St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1899-06-17
oPELoUsAs, La. SATURDAY, JUNE Il, 1899. s

Bakersville one day to say to me:
"Kurnel Bunker, If the wah had last
ed three months longer yo' would have
been brigadier.general."
! bowed and passed along the con-
juice.
The wah is over. kurnel, but we
cannot forget our gallant leaders" !"
bowed again. s,s. B
sYo' led the charge at Iuka-yo'
broke the enemy at Franklin-yo' were
left for dead at Nashville
Once mo- l bowed.
And now, sah,' says the captain,
as he extended his hand, ''the men Of
this senatorial district, who know
yo'r bravery as a soldier and yo'r ster-
ling integrity as citizen. desiah to
eyinee their appreciation of these at
tributes. am heah, Kurnel Bunker,
on behalf of the voters to ask yo' to
accept the nomination for senatorship
in the state legislature %
For moment I was overcome, sab
regularly overcome. had an ideah
that Capt. Taylor had come over to
borrow money or to ask me to indorse
note. It took me some time to pull
myself together and answer him:
Capt. Taylor, viii leave my military
record to history and my standing as a
citizen to my friends. I do not seek
honahs and emoluments. but if it ID
the wish of the majority will accept
this nomination with pleasure
lie assured me that the desiah was
unanimous, and as an individual he
indulged in further words of praise
which my native modesty forbids me to
repeat heah. 1t was an occasion, sah-
the captain had created an occasion
but Kurnel Bunker had risen to it as
the eagle rises from his perch to greet
the golden sun. Three days after my
interview with Capt. Taylor Judge
Davis rode up to the plantation. The
judge was smiling and serene, and I
hope / was the same. We had a nip
together and talked Of niggers and the
cotton crop, and | was wondering
where the judge was at when he sud-
denly says to me:
.Kurnel Bunker, the seventeen
wounds which yo' received ii as many
different battles are an inheritance to
be proud of.
| felt it my duty to bow.
AS a soldier yo'r fame will go down
into history, and as q citizen yo'r name
viii be craven on the tablets of our
memory.
l bowed again.
.sYo' have reaped all that can be
garnered, sah,'' continued the Judge,
s'and now am heah to-day to ask yo'
to help me reap little myself. I have
been asked to take the nomination for.
state senator of this district. and I
wish yo' to open my campaign with
a speech.
That was Judge Davis. sab, and
that was Kurnel Bunker, sab. Judge
Davis had created another occasion.
and il was Kurnel Bunker's duty to
rise to it; and when he did rise it was
like the uplifting of an island from
the depths of the sea. Withdrawing
into the house for moment returned
with my pistols, and handing one TO
the judge said:
Judge Davis, the lawn is Defo' us,
and the distance between those red
stakes is exactly ten PAGES. Make yo'r
choice of either stake-of either stake,
sah-and will count one two three
and we win open tiah."
Il The judge is a brave man, sah-a
brave man and a gentleman. but lit
tie slow to grasp the situation. It was
two or three minutes before he solved
the puzzle, and then he rose up, tears
sprang to his eyes, and reaching for
my hand he said:
sKurnel Bunker, thought had been
asked to take the nomination for the
state senatorship. but | reckon must
have been dreaming. Instead of yo'
opening the campaign for me will
open it for yo. and il we do not sweep
the opposition from the face of the
earth and carry our banners to victory
then we shall have died in the cause
of glory and honah.
That was Kurnel Bunker, sab. still
holding those deadly weapons in his
hands, and that was Judge Davis, sab,
speaking from the fuiIness of his heart;
and it is needless to add that my mig
ger presently appeared with two clean
glasses and a demijohn Of con juice.
and that a quantity of the said con
juice was speedily imbibed. Later on.
sab, at the district conyent tion, several
individuals opposed my nom
nation on the ground that 1 was no
orator, sab. In one sense
The point was well taken-in another |
It created an occasion for KurneI Bun
ser to rise to. He rose. Stepping to
The front platform where all might see,
md drawing himself up to his full /
height, he spoke about as follows:
'.Gentlemen: 1t is true that ] am no /
orator. At the battle of Antietam / /
siaced myself at the head Of my gio-
-ious old regiment and simply said:
Heroes of the Tenth, to-day NE die or
vim glorious victory. At the battle
# Cedar Creek only waved my sword
ind said: There is the enemy-we are
,ere to annihiIate him. Again, at i
instead OF falling into
,rafory, made my way through sing
ng bullets and screaming shell to the
read Of my chegaiiers and called out:
one gallant charge and the day is
,urs.'
That was Kurnel Bunker, sab. and
hat was the occasion, sab. and within
@ seconds those trueuient obstruc-
ionisfs were swept aside as the whirI-
Wind picks up the dust. and was nom-
mated hv acclamation. There Mas vet Il