Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-22


beyond the bayou
WHO got the shot, colonel?" asked
Eddring-a question apparently most I'M
welcome.
well. ought to have had it," said
Blount, with a frown of dfspleasure 1.-The
fact is, did take a flying chance from
horseback, when the bah ran by in the
cane half a mile back of where they kill
ed him. Somehow I must have missed.
But man. You ought to have heard that
pack for two hours through the woods.
1t certainly would have raised your hair
straight up. You ever hunt bah. sir?''
"A little. once I'm a while, when / have
had the time. You see, railroad man
can't always choose"
Railroad man?' said Col. Blount. A
sudden gloom fell upon his ruddy face.
Railroad man, Ell? Well, wish you
was something else. Now. l helped get
that railroad through this country-if it
hadn't been for me they never could
have laid a mile of track through here.
But now. do you know what they done
did to me the other day, with their
damned old railroad?"
mo. sir. l haven't heard"
"Well, I'll tell you-Bill, On, Bill: Go
into the house and get me some ice: ard
go pick some mint and bring 1t here 10
this gentleman and me. Say, do you
know what that railroad did? Why. it
just killed the best fl " on my plantation,
my best running stock. too. Now. 1 was
the Delta, and /"
well. now. Col Blount," said the
other. 'the road isn't bad sort of thing
for you all down here. after all. 1t re-
lieves you of the river market. and it
gives you double chance to get out your
cotton. You don't have to haul your
cotton twelve miles back to the boat any
more. Here Is your station right at your
door, and you can load on the cars any
day YOU want to-
- .;rrrx+ rtrvl,+
But how about this killing of my stock?''
well, that's So said the other. facing
the point and ruminatingly biting a splin-
ter between his teeth. ''It does look as If
we had killed about everything loose in
the whole Delta during the last month or
So"
Are you on this railroad?" asked
Blount suddenly.
Il reckon I'll have TO admit that 1 am.
said the other. smiling.
Passenger agent, something of that
sort. 1 reckon? Well let me tell you, you
change your road. Say. there was a man
down below here last week settling up
claims-Bill, Ah-h Bill. Where've you
gomez"
Eyes," said Eddring at certainly did
seem that when we built this road every
cow and every niger, not to mention a
lot of white folks. made a Decline
straight for our right Of way. Why. sir,
it was a solid line of cows and niggers
from M6nGpDlS 10 new orleans. HOW
could you blame an engineer If he ran
into something once in a while? He
couldn't help it,
Yes. Now, do you know what this
claim-settler or this claim agent man
did? Why, he paid a man down below
paid him for as fine a heifer as ever eat
cane? Why. 49,"
Fifteen dollars!'
Yes, $15"
That looks like a heap of money for a
heifer. doesn't it, Col. Blount?'
"a heap of money? Why, no. Heap
of money? Why. what do you mean?''
"Heifers didn't bring that before the
road came through. Why, you would
have had to drive that heifer twenty-five
then she wouldn't have brought over
$12. Now, SIS, seems to me, is about
right"
well. let the heifer go. But there
was cow killed three miles below here
the other day. Neighbors of mine. 1
reckon that claim agent wouldn't want
to allow any more than $15 for Jim
Bowles' cow, neither"
Maybe not"
well. never mind about the COW,
wife down there, killed by these steam
kyars-looks like the niggers get fasci-
mated by them kyars. But here's Bill
coming at last. Now, Mr.. Eddring, Well
just make little julep Tell me, how
do You make a iulep. sir?'
Eds1ring hitched little nearer on the
board pile. well Col Blount." said he
lin our family we used to have an old
silver mug-soTt of plain mug. you know
few flowers around the edge of it-been in
the family for years. Now. you take a
mug like that and let it lie In the ice box
all the time. and when you take it out
it's sort of got white frost all over it
Now. my old daddy he would take this
mug and put some fine ice into it-not toe
fine. Then he'd take a little cut loaf SUI
gar, in another glass. and he'd mash II
up in a little water-not too much water
then he'd pour that in over the ice Then
he would pour in some good corn whisky