The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-09-17

VEIL" said Rosenbaum, settling him.
self more comfortably, and taking up the
thread of the narrative where the earlier
| "reminiscences had left off at their meet
ing and parting on the banks of the Ten
nessee river, lit didn't take me long to
CONCLUDE dat a change of air was neces-
sary for my health. l dink l told you
so ut dc time"
81 nodded.
Eyes, your acquaintance in Bragg's
army was getting entirely too large" said
Shorty. 100 many men there who want
ed you for the principal guest at large
party, under a tree, dressed plainly in
handouts and slip-noose."
Precisely. And as it always made me
sick ut de stomach to swing, l thought I'd
go somewhere where l wasn't kwite
SOL
Popular" suggested Shorty.
Something's like dat. My chief said
dat he had need of a good man in New
Orleans, where some big tings was n-cook-
ing, and he'd like me to go dere. Dere /
vent. l wound dat dey we're organizing
dat big cotton raid into Louisiana and
Texas, to which Kirby Smith had agreed.
we we're to gather up all de cotton in de
country, sell it and gif him half
Did our Government allow such a bar
gain to be made?" asked 81, in Open-eyed
establishment. President Lincoln wouldn't
allow such a thing"
Our Government knew all about it, and
urged it. president Lincoln knew all
apOut it, and wanted it DONE"
why, we burnt up most all the cotton
in Georgia and South Carolina we came
across" said 81.
Dat vas different. De circumstances
vas different. l Won't stop now to tell you
Why. But We wanted cotton awfully. You
see, John Bright, and our other vriends in
England, who had been keeping England
off our packs during de war, were all in
terested in cOtton-spinnng and weaving.
De big folks in Parliament were mill
owners, and de middle class people We're
employed in de mills. Dey we're all our
vriends, but dey were suffering awfully.
because dey couldn't get cotton. De mills
had to shut down, and de people we're oud
of work, and starving. But dey we're true
TO us, and wouldn't hear of England recos-
nizing de Southern Gonfederacy.
Bully boys" said Shorty. 'They ought
tO've had the cotton, no matter how it was
got. Abe Lincoln was right, as he always
was. Why couldn't we have sent over to
them lot of that cotton in Georgia and
South Carolina!"
"A good deal more of it got to dem dan
you know Of" said Rosenbaum, with a
chuckle. ''Some of it will pay for de din
utE We HILL JvoSL edleH buC ual aUOtuer
story, I'll dell you dat ut some dime.
Wrist thing | had to do when got to New
Orleans l vent in to call on some vrends
of mine, Finkenbeim & Spitzbube. Weep
ing Rachel, but ,dey're smart men. Nodt
a drick dey don't know, and can gif you
carts and spades and peat You. key
Finkenbeinr he vas strong reppel, and
run dat endt off de machine. While Levi
SpitZbube was an unconditional Union
mn Al vnrl cd Ia ,v,ty
enbein to get de cotton from de country,
and Spitzbnbe to ship it oud. Dey
quarreled awfully apout politics on de out
side, but neffer in DER private office. Never
saw two men get along peter together
Wien alone, dough de used to abuse each
other derribly when dey vas nit DER
irt .'s A good, loyal man like Spitz-
bnbe conld get permits to ship in any kind
of goods, and any quantity off dem, While
Finkenbein had no drouble trading dem
ont in de country for cotton. at de pig
Sest kind of brutit. De people we're gladt
to get old-time. befOre-de-war brices for
,leir cotton. and to bay four or five dimes
de prices for goods"
And so your friends Stinking-bone &
Spit-slobber whipsawed them both ways"
remarked Shorty.
Likely Finkenbein and Levi spitzbube
hadn't gone to New Orleans for de bene-
fit of de climate, and TO enci1oy dem
Selves remarked Rosenbaum with a
shrug. Deg were working hard to get
money enough to go pack to New York
and start bank, and make others work
for DEM"
But how did they manage !: with the
rebels! How did they get the goods out
into the country, and the cotton back 2"
asked 81.
20, you know dat Louisiana is de era
ziest criss-cross off rivers and bayous dat
de Lord effer made. De map looks like
one of desc cats cradles dat de children
play nit. All de soldiers in de army
couldn't guard toHsands of places dat Il
poat can slip into and go, no man knows
where. I'd as soon dink of watching the
from getting through
But the rebels knew the country thor
Oughly. How did they manage them, TO
get the goods in without being confiscated.
and the cotton out!'
Dat vas chenerallly easy enough Gen.
Kirby Smith. who commanded everything
west Of de Mississippi. was in de cotton
pizness up to his eyes--his vriends said
for de peneft off de Southern Confeder-
acy; his enemies said, for his own penefit
and dat of gang of sharpers and sbecu-
lators around him, who we're lifting high,
and billing up money ABROAD, While de rest
off de people were going in rags, and
starving. He had regular Cotton Bu-
reau. with Col William Broadwell mt
de head. Broadwell has a lot of vriends
who say dat he iss de noblest and most
unselfsh patriot alive. who is only work
ing for the good of de Southern G0nfeder-
acy. He has lot of enemies, who say
wherever dere is two bales of cotton sold
for de penefit of de Gonfederacy, dere is
one for de penefit of Col William Broad
well and Cheneral Kirby Smith. to lay up
a big provision for rainy day."
"Rainy day." broke in 81. "Its going
to be regular deluge, and it's set in"
"De more reason for pig pank aggount
across de water. De men who are doing
de vighting are hot apout dis, and at DER
head Cheneral Dick Taylor, son of Presi-
dent Zach Taylor, and brother-in-law to
Chef Davis. He is second in command
to Kirby Smith. He is de brightest, most
ambitions nan in de Southern Gonfeder-
acy. and would like to supersede Kirby
Smith and run things his own way, but
Chef Davis is afraid of its being said dat
he gifts de best biaces to his relatives, and
he is also afraid Of Dick Taylor's preak-
ing loose IN some way datll make drouble.
Dicks mighty uncertain rascal"
Eyes. yes" said 81, little tired of the
preliminaries. but what's that got to do
with your big sparkler? Did Kirby
Smith or Dick Taylor, or Col. William
Broadwell either of them give it to you
in recognition Of your distinguished SER
vices TO the Southern Confectionery