The Comrade. (Winnfield, La.) 1890-1914, 1910-01-28

tA9Sa fuiu Lie 6iS6u NlllS duu III ullu 6leAo "
I Scotland.
sS That was good blood, and from his mother,
who was Durham Eunice Durham-the lit
tie chap that was one day to be a leader on
his own account inherited as clear a strain.
The feudal hall in Mississippi, however, was a
big, old plantation house, built Of hewn logs
and riyen boards, with woods and cotton fields
{ on every hand with cabins for the slaves and
Soutbuildings of every sort. That was in KEN
per county, over near the Alabama line with
4 De Kalb, the county seat about 20 miles away.
ss8s It was a peculiar childhood that little bill
Tess" Me- Donald had. IT was full of such things
as the homecoming Of the hunters with a deer
4 or "a fox-sometimes (and these were grand
4 Occasions) even with a bear. Then there were
wonderful ball games played by the Bogue
Ghita and 8[uckilutia Indians; exciting shoot
Ing matches and horse races, long fishing and
swimming days with companions black and
white, and the. seVerrecurring chase, with the
bIoodhounds Of some runaway slave. There
was not much Understanding in a semi-bar-
barrie childhood such as that. There was a
s5sehoolhouse Of course, which was used for
+ church and gatherings Of any sort, and some
B times the children had lessons there. But the (
4 Kemper county teaching of that day was
mainly to ride vel, shoot straight and to act
quickly in the face Of danger g That was the
proper education fol. the boy who was one day
{ to- make the Texas Panhandle and No-man's
Hand his hunting ground, with men for his
quarry s# *8i$
Presence Of mind he had as a gift, and it
+ was early manifested. There was a lake not
far away, where fishing and swimming went
on almost continuously during the summer
days, and sometimes the small swimmers
would muddy the water near the shore and
{ then catch the fish in their hands. They were
& doing this one day when Bill Jess was heard
to announce excite I've got him, boys! 4
I've got him. h You can't beat mine! Z at the
same instan Winging his catch high for them
IT'D see I
was 70 correct statement. They
couldn beat his catch and they didn't want
they Wanted to do was to get out
E pf his neighborhood Nli thout any unnecessary
delay, for the thing he held ND view was an
& immense deadly moccasin. grasped with both
hands by The neck, TIL rest $of it curling In
lstantl around the lower arm. His hold was
tight and so near The head that the snake
could not him. but the problem was to
IL loose. His friends were all ashore and
safe distance It'd not lose his head,
3 however. bnt ashore himself he invited
s afters anoth ind that snake
yobod AIRED or The Job and he told them in
turn and coll he thong Of them
Then he ffared hone To % little slave boy
ION ttractiYe terms
ss Quail come an
snake beat you-all to-
cath an cut ears an skin Won alive
and give yo eaheass the buzzards:."
II coul Il not resist AN earnest entreaty Of
sort son Of the household, and
Isl lace gray with graft.
md hold giin he wound a
sr .nlocc asin from Bill Jess,
last flung his prize TO the
here it was quickly killed, IT being
sFelEnigh ehoked It'd deat III already.
But an tile ofS presence Of mind will
some times dangers. 1T was:
abplt time the civil war broke out,
and Donald enlisted d company to
The sonth ern cause The little boy left
behind tbroke His father was his
III hero when and news came that
SatS Ierid
ion sol miles dis the
his mind To join them. He. an.
rived at idial one corning and began to
look soy es The groundS a1ld sto make few In
81 gles aas ITO his sat s. head uarte rs he
81 nal never seen al lload before, and he fol.
luWAdg along rack ith increasing Interest
he reached tie chi le, fllich he thought
must she the most No and beautiful
. Ming ever created, Then sud 40 3let Of
Z steam the bell rang and the air was split hyS
screaming whistle It waa ytoo s,1dd and
atrali Tor his giifft to The son 81