Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1913-10-16
CHAPTER 1.
CAPTAIN ~TINKIETOES.

family. The holy family was on it
way to mass at Saint Louis cathedral
Sister Anastasia leading the sedat'
procession with the larger girls, ant
Sister Laure at the rear with tn
smaller ones. Aurelie vas the smalles
one Of all. She chung tightly to Siste:
Iaure's skirts, for in the asylum, on
saw nothing like this. All Royal stree
was filled with bawling Mardi Ora!
maskcrs ringing bells, footing horn!
and humping into the holy family a!
though, on such a morning ther,
should not be such a thing as an or.
phan in the whole round world. Ant
on the corner Aurelie, YER frightened
looked up into h eyes Of an old mar
who stared down at her with crafty
and deliberate intent, and ther
stumped after the procession on his
wooden e leg. bound round with
shiny brass band, as II now h matter
was settled, and Of all the orphans
big ones, middle sized ones and small.
er ones, Eight mixed" dark Mixed
and some almost black-there was JUS
one he wanted, and that was the lit
TEST one OF all.
Many, many years after, a black
eyed and %vivactous young woman
whom all the land had read about
threw her arms about a silvery headed
one-legged old rebel and kissing him
said:
"Now, Uncle Michigan, before we say
goodby, tell me the real reason you
stole me-"
The old rebel chuckled as he had
done a thousand times at this same
little blue wammus and the little blue
pants and I done reckoned you was a
boy. So I follered you right up close
and when a lot of them Mardy Graws
come along blowing horns and bumped
into the convent sisters every way, ]
just grabbed you up and stumped off
for ! says. BY mighty, this is h one
one with the little blue pants So off
to the woods we went"
Then h dubbed with a fond re-
proving laughter. Nov, don't be silly
That story is awfully silly. But, Uncle
Mich, I'm glad o stole me-then Is
when everything began to happen"
Well, let us see Aurelie off on her
to the morning when Uncle Michigan
seized her GU of the demoralized holy
family and stumped off to the French
market lugger landing in Old New
Orleans, where he put her on Etienne
Guillimet's crab boat bound for Bara-
taria bay He gave her a praline to
suck lest she cry, and turned a crab
i 1ohC v hC llSdu, dl1o " ulllll
the Caminada had wheezed some miles
up the yellow Mississippi and turned
off through a canal leading. to the wild
Louisiana swamps did he take The
basket off
Aurelie still sucked the praline I'M
blinkingly Never such a feast with
the decorous holy family. Her frs
taste of the wicked world was good
When the Cajun captain saw the
child he vas amazed.
BY damn, ole man-whose ees dat?'
oh" said Uncle Michigan, scratch
Ing a match evasivefy on his wooden
leg, "a baby done goin' down by its
wimmin' folks-'way off past John
the-Fool and Africa and them camps
It's a right lonesome country"
But If Captain Etienne and the Ca
jun crew had remembered they might
have known that, long before the lower
lakes were reached, a trapper's III
rogue shot out from the ~overhanging
jungle, and Uncle Michigan handed
down the child to another old man
who sat it before him in the tiny
lous alteration. The Caminaia wheezed
off to the south, and all about the
mighty woods grew still with only
the boot Of an owl in the twilight
gloom under the moss-hung cypress
The little old man still started at the
child who looked back ~expectant. vel
fearless.
Done comet" he breathed in his
%exultation. Done comet"
He took her In his arms and held
her off. in his eyes the light of the
magi as they stood in the door OF
Bethlehem. And when Michigan pad
died on to where q great bar OF the
sunset broke through the forest hi
saw the child in a golden Light an6
laughed his happiness. "a little chilt
shall lead EN-. Michigan, here I be
an old fool reb off in the swamps witt
the frogs and owls and snakes ant
gators, waitin' for the child to come
to lead EN- to occupy the land-ant
here it be-
But Michigan was silent. He hai
made an awful discovery.
They went on past the evil spikes o.
the cypress lifting out of the blacl
the depths; and once an alligator
crossed slowly before them; and once
q gray shark swan lithely In the sal
tide setting up from the gulf; ant
once far off an owl called, and from
palmetto overhanging the canoe 6
copperhead snake fell by the child,s
side, but she seemed without fear
Iegret sailed above them, and on 8
shell ridge q four point buck watched
until the swampers' pirogue hac
stolen on into the black, wet forest.
They came to a tiny garden at the
end Of a canal filed with purple hya-
cinth and all about the matched fence
the green cane grew. The lean hound
lpups anne to greet them from under
the palmetto hut, and the old MAJ
lifted the child and set her there
among them.
"Yere's home, he said. "And yere
Iy0uIl grow up to lead 'em. Leell.come
Ion his big white horse, and StOnewai
a-chargin' and rarin,; and ole Jet
Stuart and Colonel Maramaduke q
my ole bat'ry. And up and up.ll com,
the old gray lines Jest as itss.ione beer
revealed to me, and this little chic
shall 9 EN- to occupy the land
man, you been drinktn' TOT
much o, that sCajun coffee since T left
Nov yore oleshead 81 done buxzius. DIX
lyou feed them pups? r. SS
.Mush and pot ltQugeh. every day
sDone stretch them mink pe1ts 3,
the ole Chtna-tree7a
"Done stretch avery pelt, Nlchigan!'
aDone tote out that from III
deep sWalnpy"
Done tote every pound. MICHIGAN
II Done net gth0 traps aAud#run b Cral
line and tend the lily boom, and, eyer.
minute q sAys. sxsro I ~ down III IN
kaWAmpe aMhkro n0N1f 1usEom0Sres
and M. naNthps the S~ovarnrnsft ard 1
1a1nst nGxar ovff9n4efUls but M0MssAetch
A0seaS oe41ins N 11Hfno ~ 6laitd tAlAtn
- ~ ~ ~ ~ e lsessDY q