The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1913-10-16
CHAPTER /.
PTA

eN0o "ASh AoiSllS Was ISL 10 the nOl1
family. The holy family was on It'll
way to mass at ain Louis cathedral
Sister Anastasia leading the sedate
procession with the larger girls, ant
Sister Laure at the rear with the
smaller ones. Aurelie was the smallest
n OF all h chung tightly to Sister
Laure's skirts, for in the asylum, one
saw nothing like this. All Royal street
was filed with bawIing Mardi Gras
maskers ringing bells, footing horns
and humping into the holy family as
though, on such a morning there
should not be such a thing as an or
phan in the whole round world. And
on the corner Aurelie, very frightened
looked UP into the eyes of an old mar
who stared down at her with crafty
and deliberate intent, n Their
stumped after the procession on his
wooden peg leg, bound round with a
shiny brass band, as If now the matter
was settled, n of all the orphans
big ones, middle sized ones and small
er ones. light mixed" dark mixed"-
and some almost black-there was just
n he wanted, and that was the lit
tlest one of all.
Many, many years after, a black
eyed and vivacious young woman,
whom all the land had read about,
starting on her wedding journey,
threw her arms about a silvery headed,
one-legged old rebel M kissing him,
said:
Nov, Uncle Michigan, before we a
soodby, tell me the real reason you
stole ne"
The old rebel chuckled as he had
done a thousand times at this same
vexed question. We'll, you had on a
little blue wammus and the little blue
pants and / don 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, I
Just grabbed you up and stumped off,
Tor I says, BY mighty, this Is the one
Captain Tinkletoes'll want-this little
n with the little blue pants So off
to the woods we went"
Then she dubbed with a fond re-
proving laughter. Now, don't be silly.
h story is awfully silly. But, Uncle
Mich. I'm glad you stole me-then is
when everything began to happen"
Well, let us see Aurelie off on her
honeymoon, while we go back 20 years
to the morning when Uncle Michigan
seized her out of the demoralized holy
family n 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-
tarla bay He gave her q praline to
suck lest h cry, and turned q crab
basket oyer her head, and not until
the Carn1nada 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 d%ecorous holy family. Her first
taste Of the wicked world was good.
When the Cajun captain saw the
child he was amazed.
BY damn, ole man-whose ees dat ~
"Oh," said Uncle Michigan, scratch
ing a match evasively on his wooden
leg. "a baby done goin' down by its
wimmin' folks-'way off past John
the-Fool and Africa and them camps.
Its 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 pi-
rogu shot out from the overhangfns
Jungle, and Uncle Michigan handed
down the child to another old man
who sat it before him IN the tiny
canoe and stared at 1t with incredu.
lous adoration The Caminala 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, yet
fearless.
Done come!" he breathed in his
exultation. Done comel"
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 a great bar of the
sunset broke through the forest he
saw the child in a golden light and
laughed his happiness. "A little child
rL-lI 49, .pa-, NTto13,a~ ln-aW T -
an old fool reb off in the swamps with
the frogs and owls and snakes and
gators, waitin' for the child to come
to lead EN- to occupy the land-and
here 1t be"
But Michigan was silent. He had
made an awful discovery.
They went on past the evil spikes Of
the cypress lifting out of the black
water where once a giant gar stirred
the depths; and once an alligator
crossed slowly before them; and once
q gray shark swan lithely in the salt
tide setting up from the gulf; and
once far off an owl called. and from
a palmetto overhanging the canoe a
copperhead snake fell by the .chiId's
side, but she seemed without fear.
And in the last rosy light a snowy
egret sailed above them, and on a
shell ridge a f~cur-point buck watched
until the swampers' pirogue had
stolen on into the black, wet forest.
They came to a tiny garden at the
end of a canal filled with purple hya-
cfnth and all about the matched fence
the green cane grew. The lean hound
pups came to greet them from under
the palmetto hut, and the old man
lifted the child and set her there
among them.
"Yere's home" he said. .And yere
you'll grow up to lead 'em. Lee'l come
on his big white horse, and StonewaIl
a-chargin' and rarin': and ole Jeb
Stuart and Colonel Maramaduke Of
my ole bat'ry. And up and upIl come
the old gray lines Jest as It's lone been
revealed to me, and this little child
shall lead 'em to occupy the land"
"Old man. o been drinkin' too
much O. that Cajun coffee since I left.
Now yore ole head Is done buzzin'. Did
you feed them pupsT'
"Mush and pot liqueh. every day,
Michigan"
"Done stretch them mink pelts on
the ole Chiua-tree?"
Done stretch every pelt. Michigan!
Done tote out that moss from the
deep swamp"
Done tote every round. Michigan!
Done set the traps and run tho crab
lire and tend the lily boom, and every
minute ] says, 'Yere I BIO down In the
swamps where I never surrendered