The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1881-12-01
AN UNPUBLISHED LEAF or HISTORY.
Tho story ofan OId settler aud soldier Of
the Mexican war,

i
met an old man In East Dalla
whose appearance attracting his attention
he engaged him In conversation. He wa
poorly dressed, but not like tramp, an'
II soon became evident ct once that he wa
not tramp In the common .acceptation 0
the word, although he is waif as II were
lie is an old man, and our reporter cngag
ing him In conversation soon learned thai
he was seventy-two years Of age past, ant
had been in Texas since 1920.
"Where is your home % our reporter
asked.
"Waal, young man. live in Libert,
county, three miles from the Trinity river
but having little land up this way / come
up to see arter it. l rode horseback up L
ten miles from here when my critter died
and walked up here j dunno how I'm
gwine to get home agin, as harn't got bu
six dollars, unless kin git the keers to take
mer
Having been in Texas since 1920, you
have doubtless seen many ups and downs,
and could give many strange ups ant
downs if you so minded, could you not?'
asked our reporter.
WAL, / kinder reckon / could, younl
man, if you wanted to listen to 'em, but
this wind is sorter bitin, and little
'sumthin' warm wouldn't go bad"
Come with me" said our repor ter, and
taking him into neighboring place, he sal
down with him to q table, and soon had
him on the outside of Ia hot Tom and Jerry
and a pretty stiff one, too, The. liquor
coursing through the old mans veins
warmed him up, and with the.garrulity o
ing ventures and marvellous escapes by
flood field" Another Tom and Jerry
seething hot, and as strong as stone fence
loosened his tongue at both ends, and
the way that old man did talk and
expectorate tobacco juice was {
caution 10 snakes. To the inquiry if he
knew Sam HoIston and Deaf Smith, and i
he was at the battle Of San Jacinto, he re
piled in the affirmative to all: "Yes, young
man. said he, 81 know Sam Houston and
Rusk, and Sherman, and Deaf Smith, anC
all of them, old fellers that helped us fight
ing men to drive the yeller Mexican var
minis out of the country. But little did
think in them days that the time would
come when this country would be cut ur
with these tarnal railroads and these
screeching mines skeei ing of the horses
Injun yell any time or panther scream
for then it makes me feel like old times.
Theirs too many people a comm here,
young man. haint got elbow room and
can't git my breath good. They tell me
that this here town reaches mile down to
the Trinity, and l would go down
and look at the old river and git drink
outen it this close up to the three forks, but
| haint got no axe to blaze my way, and
Pm afeard I'd git lost"
/" No danger of that" said our reporter.
"Ill take you down and back, and try and
help you to get home on the cars, but you
mustn't talk hard about the railroads, my
old friend, or we might fail"
Gan right, young man; but l alters
speaks my mind, and old Jess Rathbone
never goes back on what he says
"Can you tell me something about Deal
Smith 25 asked our reporter.
!" Wall, Pm jest the man can do it, my
boy. l knowed Deaf Smith first, nigh onto
fifty years ago, and better or Drawer man,
or closer friend never lived. Lemme see
'bileve I'll tell you bout that gal Deal
saved when he went to cut the bridge on
Vince's Bayou on the mornin' San Jacinto
was fit.'
'You see old Sam-that's Ginral Houston
he sent Deaf to cut down the bridge over
Vince's bayou SOS the Mexicans couldn't
retreat nor him nuther. 1t was to be deth
or nuthin' to sumbody and it was deth to
the Mexicans. think kin see the yaller
coyotes fallin' and dyin' now before our
rifles and i tell you the membrance makes
me feel good.
"Them hot egg-noggs ispowerful good and
warmth"
Our reporter ordered him another, and he
went on.
"Wa'al you see when Deaf had got most
to the bridge he heerd O rustlin in the tall
grass close on his left-Deaf told me this
hisself-and thinkin it might be a. stray
Mexican he made a dash for the. spot.
There he saw q sight that raised all the
devil in him, and he had right
Officers was strugglin' with white gal a
pore, young, scarf thing who was a doin'
of her best agin EN-. They was SO busy in
their intents that they never knowed Deaf
was about until q bullet from his rifle
dashed the brains outen one on 'em. Deaf
then drew his pistol, but the cussed thing
missed fire. The tother Mexican was a
brave rascal, and DRAWN his pistol he
would have killed Deaf, only just as he
pulled the trigger the gal, true grit, grab
bed him and his bullet grazed Deafs head,
cuttin' the har and stunnin' him a right
smart While the gal. was s9Ifhin' with
the yaller varmint Deaf cum TO lite and
jumpin off his critter he let into that Next
can with his knife and soon he was buzzard
meat. Gals didn't faint them days, or
guess that one. would hev keeled over, for
she had bin through enuf to
make sixteen gals nowadays 90 inter the
mullygrims. Wal Deaf was in Q hurry
and had no time --or foolishness, so tal1in'
the gal up behind him, he was soon at the
bridge, and with his axe maxim the Smbers
fly, while the gal pulled em out and
throwed 'em in the water. Tho gal said she
had been captured on the Brazos some days
before by these two officers, one being a
captain and the other a lieutenant. Cen
eral Santa Anna had protected her in the
camp, intendin' TO take ner to Mexico with
him, but that mornin' these two officers
Kidnapped her, Just before day, and takin'
her of on the p-airie, bad been tryin' their
best TO circumvent herall mornin but she
had fought EN-. and scratched EN-, and bit
'em, and saved herself but IL Deaf hadn't
come up as soon as he did she didn't
think she could held out much
longer. She Is alive now. a livin'
on the Trinity, and when she married she
named her first boy arter Deaf Smith and
she has a grandson named arter him, too.
That gal Is my wife and as good a woman
as God ever made. fiji in the Mexican war
and had six sons in the Confederick army
and whenever Texas wants help me and my
people is a-gaine 20 help her. Me and my
Sd oman Is pore, but with the help Of the |
Boys and our gals we manages 70 git along. |
got little piece land up here on the |
hree forks, somewhere in Denton. and ! |
,um up TO try 10 sell, II could get sumthin /
or It, but my critters dead and l dunno i
What to do bout II. J."
Our reporter went with him 10 superin-
endent Fosdick and got him a pass 70
louisville and throwing another hot tom
Indjerry into him, left him happy. This,
10 doubt, i q true story, although an I'M