, 1900-05-01
TOLD BY F0NTA|NE
TALES TOO BADLY TRUE, BUT
TIME WAS LACKING TO
TRIM THEM.
Big Fish in the Jug-Winning a Small
Fortune at Faro on a Piece of Sum-
shine-Bill, the Loving and Jealous
Rather. Whose Specially Was the
Killing of Yankee Pickets.


Jackson, Miss, April 21.-The Chica-
go Inter-Ocean contained a story re-
Gently in reference to Lamar Fontaine,
the celebrated improvisatore of he
lowlands. 1t did not do him entire
justice. His abilities have never gain
ed the recognition they deserve. His
fame is confined to ac%Quaintances and
to newspapers. He should be interna-
t~ionally known, and when he is dead.
grateful countrymen ought to build him
a monument, massive and sky-reach-
ing. The lamented Joe Mulhatton, ere
ator Of the Williams ranch aerolite,
weight thirty-odd tons, was something
of a genius. The fellow who. in 1897,
had everybody in the United States
rubber-necking for airships after dark,
earned some credit. Compared with
Fontaine, however, these two were as
80 cents to the national debt. They
were amateurs, rough and crude. Fon-
tame Is a professional, smooth, con-
vincing and moving. He is 80 years
old and for seventy Of these eighty
years has been practicing his art.
Starting with good abilities, it is but
natural that he has attained almost to
: %superhuman skill. Many years ago he
was to blame for absorbing all credit
of All Quiet Along the Potomac To
night but that time is long past, and
Beers of Philadelphia, son OF the real
author, ought not to write him any
more scathing letters. For at least
two decades Fontaine has believed him
self to be the author, and he Is honest
in asserting his title to the poem. He
can no more be talked out OF this de-
fusion than his head can be talked on.
and the man who starts in to talk his
head of will wind up with both lungs
gone and Fontaine just getting into the
swing. 1t Is characteristic Of him that
when he has made a statement several
times he believes 1t earnestly. Colo
mel Jeems WINS. the Tall Walnut Of
the Yazoo, says Of him: Colonel Fon-
tame dreams a story tells 1t at break
fast, Inc by the time the horn blows
for dinner he knows it is So"
Here are some Of the stories, just as
they came from himself, and he stands
ready to make a sieve Of any man who
questions their utter correctness. He
says Of them himself that they ans too
badly true, and IL he had time he WoAld
ornament them:
when General Grant had Pember-
ton cooped up in Vicksburg It became
municate with him and let him Know
that the eyes OF his countrymen was
on him, and that we was cheering for
him. We was $50 miles above the
town, and between us and it raj q
hell's mint of Yankee gunboats. They
~wastearing up an down the river all day
an night, chompin' that wsttah and
snortin' like hippopotamuses. I volun-
teered for the duty. and this is how I
did lone it: l stuck the letter to Penn
berton in my shirt and swum u in
the stream about dark. and walled for
one OF them dinged gmboats to come
along.
Them days ! could swim for about
twenty-four hours and never feel 1t.
About midnight one coma tearing down.
AS she went by me I grabbed the gun
mel, a foot above the water, and hung
on. She was goin' fifteen miles an
ho.u ,od ~, lotc~ Haakd ~. tko ~,
face. but it made no difference. All the
way down our boys was shootin' at her
from both banks, and that made 1t in
terestin' for me. One bullet hit the
hand by which I was holdin' on-here
is the scar now-but l nevah lost my
hold. We was Just ten hours maxim
the run. When we hit the upper aidge
of Vicksburg l swum ashore, handed
over my letter to the general, went In
to the wattahO again, went through the
Yankee feet, and brought up nfty miles
below. l got the thanks Of the Con-
federate congress for that, but the rec
ords was burned.
POI 'One time / was walking through the
woods up In the Yazoo country. with
my shotgun on my shoulder. It Eas 10
o'clock at night and darker'n the In
side Of a COW. Suddenly I heard. close
by me, the deadly rattle of a snake. !
knew that in another minute I would
be q dead man. I brought my gun
down, fired one barrel, In the direction
sunnosed the snake to be, saw him