The National tribune., 1903-10-08

Solomon Resenbaum Picks Up Another Lot
of Cotton-Ipteryiews With Southern Gen.
tlemen.
You said you'd tell US about that dam
which saved the fleet" said 81, the next
evening, as after supper they had taken
their places on the porch. did you have
any more hair-breadth escapes helping
build it?"
Veil, dere vas hair breadth escapes
enough all around to satisfy almost any.
pody. l dell you had had qvite as much
as l wanted. I'm very modest, you know,
and it don't take great deal to satisfy
me, especially Of hanging and shooting
I'd got all l wanted, and it looked very
much as if dere vas going to pc heaps
more of de same sort before We reached de
Mississippi Riffer, we're We were going il
Parks could not preak himself of his habi,
of valling pack. We used to Wonder if he
wouldn't keep on valling pack Until he
reached Washington, as he did in de
Shenandoah Valley. | wanted to get out
awfully, but Admiral Porter and old A
j. insisted dat 1 should stay. l didn't like
to go away, neither. yoost as soon as
had got my cotton through, for the looks
of the thing. 1t got squallier effery day.
Alexandria vas $50 miles up de Red Riffer
vrom de Mississippi, and it seemed dat I'M
less We done something worth while, We we're
likely to pc caught right dere, and starved
out. PankS's valling pack had let Dick
Taylor gather in all de troops vest of de
Mississippi, to surround us, cut off our
subblies, and threaten to take in not only
de army but de whole gunpoat vleet, which
had held de Mississippi open. Effery gun
poat of any consequence had been gather
ed there, and if de reppeis could get dem
and Pankss army it'd more dan
undo all dat We had gained by gap
turing Vicksburg. Dey'd not only get de
whole riffer again, but all de guntry east
of it. clear up to where Sherman vas yoost
starting on his Atlanta Campaign"
Great Scott, l had no idea the thing
was so serious" exclaimed 81.
You yOost pet your honorable discharge
it vas serious. De most serious days saw
in de army. De way de army vas peing
handled made me sick at heart and / vas
afraid of What / should hear effery morn
ing When l vaked up. All de good vighting
dat such men as old A. j. and de others
could do would not help NIT such misman-
agement. De riffer vas steadily valling,
and it seemed sure dat all de gunpoats
we're caught vast in de riffer apove Alex
andria, and nothing vas left but to pillow
dem up as de PASSPORT had peen. Dere
vas mile and a half of rocky rapids
apove Alexandria, NIT only apout four
feet of water Offer de rocky lodges. we're de
poats needed at least seven feet to get
down."
Great Jehosephat. you were in a
pickle" CALCULATED Shorty. 81 know all
about that. used to run on the river"
We'll, efferypoHy apout Panks's head
quarters seemed baralyZed. Admiral Por-
ter he suIked and svore. and kept by him
self, NIT his vleet. Old A. j. Vas in such
q TEMPER dat twas dangerous to go any
where's near hinil He wanted to do some
dings, and get pack to Sherman, where he
pelonged,' instead of lying dere, doing nod
ings but eatIup rations, and get ready for
de reppels to starye de army into sur
rendering. He vas continually using Ian
guage dat 1t would have shocked re-
fined. cultivated New England chentleman
like Gen. Parks to hear. Neither would
Gen. Franklin liked it. for old A. j. held
Gen. Franklin responsible for all dat
Parks did Or didn't.
Il used to- go down to the riffer effery
day, and lock up apore the rapids, and
see lying dere nine irOnglads-nine, mind
yOu-DOats dat had peen de terror of de
reppels, and de right hand of de Union
we're p0ats which had fought at Fort Donel-
son. Shiloh, Island No. 10, Memphis,
Vicksburg, and Grand Gulf. l would sigh.
and den go down to de yater's edge, and
Wind dat de riffer had vallen little more
3. April 30 come, and dere vas Only three
veet eight inches Of water Offer de reefs.
and de gunpOats needed effery inch of
seyen.. he reppels thought dey had de gun
poats so secure dat dere vas no need to
bother any more apOut dem. De Red Riff
fer. would. do all dat vas necessary. So
Dick Taylor pegun moving his army
around to get between us and de Missis-
sippi Riffer, and cut off our redreat.
Il pecame sick at heart. and for awhile
tired of doing things for de country
thought I'd go pack and see Zimri, and
see if we couldn't vix up in some way n
good stake in some voreign country where
dere vas no var / had seen enough and
i'll peace and quietness. l wound Zimri
dalking to one of de biggest planters on de
Teche-his name vas SeIden. and he vas
a large, vine-looking man. under 80, dress
ed in White proadcloth, NIT White peaver
plug hat, and an ivory handled revolver
and bowie-knife, which he took no pains to
gOnseal.
dis valling pack of de Yankee army,
nit Dick Taylor swinging around to cut
dem off from de Mississippi, preaks me all
up he vas saying to Zimri as / came up.
L hat two steamboat loads Of cotton down
de HuffpOwer Bayou, which / had ar
ranged to send through to New Orleans as
soon as de Yankees got efferything set
tied down and quiet. l expected dem to pc
in full possession of Shreveport py dis
time. But dey'ye potched things so paddy
dat Dick Taylor has dem ON de run, and
his head'll get so pig dat dere'll pc no
liiing in de same State NIT him. He's al
most past enduring now, on account of his
feeling that he is the son of President
of the United States and brother-in-law to
the President of the Southern Confeder-
acy. He thinks he's made of peter clay
dan de rest of us. and I've had to call him
down once or twice
You don't seem to pc no vriend of
Gen. Taylor?'
No, de gOnceited upstart He swashes
around now ms if he was real quality. The
time was when the Taylors were mighty
common stock. in old Virginny. My grand
father had to help his get out of the goun-
try. and go TO Kentucky. and then beg
Jimmy Madison for Leutenant's com
mission in de army for Zachary. 1t was
the only way flint Zach could make
lifting. He wasn't fit for anything else
than vighting Indians. No, I'll not have
Dick Taylor putting on any furbelows
around me. pTha Taylors were never in
the same class with the Seldens. and he
likely to remind him of it.
'Brobably hei does not dixie you any
peter for it;N I9succhcsted
"'NO, he don't like me. nor do his men.
He stirs dem against me, de tamt temagOg.
Deyre sour because | ton't go into de
army Dey9 say tdey're out dere starting
and vShting. ana I'm staying home, lifting
high Why shouldn't |? I'm Il chentlcmen
porn. always baf peer. always will pc I'm
going to lif likeia chentleman as long as
| do lif. Dey're most of dem lifting peter
DIN nfferI did in leir Evns lny,rn got