The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1919-12-25

dead--heart, er somethin'-an' the
other Teller, this we're army man, he
went out on deck fer ter see Kirby, an
he eve cum back. McAdoo sorter
reckoned as how likely he was slugged,
an throwed overheard. An then, on
top all that. we're sent up we're in the
night like a passed. o. thieves ter take
these niggers down ter Saint Louee.
What do yer make ov it, Jake?"
"Wal," said the other slowly, his
mouth evidently loaded with tobacco.
II amt never asked no questions since
i WIS made sheriff. I'm DOM whit
the court says. Kirby's got the law
on his side-no doubt bout that-but
l reckon as how he knows it wus a
durn mean trick, and so he's sorter
skeered as ter how them fellers Twin
down ter the Landin' might act. Thet's
why we tied up ter the shore below
town, in the mouth o. tibet crick, an
then he'd ter hoof it up we're in The
dark. OF course we got the law with
us, but we wanter pull this job off an
not stir up no ~fight-seew
"Sure," ~disgustedly. II reckon I
know all that; I heerd the jedge tell
yer how we must do the job. But
why's Kirby in such a sweat ter git all
these niggers down ter Saint Louee?"
''Ter sell 'em, an git the cash. Onct
they're outer the way there won't be
no row He'll let the land yere lie
idle fer a year or two, an by that time
nobody1l care a whoop how he got it.
But he's got ter git rid O. them mig
gers right away"
swell, who the h-s goin' ter pre-
vent? They're his'n, amt they? Thar
amt 10 Black Abolitionists round
yere, I reckon"
Seems sorter queer ter me-" admit
ted the sheriff, "but I did get a little
outer that Teller Carver comm up.
Carver is SOM sorter partner with
Kirby-a capper, I reckon. 'Tain't the
niggers tibet are maxim the trouble
leastways not the black 'uns. No
body's likely ter row over them. 1t
seems that Beaucaire kept a quadroon
housekeeper, a slave, o. course, an a
while back she Civ birth ter a child,
the father o. the infant bein' Judge
B~eaucaire's son. Then the son skipped
out, an amt never bin heard frum
since-dead most likely, fer all this
wus twenty years ago. Course the
child, which wus a girl, is as white as
I am-maybe more SO. 1 amt never
set eyes OF her, but Carver he says
she's good lookin'. Enyhow, the
jedge he brought her up like his own
daughter, sent her ter school in Saint
Louee, an nobody round yere even
suspected she wus a niger. I eckon
she didn't know it herself"
eyer mean the girls a slaveY
eyer bet! That's the law, amt it,"
"And Kirby knew about this?"
II reckon he did. I sorter judge,
Tim, frum whit Carver sed, that he
wus more anxious fer ter git tibet girl
than all the rest o. the stuff; an it's
her he wants ter git away frum yere
on the dead quiet, afore Haines er
any o. them others down at the Landin'
kin catch on"
"They couldn't do nuthin' if thar
amt no papers, then she's his, &C.
cordin' ter law. I've seen that tried
afore now" !
"Of course; but what's the use o
runnin' eny risk? A smart lawyer
like Haines could make a devil ov a lot
O. trouble just the same, if he took a
notion. That's Kirby's idee-ter cum
up yere in a boat, unbeknownst to emp.
body, tie up down thar at Saunders,
an the whole bunch O. niggers off
in the night. Then it's done an over
with afore the Landin' ever wakes up.
I reckon the jedge told him that wus
the best way"
There was a moment of silence, the
first man evidently turning the situa-
ton over in his mind. The sheriff bent
across the rail, and spat into the dark.
below.
"The joke of it all u.s." he continued
with a short laugh, as he Strengthened
up, "this didn't exactly work out
'cordin' ter schedule. When we
dropped in we're we rounded up the
niggers all right, an we got the girl
whar there's no chance fer her ter gil
away"
us that the one back in the house? p
II reckon so; leastways she toll
Kirky her name was Rene Beaucaire,
an that's how it reads in the papers.
But thar amt no trace ov her mother,
ner ov the jedge's daughter. They
amt in the house, ner the niger
cabins. Leaves me in q deuce ov a
fix, fer / can't serve no papers less we
find the daughter. Her names Eloise;
she's the heir ct law, an I amt got no
legal right fer ter take them niggers
away till I do. Looks ter me like
they'd skipped out. Thar's Kirby al
Carver, a comm now, an they're
alone; amt got no trace ov the girl or
her mother, I reckon"
Where I crouched in the shadows !
could gain no glimpse of the approach
ing figures, but / heard the crunch OF
their boots OF the gravel of the drive
wAv and q naornont 1o+nr tho co,Jpd 80