The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1880-07-02
TEE nEL-FATEre BROTHERS
a Frue Story.
ny WILLIAM coslsTocK.

~% euiHEHcTs anu winters faa passed over q
D. head, was going home to dinner one a
ernoon, and had arrived as far as the &C
neE Of Front and Roosevelt Streets. wher
- paused on. seeing considerable croy
gathcrcdi In front Of NJ. & C..s store.
1' Above the heads of the bystandeis lool
ed that of big eartman whom had oftt
seen in that vicinity, and ever and anon |
, lifted a rattan, as if threatening some pc
son with severe chastisement
pressed forward to take a look at Il
victim, but that was not accomplished III
" til i had got inside the ring, for the ind
vidual who had incurred the wrath Of til
gigantic cartman was small negro boy
Eamcrc child; and there hestood frcmbliu
like leaf, and almost white with terror a
nc momcntarily expected the scourge t
descend upon his head and shoulders.
The surrounding crowd laughed an,
jeered; they were highly entertained b
the terror Of the little black boy.
i: "A number of sacks filed with cinnamo,
were piled on the sidewalk; they had ius
been landed from an East India ship tha
lay at the wharf near by. The boys, find
ing little holes in these sacks through
which the cinnamon projected, had iulproy.
cd the opportunity to supply themselves
gratis @
When the big carlmnn pounccd upon
them they scattered, and all escaped except
the little black boy, and OF l,im the cart
man had thought proper to make an exam
pie.
! AS he stood there covering and friend
less, placed myself at his side, saying.
Don't be frightened, little fellow-he
dare not hurt you.''. .rss
Down came the rattan upon one of nv
legs, and the delighted crowd gloried in
hndlng new subject for their mirth,
while an enormous fat woman still contrib
uted TO their merriment by placing herself
III front Of me, glaring in my face. and de-
mandlng, i'll the shrillest of tones, care
you a niggcr whitewashcd. that you take q
nigger's part?'' .....@
The little negro, taking advantage of
this diversion in his favor, glided through
the crowd, and putting all his legs to the
ground, got off clear.
The blow which | received from tho
cartman's rattan was no great thing. but
the insult was something, and as ! looked
up at him resentfully, he said, go, | don't
care who your father isl don't care who
your father is.
VI course not: what should he care for
fathers, mothers, uncles, OF auntse Was
he not the fayorte cartman of the wealthy
house Of NJ. & g.. Had he not a good |
round salary and permanent situation?
Thus established for life, could he not af-
ford to be perfectly Independent of cverv-
body except his wealthy employers?
Three years from that time | went my
first voyage to sea. On my return home,
at the end of three years and four months
among the first news that heard was that
.he big cartman called DobLins had hung
himself
How is tlsat?'' | asked.
why, you see,' was the reply. che
lad long been in the service of NJ. & G.,
nd when they failed nobody else cared to
nploy him. The consequence was that
e became miserably poor, aud, finally, he
as hung himself in despair"
This was sad news, and as it was a disa- d
reeablc subject Of contemplation, BAN
'hed from my n1cu,ory In the belief that |
he fate Of Big Dobbins would soon be for I
often. | was mistaken.
Being adrift in Valparaiso, three or four y
ears aftcrward, | entered the navy, and u
gned the papers on board the U. s. fllip
3, which lay in the harbor. After writ y
~ my name, and holding a brief confer
nee with the first lieutenant, / was pass II
II along the gun-tleck, when an object II
lat met my view caused me to start. Was a
dreaming? There stood before me a gi- =
antic seaman, witha colt in his hand,
ith the form and features of Big Dobbins.
not only seemed TO be the man himself, VI
ut he also fixed an evil eye OH my countc- .
ancc, us ifhc recognized me-
"Who is that MANI" demanded of a :
aman, as soon as | had passed forward ;,
'What-that boatswain's mate, yonder? Al
'hy, that's Big Dobbins, and a a
Big Dobbins!n cried I. ''Can it be =
'ssible that was misinformed, or was he !
1t down before life was extinct?'' =
+Cut down - exclaimed the sailor. star :.
r~i hi ft1p.,,
Election, h. added, so, know what you Il
C thinking of now; he had brother that
owe cart in New York, who hung him
lf.'' II
'But this is the exact likeness of his Je
other. could not tell them apart; and W
, looked at NE as though he knew me-" IL
''Well,' replied the mariner, "I would Ia
IT advise you to cultivate his acqllaint-
ice. There may be worse men in the p
orld than Big Dobbins, but ifso, they've lie
,vcr crossed my~hawse. When he f1ogs Il
man he strikes with all his might; you'd OF
ink he was going to cut you in two. He st
'es this to curry favor of the officers, and IL
cry man on board hates him. He never fc
res to 70 on shore with any Of the crew. t'
he should 20 ashore, and the boys NJ
ught him away from the slip, he'd stand a
} more show than cat in I; rat-pt with ct
It claws"
The time passed on. | saw many men IL
,ggcd, both with the cats and the colt. tt
nose who were iloggcd with the cats told b'
e that after few blows had been given te
c back felt rs if melted lead was poured le
ION it; and yet they said they preferred I'll
Z cats to the colt. The latter is a single tt
pc about as thick AS 4 mans finger. tc
enerallY no more than six blows were as
ven with the colt, the victim being COM fl
lied to take of his jacket only. The cats oi
We nine strings, which DO no more than pt
lic off the skin and leave the back ray: CT
ID bloody; but the colt is said to hrltise b
we'll as cut the flesh. Experienced III
nds would, when possible, put ona back to
Hearing their names called by boat ti
aims mate, and expecting to be flogged 81
it'll the colt, they would hastily get a sc
end TO shove several thicknesscs of cloth g
lder their shirts. The backer deadened bt
Q blows and rendered the punishment :
ore endnrable. Ia
One day | rent on the berth-deck 10 get
netting out Of my hag. The place was
litary; except the geant-at-srns sin
e other end of The ship, there seemed to n,
nobody on the bertli-deck but myself. OF
hile was lcisurcly ovcrhauling my bag, ca
1antd /, etrnupr EmotheraU sGI,rd as of !@ssS