The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-03-24
GAIN AND LOSS.
The Burial Place Of Jake Hollis
Little Girl.


Hotel, at which | am stopping, was al
together barren of metropolitan at
fractions. A hard rainstorm had set in
shout dark, and the heavy drops clat-
tered against the window panes and ran
down them in shining streams. I
strolled into the bar and billiard room,
in which at western hotels there is
usually abundant life and animation.
The only inmate was the bartender,
who, seated on q low stool and leaning
against the beer refrigeratoS was read
ing an illustrated paper. The single
billiard table, covered with what looked
like faded old bed quilt, wore a very
distressed and woe-begone look, as if at
that moment it might be suffering from
q nightmare consisting of all the ex-
ecrable shots to which during it's life
time it had been made an unwilling
party. Several rows of shining pool
balls in the rack against the wall winked
in the dim light of the dingy kerosene
lamps. Eight or ten cues, stained with
the grasp of many dirty palms, stood up
stiff and prim in a line in the eue-rack,
and at the end of the bar stood large
box spittoon, the fresh sawdust in which
showed the effects of recent center
shot.
shook my head at the barkeeper, who
had raised his eyes inquiringly, to signi-
fy that wanted no bar-room refresh
ments, then glancing out the dripping
window and seeing bright light across
the street, l turned down the brim of my
slouch hat. buttoned my coat around my
throat and scurried over to the little sa-
loon which is, as had learned during
The day, the favorite retreat of the vii
lage tipplers. Arough-looking man sat
at table slipping gin and water, and
slipping it, too, with deliberation indi-
eating either IN absence of ardent thirst
or desire to make the most of the
drink.
"Gineral," said to him one of the
three or four like-looking men gathered
around the stove, ''this q howlin' bad
night
The "gineral'- so-caIled in a
spirit of compliment for military serv-
ices, perhaps duly recorded somewhere
in the war annals of his country, or in
the way of facetious allusion to his
marked propensity for gin and water,
shall not attempt to say-poised his
spoon long enough in the air midway
from his glass to his lips to reply that it
was, indeed, :" a tough 'un, and gettin'
wus and wus.' And as if to corrobor-
ate this unfavorable opinion of the
weather, the rain beat against the door
and windows with increased fury, the
wind tore headlong through the street
hitting the swinging signs blow that
made them shrek with pain and rage,
and the rising creek roared in the gulch
below.
THAT boomin' creek down there, g"
resumed ''tie gineral," after a little
pause, "makes me think of the terrible
night when old Jake Hollis little gal
was carried away in the big spring rise.
1t was nineteen years ago the comm
spring. Yes. it started in just like this,
a-rainin and BLOWN and the creek
howln' itself hoarse. What an awful
night it. was, and what deal of bad
luck and what a deal O. good it brought
to old Jake Holt. Jake, We see, was
allus just the poorest, seediest, good-for-
nothinest cuss anywhere round here.
But he was rich man almost from the
tust hour that big storm burst over the
holler, Yes, sir, sure's you're born,
ct it hadn't been for the drownin' Of
of that pootv little gal down in the run
there Jake might O been yet the poor,
shtless coot he was them days. instead
o the richest man in these parts, which
he is now
well. | don't mind tellin' We the
story, stranger, though it's an old un to
folks hereabouts.
1.-The weather all that spring was just
a little the wust you ever see. The
snow melted and ran down the noun
tains, leavin' their brown sides bare a
sight sooner than I'd ever seen it do be-
fore. The drizzlin' rain never missed
day. 1t rained just all thetime, some
times slow and sometimes harder. The
sun didn't shine, and for days and
days together we didn't see a
patch o blue sky. Great banks O
mist went sailin' slowly along the
sides of the mountains, hidin' 'em from
the sight of everybody on this side the
run. A shower of rain drops fell out O.
the pines with every breath of the wind.
Rain, rain, rain. The snow KEEP meltin'
and the mountains was checkered with
cuts in the red clay down which
streamed the rain and melted snow.
Everything was damp and drizzling,
everybody felt blue enough to take
pizen.
'All this time the run had KEEP creep
in up the banks. From little stream that
you almost could stand and dump across
in dry times. it got before long to rushin
and ragin' like the old Missouri river on
bender.
Jake lived in little shanty half way
up the bluff on t'other side O. the creek.
1t was a mean. tumble-down sort O.
place, for Jake, Just as said, was no
account feller-a shiftless kind O cuss.
who never had the knack O gettin' along
ike other folks If he ever tried to do
anything it never PANIED out as it would
done for anybody else. Hard luck
was allus at his heels. He took up more
q dozen different claims hereabouts.
but they never amounted to nothin.
while fellarS all rorpA him were maxim Or