Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1900-03-28
Accident VS.. Strategy.

auu YET night alter night choice
collection of congenial spirits con.
gregate at Davis's store to discuss
various subjects. All subjects are
alike so far as discussion is concerned
and the amount of wisdom that is
nightly scattered around is some.
thing to contemplate. This evening
opened with the cooking school class,
which is composed of some dozen
patches and sprinkling of mar
ried men. The hot cake question
was quickly settled and the Strategy
Board got down to business. jim
Knapp started with the remark that
lots of battles were won by accident
or something that the Generals knew
nothing about. To this the mem bers
OF the Board would not agree, and
held that Jim was trying to usurp its
prerogative, aud slaughter the senti-
ment that victory was to the STRAIT
egist. This made Jim rather hot,
and be said Now, look here, boys;
you know I'm always willin to be
fair, but when know thing | know
it, and what | want to tell you have
heered rs long ago as | can remem-
ber Iy great great grandpaw Pun
key was the man that saved the bat
tie of Saratoga. The Punkeys was
great folks for always bein in first,
and they were first to settle in Yer
mont. When the Vermont soldiers
went to help head off the British who
were getting into the middle of York
State, all the Punkeys struck cut,
and there was a lot of them, and
they got there first. You see, the
British General, Burgoyne, had the
flower of the army, and he was Tor
thought he was) on a sort of pic
mic. Now, you see, this General Bur-
goyne was slick sort of coon, and
always had bath tub in his outfit.
Well, by some means, the Punkeys
(bein there first, you know captured
it, not KNOWN what it were-for, you
see, the creeks had always been good
enough for them, and if the creeks
got scarce or friz over, they could
wait for more to turn up or thaw out.
Now, great great grandpaw was too
old to fight much, but he was nail
in good cook, so he was given that
job, especially as he claimed the tub,
intending to take it home, as he knew
how handy it would be during sugar
ing off time. Well the old man fixed
up the tub and built his fire and soon
had a great eat of stew cooking.
Yes, sir, hull tub full, and he we're
thinkin' how glad the boys would be
when they come back from fghtin te
find something good to eat. Well,
lest as the stew were cooked and
steamin' hot, along comes the British
achievements. The old man never
knew how fur they had come, but he
said they were ALFRED hungry, for
when they got smell of that air
stew they just made break in the
old man direction, and liked to have
skeered him to death. There were
stopping them. for they come helter-
SHELTER, topsy-turvey. The officers
tried to move them, KNOWN how i'm
portant it were to get them to the
front, but it were no use, for you see
the old man had just made that stew
that good that when hungry cuss
had a taste, or even a smell, he q u
died right there ruther than move
until it were all gone, and then they
were that full and so hot from boiling
it that even if they could have been
moved they would have been no ac-
count anyhow. So, anaconda-like,
they stayed right there, You have
all heard how Gates won that battle,
but do you think he would done it
if them reinforcements had come
on time ? and don't you know they
would a bin on time If it hadn't bin
for the old man $ stew?
I" That's what stampeded them,
and that's what saved the day and
changed the hull complexion of the
revolutionary war. Now, to this day
up in my part of the State of Yer
mont, there be lots of folks that
knows the facts, and they give more
credit for the victory at Saratogy to
Absolum Punkey than they do TIC
General Gates. There were no STRAIT
GOV about that, were theyY Gates