The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1879-01-16
BELLEVUE, La, JANUARY IS. 1879.

SIDES, while hand sought to reach his
inner pocket, where safe and warm re-
posed his little mine.
Jim kicked and screamed, and free
ing himself by desperate effort, drop
ped his beef, and fought to defend his
more valuable treasure.
Ihe struggle was too unequal to last
long, and by the time Jim's strength
gave out, and he stood painting, bleed
ing and more ragged than ever, trying
to keep the tears from running down
his pale cheeks, a policeman had seen
the crowd and was bearing down upon
it.
Jim hardly felt the rough grasp on his
poor, old jacket, or the jerk that ac-
companied it. The bov whom he had
fought was much worse off than him.
SELF, for Jim had had the most to lose,
and babel of voices was telling some
remarkable stories to the policeman.
What Jim realized was that his money
had disappeared, and that he and his
antagonist, followed by crowd of boys,
We're being led off to the station house.
There, invention reached a climax.
One boy had seen him steal pocket
|.book from an old mans pocket, and
get bill changed in the market, and
with virtuous indignation he followed
and stopped him. He had
been roughly handled for his pains, and
worse than all he could not prove his
story, for the pocket book had disap-
peared, perhaps Jim had passed it to
confederate in the crowd, who had
made off with it during the fight.
This sounded very plausible, and
Jim's story, rendered incoherent by
grief and fear, was laughed at as an alb
surdity.
The butcher testified to receiving from
Jim five dollar bill, and went back to
his stall quite satisfied with having done
a good thing for society in helping to
send young thief to the Island
Jim ate and drank what was brought
him in the cold cell in the station-house,
and then cried himself to sleep.
The next morning he made one of a
sorry procession of people, who, guard
ed by the police, were marched into a
dreary room in the " Tombs," called a
Court, and having neither friends, law
yer nor defense, were sentenced to serve
terms of various lengths in different
prisons.
Jim's enemy, the tall policemen,
made crushing charge against the lit
tie, shrinking figure, that. was hardly
visible to the Judge on the bench. How
ever, the charge was direct, and the
Judge used his own discretion, asking
no questions of the prisoner, who was
quite too overwhelmed to have answer
ed them had they been put to him.
Jim went mechanically where he was
told to go, spiritless, helpless crea-
ture at the mercy of superior strength.
1t did occur to him on the way to the
prison-van to make dash through the
crowd and get home, but side-glance
at the clubs and their owners discour-
aged him.
So the sitting van was finally ex-
changed for the crowded boat, and
Jim's spirits rallied little in the pure
air, and the view of the buildings on the
island excited his curiosity. Their ex-
terror immensity was to him wonderful,
but far more so were the narrow limits
of the interior.
Perhaps had Jim been the guilty little
fellow described in the papers that COM
mitted him, the monotony of life in a
reformatory would have seemed to him
just punishment. But, feeling out
ragged by the indignity put upon him,
Jim was like Gagged animal.
The forced habits of order and clean
illness were like shackles on his limbs !;
even the food was tasteless. When he
thought of his mother and his utter
powerlessness to get to her, he burned
and shook with rage, and then, to COM
fort him, would come the memories of
his last free day. The walk up bright
Broadway, the gay throngs of happy,
free people, the horses, the wagon he
had pushed out of danger, the kind
voice questioning him about his mother,
the lovely money given him for her, the
nice beef-but here Jim's pleasant
thoughts would reach a point, beyond
which all was despair and passionate
desires of revenge.
He wearied his small brain over the
problem, "Had he done wrong in go.
ing first to the market?"
} Surely, the idea was good one. His
mother would have had to send him out
to change the bill, even had he first car.
} ried it to her, and the same results
might have happened. Jim was nc
) philosopher, neither did he know
enough to look for the silver lining in
in his heavy cloud. He hated his little
, dormitory, the great workshops, the
long dining-room, the humanity around
him; but he fell in love with nature, the
|. blue sky-he had never seen such al
extent of it until now-the river water.
flowing past the island, the curves anG
|. rocks of the near shores, and the ever
! varying clouds.
/ He developed an aptitude for labor
, his growing skill attracting general at.
tention. Had he been free, he woulC