The National tribune., 1903-09-24
ROARED,'.

eddy in French. 1 seemed paddy scared.
couldn't speak word of English. put
de way | chartered, and made gestures,
vas holy show. l showed dem my
BASES and my carts and letters. talked
apoHt Gen. POlienac. Some of dem knew
a little 'Cajan French, and managed to
get out of me dat had gone down to de
| fort, expecting to meet Gen. Polignac dere.
| hut had yOOst got near enough to see de
Yankee charge de blaze and capture it.
and had ridden off in terror. All wanted
vas to get safely to Alexandria. OF course:
| | could go along nit dem. AS We galloped
along | gathered from What dey said to one
another dat dey vas bart of Gen. Walker s
staff sent on to see Gen. Taylor, report de
capture of Fort De Russy, explain dat it
| happened because Gen. Polignac's and
Gen. MortOn's prigades had not come up
to help as promised report de great num-
Der of Yankees, and say dat Gen. Walker
| had bicked up Gen. Scully's Prigade, and
vas valling pack, ACCORDING to de bre-
Bayou de Lac, and Carroll JOnes's.
| LAS l made out l couldn't speak word
of English dey talked pefore me yoost as
if | vas a sdump or horse.
DE only thing dat 1 vas afraid of, vas
dat dey would notice dat de horse l vas
riding vas entirely too vresh to pear out
my story dat l had ridden down from
|
bles of der own to keep dem from MOTTO
ing dat. -,
1T vas news enough to take pack to old
A. j. dat Walker vas moving pack from
Alexandria. for dat showed dat Dick Tay
| lOr meant to retreat NIT his whole force.
But knew dat A. J. would not pc condent
unless vent to Alexandria. and ON | vent
I've got into Alexandria apout midnight
all hungry, tired and dirty. De rest we're
so anxious to wash up, get Something's to
eat and lie down, dat dey paid no atten-
| ton to me. l skipped off to Zimri Fink
enbein's house, vaked him up, told him all
de news, While l vas eating n pite, got his
news, which vas dat While Dick TaylOr's
men talked wight very loudly, he noticed
dat dere vas a steady stream of wagons out
de old Fort Jesup road, hauling ammuni-
| ton and stores. Most of it vas going OH
| at night, so as not &c addract addentiOn.
"'Are you sure dey are hauling away
| ammunition. Zimri?' asked.
"'Come nit me, and in fife minutes I'll
show you SO you'll hat no doubt, he said.
I've vent down de street to de main one,
which vas villed init wagons, hitched up,
and quarts alongside.
'.Zimri walked along carelessly, n few
steps ahead of ME, and directly pulled out
his pipe villed it, and scratched match
ACROSS de basement of his trousers. In
stantly dere vas yell vrom de quarts.
."'Here. what in tarnation do you mean.
YOU salivated sardinesT dey shouted, and
could hear dem cooking DER muskets.
'Haint you no sense, you blistered PAM
poodles? Get pack from dere and put dat
light out, or I'll pillow your punkin heads
off? Don't you know desc wagons are
filled Wit POWDER
Others yelled. Shoot dem: anyhow.
Put dem in de gard house. Freak DER
heads nit your gun-barrel. Puck-and-gag
dem Throw dem in dc .iffer'
''Zimri started on pack up de street. and
| followed, lodging de stones and brick
bats de teamsters and quarts threw after
us.
"'Are you satisfied dat dat's ammuni-
ton dey're hauling avayT asked Zimri.
'Berfectly,' l anwered.
my horse had been attended to py one
of Zimri's men, and lay down on sofa,
telling Zimri to wake me just before day
break. got up den, mounted my horse,
and rode slowly around, taking look ut
the notifications and the guns in dem. 1
saw several blaces where pig guns had
been daken away. As de puzzles we're yoost
sounding reyeille, nopody paid any adden
ton to me. Dey we're too tired and sleepy
and mad Mt hating to get up. / bicked out
two or three good blaces where l thought
old A. j. men could come in mitOut much
drouble, and vass sitting on a pox, making
a very good little sketch map, in which
steps of men coming toward me-"
Strange thing for You not to have your
eyes and ears open to everything around
you," suggested 81.
bad business to be engaged in. and not
keep a sharp lookout" added Shorty. /
You pet. Wrist dime vas effer caught |
dat way. l looked up as de shadow fell
on de paper, and saw two men, both off
GERS, and both men dat looked rs if dey |
couldn't be vooled nit much. De Major.
tall, lantern-jawed man, with tobacco
juice trickling out de corners of his mouth, |
looked like one of dose men who drove |
bull-teams ACROSS de bains in 1919, and !
den run ehin-mill, jumped claims. and
held Office until dey played out. and den
choined Walkers svilibusters in Nicara-
qua"
lot"