The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-06-02
"TIMBUCTOO."

| behind the Madeleine a brilliant clcuC
I threw its golden reflections the length o.
/ the avenue. The gay, joyous crowd, NOV
( Ing IN this flaming light, seemed to b
{ apotheosized-their faces were gilded. theil
! hats and coats were tinted By the crimson
rays. while even their polished shoes cast
golden shadows on the asphalt. Befort
| the cafes crowds Of men were drinking
from glasses that seemed to be incrusted
with glowing precious stones.
In the midst OF this throng of soberly
dressed men two officers were seated, daz
zling the eyes Of the multitude BY the
splendor of their uniforms
Suddenly a tall. stout negro, dressed en-
tirely in white, with vest covered with
gold embroideries- his face shining as il
waxed, passed the cafe with a ridiculous
air OF Importance. He laughed incessantiv
at the crowd, AT the newsboys. at thu
brilliant sky, al all Paris He was SO tall
that he lowered above every one. The
lOungers stared at him, while he stared al
the two officers Jcstling and tumbling
over the people in his path, he rushed for
ward to their table, fixing upon one Of
them his shining, delighted eyes. while MS
mouth was stretched from ear 10 ear. ex-
Al J4A-44t@ A4S " LADS LGSAH, WHICH were IKE
the moon crossing dark sky.
The two officers gazed ar the ebony
giant without understanding his emotion
or recognizing him
In a queer voice, which made the tables
ring with the laughter Of the spectators,
he cried, Bon jour. mon lieutenant"
One of the officers was chief Of battalion.
the other a colonel
Il DO not know you, sir, or what you wish
Of me, the senior officer answered
The negro replied, Moi love you much.
Lieutenant Vedie-siege of Bezi. 81. s., va. ;"
The officer, astounded at this jargon.
looked fXedly at the negro. searching his
memory to the bottom Suddenly ne ex-
claimed, ''TimbuctooI"
The radiant negro clapped his thigh and
uttered a cry which amounted in violence
10 roar.
81, 81, "a, va! You know me-Timbuc-
too
The commandant extended his hand.
laughing with all his heart. Then Tim
buctoo became very grave. He seized the
hand Of the officer, and before releasing u
kissed II With rapture, according to Arabic
and African custom. The embarrassed
officer reproved him il severe tones. Let
up. Timbuctool We are not in Africa
Sit down and tell me how find You here
TimbuctOO drew himself up with infinite
dignity, and while stammering and stamp
ing ne answered, Moi bon euisinier moi
mango. roll teaucoup, des PrusSiens''-
which reply was accom- panied with howls
of JOY.
When the officer, who alone understood
this strange language, had questioned him
at length, he dismissed him with. "Au
revoir, Timbuctoo. I'll see you later"
The negro arose, and contenting himself
this time with pressure Of the hand,
cried out, Bon jour, va, va. gesticulating
and laughing as he disappeared.
The amused spectators were now con
WINGED that he was q lunatic, while the
colonel demanded, Well, who is this black
bruteg"
A good soldier, and brave one. am
going to tell you his story. Ii is amusing
You recall that in 1870 I was shut up in
Bezieres. which the negro called Bel.
We were not hesieged, but blocka6ed
The Prussian lines surrounded Us. I'D 70
the cannon mouth. and though they did
not attack Us, We were starving. little by
little. ! was then lieutenant-our gar
rIson was composed of troops Of many
varieties, the remains Of regiments nearly
annihilated, desevters, marauders, all sorts
in fact
lone evening twelve Turks arrived.
No one knew from whence or how they
came. They presented themselves at the
gate, weary, battered and hungry. The
men were assigned 10 me. and I soon
learned that they were rebels against all
, H.
were alwaFS out and GIways drunk.
tried the police quarters. then the prison
nothing succeeded Ny men would dis Z
appear for entire days. as If buried in the
very earth Then they wou,d reappear in .
4 condition that resembled iutoX5cacioa. .
They had no uCney-where did they drink .
md hows
This state OF affairs began to puzzle me .
Intensely, especially a these poor savages (
amused and interested ue BY their eternal .
,ood spirits They were simply big. play .
al children I observed that they blindl7
'beyed the tall fellow. whom YOU have just
zen He governed them by his strong
Will and LED them IN al their mysterious
as II he were their chief Final
= | ordered them before me and cues
toned them closely
'~Our interview lasted three hours. 50
ager was 70 penetrate this singular cha
abba A. for him. the poor devil made fran
iC efforts to be Observation-Disclosures words,
esJjculsJed, whistled. perSpired. then
topped when he faucied had cauEht hIs
meaning I discovered that he was the
on Of chief-a sorJ Of negro kinE-iu the
eiEhboThood Of TImbuctoo. asked him
- name He answered with so:uethin.
hat sounded like Char hari boala haH'
( seemed 70 me simpler matter 70 give
i'm the name Of his country. and in eight
avs the entire garrison 80 called him
Bat we were still curious 70 know how
ms savage chained his liquor | GIscov-
red II IN a singular vSy. Or the raInp2rSs
De morning was studying the horizon
ltA ny glass. when perceived in vine
HI moving object Tue harvest Of the
nJaSe was 81 hand Ire grapes were
early ready, bUt this made little inp-us-
on on ne. fsncied had seen 8 sov ep-
rs through the vines. and I in
organized an expedition 10 sur
Dand and seize the intruder. took
,mmaDd myself. after receiving the ssas-
ca Ct tie general Ordered OFT three
nall companies. by THREE different routes
10 were 70 march near the suspected
neyard and surround II. N ooier to cut
the retreat OF tie spy one company