The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-02-22
GOING TO MARDI GRAS
WITH SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT'S ITS
LIKE WHEN YOU GET THERE.
An Episode of Travel on the Lower Missis-
sippi-Ten Minutes for Necltie
Party-wretched weather for the Car
nival.

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 1S.--"It constitutes
very fair imitation of a sea voyage, at least as
far as internal sensations GO" thinks your cor
respondent, as he clings to his seat in the little
rolling, bouncing train which is speeding south
ward down the Mississippi Valley. The resem-
blance to mid-ocean experience is heightened
by the murmuring of stomach trying to di-
gest the supper provided by Southern railroad
restaurant, and, mentally, by very confused
and vague idea on the part of the writer as to
just where he is. He knows that Memphis is
behind him and that the Mississippi River lies
at his right hand, for the other details of his
wheresbouts-they are shrouded in the darkness
of winters eve.
"L-r' shouts the brakeman. "Change
cars for c."
The writer tumbles out and makes for a train
standing on a neighboring track. AS he starts
to mount the steps of 'first-class'' carriage he
is jostled by two negresses and yellow girl,
who were mounting in front of him. but who
for some reason are hurriedly turning to a rear
car. He notes that one of the negresses, an
elderly woman, goes barefoot, and he is formu-
lating mental note of that fact when he finds
himself at the top of the car steps and face to
face with an extremely tough-looking customer
of the justly celebrated Caucasian race.
"Say," remarks the tough-looking customer,
authoritatively, "yercan't come in hyar. Goback
to der rear cyar''
Your correspondence obeys mechanically ,enters
the rear car, and finds himself in compartment
bearing placard which states: 'sThis compart-
ment for colored passengers exclusively. No
white passengers allowed"
He passes into rear compartment and finds
that it is ''for white passengers exclusively, no
colored passengers allowed" This brings
him to a realization that he is in one of those
"second-class'' carriages which do duty as
smoking cars and pretty much everything else
on Southern accommodation trains. He fumes
inwardly at the indignity of being thrust in
such place while in possession of a first-class
ticket, and resolves to bluff the conductor when
that worthy appears with an alluson to stwrit-
ing him up for the Northern papers," The con-
ductor does not appear, however, and the bluff
remains unbluffed, which, as it transpires,
is extremely lucky for the correspondent.
The presence of Northern newspaper man
would not be relished
He would be asked to step out and walk,
walk Spanish if need lie, but not to eventuate
around those parts again with his little note
book.
For listen to the conversation of those two
gentlemen on the back seat
"Have you taken a look at him ?'' says one.
sYes," is the response; "pretty tough-look-
ing nigger."
"Ah, you may say that. They say they're
taking him to G. for safe keeping, but don't
you believe 1t. The boys are going to take him
out here little way and string him up. He
knows he's not got long to live. Hear him
holler!'
From tha forwor rd nov a lop,, 5.ou,x, o,,4
ful yell floats in through the door-a veil of
desperate spite. The voice is that of strong
man, but the intonation is that of an incorrgi-
BILE child, who howls from sheer vindictive
hopelessness.
fThat's him." is the comment which shows
that the lawlessness of the community stays
not nor stops at the rules of grammar.
The train pulls out. AT the expiration of five
minutes it gently stops. The passengers step
out on the rear platform. brakeman, who is
running about with lantern, forbids them to
leave the train, and they gaze vaguely yonder
into the night.
Yonder to the right, where those stunted,
leafiess trees rise from the dense thicket, thew
see two or three men wearing handkerchief
bound about their faces plunging and crashing
about in the bushes. There is no sight nor
sound of the prisoner
Somebody in the glare of light on the rear
platform observes: 'Gentlemen, we are al
mighty good marks to be shot at if those masked
men should think us too inquisitive."
And then the train moves on, and leaves both
captive and captors. Such is death in Missis-
sippi The passing away of an unfortunate
during the scholastic calm of a desperate sur
gical operation would be attended with tenfold
more excitement
From overheard conversations and the an
swers to the few modest and generalzed aues-
tions which he thinks it wise to ask your CORE
spondendent learns that the individual now re-
ferred to as the ''dead nigger back thar,n was
guilty OF the murder of city marshal and was
convicted both by circumstantal evidence and
by his own confession. The officer who has
just had him in charge, the marshal who was
"oYerpowered" by the mob, now loafs into the
second-class car and begins to talk about the
way his prisoner was taken from him. He does
not seem to regard it as personal matter at all
but rather TO think of it as one thinks of some
especially clever trick at legerdemain which he
has had the pleasure of witnessing 1t seems
that the mob picked his pistol out of his pocket
and then drew their own, whereupon the pris-
oner was gracefully surrendered. "Neyer see
so many guns in my life" concludes the Off
Ger, grinning.
Another occupant of the car grins, as well
he may. He is a short, heavy, black negro
clad in an old Army oVercoat and slouch hat
He owes the privilege of riding in the white
mans compartment TO the fact that he also is a
prisoner, securely handcuffed He has shown
some signs of self-consciousness, to saw the
least, while listening to the yells of his lately
deceased fellow-slnner and to the proceedings
OF the mob. But now that any danger of his
becoming involved in necktie sociable is past
he smiles cheeringly at the remark made by
some humorist present that 'If the mob had
got into this cyar and mistaken that negro for
the one they was after they wouldn't have
listened to no explanations.n
And so the train reaches G.. A st. Louis