The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1881-04-09
things looked kinder quiet aroun' the

house. SEE he:
".Gin i'm my best respects an tell
i'm L II call agin sometime.
/" An'.he gin an ugly leer an skunk
of down the road, an KEEP a-watchin'
i'm till he wuz out O. sight. tho pur-
tended ter be a-weedin' the verbena-
bed. Iwuz tremblin' so could scarcely
git in the house; but bolted the door
and sot down to think. S'posin' he
should cum back, wot should doP
:. But he din't cum back, an pretty
soon felt better an went out ter the
barn an fed the creturs, an patted Mr..
Slocum an gin him an extra dinner, l
wuz so kinder thankful; an seq to Mr..
Slocum, Yer sarved me a good turn
this time. an won't forgit it nuther.'
He pricked up his ears an gin q
kind o. whinny when / spoke to I'M
he wuz a dreadful KNOWN old mule.
"Then he'd dinner myself; an jist
as wuz a-puttin' the dishes away lsee
nice lookin' man comm in the gate.
begun to feel real scared, but sed to
myself, Mr.. Slocum IL keep me COM
pany.'
$50 walked out quite pleasant to
meet i'm. He bowed quite perlite, an
sed he wuz the draft man, an come to
git names for the drafted. / gin i'm
fathers name, but he wuz over age.
SEE he, Where's your father?'
/" See l, He's gone ter the show
+" SEE he, Amt there any other men
'boutp'
"Now wuz afeard to tell i'm there
wasn't cause thought he mought be
sassy eff he knew wuz alone; so up
an sed, Mr.. Slocum's out ter the
barn.
".H How old is hep SEE he.
"'He's pretty DID, SEE l. He's
thirty
"sThat amt DID, seq he; an he
wrote it down.
"'Wot's his fust name" SEE he.
ssThen didn't know wat ter say fer
a mint, but / wuz afeared eff l didn't
tell i'm somethin' he'd go an ask Mr..
Slocum himself. So SEE |. His names
Elkanah' Yer see that wuz old deacon
Scran's name, an sometimes father
would call Mr.. Slocum Elkanah jist for
sport. So when / sed Elkanah's his
name he wrote it down.
"s Any diseasep' seq he.
mo SEE l.
can he wrote that down.
"Then l wuz so afeared he'd ask me
more questions offered i'm some cake
an cider, which he took an thanked
me quite perlitc an got up ter go.
"Sez he,. 1t don't matter bout my
SEEM Mr.. Slocum. You kin tell i'm,
an I'll send 'roun' eff he's drafted
"sY es,' seq l, FL tell Inn an !
wuz so near laughin' in his face. that
stopped down an picked up crum' o
cake to bite my lips in shape.
"a AFTER he wuz gone, jist threw my
apern over my head an laughed till
cried. l guess l wuz kinder narvus,
that when father an mother cum back
told 'em wot time l he'd. Father
laughed when told i'm bout draftin'
Mr.. Slocum, an then he looked sober.
We may hev trouble bout thet,' seq
| he.
"Mother felt reel bad; an SEE she,
I'll never leave yer agin, Cynthy, moi
if Queen Victoria asks me-
Fer a while arter that we didn't
hear nuthin' from the draft man. But
one day man druv up to the gate, an
told father that Elkanah Slocum wu7
wanted.
Father wuz skeery kind O. man,
an he wuz afearcd there'd be trouble
So he list sed 'yis, an the man druy
off. They sent fer i'm twice arter that
but father made some excuse ev'ry
time, but he felt dreadful bout it.
"One day when father was up in the
fields, mother an me see hull lot o
men marchin' down the road. They
all filed in through the gate, headed,
by reel .handsum man thai
looked like Capting. SEE he to moth
err, a-taking off his cap, We've come
fer Elkanah Slocum wot's been drafted.
''Mother she didn't know wot to say
an l thought twas time the thing wul
explained. So SEE ter the Captlng
Walk rite out ter the. barn eff vel
please-he's out there
g So we ali marched out ter the barr
\ an / opened the door, an SEE 1
a-pointin' in, There's Mr.. Slocum.'
"sLook here,' SEE the Capting
turnin' aroun' quite savage, Il didn'
come here ter be made fool of! Sur
roun' the barnr SEE he reel sharp tel
| the men.
81 couldn't help smilin' little as
see 'em a-scamperin' aroun'. Then b,
turned to me, an SEE he: DO yel
know, Miss, yer trifling with the United
States Cove muntp Where's Elkanal
SlocumP' an he spoke dreadful snappy
By this time father cum up, an h
an mother looked real scared. Thel
father SEE, Tell i'm all bout it, Cynth,
there amt no other way
50 So up an told him jist how it wuz
and seq mother, We never left he
lone afore, Capting, an we feel rec
bad bout it.
"Wul, the Capting begun ter smil'
afore l got through with my story
an by the time l got ter thu
end. he jist haw-hawed rite out, an TIT
men did, too.
sWul.' SEE he to mother, yer neet
1 4 r.