The National tribune., 1898-05-05

on my horse, NIT my hants He'd behint me,
INT my feet tied inter de horses pelly. 1
vas almost tead Ply night, When We reached
Headquarters. Dey gif me Something's to
cad mt | laid down on de floor of de cabin,
Wishing vas Pontius Plate. so Diet | gould
cruelty efery man in de Southern Gonfedrisy
Especially, Pob Wilkins An hour or two
later | heard Pob wilkins swearing again.
60 Make oud de names of all de prisoners
hat, he vas saying, nit where dey pelong
unit do charges against dem. I CAN'T. Do
deg take me for counter jumping clerk? /
didn't gone into de army TO be a whitehead
bOok-keeper. / sdrained my thumb de udder
tay, mt gan twride, eien little bit. What
am 10 do?'
Dat vas all moonshine apout his sbrain-
ing his thumb. He vas ignorant as q chack-
ass If he hat 40 thumbs he gouldn't wride
efen his own name SOS anypoddy gould read
it,
." don't pelieve dere's man in a mile Of
here dat gan make oud such list. he vent
on. 'Dey're all set of hominy eating plock-
heads. Berhaps dat hook-nOsed Chew might.
He's de man. III make him do it, or preak
his schwindling head
"He gone in, kicked me, unit made me
get up unit den dock me out unit set me
down at a dable, where he hat baper ben mt
ink, unit ordered me to dake down de names
off de prisoners as he brought dem up.
He'd look Offer my shoulder as | wrode, as If
he vas reading What set down, but knowed
dat he couldn't make oud a letter. | vas
dempted to wride all sorts of things apout
him, but / didn't, for I vas in enough
droubles alretty. When 1 gone to my own
name. he said:
g Make de charge, shy, a thief, mt
Dutch traitor to the Southern Gonfedrisy.'
g / yoost wrode: Lei Rosenbaum, Men,
phis Tenn, merchant No charge
He scowled very wisely ad id, unit breten-
ded to read id, unit said:
So Ids lucky for you dat you wrode i'd
yoost as I told you. I'd a. proke effery pone
in your poddy if you hadn't
I'D yoost got done when an officer GONE
down from headquarters for it. He looked it
Offer unit said:
''Who mate dis oud?"
"Vhy, mate id oud," said Pob wilkins,
pold as prass
Bud who wrode id - said de officer.
go, STRAINED my thumb, so couldn't
wride very veil unit / mate Chew prisoner
copy id. said Pob Wilkins
"' Ids de pest wriding hat seen, said de
officer. / want de man What wrode id to go
NIT me to Headquarters at vunce. hat some
copying dere to be done at vunee, unit not
yun of dem gorn-grackers dat | hat up dere
gan wride anydings fit to read. Pring dat
man oud here unit will dake him NIT me-
''Pob Wilkins hated to led me go. bud he
couldn't help himself unit / vent NIT de
officer. vas so dried gould hardly move
sdep unit felt I gould nod wride word.
But seemed to see chance al Headquarters,
unit determined to make efery effort to do
Something's. Dey gift me sdiff horn of whisky
unit sed me to work. Dey wanted me to make
oud unit copy a consolidated rebort OF de
army.
II almost forgot vas dired when found
oJid vat dey wanted, for | saw chance to get
Something's of kreat value. Deyd peen drying
to make up rebOrt vTom all sorts of scraps
mt sheeds of baper sent in from de tifierent
Headquarters, mt dey had sboiled half
dozen pig sheds of baper after deyd got dem
bartly done. If | do say id myselluf, / gan
wride bedder unit faster unit vigure quicker
dan most any man you e(er saw. Dose rep
pels thought dey hat got hold of a vonder-a
lighdning CALCULATOR unit Eghdning beHman
to9edder.
.As vast as I would copy vun baper, unit
up unit stick it into pig yaller envelope.
also volded up de sboiled reborts, unit stuck
dem in de envelope, saying dat | wanted to
ket rid of dem-put dem where seeing dem
wouldn't bodder me- carefully slipped de
envelope unter de edge of bile of bapers
near de edge of de dable. 1 hat anodder big
yaller envelope dat looked yoost like it lying
in de mittle of de dable, into which l sduck
bapers dat didn't amount to holdings. 1 vas
very slick apout it, unit didn't led dem see
dat / hat two envelopes.
g Id vas bast midnight When I got de gon-
solidated rebort made Oud, unit de reppels vas
tickled to death nit id. Dey'd meier seen
anything so veil done before. Dey wanted
copy made to keep, unit | said I'd make vun,
though | vas nearly dead for sleep. l really
wasn't, for de eggscitement made HE forget all
apout peing dried.
g / vass determined, pevore | slept to hat
dat yellow envelope NIT all dose bapers, in
Cheneral Curtis's hands, though he vas 40
miles afay How in de vorldt | vas kong to
do it, gould not think, but l vas kong 10
do id, if / tied drying De Wrist thing vas
to ket dat envelope off de dable into my
Clothes; de next, to ket oud of dat cabin,
afay vrom Pob Wilkins unit his guards,
through de reppel lines, unit ofer de noun
tains to Cheneral Curtis's CAMP. Id vas a
dark, windy rigid, unit things we're in gon-
fusion apout de gamp-yOost de kind of
dime When anybody mighd kill Chew ped
Ter, INT no questions would pc asked.
g l hat got de last copy vinished, unit de
officers vas going Offer id. Dey hat der heads