polite. Possibly / might
ere long need some quinine, or mandrake
or hot steam beth-anythlng for the ague,
ayes. I've got lungs like porpoise," re-
Piled, ''but still the ague may get me. Much
sickness about here, DocLor-a-a--
what do they call your nsmeW
"Benjamin HurG-Doctor Hurd, they call
me. I'm the only thorer bred botanic that's
in these parts. 1 do poorly much all the
practice about here. Yes, there's consider
able of ager and pbthisic and bilious fever.
Keeps me busy most OF my time. These
nasty swamps, you know"
After a time our conversation tagged, and
the doctor having lit a fresh cigar, we
smoked in silence. The wind was driving
the dust along the street liz heavy waves,
and 1 sat watching couple of lean, spotted
calves making their way against the tide.