The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-07-28
GENERAL HARNEY's SWIM.
BY ALEX. SWEET.

Tn Gate- beltsm days San Antonio. Texas, was then, as now, army head quarters. Among the army officers stationed at that post at one time or another were Lorgstreet, Gordon, Granger, Whiting and several others, who afterwards distinguished them selves on one side or the other during the great fratricidal struggle. Gen. eral Robert K. Lee was first lieuten- ant and stationed at the Alamo City. Among these officers was also General Harney, who is still living.
 The army officers, and among them General Harney, were frequent guests at the residence of Mir. Stith, near the head of the San Antonio river, several miles from the city. One morning General Harney went to the river to take bath. On his way to the bath ing place he passed black boy named Pete, who was the property of his host. Pete was half -witted. He was not an absolute lunatic and not at all dangerous. On this occasion Pete was sitting on a stump singing a negro melody.
 "Well, Pete, what are you doing for yourself?" asked General Harney in a bantering mood.
 "Nuffin, gineral, 'oeptin' watchin' dem goats. Dey says dat's all Pse fitten for, bekase I ain't got no sense. Whar's yer gwine yerse'f?"
 "Pm going to take bath. Don't you want to go along?"
 "Whaffor1"
 "You might sit on the bank, and in case get drowned you could point where to look for my body"
 Now Pete had never had an oppor- tunity of seeing anybody drown, and the temptation to be present at such an occurrence was more than he could resist. He drove his goats into the corral and arrived at the bathing place just in time to see Harney dis appear beneath the pellucid waters of the river, but he was much disgusted at his reappearance. Finally Pete growled:
 "Hit don't seem ter me as of yer was gwineter drown yerse't."
 General Uarney raised his arms above his head and disappeared. His intention was to remain long enough under the water to make Pete believe that he was drowned, and he succeeded beyond his fondest anticipations, for when he came to the surface Pete was scooting across the country with the generals clothes under his arm, yell ing at the top of his voice:
 "De gineral has done drown hisse'f De gineral has hone drown hisse'f"
 General Harney started in pursuit, but the appearance of large picnic party caused him to hurriedly re- trace his steps and seek the conceal ment afforded by the water. It wns not long before Mir. Stith, accompa- nied by the then Lieutenant Long street and several other officers, ap- peared on the scene. They were pro- vided with ropes, rakes and other inn plements useful in rescuing drowned persons. Pete was there, too, but when he saw Harney alive he said:
 "Foah God, he hain't done drowned hisse'f yit!''
 To say that General Harney was angry Is to use absurdly inadequate language. If he could have laid hands on Pete there would have been a tragedy. AS for the would-be res cuers they gave way to Homeric laughter, in which General Harney joined as soon as the absurdity of the situation dawned on him.
 A few days afterward he reproached Pete for having deserted him in the hour of his emergency, whereupon Pete, protruding lower lip that looked like dropsical sausage, re- piled sulkily:
 "Huh! of I had knowed dat yer wasn't gwineter drown yosef wouldn't hab gone along wid yer in de fust place. ."-NeU York Mercury.